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Today we will analyze one interesting question related to food culture and eating behavior. These will be the traditional, religious and scientific aspects of gluttony. Indeed, Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. And if they managed to curb their senseless appetite, perhaps humanity would still be walking along heavenly tabernacles? I’ll say right away that we are talking about traditional knowledge, which we will discuss separately from religious aspects, so take the text accordingly, agreed? You probably know that traditional knowledge is an important source of health information for me. I believe that knowledge, skills, and practices that are beneficial to health survived and became fixed because they gave an advantage to their carriers (like genes in evolution). Why is gluttony (gluttony) included in the list of mortal sins?! Who seems to feel bad because of what I eat? But everything is not so simple.

What is gluttony?

Gluttony is gluttony, immoderation, greed in food, overeating, eating too much food, satiety. There was even such a definition of a glutton as - gluttonous, i.e. almost insane, obsessed. And overweight, fat, obese, “fat belly” are the usual definitions of the consequences of the life of a glutton.

In antiquity, it was believed that gluttony causes both bodily suffering and suffering of the soul, since the object of joy of the voluptuary is not a true good. The fight against the vice of gluttony involves not so much a strong-willed suppression of the urge to eat, but a reflection on its true place in life.

Gluttony is one of the gravest mortal sins. By gluttony is understood not only overeating, but also drunkenness, drug use, smoking, excessive love for pleasures and sophistication of food.

This passion becomes the desire of the soul for pleasure, an irresistible desire to eat more or more refined food than is required to maintain a healthy body. Gluttony means greed and immoderation in food, bringing a person to a bestial state. Possessed the highest degree gluttony comes to the point that, realizing the physiological impossibility of digesting the consumed amount of food, he takes pills for digesting food, or, causing a gag reflex, is released from swallowed food for further intake of regular dishes.

The holy fathers say that if a person submits to the passion of gluttony, then all other passions, fornication, anger, sadness, despair, greed for money easily take possession of him. If you control the womb, you will dwell in Paradise, but if you do not control it, then you will become the prey of death.

Gluttony is the door and the beginning of many sinful inclinations, and whoever overcomes gluttony by strength also rules over the rest of the sins.

Know that often a demon sits down on the stomach and does not allow a person to be satisfied, even if he devoured all the food of Egypt and drank all the water in the Nile.

“The beginning of all evil is the hope of the womb and relaxation of oneself with sleep”, “satiation is the mother of fornication, those who have fallen into the pit of iniquity, and “to the extent that one works for the womb, to such an extent deprives himself of the tasting of spiritual blessings.”

Types of gluttony.

1. The urge to eat ahead of time;

2. Satiation with any kind of food: a person is more interested in the amount of food. The limit of overeating is when a person forces himself to eat when he does not feel like it. Gastrimargia (Greek gluttony) - the desire of a person to simply fill his womb, not particularly paying attention to the taste of food.

3. Desire for gourmet food, that is, a special attachment to the quality of food. Lemargia (Greek: throatiness) - a person's desire to enjoy the consumption of delicious food, enjoying the organoleptic properties.

4. Other types: There are other types of gluttony, these are: secret eating - the desire to hide one's vice; early eating - when a person, having barely woken up, takes to food, not yet experiencing a feeling of hunger; hasty eating - a person tries to quickly fill the womb and swallows food without chewing, like a turkey.

Differences between satisfaction of hunger and gluttony.

“A person has a natural need for food, as a source of energy for the normal functioning of the human body. There is no sin in her prudent, healthy, moderate satisfaction. The passion of gluttony grows out of the abuse of the satisfaction of this need. Passion perverts, exaggerates the natural need, subjugates the will of man to the lust of the flesh. A sign of a developing passion is the constant desire for satiety.

“To eat on a whim means to want to take food not for bodily needs, but to please the womb. But if you see that sometimes the nature accepts any of the vegetables more readily than juicy, and not out of whim, but according to the lightness of the food itself, this should be distinguished. Some, by their nature, require sweet food, others salty, others sour, and this is neither passion, nor whim, nor gluttony.

And to love some food especially and desire it lustfully - this is a whim, a servant of gluttony. But this is how you know that you are possessed by the passion of gluttony - when it also possesses your thought. If, however, you resist this and gracefully take food according to bodily needs, then this is not gluttony.

History of gluttony (Gula).

Gula is a Latin word meaning "gluttony, gluttony", organically entered the Old French language and existed almost until the beginning of the New Age. Thirsty for rich dishes and fine wines, the glutton goes beyond the limits set by God, thereby destroying the order established by Him on Earth, creating a threat to the state ... The situation has gone so far that the very word "glutton" (gloz, glot or glou - in the language of that era) has become designate a brawler, a person of a dangerous and unpredictable disposition. The feminine form - gloute - among other things, received the meaning of "nymphomaniac", "prostitute", a woman who does not differ in decent behavior.

Negative attitudes towards people who abuse food can be found both in the books of the Old and New Testaments. For example, King Solomon wrote: “Do not be among those who drink wine, between those who are satiated with meat: for the drunkard and the sated will become impoverished, and drowsiness will put on rags.” And he also advised: "And put a barrier in your throat, if you are greedy."

In Catholic theology, gluttony is also one of the seven major sins (the sin against the second commandment). Together with debauchery, it is classified as “carnal sin” (Latin vitia carnalia). In the classification of the seven deadly sins by the German inquisitor Peter Binsfeld, gluttony was personified by Beelzebub. Beelzebub or Beelzebub (from Hebrew בעל זבוב‏‎‎‎ - Baal Zebub, "lord of flies", literally - "lord of flying things") in the Christian religion is one of the evil spirits, the assistant of the devil (quite often identified with him along with with Lucifer

Miniatures and wall paintings of churches show us a huge number of frightening and repulsive images of gluttons. Here is a glutton with a swollen belly, like a dog, gnaws at a bone, here is a thin and wiry drunkard greedily crouched to a glass. Here is another galloping at full speed on a pig (a symbol of pleasing the womb), clutching a piece of meat in one hand, a bottle of wine in the other. Such a way of depicting was the simplest way to convey to the flock the necessary truth: excessive craving for food and wine is deadly, both for the body and for the soul!

Why is gluttony a mortal sin?

In 2003, leading associations of restaurants and cafes in France sent a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to remove gluttony from the list of sins. They don't see anything wrong with a good table with gourmet dishes. What is the sin in this?

