Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin?

Lampo Regular Member

Join Date: September 11, 2006 Location: Midwest Posts: 2,848 Religion: Catholic

Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin?

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Last evening, after we put our son to bed, my wife, my mom and I sat on our back porch, had nice conversations and had a few mixed drinks. We each had three glasses. We didn't get drunk, but I know I started to feel the effects. Was that still in moderation?

Apr 10, '07, 2:38 am

Dwyer Regular Member Join Date: February 26, 2007 Posts: 1,359 Religion: Byzantine Catholic

Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? Ummm, I hate to spoil the party: one, uh two, but uh three? Wasn't two enough? That's a lot of alcohol. I know drinking is big in the United States, and the alcohol industry advertises it to make it look like fun and enjoyable; but we all know that alcohol destroys people's lives and drunk driving kills thousands of people. The fact that getting drunk is a sin sounds like Martian speech to most people. We have a culture that revolves around alcoholic beverages. If your serious about your faith, you should exercise Temperance in drinking. I would stick to one or two. It also depends on your weight. Everyone is going to say, well why is it a sin, he didn't get falling down drunk? Alcohol affects the Temple of the Holy Spirit--the body, the mind. The Holy Spirit is present in us. Ideally, that's the only type of Spirit you need. It clouds your judgement and affects your Reason. It could, depending on the circumstances, cause you to make bad choices and lead to impure words, thoughts, or actions. You can drink as a Catholic, but in moderation. I'm sorry, but three in a short space of time sounds like one too many. I remember one priest who gave a homily and said Americans worship three gods; Venus, the goddess of Lust; Mammon, the god of money; and Bacchus, the god of alcohol. You kind of indicate that were intoxicated and you said that you did indeed feel the "effects." You weren't toasted, but still you were intoxicated. I would say you were intoxicated, and you probably would have blown 0.8 on a Breath Analyzer Test. Given the Church's instruction and St. Paul's writings on the Holy Spirit, I think you did commit a mortal sin. The culpability for it is probably greater the more drunk you are, but it is a sin for the reasons stated above. Temperance is the hallmark of the Chrisitian life. I know we live in a hedonistic, materialistic society, but getting slightly buzzed is not the Christian thing to do. If you go to confession, you should ask your priest (someone who is old-fashioned and not a lberal) about this. Just tell him what you said in the question. He'll tell you for certain if it was a mortal sin or not. Apr 10, '07, 8:38 pm Matas Junior Member Join Date: September 7, 2006 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 144 Religion: Catholic Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? Quote: Originally Posted by Dwyer Alcohol affects the Temple of the Holy Spirit--the body, the mind. The Holy Spirit is present in us. Ideally, that's the only type of Spirit you need. It clouds your judgement and affects your Reason. It could, depending on the circumstances, cause you to make bad choices and lead to impure words, thoughts, or actions. I think the operative word here is "could." Did it? If not, then no reason to hyperventilate. If yes, the confess, and resolve to sin no more. Even in The Book of Acts, when the Apostles were speaking in tongues and people were making rude comments, St. Peter told them that no way were they (the Apostles) drunk because it was too early in the day. Apr 11, '07, 2:04 pm duskyjewel Banned Join Date: March 28, 2007 Location: east Mesa, AZ Posts: 2,405 Religion: Catholic Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? Quote: Originally Posted by Dwyer Ummm, I hate to spoil the party: one, uh two, but uh three? Wasn't two enough? That's a lot of alcohol. If your serious about your faith, you should exercise Temperance in drinking. I would stick to one or two. It also depends on your weight. Everyone is going to say, well why is it a sin, he didn't get falling down drunk? getting slightly buzzed is not the Christian thing to do. Dwyer, The plain fact is.....you have no right to make this kind of determination. Each person decides for themselves what is temperate and what is not. This reminds me of the legalistic attitude one of my religion teachers told me about when he was growing up: If you had less than 3 ounces of meat on a Friday, it was only a venial sin, but if you ate more than 3 ounces, it was a mortal sin! He was actually taught this! As for getting buzzed being unChristian......Jesus drank wine on many occasions. Do you think He never felt the effects? Wine is part of Jewish culture, and I am sure the drinkers feel it when they drink it. And also, go to your local rectory and tell all the priests who enjoy a cold beer (or a few....my husband can drink four beers on a Saturday without it having inappropriate effects) at the end of their workday that they are not acting like proper Christians. You calling something sin that is usually and most likely morally neutral. This person was relaxing in the privacy of their own home, not hurting anyone, and not engaging in any immoral behavior. Quote: Originally Posted by Dwyer If you go to confession, you should ask your priest (someone who is old-fashioned and not a lberal) about this. Just tell him what you said in the question. He'll tell you for certain if it was a mortal sin or not. Old-fashioned.....you mean like a priest from the 50s? Those fire-and-brimstone whiskey and beer-drinking Irish priests?   #29     Apr 11, '07, 8:36 pm Dwyer Regular Member Join Date: February 26, 2007 Posts: 1,359 Religion: Byzantine Catholic Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? Quote: The plain fact is . . . you have no right to make this determination. Each person decides for themselves what is temperate and what is not. Duskyjewel Well . . . the Thread author was asking if he committed a mortal sin. I was just trying to answer his question. This is, after all, a Catholic Christian faith-based Forum that tries to provide Catholic answers to people's question. As a Catholic, you're supposed to admonish the sinner. I think it is one of the virtues. Also, read 1 Corinthians 5: 9-12. I did a little research on the subject on the Catholic Answers Home page and EWTN.com. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 2290 (this is the Catholic Church's infallible teaching on the subject): Quote: The virtue of Temperence disposes us to avoid every kind of excess; the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. The Virtue of Temperance disposes us to AVOID every kind of excess, including the abuse of alcohol. Having read that, now my interpretation of the above text is abusing alcohol is a mortal sin. I know that we live in a society in which alcohol is heavily marketed, in television commercials, magazines, at sporting events. Professional Sports stadiums are owned by beer breweries. The History channel runs ads for gin. We live in a hedonistic, materialistic culture. Our culture does say no to drugs, but almost anything else is seen as being acceptable, as long as you are not physically causing pain to someone else. The Bible is generally not referred to in our secular culture as a guide to moral behavior. Here are some Biblical (Word of the Lord) verses: Quote: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18) Quote: No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments . (1 Timothy 5:23) Quote: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glorification of God . (sorry, forgot to get chapter and verse) According to Catholic teaching, God wants us to enjoy the good things of the earth, but he wants us to exercise Temperance in enjoying those things. I saw a similar question like this one answered by Father Robert Levis on the Catholic Q & A show Web of Faith. From what I can remember, he said it depends on their gender and size, indicating that a "large" man could have two, perhaps even three beers. This topic is a good topic, given our alcohol obsessed American society. I know y'all have your OWN opinions, and therefore your OWN answers, but I am trying to base my response on Catholic Truth in order to give a Catholic answer to the question. I am not trying to base it on how I feel, or how I think, or on my opinion, but what the Catholic Church teaches about the matter. Given what I have read, I don't think that it now matters at all whether or not the drinking leads to sinful thoughts, words, or actions. The Virtue of Temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess, including the abuse of alcohol. As long as your boozing it up, I think you're committing a mortal sin. And as the above Scripture quotes illustrate, the sin is drunkeness. Now the question comes down to: is it o.k. if I'm just a little little bit drunk? If the CCC says you should avoid every kind of excess, I would say it's not o.k. Getting buzzed. Is it a mortal sin? Based on what I've now read, I would say it's a Venial sin. If you drunk-drunk, then it is a mortal sin. I am not a theologian, but I've read a lot about the Catholic Church. This still would be a good question to ask the Catholic Answers experts or the EWTN.com experts. Finally, some people mentioned Jesus and the Wedding Feast. Modern Orthodox Jews are not allowed to get drunk, except for on one day a year which is their Purim Festival held in March. I'm sure there is something in the Old Testament about it. I don't read anything in the Bible (John 2) that says people were getting toasted at the wedding, or that Jesus got drunk. That's your imagination. My Revised Standard Version only says " . . . the wine failed . . ." The text says nothing about drunk people. I'm pretty sure the Torah (first 5 books of our Christian Bible) forbids drunkeness. Last edited by Dwyer; Apr 11, '07 at 8:49 pm.  Apr 11, '07, 10:14 pm Matas Junior Member Join Date: September 7, 2006 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 144 Religion: Catholic Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? Quote: Originally Posted by Dwyer The Virtue of Temperance disposes us to AVOID every kind of excess, including the abuse of alcohol. But what is excess? In your world, it's more than two drinks. For others, it's somewhat more than that. The original poster didn't get wasted, which is what "drunkeness" in the Bible is referring to. Apr 13, '07, 11:53 am Dwyer Regular Member Join Date: February 26, 2007 Posts: 1,359 Religion: Byzantine Catholic Re: Had a few drinks last evening - did I commit a mortal sin? I had a great response to all this, but unfortunately there was a glitch and it got erased. I'll try and rewrite it as soon as I can.