Ep 128: How much can I drink before it becomes a mortal sin?

I'm a wife , mom and a joy-filled Catholic , and I am the Catholic Sobriety Coach , and I am so glad you're here . Hello friends , and welcome back Today . I actually want to begin by sharing just about an email that landed in my inbox a couple weeks ago . It was from Word on Fire and the subject line immediately grabbed my attention .

As soon as I tell you what it said , you're going to be like oh yeah , I could see how that would grab her attention . The title was how Much Can I Drink Before it Becomes

a Mortal Sin ? Now , if you're anything like me , you probably read that and thought wow , that's a pretty loaded and provocative question , and it was asked by ? Well , it was asked by a young man who is now a grownup . It's Dr Christopher Kaczor . I think that I said his name right , but he asked his priest that question when he was in high school .

He was just getting ready to graduate from high school and actually the question that he first asked is is getting drunk a mortal sin or is it a mortal sin to get drunk ? And the priest just immediately answered yes . But you know he wanted a little more . He wanted to know a little bit more information . Is there like some gray area ?

And so he decided to ask his priest a follow-up question , which was how much can I drink before it becomes a mortal sin ?

Now , I don't know if you've ever asked yourself that question or thought about it , but it just kind of made me chuckle , because I have teenagers and I can just see how you know their brains work and they're like well , where's the line ? Like , can I get close to that line without going over that line ?

And you know this isn't just a teenager thing , it's all of us Anyway .

So the priest , in a very masterful way , flipped the focus not to the action itself but really to the true heart of the matter , and he answered by saying you may drink as much as you want , provided it is compatible with loving God with your whole heart and loving your neighbor as yourself .

So when I read that I thought that was a pretty thoughtful response and it really did evoke some extra thought later for Dr Kaczor to think about . And he was asking himself if I am to love God with my whole heart and my neighbor as myself , how much can I drink ?

And he notes that it took him more than 30 years to figure that out because , honestly , like a lot of us , he just didn't want to know . But , as Catholics , for many of you , you may find yourself asking this question and also maybe confessing this sin of alcohol misuse or over drinking over and over again .

And I think that that is a good question to keep in mind as you're examining your conscience or examining your drinking . Is your alcohol consumption compatible with loving God with your whole heart meaning you're not making an idol of it and also , provided it's compatible with loving your neighbor as yourself ? So , does your drinking adversely affect those around you ?

Do you show up ? When you say you're going to show up , does it keep you from being the person that you want to be ? And I think that those are . I think that that is something to journal about and pray about with the Lord .

So , as you can imagine , this really has just stuck with me and I've been thinking about this podcast episode and doing a little research and you know it's also just kind of a hard topic kind of , but it's also so important , it's so deeply relevant to the work that I do as a Catholic sobriety coach , as someone who is leading people to discover the level of

sobriety that works for them so that they can take alcohol or leave it with peace , whether that means giving up alcohol entirely or just greatly

reducing it . So today's episode is dedicated to exploring this question through the lens of Catholic teaching , and to do that I decided to break it down into three parts . The first part is we're going to discuss what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about drinking .

And one quick note you know , even though we're talking about drinking here , this can go for any disordered attachment , so I just want you to keep that in mind .

Anyway , so the three parts of this episode are going to be again what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says , what the Lord says through sacred scripture , and then what insights we can gather from the saints .

So I just want you to see this as an opportunity to have a compassionate , honest , faith-filled conversation about alcohol and how it intersects with our spiritual lives . If you've been around for a while , you know that I'm all about curiosity and not shame , right . So we're not going to start berating ourselves about it .

If you listen to this podcast and you suddenly realize that you drinking , the way that you're drinking , is a mortal sin , then take that to confession as soon as you possibly can .

But what I am doing this for is for awareness , so that you can start to look at your drinking very honestly and thinking to yourself what is it giving me and what is it taking away ? And , most importantly , how is it affecting my spiritual life , how does it affect my relationship with God ? So just wanted to put that little caveat out there Again .

Just be scientists , get curious , look at it as evidence and then , once you have it , then you can start to , you know , make changes that are going to benefit you If we don't look at it , kind of like what Dr Kaczor did , you know , for 30 years he didn't want to really think about it or ask himself that question .

Maybe you're there as well , but it's not the worst thing to start thinking about it , to kind of start to pull that out and really look at it , because once you shine light on it and you start looking at it , then you're going to be able to make steps forward to fix it right .

So that's what we're all about here and I hope that this episode is going to help with that . So let's begin with the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Now it's important to note that the church does not condemn alcohol outright . Let me just say that we know that , right , we know that the church does not condemn alcohol .

I've had people say but Jesus drank wine and all those types of things and yada , yada , yada . Of course it's fine , it's a pleasure , it's one of those things that you can absolutely use it in moderation and not overindulge . I mean , this is evidenced by its role in the celebration of the Eucharist and its presence in scripture as a sign of joy and fellowship .