And indeed, why is the desire to eat counted as sins? There are a lot of things around that, it would seem, more deserve to be in the "honorary seven" than simple gluttony, to which we are most often very condescending. After all, hunger, according to scientists, is just a kind of beacon that begins to indicate to us that the body does not have enough energy. But this is only at first and very inattentive glance ...

Thomas Aquinas defined the major vices as the source of many sins as follows: "the chief vice is such that it has an extremely desirable end, so that in its lust a person resorts to committing many sins, which all originate in this vice as their main cause"

Our ancestors did not know about dopamine, but they correctly noticed that "greed has no limits." And if you satisfy emotional hunger with food, or “polish” with food, then this behavior leads to serious violations of the dopamine system. Let me remind you that normally the dopamine system works like a stick, not a carrot.

With few exceptions, this system controls punishment rather than rewards by shutting down dopamine. In such cases, the level of dopamine drops (for example, in the case of hunger), forcing us to take action. As a result, the reward system briefly returns dopamine, and we feel good. The same mechanism works, for example, when winning a sports competition, praising or condemning other people, etc. The drop in dopamine drives us to achieve the goal, which can be achieved at the cost of overexertion and stress.

That is, if you eat when there is a real need, then this behavior does not disrupt the dopamine system. This is not gluttony. And if you eat for pleasure, then this is a classic dopamine stimulant! That is, according to traditional knowledge, everything that excessively stimulates dopamine is gluttony. We learn that sugar is no different from a drug and can be addictive, especially for people with a genetic or social predisposition. Yes, yes, people who bite into sweets, cookies or sweet yoghurts are in fact no different from smokers. For our brain, both patterns of behavior are the same. The desire to eat is the absolute analogue of the desire to smoke or drink.

A serious violation of the dopamine system causes a deformation of a person's personality, similar to that of drug addicts. Therefore, we can agree with the ancient authors and warn readers against the abuse of dopamine stimulants. You can read more about this in articles about dopamine. Yes, I am working on a dopamine training course that will start in early March.

Online course Healthy eating

Sources:

Encyclopedia of medieval dietology, M.

Gluttony is the first link in the chain of sin. It seems to many only a weakness that does not inspire much fear, and that the consequences of this sin, like scabs from leprosy, do not appear at all immediately, but after several years. It must be remembered that after Adam committed a sin, the harmony of the soul with the body of a person was disturbed. After all, the body is only an instrument of the soul, but also an organic part of the human personality. And it turned into a substrate for passions with lust. The body must be the slave of the spirit. But, in no case should the body command a person, his soul. Ideally, there should be a balance between spirit, soul and body.

What is the human body

The body can be called an evil friend and a good enemy. Without a body, a person's personality cannot be formed. Without a body, the spirit with the soul will not be able to manifest themselves to the outside world through words and deeds. The crafty flesh is ready at any moment to betray the soul to the Devil in order to receive vile pleasures. It's like Judas sold his Teacher for three dozen pieces of silver to die. The body is a very insidious companion of the soul on its difficult path to the kingdom of heaven. sometimes it obediently follows the spirit, sometimes on the contrary, it tries to drag it along a wide and stone-lined road, which leads to eternal death. Alternatively, you can even compare the soul and body with a certain rider on a wild horse. And as soon as the rider loosens the bit a little, the horse will rush to where his eyes look, as a result of which both will fall into the nearest hole.

Important!!!

Gluttony is essentially a victory of the body over the spirit. This is a kind of wide field where various passions rage. You can talk about it as the first step of a steep and slippery staircase that leads straight to the underworld.

The womb, as soon as it becomes heavy with food, begins to plunge the mind into a kind of gloomy abyss of slumber, making it lazy and even stupid. The glutton loses the ability to think deeply and accurately or talk about something spiritual. His belly, like a huge lead weight, begins to pull the grounded soul straight down. In particular, such a person is acutely aware of his infirmity during prayer. The mind cannot penetrate the holy words in any way, as if a dull knife does not cut bread. In this sense, gluttony can be considered a constant betrayal of one's prayer.

Important!!!

It should also be noted that gluttony, like any sin, darkens the intellectual and even creative powers of the one who indulges in it. Almost none of the prominent people, whether they were poets and artists, did not differ in their time by gluttony, did not even have a body that would resemble a beer barrel.

It often happens that a glutton who is already very tired from the burden of his own body, which brings him to shortness of breath and to exhaustion, decides to lose weight. He is exhausted by the need to constantly overcome obstacles in the form of the size of his own stomach, for example, when you need to bend down and pick up a thing from the floor or even tritely tie your shoelaces. Then it is logical that he decides to declare war and defeat the demon of gluttony by destroying his own fat as an enemy. Such a person will prescribe diets from fashion magazines, and even announces to all his friends and relatives that soon his figure will noticeably decrease in volume. But, such a glutton, who barely goes on a diet, turns out to be, as it were, in the role of a gladiator, who unarmedly entered into a fight with a huge, wild beast. At first, for the first minutes, he resists, but then falls, torn to shreds by the claws or fangs of a terrible predator. At first, the glutton will adhere to a strict diet and look at those around him almost victoriously, but then the desire to absorb food will take its toll and he will, as before, be zealous in eating.

Whether there is a certain types this sin or its direction?

In gluttony, it is conditionally possible to distinguish two addictions: gluttony and guttural insanity.

Gluttony is essentially an insatiable desire for food, a kind of aggression of the body directed against the soul. That is, constant harassment from the womb, which every now and then requires a person to constantly eat food. This can be compared to the madness of the womb, which consumes any food indiscriminately. The stomach of such a person will be like a bag into which the stingy owner shoves all things indiscriminately, after which he can hardly drag an unnecessary load behind him.

Laryngeal rage is a constant desire for tasty or delicious food, that is, it is the voluptuousness of the larynx. Simply put, a person must eat in order to be able to live, but this person lives in order to eat. He prepares his menu in advance, paying too much attention to the dishes and choosing them carefully. He spends almost all the money on goodies, as if the player loses his fortune in excitement.

There are other types of gluttony, such as secret eating - this is the desire to hide one's vice. Early eating consists in the fact that a person, just waking up, immediately takes to food, even before he begins to experience hunger. Vicious and hasty eating, in which a person tries to fill the stomach very quickly and swallows food without even chewing it, like a turkey. It is considered sinful not to observe fasts, and also to use the larynx of various harmful products. Ancient ascetics generally considered excessive drinking of water to be a sin of gluttony.

How to rid yourself of gluttony?

