We seldom hear about the
penitential aspect of Advent…at least, I seldom do. I read about it, though, as
the Divine Office reminds us of it explicitly in the readings for Matins last
night. Readings 4, 5, and 6 are from Pope St. Leo the Great, and there is a
note that this particular excerpt is from a sermon “on the December Fast, and
almsgiving”.
These notes on not letting our
belly become our God seem quite appropriate following the recent Thanksgiving
feast! ;-)
From
the Sermons of Pope St Leo the Great,
8th on the December Fast, and almsgiving.
8th on the December Fast, and almsgiving.
Moon over my chapel |
Let every man then make himself ready against the coming of the Lord, so that He may not find him making his belly his god, or the world his chief care. Dearly beloved brethren, it is a matter of every day experience that fulness of drink dulleth the keenness of the mind, and that excess of eating unnerveth the strength of the will. The very stomach protesteth that gluttony doth harm to the bodily health, unless temperance get the better of desire, and the thought of the indigestion afterward check the indulgence of the moment.
The body without the soul hath no desires; its sensibility cometh from the same source as its movements. And it is the duty of a man with a reasonable soul to deny something to his lower nature and to keep back the outer man from things unseemly. Then will his soul, free from fleshly cravings, sit often at leisure in the palace of the mind, dwelling on the wisdom of God. There, when the roar and rattle of earthly cares are stilled, will she feed on holy thoughts and entertain herself with the expectation of the everlasting joy.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!