I mean , we see , jesus's first miracle is the wedding at Cana , when he turns the water into wine . So again , the church is not against alcohol . But the catechism does emphasize the virtue of temperance , which helps us moderate our desires and to use God's gifts in a way that serve our well-being .

So in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2290 , it tells us that temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess , including the abuse of alcohol . So drinking in moderation not a sin , but drinking to the point of drunkenness is a different story .

The catechism also goes on to call out culpable drunkenness as a grave offense when it endangers our health , our life or leads us into further sinful behavior . And that's in 2291 . So here's the key point for us Catholics For drinking to become a mortal sin we know this right For something to be a mortal sin , it needs to meet three criteria .

One , it involves grave matter so sorry if you're listening to this episode and you didn't want to know that , but now you do so . Now you have full knowledge . And three , the person gives deliberate consent to the act , knowing its consequences .

Now I want to reiterate again this teaching isn't about shaming anyone , but about calling us to reflect on whether our choices honor God and align with his design for our lives . All right , now let's talk about what scripture has to say about alcohol . We see

that the Bible doesn't shy away from the topic of alcohol at all . It offers a balanced perspective that acknowledges both its goodness and its risks . So , on one hand , alcohol is celebrated as a gift . We see in Psalm 104 that it joyfully proclaims that wine gladdens the heart of man .

And , as I mentioned before , jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana . So these moments highlight that alcohol in and of itself is not sinful and that it can be a source of joy and fellowship when it is used appropriately . But scripture also gives us clear warnings about its misuse .

For example , in Ephesians 5.18 , it says Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery . Instead , be filled with the Spirit . And Proverbs 20 tells us that wine is a mocker and whoever is led astray by it is not wise . Drunkenness is consistently portrayed in the Bible as harmful because it cuts us off from our relationship with God and others .

The loss of self-control that comes with drunkenness is opposite of what we are called to as Christians . When it's overused , it can darken our will and our intellect , and we are called to practice virtue and be filled with the Holy Spirit .

But that's really hard to do when we're filling ourselves with the artificial spirits instead of the Holy Spirit , which is really and truly what our soul craves . What our soul desires is that indwelling of the Holy Spirit .

So the other thing when you look at scripture and I'm just thinking there's two stories that are coming to mind , and I might not get them perfectly perfect , but I'm thinking of one where Noah plants a vineyard , he gets drunk .

His sons uncover their father's nakedness , which means or at least one of them does , which means they had that one of the sons had relations , physical relations , with one of Noah's wives not the guy's mom , but like another wife of Noah . That's what Father Mike said in Bible Linear when we covered that piece of scripture .

But then the other one is like when Lot's daughters , lot's daughters get him intoxicated and then , and yeah , so they can procreate , and yeah , it's just bad , it just obviously wasn't used appropriately and it was sinful .

And so those are just two instances that happened to come to my mind when I was talking to you right now , but I'm sure there's many other ones . Also , in Romans 14 , we're reminded that we need to be mindful about how our actions impact others .

So drinking in a way that could cause someone to stumble which is kind of what I'm talking about in those two instances in the Bible could lead a person to sin in a serious way . Drinking and driving not a good thing , because it's dangerous and you could take someone's life or yourself .

So that's definitely an instant where consuming or over consuming and then driving would be a mortal sin . But here's the thing . When we are looking at this , we're looking at both the joy of alcohol and that's for some people , like for me . It causes me zero joy . It only causes me heartache and chaos and just all kinds of bad things .

But for those of you who can have it and have a little joyful , cheerful spirit and use it in moderation , that's great . Go for it . I love that for you . It's not something that I can obviously do , but the focus is on the love of God and neighbor .

So if you can consume in a way that you are still focused on love of God and neighbor , then I guess that could be considered a way of drinking responsibly , because you're not in a state of mortal sin while you're drinking and you're also not causing anyone to stumble or lead them to sin .

Okay , now we are going to turn to the saints , because their wisdom not only inspires , but it helps us frame this conversation about alcohol in a way that is both practical and deeply spiritual .

Now , one of the most well-known voices when it comes to struggling with vices is St Augustine , who famously said Our hearts are restless until they rest in you , o Lord . St Augustine understood better than most the challenges of overindulgence . He struggled with excess in his early life .

He struggled with chastity and all of those earthly pleasures , including alcohol , and he notes that those were just distractions from the ultimate joy of union with God , of union with God . Now his story reminds us that temperance isn't just about saying no to pleasure for its own sake .

Instead , it's about saying yes to the greater joy of a life rooted in God's love . I think so often we struggle with giving things up or giving up pleasures , and we can have like that deprivation mindset because we're so focused on what we're giving up instead of what we're gaining .