The Holy Fathers recommend that you first limit yourself to eating spicy or irritating foods. Then make yourself a restriction in sweet and throat-pleasant food. Then you can already abandon the oily and fattening body. You need to eat slowly, so there will be a feeling of fullness sooner.

Advice

It is necessary to get up after a meal in a state when the first hunger has already been satisfied, but the person still feels thirsty for food. It used to be the custom to have a silent meal. Any extraneous conversations will distract attention, and a person who is carried away by a conversation, most likely, automatically eats everything that is on the table. It would also be good to read a prayer to yourself while eating.

Output:

We can say that the sin of gluttony is the gradual eating of the body of the soul, and the result of this is that the heavenly and spiritual beginning gradually fades in a person, and he turns into blind flesh. To get rid of gluttony, you need to give up spicy and irritating food, limit the use of sweets. And remember one rule - you need to get up from the table with a slight feeling of hunger, then gluttony is not scary.

The Apostle Paul says about gluttony: "Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with passions and lusts. If we live by the spirit, then we must act in the spirit"(Gal. 5:24-25). What does it mean to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts? This means to lead a self-sacrificing feat of struggle with passions; this means that true Christians struggle with sinful passions and overcome and eradicate them with the help of God.

And how do you know what kind of passion in yourself to fight? To do this, you need to get to know yourself better, examining your spiritual disposition, observing yourself and noticing what sinful passions fight us the most, what we are more inclined to and what actions, feelings and thoughts prevail in us.

One of the passions most struggling of all people is the passion of gluttony - a kind of carnality. Above, we have indicated the signs of this passion. Reading them and carefully looking at them, we can judge whether we have this passion.

With regard to the passion of gluttony, as in relation to other passions, a Christian can be in three states:

1) or passion owns him - he satisfies passions, acts according to passion;

2) either he resists passion, struggles with it, but still has it in himself;

3) or finally, when in the fight against gluttony, through the virtue of abstinence, which is opposite to gluttony, a Christian has uprooted passion and only fights against the attacks of passion from outside.

The passion of gluttony in one form or another struggles with almost every person, because it is connected with the natural need for food. St. John of the Ladder calls the passion of gluttony "the tormentor of all people, who has bought everyone with the gold of insatiable greed and is connected with us by nature (that is, by the very need of the body)". And admirable, says St. father, if one, before descending into the grave, is completely freed from the struggle with the passion of gluttony.

The Monk Abba Dorotheos, in one of his teachings, gives practical instructions and examples of how, through self-observation and self-examination, one can find out one’s spiritual disposition: whether we are conquered by passion, whether the passion of gluttony controls us, or we struggle with it and overcome it. If it happens, he says, that you eat food with others, then you need to notice yourself and see whether you are in control of yourself and whether you can restrain yourself and not take before others when tasty food that you like is served, or is it driven by an irresistible desire not to able to show such self-control? Do you try not to offend your neighbor and not take a larger or better piece from something cut into pieces from the table, and leave a smaller one to another? "For it happens," says the Monk Abba Dorotheos, "that some are not even ashamed to stretch out their hand and give a smaller part to their brother, and take the larger part for themselves." It is also necessary to notice whether you can refrain from many meals and, sitting at the table, do not indulge in greed and satiety (gluttony), as is often the case with many. Notice also whether there is an uncontrollable habit of eating without knowing either the time or the definite hour of eating, and can you, when the thought of eating comes, by an effort of will and the fear of God refrain from this premature eating?

And so, observing yourself, you will come to the knowledge of your spiritual disposition.

It is also necessary to know that the passion of gluttony, like the passion of fornication, is rooted in the body and is sometimes aroused without the assistance of the soul - "by one irritation of the need for food," from which it originates. But due to close connection with the body, the soul is drawn into passion, becomes vicious, passionate. Therefore, the opposite phenomenon also happens, when the soul, having become voluptuous through the body, prematurely and before the bodily need for food attracts a person to taste food untimely and beyond the need - one passion.

Hence it is clear that the passion of gluttony, like other carnal passions, "comes from the depravity of soul and body." Therefore, it can be defeated only by the exercise and labor of both - the body and the soul.

Where to start and how to fight the passion of gluttony?

The beginning of the healing of any passion and any sin is repentance, contrition and weeping for one's sins, with warm prayer and falling down to the Lord for help. On the advice of Rev. Barsanuphius the Great, one must cast down oneself with weeping before the Lord, may he give strength to overcome passion. And without heart disease, without contrition of the heart, without sobriety, weeping and the fear of God, it is impossible to curb the pleasing of the womb. All passions are overcome by humility, which everyone acquires through much labor, especially through the labor of contrition of the heart (about one's sins) and weeping for sins. "Humility and obedience are the uprooters of all passions and the planters of all good things. For the Lord says: I live ... with those who are contrite ... in spirit" (Isaiah 57:15).

We can successfully overcome the passion of gluttony only if we have the fear of God, which is the beginning of all virtue. For by the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil (Prov. 1:7; 15:27).

The fear of God is the beginning of our salvation and its protection: the beginning of turning from sin depends on it and is due to it, purification from passions is performed by it, and in those who have embarked on the path to perfection, all virtues are acquired and protected by the fear of God. "If you want to conquer gluttony," says St. Ephraim the Syrian, "love abstinence, have the fear of God, and you will win." Sts. the fathers teach that a person acquires the fear of God if he has the memory of death and the memory of torment, if he tests himself, how he lives (every evening he tests himself, how he spent the day, and every morning - how the night passed), if he is not bold (free) in conversion and if he associates with people who fear God (having the fear of God).

Thus, the fear of God is taught to us first of all by the memory of the last four events of life that await each person: death, judgment, hell and heaven. St. Tikhon of Zadonsky, instructing Christians of good morals, commanded "to remember the last four: the first is death, which is inevitable and delights anyone in various ways; the second is the Terrible Judgment, where for every word, deed and evil thought we will repay; the third is hell or eternal torment, having no end, waiting for sinners; the fourth is the Kingdom of Heaven, to the faithful, holy is the life prepared for those who lead." Therefore, Rev. John of the Ladder, bearing in mind the importance of the fear of God for the fight against gluttony and the indicated methods of acquiring it, points out that the memory of one’s sins, the memory of the severity and sinfulness of the vice of gluttony, is at war against passion, and the thought of death strongly opposes gluttony. For "the basis of gluttony is a long-term habit, insensitivity of the soul and oblivion of death." “Let us tame the womb with the memory of the future fire,” admonishes St. John of the Ladder. For some, especially young ones, if you look carefully, overeating is the only cause of carnal impurity and carnal falls that happen to them. Therefore, let us tame our womb, for Scripture says that nothing unclean will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

For a successful fight against passion, you need determination to resist it, you need dislike, disgust, hostility to gluttony; this is the main spiritual force in the fight against carnality.

