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The Catholic Sobriety Podcast
Welcome to The Catholic Sobriety Podcast with your host Christie Walker!
This podcast is dedicated to empowering Catholics to live lives of freedom by providing tips and tools to help them be successful as they reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. Christie Walker, a compassionate Catholic life and sobriety coach, is here to support you on your journey toward a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Are you questioning whether alcohol has taken control of your life? Do you worry about the impact it may have on your well-being? Many people find themselves in this situation, fearing the loss of pleasure and stress relief associated with alcohol. They assume that giving it up will only bring deprivation and misery. But Christie offers a different and much more positive perspective.
With Christie's expertise, you'll discover the joy and peace that come from embracing a healthier lifestyle rooted in the Catholic faith and tradition.
Ready to get curious? Start listening!
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The Catholic Sobriety Podcast
Ep 128: How much can I drink before it becomes a mortal sin?
"How much can I drink before it becomes a mortal sin?" This provocative question, posed by a young man to his priest, opens a doorway to profound spiritual reflection about our relationship with alcohol. The priest's answer was transformative: drink as much as you want, provided it's compatible with loving God with your whole heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.
This question frames our thoughtful exploration of Catholic teaching on alcohol consumption. Drawing from the Catechism, we discover that while the Church doesn't condemn alcohol outright, it emphasizes temperance and warns against the dangers of drunkenness. We examine when drinking might cross the line into mortal sin, requiring grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.
Scripture offers us a balanced perspective, acknowledging both wine as a gift that "gladdens the heart of man" and the warnings against drunkenness that "leads to debauchery." Through the wisdom of saints like Augustine, Benedict, and Thomas Aquinas, we gain insights into how temperance isn't about restriction but about freedom—saying yes to the greater joy of union with God rather than temporary pleasures.
This isn't about judgment or shame but discernment and living in alignment with God's call. I invite you to reflect on how your drinking affects your relationships with God, others, and yourself. Are you making an idol of alcohol, or is it serving as a substitute for the peace only God can provide?
Whether you're questioning your relationship with alcohol or seeking deeper understanding, remember you're not alone on this journey. Visit thecatholicsobrietycoach.com to explore resources that can support your path toward spiritual freedom.
Article: How much can I drink before it becomes a mortal sin? by Dr. Christopher Kaczor - Word on Fire https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/how-much-can-i-drink-before-it-becomes-a-mortal-sin/
Video: Catholics, Alcohol, and Drinking with Fr. Mike Schmitz
https://youtu.be/5OMO0JDxuPU?si=IjnsKuxLgm1akIcB
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Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the go-to resource for women seeking to have a deeper understanding of the role alcohol plays in their lives, women who are looking to drink less or not at all for any reason. I am your host, christi Walker. 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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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?
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
Speaker 1: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.
