Why I do not drink Alcohol

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MONSY JACOB

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Nov 24, 2009, 3:20:00 PM11/24/09
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Why I do not drink alcohol

 

  1. I am a sinner.  I believe that there is eternity; either heaven or hell.  My only hope for heaven is that I have the shattered body and oozed out blood of Jesus in me.  I confess Qurbana is Jesus.  So I forbid from pouring alcohol on the body of my savior.
  2. I believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  So I am afraid to fill it with alcohol.
  3. Through scientific data I have learned that the children of alcoholics have a tendency to be bi-polar.  Knanaya people used to be consistent and stable.  I stopped drinking when I married.
  4. I do not have enough time to spend with my children. I do not want to steal quality time from my wife and children, they are my 1st priority.  For this reason I do not call many people on the phone either.
  5. I am not afraid of my wife.  So I do not need extra strength from alcohol, so that my wife would respect my masculinity.
  6. I have seen many people saying that occasional drinks are fine.  If they are honest, I always wondered why these people do not buy drinks for their own daughters and sisters.  Hence; they are hypocrites.
  7. I am from Ranny.  Most of Ranny Town property belonged to knanayas. I have seen a lot of families perish just because of drinking.  I have also noticed that the people who married the daughters of alcoholic fathers also perish.  So; I would not let my son/daughter marry the daughter/son of an alcoholic; if they would listen to me. 
  8. Some people say about casual drinking.  The scripture is very clear.  “Can any one carry fire in their lap without getting burned?”
  9. I consider drinking alcohol (occasional or habitual) same as adultery.  Both are sins to the body, the dwelling place of Holy Spirit.  For the same reason that I forbid from connecting my body to the body of a prostitute, I abstain from alcohol.  An occasional drink is just like an occasional relationship with an occasionally consenting female.  I have seen the children of the adulterous fathers perish exactly like the children of the drinkers.  If examles are needed, kindly call me.

Chemmachen


Sunil Korah

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Nov 28, 2009, 5:33:32 PM11/28/09
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The Lost Art of Catholic Drinking

by Sean P. Dailey - October 10, 2007

Reprinted with permission from our good friends at InsideCatholic.com, the leading online journal of Catholic faith, culture, and politics.

There is Protestant drinking and there is Catholic drinking, and the difference is more than mere quantity. I have no scientific data to back up my claims, nor have I completed any formal studies. But I have done a good bit of, shall we say,informal study, which for a hypothesis like this is probably the best kind.

To begin with, what is Catholic drinking? It's hard to pin down, but here's a historical example. St. Arnold (580-640), also known as St. Arnulf of Metz, was a seventh-century bishop of Metz, in what later became France. Much beloved by the people, St. Arnold is said to have preached against drinking water, which in those days could be extremely dangerous owing to unsanitary sewage systems – or no sewage system at all. At the same time, he frequently touted the benefits of beer and is credited with having once said, "From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world."

Wise words, and St. Arnold's flock took them to heart. After his death, the good bishop was buried at a monastery near Remiremont, France, where he had retired. However, his flock missed him and wanted him back, so in 641, having gotten approval to exhume St. Arnold's remains, they carried him in procession back to Metz for reburial in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles. Along the way, it being a hot day, they got thirsty and stopped at an inn for some beer. Unfortunately, the inn had just enough left for a single mug; the processionals would have to share. As the tale goes, the mug did not run dry until all the people had drunk their fill.

Now, I'm not saying that Catholic drinking involves miracles, or that a miracle should occur every time people get together to imbibe. But good beer – or good wine for that matter – is a small miracle in itself, being a gift from God to His creatures, whom He loves. And as G. K. Chesterton wrote in Orthodoxy, "We should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them." In other words, we show our gratitude to God for wine and beer by enjoying these things, in good cheer and warm company, but not enjoying them to excess.

Just what constitutes excess is for each person to judge for himself, I suppose. However, we now approach the main difference between Catholic drinking and Protestant drinking. Protestant drinking occurs at one extreme or another: either way too much or none at all, with each being a reaction to the other. Some people, rightly fed up with the smug self-righteousness of teetotalers, drink to excess. And teetotalers, rightly appalled at the habits of habitual drunkards, practice strict abstinence. It seems to occur to neither side that their reaction is just that: a reaction, and not a solution. If they considered it a bit, they might see a third way that involves neither drunkenness nor abstinence, yet is consistent with healthy, honest, humane Christian living.

Here we encounter Catholic drinking. Catholic drinking is that third way, the way to engage in an ancient activity enjoyed by everyone from peasants to emperors to Jesus Himself. And again, it is not just about quantity. In fact, I think the chief element is conviviality. When friends get together for a drink, it may be to celebrate, or it may be to mourn. But it should always be to enjoy one another's company. (Yes, there is a time and place for a solitary beer, but that is the exception.)

For example: The lectures at the annual Chesterton conference are themselves no more important than the attendees later discussing those same lectures over beer and wine (we tend to adhere to Hilaire Belloc's rule of thumb, which is to avoid alcoholic beverages developed after the Reformation). These gatherings occur between talks, during talks – indeed, long into the night – and we typically fall into bed pleasantly stewed. I cannot imagine a Chesterton conference without this. And yet I also know how detrimental it would be if we all stumbled back to our rooms roaring drunk.

Avoid each extreme – that's how you drink like a Catholic. This is the art of Catholic drinking. There are plenty of our brethren who consider drinking somehow immoral, and there are plenty of others who think drinking must end with great intoxication. But the balanced approach – the Catholic approach – means having a good time, a good laugh, sometime a good cry, but always with joy and gratitude for God's generosity in giving us such wonders as beer and burgundy. Remember that, and the lost art of Catholic drinking may not remain lost.

Sean P. Dailey is editor-in-chief of Gilbert Magazine and blogmeister of The Blue Boar.



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