In order to strengthen hostility in the soul, dislike for gluttony, the fear of God is needed and much exercise is needed for the soul, strengthening it in the determination not to indulge in this passion. “One cannot live without labor, and no one is crowned without a feat. Force yourself,” says St. Barsanuphius the Great, “strive for your salvation and God will help you, who wants all people to be saved and reach the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2, 4)".

The first duty is to be well aware of and remember the vileness and malignancy of this passion, its perniciousness in this and the future life, as can be seen in the gospel rich man (Luke 16:23-24). Gluttons and drunkards cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, for they worship instead of the true God - the god-womb. Gluttony quenches spiritual life in us, makes us carnal, likening to dumb animals, harms bodily health, opens the entrance to the soul for other destructive passions: fornication, love of money, pride, etc. Peace of the body, satiety of the womb and excessive use of wine, according to the words of St. Barsanuphius the Great, give birth to all passions. “The beginning of all evil,” affirms St. Isaac the Syrian, “is the repose of the womb and relaxation of oneself with sleep, kindling lust. struggle with sin and lust is the beginning of labor vigils and fasting", especially if one struggles with carnal sins. The taming of the womb marks the beginning of victory over fornication and other passions. "He can never suppress the excitations of carnal lust when it ignites, who is not strong enough to curb the impulses of gluttony." Purity inner man recognized by the perfection of this virtue. For whoever could not tame the passion of gluttony - a clear and small passion, how can he defeat the secret passions that bargain without any witnesses? Therefore, be master over your womb, admonishes St. John of the Ladder, before it prevails over you, and then, having fallen into the pit of shameful carnal iniquities, you will be forced to abstain with shame. Even a lion can be tamed with caresses, but the more pleasing to the body, the more strengthens its ferocity.

Gluttony is characterized by a weakening of self-control, weakness of the will in the field of abstinence from satiety and voluptuousness. In this regard, spiritual abstinence is important, which strengthens the will and perfects the inner person, cultivating patience, self-control and endurance. "Temperance," in the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian, "is the nature of patience." He who cannot be restrained in anger, is impatient, irritable, slanderous and arguable, will not be able to control himself in the fight against satiety and voluptuousness. Therefore, Rev. Barsanuphius the Great, in order to successfully fight gluttony, advises: "Stop being angry, irritable, envious, arguing, do not disassemble others, humiliating or ridiculing them."

In order to distract the soul from the carnal and focus its attention on the spiritual, instilling a taste for the spiritual and everything pure and divine, Sts. Fathers and ascetics offer a number of exercises for the soul. Namely:

1) spiritual pursuits: reading and whole-hearted assimilation of the word of God; reading the teachings of St. fathers and ascetics about the fight against gluttony and about the height of abstinence and purity;

2) reflections on the superiority, usefulness and spiritual beauty of the virtues of temperance and sobriety, purity and chastity. For the Christian virtuous life alone, especially purity of body and soul, gives true joy, peace and spiritual delight;

3) reflection on the transience and inconstancy of earthly pleasures and on heavenly eternal blessings and the beauty of heavenly objects, on the bliss of the future life, prepared for all who strive and love the Lord. “We cannot in any way despise the pleasures of real food,” says St. John Cassian, “if the mind, indulging in divine contemplation, will no longer delight in the love of virtues and the beauty of heavenly objects. Excessive desire for food must be suppressed for the sake of virtues.”

4) the desire for perfection and purity can also extinguish the lust for large meals and gluttony; while taking food and satisfying the bodily need for nourishment, one must be very attentive to oneself so as not to damage chastity, enslaving the desire of the womb and soul.

All of the above applies primarily to the soul. As for bodily exercises in the fight against the passion of gluttony, this is expressed primarily in refraining from pleasing the stomach - in abstinence, expressed in not eating before a certain hour, to overeat with food, but to be satisfied in moderation, thanking God for His gifts.

"Strengthen your will, control yourself!" - instructs Rev. Efrem Sirin. Do not indulge in the spirit of gluttony: do not look for expensive or abundantly offered foods, do not eat at the wrong time, except for a certain hour, do not be aroused to greed by the attractiveness of foods and do not desire with passion one or the other, do not look and do not throw yourself greedily at food. Be master of your belly!

Own yourself! Avoid going to feasts and drinking parties, do not enjoy the pleasant taste of wines, do not drink wine unnecessarily, do not look for different drinks, do not pursue pleasure - to drink artfully prepared mixtures, do not use without measure not only wine, but if possible, then water.

Christian! Be master over yourself, over your womb - master yourself! You promised Christ to go the narrow and strait way. Therefore, oppress your womb, for by pleasing it and expanding it, you will renounce your vows. But heed and hear the One who says: "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go through it... narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it" (Mark 7:13-14).

Here are a few examples from the life of the fathers, showing how the ascetics of piety resolutely fought against intemperance, strengthened their will and self-control, at the very beginning suppressing thoughts and desires to please the womb and flesh. In the "Ancient Patericon" it is narrated: one morning a certain brother became hungry and struggled with his thought so as not to eat food until the third - in our opinion until 9 o'clock; when this hour came, he decided to endure until the sixth - according to our 12; when this hour came, he soaked the bread and, sitting down to eat, got up again and said to himself: I will endure until the ninth - according to ours until 3 o'clock in the afternoon; this late hour has come, and the elder, having made a prayer, sees the power of the devil, like smoke coming out of his bowels. Thus passed his hunger.

When Abba Zenon, wandering in Palestine and tired, sat down by the cucumber garden to refresh himself with food, his thought said to him: take one cucumber and eat it, what is important in this? But the faster refused his thought, saying: "Don't you know that thieves are punished? Test it yourself in this very place, can you endure the punishment?" And getting up, he stood for five days in the heat and, being exhausted by the heat, said to himself: "I cannot bear the punishment!" Then he says to his thought: "If you cannot, then do not steal and do not eat." So the elder punished himself for only one thought to pick and eat a cucumber.

There is also a story about another old man who wanted to eat a cucumber. Wishing to temper his will and self-control, the elder took a cucumber, put it before his eyes, and for so long it lay with him. And, not being overcome by lust, he also repented, reproaching himself for having had a desire for all this.

