Strolling past dorms on a Saturday evening, one can witness students rushing from room to room and searching for parties, while others head to bars and clubs. Collegiate social life has become seemingly synonymous with alcohol-infused excursions to parties and bars. Some parents wink and nod, others pontificate about the evils of the bottle, and, yet, many seem to simply disregard the presence of alcohol in college life altogether. Regardless of one’s stance towards drinking, it plays a major role in the social lives of numerous students.
As Catholics, we must have unity between our social and spiritual lives: how we spend our evenings directly relates to our Sunday mornings, and vice versa. Everything we do must be ordered towards our call to sainthood and done truly for the greater glory of God. How should we understand the moral implications of drinking? Should we wink and nod? Thunder in absolute opposition? Turn a blind eye? Is there another position we should hold?
To determine the morality of any act, we need to consider its object, intent, and circumstance. Further, St. Pope John Paul II writes in Veritatis Splendor that we need to consider “whether [the object of an action] is capable or not of being ordered to God, to the One who ‘alone is good,’ and thus brings about the perfection of the person.” We seek to act morally so that we may flourish: to be fully human is to order ourselves to God, our creator from whom all good things come.
As an object, alcohol consumption in itself is morally admissible and capable of being ordered towards God. Consider the Wedding Feast at Cana, when Jesus created wine for the purpose of consumption. Scripture abounds with similar examples, such as the allowance that “in the presence of the Lord, your God, you shall consume [wine or beer] and rejoice” (Deut. 14:26). One can even find an official Catholic beer blessing within the Rituale Romanum, a book of Catholic rituals and blessings. Alcohol consumption is not wrong in and of itself, as held by certain Protestant denominations and other religious traditions. Catholics do not need to be teetotalers to be saints. However, with respect to intent and circumstance, there are important caveats.
Drunkenness is always morally wrong. It harms human dignity as it renders a person incapable of fully using their intellect and will, the virtues of the soul that endow us with freedom, the “outstanding manifestation of the divine image” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1705). As such, the intention of drunkenness is also always morally inadmissible. Intentional drunkenness is always a mortal sin if it completely inhibits one’s reason, but unintentional drunkenness may be a less grave matter. This bars one from participation in various forms of drinking including binge drinking, games which result directly in drunkenness, extensive pre-gaming for the purpose of drunkenness, and others. Morally, alcohol may only be consumed in moderation.
Circumstances provide more nuances. Catholics may hold various positions regarding the legal drinking age and college codes of conduct. While drinking is not wrong in itself, one may not lie in order to obtain a drink. Further, it may be morally wrong to break various consumption laws and regulations, or to disobey parental authority. All of these include other factors, but are distinct from drinking itself. Additionally, everyone has their own individual considerations: their family history of alcohol use, potential responsibilities as a driver, physical alcohol tolerance, and more.
As Catholics, we are not obliged to reject drinking per se. We may personally abstain from drinking, but we must recognize that drinking has compatibility with sanctity. As Hillaire Belloc writes,
Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s always laughter and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!
Let us help our peers find this compatibility as well, with laughter along the way.
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I have always enjoyed this quote, which has been attributed to G.K. Chesterton, “The Catholic Church is like a thick steak, a glass of red wine, and a good cigar.”
What are some markers that reason is being inhibited? Is there a difference between a reason in the process of being inhibited and an inhibited reason?
Thanks for the article and considerations, Matt.