And I think that that is something that Saint Augustine just brilliantly illustrates that we are not just giving it up for its own sake , we are giving it up so that we can say yes to more God and more graces in our lives . Now next we have Saint Benedict , the father of Western monasticism .

His rule of life offers practical guides for just about every aspect of living , including drinking . Now , while he did allow monks to enjoy wine , he also included a caveat that moderation must always be practiced . Saint Benedict wrote we read that monks should not drink wine at all .

But since monks nowadays cannot be convinced of this , let us at least agree to drink moderately . Saint Benedict wisely acknowledges human weakness in this quote , while setting thoughtful boundaries to help his community live virtuously . Thoughtful boundaries to help his community live virtuously .

And then there's St John Christusom I don't know if I said that right Took a much stronger stance on drunkenness , calling it the mother of all evils but also undermines our capacity to grow in holiness . Christus' words might feel harsh , but they do reflect his deep love for souls and his desire

to protect them from harm . Now let's shift to St Thomas Aquinas , the great doctor of the church . He wrote extensively about morality in his Summa Theologica . Aquinas emphasizes that drinking alcohol is not sinful in itself .

However , it can become sinful when taking to excess , impairing reason and leading to poor moral choices we talked about earlier , because that's what scripture was saying as well . He also taught that culpable drunkenness could be a mortal sin if it involves grave matter , full knowledge and deliberate consent . Again , those are the three markers of a mortal sin .

Aquinas viewed temperance as a virtue of balance , helping us to avoid extremes and live in harmony with God's plan . Now , saint Padre Pio is a beloved modern saint . I just love Padre Pio , and he taught by examples . Now , while he didn't specifically preach about alcohol .

His teachings on self-discipline and avoiding those near occasions of sin are so , so relevant here . Padre Pio encouraged his followers to cultivate lives of virtue rooted in prayer and simplicity and , honestly , for him , temperance was the path to sanctity .

Another powerful voice comes from a well-known and also beloved saint , saint Francis of Assisi , whose life of radical simplicity speaks volumes about prioritizing what matters Now . He didn't explicitly discuss alcohol , but his example on focusing on spiritual nourishment over earthly pleasures is a profound witness for us today . It's kind of like he's the minimalist right .

We hear about that a lot , so maybe if we can look at our drinking from a minimalist perspective , that could be really helpful for some of you . St Francis of Assisi reminds us to ask ourselves always what is holding me back from fully following Christ ? Is that alcohol for you ?

And finally , I just want to highlight Venerable Fulton Sheen , who offered some unique reflections on why people turn to alcohol . I've listened to a couple of his sermons on them and if you know venerable Fulton Sheen or have heard him , you know that he intermixes his wisdom and insights with humor .

He's a delight to watch and I watched some talks on this and I noticed that he observed that some drink to seek what is good , while others drink to escape what is bad . His insights invite us to examine not just how we use alcohol , but why .

Are we making an idol of alcohol in our lives , or are we seeking comfort from it instead of turning to God for peace ? What I love about these saints is how their teachings point us to freedom found in temperance .

It's not freedom rooted in restriction , but in living fully aligned with God's will , and they remind us that alcohol , when used appropriately , can be a gift , but it can never , ever be a substitute for the ultimate satisfaction that comes from knowing and loving God . I'm also going to include a link to a video by Father Mike Schmitz .

He's not a saint yet , or anything like that , but I'm going to include a link to an Ascension video that he did . I think it's probably like seven to 10 minutes long . I'll put that in the show notes so that you can gain some insights from watching that as well . Gain some insights from watching that as well .

So , as we close , I just want to leave you with this question to reflect on in your own prayer life , and that is how is my drinking affecting my relationship with God , others and myself . Again , as always , this isn't about judgment or guilt or shame . It's about discernment .

It's about curiosity , it's about learning what is going on and then being able to plan for the future . It's about living in alignment with the life that God calls us to , because , ultimately , that is going to bring you the greatest fulfillment . Now , if this is an area where you're struggling or seeking clarity , just know that you are not alone .

Bring it to prayer , consider speaking with a priest or spiritual director , and , if you feel called to deeper accountability , I am here to support you , either through one-on-one coaching or through my Sacred Sobriety Lab . Thank you so much for taking this time with me today . Until next time , remember that every step you take in faith is a step toward freedom .

God bless you .

Well , that does it for this episode of the Catholic Sobriety Podcast . I hope you enjoyed this episode and I would invite you to share it with a friend who might also get value from it as well . And make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing .

I am the Catholic Sobriety Coach , and if you would like to learn how to work with me or learn more about the coaching that I offer , visit my website , thecatholicsobrietycoachcom . Follow me on Instagram at the Catholic sobriety coach . I look forward to speaking to you next time and remember I am here for you . I am praying for you .

You are not alone , thank you .