The story about Abba Dioscorus of Nachiast has been preserved. His bread was barley and lentils. Constantly exercising in the virtue of abstinence, every year he began one exercise in this virtue, saying: this year I will not meet with anyone, or I will not talk, or I will not eat boiled, or I will not eat apples or vegetables. So he approached each case, exercising in abstinence: finishing one, he took up another, and he did this every year.

In acquiring the habit of abstinence in food, one must adhere to a certain sequence, and do this with reason, as pointed out by St. John of the Ladder. One of the followers of the teachings of Origen named Evagrius of Pontus (3rd century) expressed such an extreme opinion. “When our soul,” he said, “desires various food, then we must exhaust it with bread and water.” "To prescribe this," affirms St. John of the Ladder, "is the same as telling a little boy to ascend to the very top of the ladder with one step." One cannot agree with such an opinion of Evagrius: if the soul desires various food (meals), then it seeks what is characteristic of its nature. “And therefore,” says the Holy Father, “against our cunning womb, we also need to use prudent caution, and when there is no strong carnal warfare and there is no chance for a carnal fall, then we will get used to abstinence in strict sequence, namely: first of all we will cut off - abstain from fattening food (thickening the flesh, for example, meat and very fatty food), then from inflaming food (for example, spices, intoxicating drinks, food with spicy spices), and then from food that delights. sufficient and digestible food to get rid of his insatiable greed by satiety and, through the speedy digestion of food, get rid of (carnal) burning like a scourge.

With any use of food, both rare and frequent, one should in no way allow food to be satiated. First of all, in the fight against gluttony, satiety must be abandoned, and then the delight of food. In order to suppress the habit of desiring and consuming more food than the body and satiety require, and in order to overcome the passionate indulgence of food, it is necessary to use food that is simple and not exquisitely varied, easily acquired, in accordance with the means and general custom and use.

From the curbing of the flesh by a moderate and constantly uniform use of food, passions in general will gradually begin to weaken, and in particular the root of all passions - self-love, which consists in wordless love of the flesh, in partial love for the peace and life of the flesh.

The urge to greed and voluptuousness while eating is restrained and moderated by the prayerful invocation of the blessing of God before eating and thanksgiving for what is given during and after eating. “Food must be eaten,” St. Basil the Great instructs, “not showing mad greed, but observing firmness, meekness and abstinence from pleasures in everything, even at this very time (food) having a mind that is not idle from the thought of God; on the contrary, , the very quality of food and the structure of the body that receives them must be turned into a pretext for glorifying the Master of the universe, Who has provided various kinds of food, adapted to the property of bodies.

A certain hour must be appointed for eating (breakfast, lunch, dinner). And, struggling with gluttony, in order to strengthen oneself in continence of the stomach, one must prescribe and keep precautions for oneself, by no means allowing oneself to take anything from food or drink outside the meal (dining room) before a certain hour, common to all, appointed for reinforcement with food.

In the fight against gluttony, in order to strengthen the will and acquire the skill of abstinence, fasting must be observed prescribed by the Church to all Christians: on Wednesdays and Fridays, on four annual fasts (Christmas, Great Lent, Peter's Fast and Assumption Fast), as well as on other established days of strict fasting (Exaltation, Beheading of John the Baptist). If bodily weakness or illness does not allow you to strictly perform fasts, then you should not allow yourself permission to eat fast food except with the permission of a judicious confessor.

When fighting gluttony, we must be especially attentive to ourselves when we are invited to dinner parties, to treats (feasts) on the occasion of a family or social celebration, etc. Regarding Christians attending such "feasts" and behavior at the table, St. Clement of Alexandria (3rd century) in the book "Educator" explains that there is nothing reprehensible in participating in them if a good purpose is meant, for "for love and out of love they go to feasts; their purpose is to strengthen mutual good relations between people and mutual disposition towards one another; both food and drink are offered by love. Treats that do not have such a good purpose, but selfish motives or for gluttony and drinking - such treats a Christian should be avoided in every possible way. Regrettably, Russian people meet and spend big holidays, joy and sorrow in revelry, gluttony and drunkenness. Gluttony almost always supplies Christian holidays and days of general merriment as if it were a legitimate excuse for itself. “The Jew rejoices on the Sabbath and the feast,” describes St. John of the Ladder, “and the Christian glutton rejoices on the Sabbath and Sunday; the time of joy and consolation with food for the chaste and temperate ascetic is the time of struggle with gluttony, but the slave of passion is the feast of the feast and the triumph of the celebrations ". Who often arranges feasts, indicates St. Isaac the Syrian, and whoever loves to often go to feasts, that is the worker of the prodigal demon, that is, the performer of prodigal lust.

The Christian must bear in mind that at all kinds of feasts, organized even for the purposes of friendship, there are many temptations for him to display intemperance in food and drink, especially if he is struggling with the passion of gluttony. Being at a party, "do not look and do not throw yourself greedily at food" and do not drink wine without reason, instructs Christians St. Clement. In all your behavior at the table, show modesty and abstinence. Since ancient times, the wise Sirach taught with such words about good conduct at feasts. “Eat,” says the wise one, “like a man, what is offered to you, and do not be satiated, lest they hate you; stop eating first out of courtesy and do not be greedy (greedy) lest you serve as a temptation; and if you sit in the midst of many, then do not stretch out your hand before them" (Sir. 31, 18-20). "Modesty requires that both in food and drink (at feasts) take less and later, slowly - both at the beginning and in the middle when changing dishes."

Both at home and at a party, hospitality and treats often serve as a plausible pretext for gluttony and drunkenness. A helpful servant of the passion of gluttony and drunkenness is the bad custom that exists in Russia to treat their guests in such a way that when they go to their home, they don’t even recognize the road that they went to visit. It is a custom to treat with increased requests, low bows and even coercion, something to offend us if you don’t eat or drink. And evil carnivorous human cunning, points out St. Tikhon of Zadonsky, also invented a kind look, which hides the evil of gluttony and drunkenness; "For your health!" "Let's drink to the health of this and that!" - as if to the one that is remembered, and in fact, health is added from this frequent congratulations and vodka libations ... Many people not only consider this mentally harmful custom not only as a sin, but also as courtesy, no matter how a treat was a treat if you don’t get the guest drunk. “Oh, blindness! O fury, O charm of the murderer-devil!” St. Tikhon of Zadonsk exclaims with sorrow. “Listen, listen to me Christians,” admonishes the saint of Christ. and when a person becomes accustomed to wine, then he cannot at all lag behind drunkenness and so perishes, having drunk himself. However, at the table quite often there are also such drinkers who do not need to be especially teased. They themselves, with reckless greed, indecently pounce on food, wine and vodka, and soon they drain wine bottles with their usual “to your health” or other toasts, untying their tongues with wine vapors and losing their sobriety of mind and decency of behavior.

But this is not how a sober Christian should behave at the table. “We pray,” the Holy Fathers exhort, “we pray to every person (Christian) who wants to be saved and repent to God, to save himself from excessive drinking of wine, which gives rise to all passions. Save yourself from those who (forcing you to immoderate drinking of wine) say: If you don't drink, then I won't drink, and if you don't eat, then I won't eat." "Do not listen to the advice of self-pleasing people," teaches St. John Casian, "who have made themselves slaves of the womb and carnal passions." "Do not drink wine until you become intoxicated, pleasing people; for then you will be greatly ashamed when you are found drunk.

Every pious Christian, especially if he is young, who wishes to preserve virginity and chastity, should adhere to the rule given by St. Pimen the Great: a Christian ascetic "should by no means use wine." The holy fathers followed this rule, and if they used wine, it was very rare and with the greatest moderation. "Wine (grape)," says St. Peter of Damascus, "is useful in its time: with old age, infirmity and a cooled constitution, it is very useful, but even then it is small (very moderately)"; in youth, with natural warmth and health, it is better to completely refrain from wine, because, having not yet acquired the habit of abstinence, inexperienced and carried away youth easily falls into the passion of intemperate wine drinking, leading to debauchery (Eph. 5, 18) and regenerating all passions.

The "Ancient Patericon" gives examples of the abstinence of the ancient ascetic fathers. Once Rev. Abba Sysoi the Great visited a certain hospitable old man, who, while treating him, brought him a glass of grape wine. Abba Sysoy accepted a glass from him and drank it, then accepted another glass, but flatly refused the third one, saying sternly: "Stop it, brother! Don't you know what Satan is?" And when, at a feast in one skete, another ascetic was offered a glass of wine, he completely refused it, saying: "Take this death from me." Seeing this, the other guests also refused to drink wine at all.

Often gluttony and drunkenness is justified by the example of elders and even by the example and blessing of intemperate priests and inexperienced confessors.

“I saw,” says St. John of the Ladder, “(even) aged priests, mocked by demons, who allowed the young, who were not under their guidance, with a blessing to drink wine and other things at feasts. If they have a good testimony about the Lord, then we can with let their permission be allowed a little, but if they are negligent, then in this case we should not pay attention to their blessing, and especially when we are still struggling with the fire of carnal lust.

In one of his messages to diocesan bishops, Patriarch Alexy I points out that in many places, local church patronal feasts, as well as memorial days, are accompanied by revelry on the part of the parishioners and that, so to speak, according to tradition, drunken pastime continues in other places for several days. . The clergy have little or no struggle at all with this phenomenon, which, of course, has nothing in common with religion and with the Christian understanding of the celebration of church holidays.

Is it permissible that on the days dedicated to the celebration in honor of Christ the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints of God, on the days of commemoration of our dead in cemeteries, under the guise of spiritual joy, those praying indulge in deeds that not only do not serve to glorify God, but also humiliate a person and his salvation is harmed - the deeds of carnality, intemperance, outrage?

And who, if not the clergy, is supposed to fight this traditional Russian evil that humiliates faith, seduces people who sincerely believe and exposes our church customs to ridicule and desecration? To turn the feast of the Lord into disorderly drunkenness and revelry is a grave sin, the sin of temptation and desecration of the holy.

The pastors of the Church are charged with the duty of explaining to the faithful the perniciousness of this custom, which, as mentioned above, has nothing to do with our religion, which condemns drunkenness and inspires people, along with the apostle, so that our hearts "are not weighed down with overeating and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34) and that "drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:10), and strive by all means to protect the dignity of the Church and to eradicate this unkind custom that has crept into church life.

Performing church services earnestly and reverently and preaching the word of God, the pastors of the Church, especially at the onset of local holidays and memorial days, are obliged to take care that the feast and church service are not overshadowed by all sorts of outrages of the parishioners, but are carried out in the way that is required primarily by Christian law. , and then civil order, requiring citizens to perform work that is not interrupted by excesses allowed on a holiday.

On the fight against the passion of gluttony
From the book: The Teaching of the Holy Fathers on Passions and Virtues
G.I. Shimansky

We eat to live, not live to eat. Alas, now this phrase is becoming irrelevant, because the store shelves are bursting with food variety. Simple food is a thing of the past, it is replaced by various delicacies, helping to develop the passions of gluttony.

What it is?

One of the eight passions, she is the first on the list. Gluttony is an addiction to tasty and plentiful food. Simply put, dependence on food delights and tasty dishes, respected by lovers of delicious food.

Passion makes you break fasts, because it is very difficult to control yourself when there are a lot of dishes on the table, and Great Lent is on the calendar. It is especially difficult at a party when the hosts of the house do not fast. That is why it is undesirable to make idle visits to unbelieving friends and relatives during fasting, because they will certainly invite you to the table with fast dishes.

What gives rise to gluttony?

What kind of sin is described above. More precisely, the concept of this passion is given, the consequences are not named.

If we turn to the possible consequences of sin, it becomes uncomfortable. It would seem that such a thing is that a person will eat an extra treat. Who will he harm with this? To yourself first.

Gluttony breeds relaxation. Remember: when it happens to eat well, and even tasty dishes, it starts to make you sleepy. After a hearty meal, you don't want to do anything. To sit quietly so that no one touches, or go to bed ... This is how relaxation looks like, obtained as a result of excessive consumption of delicious food.

A jaded person seeks entertainment. It's not enough for him, he wants more pleasure on the side. Readers understood that we are talking about prodigal adventures. Where there is fornication, there is drunkenness nearby, then it comes to greed.

Drunkenness is one of the types of gluttony, under the influence of alcohol the most bloody crimes are committed. A man is rapidly flying into the abyss, not noticing his fall. The drunk often does not have money for a bottle, but there is a need to drink. He begins to terrorize loved ones, demanding to buy alcohol, they refuse and receive a tub of insults against him (the sin of foul language). Desperate, the alcoholic goes to theft or murder, just to get hold of money and buy the coveted bottle.

What kind of sin - gluttony, is now becoming clear. It should be added that believers who become idolaters are also subject to passion. They put food and drink above God, turning them into idols. This is a violation of the commandment "do not make yourself an idol."

Satiation and drunkenness affect the physical component of a person. There are cardiovascular diseases resulting from excess weight, problems with the gastrointestinal tract due to the use of too fatty, spicy and bitter foods. Alcohol affects the nervous system and brain, turning the drunkard into a pitiful semblance of a person obsessed with drinking.

How to deal with passion?

When a human realizes that he has gone too far and flies into the abyss, he is able to stop. Man is weak, only the Lord God can help him. The fight against gluttony includes several stages:

Spiritual. Prayer appeal to God and saints, repentance, communion.

Ascetic. Refraining from gourmet food, nutrition simple products. Of course, this is difficult, especially when the neighbor eats an avocado with red fish, and a person who wants to get rid of sin forces himself to eat simple buckwheat.

Psychological. First of all, self-discipline and willpower. Labor plays an essential role in the fight against gluttony. When a person works and is passionate about his work, he has no time to think about food.

How to overcome gluttony is written above. Prayer, work and self-discipline are the first helpers in the fight against the passion for food.

Do you know that in many monasteries they eat twice a day? When fasting, food is eaten once a day, while monastic obediences are characterized by high physical exertion. Lay people who work in offices, for the most part, eat much more often and more plentifully than monks. You can justify yourself by saying that a person is weak and infirm, or you can pull yourself together and follow some rules when it comes to a meal:

Eat three times a day, avoid intermediate meals.

Get up from the table a little hungry, without trying to eat everything that is in front of your eyes.

Beware of participating in unnecessary feasts. It's one thing when the family gathers for some kind of celebration, and quite another - weekly gatherings with colleagues or comrades.

Observe multi-day and one-day fasts established by the church.

Prayer is a spiritual sword

What is the sin of gluttony, how to get rid of addiction to plentiful and tasty food, is described above. Let us dwell in detail on the spiritual method of dealing with passion.

A person must want to get rid of sin. As soon as an understanding of his addiction arises, he begins to ask the Lord for help in the struggle. There is a prayer read by those who want to overcome passion. It must be read secretly, after reading the prayer for eating:

I also pray to You, Lord, deliver me from satiety, voluptuousness and grant me in the peace of my soul with reverence to accept Your generous gifts, so that by eating them, I will receive strengthening of my spiritual and bodily strength to serve You, Lord, in the little rest of my life on earth.

This is what an Orthodox prayer from gluttony looks like, read by those who are eager to part with sin.



Prayer of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt

How can you overcome the passion of gluttony? With the help of fasting, prayer and forcing yourself to keep from satiety and overeating with delicacies. There is nothing difficult in turning to the Lord with the words of the prayer of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt.

A short life of the saint for those who are not familiar with him: Righteous John was born in 1829 in a very poor family. The weak and sickly boy was soon baptized, for they feared that he would go to God. But after the sacrament was performed, the child began to get better.

The father of the future saint served as a psalm reader in the church. He often took his little son with him. John developed a zeal for God and love for Him from childhood.

The future saint studied at the Arkhangelsk parish school, then at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He was married, but there was no carnal marriage. Saint John and his wife Elizabeth lived like brother and sister.



All his life he served God and people, he died on December 20, 1908, leaving behind a rich spiritual heritage.

Prayer of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt:

Lord, our sweetest Brasno, who never perishes, but arrives in the eternal belly: cleanse Your servant from the filth of gluttony, all flesh created and alien to Your Spirit, and grant him to know the sweetness of Your life-giving spiritual brush, which is Your Flesh and Blood and the holy, living and your effective word.

Prayer to Alexy - a man of God

Saint Alexei is a begging child. His parents, rich and pious, did not have children for a long time. Aglaida - that was the name of the mother of the future saint - earnestly prayed to God for the gift of a son, and a miracle happened. The woman gave birth to a son, to the great joy of her husband.

Named in holy baptism Alexy, the boy early studied the Holy Scriptures and church books. From a young age, he was inflamed with love for the Creator, refusing blessings and luxury. He wore a sackcloth on his body, dressed in rags, ate bread and water.

When Alexy came of age, his parents decided to marry him. The bride was chosen from the royal family. The young people were betrothed and married, but Saint Alexy left the estate of his parents after the wedding.



For many years no one knew what happened to him and where he was. Once, being a beggar, dried up from hunger and labor, Alexy met his father and asked to live at the court of his house. The saint lived there until the end of his days, enduring reproach and beatings from his father's slaves. But until the last day, no one knew that the wretched beggar is a son who disappeared many years ago. Only after the Assumption of the holy saint of God did the father recognize him as his child.

Gluttony? Turn prayerfully to Saint Alexy - the man of God:

O saint of Christ, holy man of God Alexis! Look mercifully upon us, servant of God (names), and prayerfully stretch out your honest hands to the Lord God, and ask Him for forgiveness of our voluntary and involuntary sins, a peaceful and Christian life, and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. She, the servant of God, do not disgrace our hope, hedgehog, according to God and the Mother of God, we place; but be our helper and patron for salvation; yes, having received grace and mercy from the Lord through your prayers, let us glorify the philanthropy of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your holy intercession, now and forever and forever and ever.

Prayer to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

The future saint came from a noble noble family. He received an excellent upbringing and education as a military engineer. The career of Dmitry - the secular name of the saint - could become the most enviable.

But Dmitry fled from fame and worldly goods. After graduating from a military school, he submitted a letter of resignation, and after a difficult and long illness, he took root in the desire to become a monk.

At the age of 20, the future saint enters the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, after 3 years he takes monastic vows with the name Ignatius.

Everything subsequent years- serving the Lord and the people. The great saint introduced himself at the age of 60, leaving behind numerous spiritual works, the instructions from which believers still use to this day. As for material wealth, after the death of the saint, a few kopecks were found in the pocket of his cassock.

Are you wondering how to get rid of gluttony? Pray to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov:

O great and wonderful saint of Christ, Father Ignatius! Graciously accept our prayers with love and gratitude brought to you! Hear us, orphans and helpless (names), who fall to you with faith and love and your warm intercession for us before the Throne of the Lord of Glory asking. Vema, as the prayer of the righteous can do a lot, propitiating the Lord. From the years of your infancy, you have passionately loved the Lord, and having desired to serve Him alone, you have imputed all the red of this world to nothing. You denied yourself and, taking up your cross, you followed Christ. You have chosen the path of a narrow and regrettable life of a monastic will, and on this path you have acquired great virtues. You, with the writings of your hearts, filled people with the deepest reverence and humility before the Almighty Creator, while sinners who fell wise with your words in the consciousness of their insignificance and their sinfulness, in repentance and humility, resort to God, instructed you, encouraging them with hope in His mercy. You did not reject those who came to you, but you were a loving father to all and a good shepherd. And now do not leave us, fervently praying to you and asking for your help and intercession. Ask us from our Human-loving Lord our spiritual and bodily health, affirm our faith, strengthen our strength, exhausted in the temptations and sorrows of this age, warm the chilled heart with the fire of prayer and help us, who have cleansed the Christian death of this belly with repentance, and get into the chamber of the Savior, embellished with all the elect and there with you bow down to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Monk Akhila of the Caves

From childhood, the monk loved God, deciding to reject all worldly blessings and devote his life to serving Him. At a young age, he came to the Kiev Caves Monastery in order to stay here forever, completely surrendering himself to obedience to the Lord.



The monk was distinguished by incredible fasting, his meal was one prosphora a week. He was temperate in water no less than in food. He surpassed many with his feat of fasting. Prayer to Akhila of the Caves from gluttony will help those who firmly believe in her:

Having kissed the fasting life and overlaid with many labors from young nails, having been promoted to the degree of deacon, all-honoured, in which you served in the Church of the Mother of God blameless, even praying, in which our souls will be saved.

Kontakion to the Monk Akhila, Deacon of the Caves

Immediately had the honors, Slavne, and a lot of people showed a lot of confirmation, about Achilo, he was barely unfortunately in the saddemitsa, and the one would one of Malu's prosfora of rone and standing to him to him for himself, those who, Yako, and reverend the accomplice.

Prayer to the Matrona of Moscow

The blessed old woman can be called our contemporary; she died in 1952. She was canonized at the beginning of the 21st century, the relics of the saint of God are in the Intercession Convent in Moscow.

Probably every pious Christian knows her life. The righteous was born into a poor family, from infancy she was blind. By the age of 17, she had been decapitated, she could not walk, she just sat in her corner, allocated kind people. Why good people? Blessed Matrona did not have her own home. She traveled through acquaintances, staying where they gave shelter.



Despite her own infirmities, the old woman helped the sick and suffering. Through her prayers, some were healed, others got jobs, and others got married. Mother did not refuse anyone, except for those who came to laugh at her, not at all believing in the Lord.

To this day, numerous miracles are performed at the relics of Matronushka. Here is the text of the prayer to Matrona from gluttony and other needs experienced by a person.

Prayer to the Matrona of Moscow (first)

O blessed mother Matrono, now hear and receive us, sinners, praying to you, who have learned to receive and listen to all those who suffer and mourn in all your life, with faith and hope for your intercession and the help of those who come running, quick help and miraculous healing to everyone; may your mercy not fail now to us, unworthy, restless in this many-fuss world and nowhere to find comfort and compassion in spiritual sorrows and help in bodily illnesses: heal our sicknesses, deliver us from the temptations and torment of the devil, passionately fighting, help me convey my worldly Cross, to endure all the hardships of life and not lose the image of God in it, preserve the Orthodox faith until the end of our days, have strong hope and hope in God and unfeigned love for neighbors; help us, after departing from this life, reach the Kingdom of Heaven with all those who please God, glorifying the mercy and goodness of the Heavenly Father, in the Trinity of glory, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Matrona of Moscow (second)

O blessed mother Matrono, with your soul in heaven before the Throne of God, your body is resting on the earth, and the grace given to you from above exudes various miracles. Look now with your merciful eye on us, sinners, in sorrows, illnesses and sinful temptations, our dependent days. Comfort us, desperate ones, heal our fierce ailments, from God to us through our sins, deliver us from many troubles and circumstances, beg our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us all our sins, iniquities and sins, we are from our youth even to this day and we have sinned for an hour, but having received grace and great mercy through your prayers, let us glorify in the Trinity the One God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.

Prayer to Xenia of Petersburg

Another Russian saint, especially revered by the people. The life of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg is complete self-denial, renunciation of worldly goods and the feat of foolishness. Left a widow at the age of 26, the young woman dressed in her husband's clothes and ordered to call herself Andrei Feodorovich. Having given a rich estate to a woman who once rented a room from her, Xenia remained homeless. Dressed in rags, without a roof over her head, she wandered around the outskirts of St. Petersburg, causing ridicule from the inhabitants. Adults beat her with words, children threw stones and dirt. The saint endured many insults and humiliations before people realized that in front of them was a very wise and man of sense to whom the Lord reveals many things.



Even during her lifetime, the saint became famous for miracles, and they still occur today at the grave of Blessed Xenia. To whom to pray from gluttony? Of course, Blessed Xenia of Petersburg:

Oh, holy all-blessed mother Xenia! Under the shelter of the Almighty, who lived, guided and strengthened by the Mother of God, suffered hunger and thirst, cold and heat, reproach and persecution, received the gift of clairvoyance and miracles from God and rest under the shadow of the Almighty. Now the Holy Church, like a fragrant flower, glorifies you: coming at the place of your burial, in front of your saints, as if you live with us, we pray to you: accept our petitions and bring them to the Throne of the Merciful Heavenly Father, as if you have boldness for Him , ask those who flow to you eternal salvation, and for good deeds and undertakings, our generous blessing, deliverance from all troubles and sorrows, appear with your holy prayers before our All-Merciful Savior for us, unworthy and sinners, help, holy blessed mother Xenia, babies with the light of the Holy Illuminate baptisms and seal the gift of the Holy Spirit, bring up the youths and maidens in faith, honesty, piety and chastity and grant them success in teaching; Heal those who are sick and ill, send down family love and consent, worthy of a monastic feat to strive for good and protect from reproach, affirm the pastors in the fortress of the spirit, preserve our people and country in peace and serenity, beg for those who are deprived of communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ in the dying hour: you are ours hope and hope, speedy hearing and deliverance, we send thanks to you and with you we glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer in the temple

We talked about prayer at home to the saints of God, is it possible to carry it out in the temple?

How to get rid of gluttony? Be sure to attend Sunday liturgies, ask for deliverance from addiction during church prayer. There is no need to cry out to the Lord, an inner cry for help is enough.

More often proceed to the sacraments of confession and communion, order prayers to the above saints, asking them for help. The main thing is to force yourself to fight, nothing will work without effort.

Conclusion

The article is coming to its logical conclusion, we talked about how to get rid of gluttony. Three components of the struggle with passion - prayer, fasting, self-discipline.

Avoid idleness, for it is the mother of all vices. Work hard, pray and ask the Lord for help, as well as His saints.