The Lost Art of Catholic Drinking

Inside Catholic ^ | November 26, 2009 | Sean P. Dailey

[ichabod1]

Not tolerance, probably. It’s because he sips. Sipping is getting to be a lost art as well.

[ichabod1]

That reminds me of what happens when four methodist gather in His name. A chicken dies.

[ichabod1]

Jesus turned the water into juice.

[Spartan79]

Moderation in everything, of course. But I should point out that there is plenty of research to indicate that people who are raised in cultures in which from a young age they are exposed to moderate alcohol consumption in social and religious contexts exhibit less tendency for alcohol abuse than in others lacking such exposure. One such study:

A recipe for moderate drinking can be constructed from such successful examples as the Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, Jewish, and Chinese cultures:

"There are five conditions that cross-cultural researchers have found to be correlated in most societies with nonabusive drinking practices and low rates of alcoholism...:
1. Group drinking is clearly differentiated from drunkenness and associated with ritualistic or religious celebrations.
2. Drinking is associated with eating, preferably ritualistic feasting.
3. Both sexes and several generations are included in the drinking situation, whether all drink or not.
4. Drinking is divorced from the individual's effort to escape personal anxiety or difficult (intolerable) social situations....
5. Inappropriate behavior when drinking (aggression, violence, overt sexuality) is absolutely disapproved, and protection against such behavior is offered by the `sober' or the less intoxicated. This general acceptance of a concept of restraint usually indicates that drinking is only one of many activities, that it carries a relatively low level of emotionalism, and that it is not associated with a male or female `rite of passage' or sense of superiority."

Zinberg, N.E., "Alcohol Addiction: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition," pp. 97-127 in Bean, M.H., and Zinberg, N.E., eds., Dynamic Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Alcoholism, Free Press, New York, 1981, p. 110.

Only a fool would deny that there are Catholics who abuse demon rum. But I would wager that the percentage is no worse than that of many other demoninations or of the general public, and may even be lower (empirical question: be free to cite your own statistics). And in the final analysis, if a loved one is going to get smashed, would you prefer it to be at the bar across town, populated by all manner of lounge lizards, or in the Knights of Columbus hall, where he'll probably get a ride home and will likely be invited in for a chat in a few days by the parish priest.

[ichabod1]

I agree... very much an Anglican style. One thing that apparently did not change when Henry burned the monasteries.

[Desdemona]

Jesus turned the water into juice.

Yes, but somehow it ended up fermented when it was poured.

[Desdemona]

Not tolerance, probably. It’s because he sips

You can't know that, because he doesn't sip. That man drinks like a fish. He's got fabulous genes, truth be told, even if he is a democrat.

[Desdemona]

Thank you. At this point, I’m just hoping to be able to sing all the Christmas stuff in the next three weeks.

[buccaneer81]

Leviticus 10:9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die-- it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations--

Father Mulcahey was toasted when he gave that sermon on MASH.

[mnehring]

Jesus turned the water into juice.

I'm Anglican but currently going to a non-Denominational church and that is one thing that really bugs me. "Juice" during communion. They've even changed the words to say juice.

[AD from SpringBay]

I’ve also heard that if you go fishing with a baptist you should take someone else with you, otherwise the baptist will drink all the beer.

[sphinx]

Avoid each extreme -- that's how you drink like a Catholic. This is the art of Catholic drinking.

Ah, I finally understand ... this is why there are no Catholic drunks.

(Do I need a /sarc???)

[Lorica]

Mom always said:

Jameson: Catholic

Bushmills: Protestant

Last St. Patrick’s Day, I went to get a bottle of Jameson for the Irish coffee. I got the last one, although there was plenty of Bushmills still on the shelf.

[southparkNationalist]

I might add that ex-catholics also drink well.

[Fred Hayek]

Yes, but it’s beechwood aged holy water!

I have called anything by Anheiser-Busch “beer filtered through clydesdales.”

[B-Chan]

We call Jameson “the Catholic whiskey”, too!

[grand wazoo]

How about the lost art of not drinking alcoholic beverages?

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union agrees with you 100%. They want nothing to do with having a "good time".

[sitetest]

Dear livius,

“Curiously enough, when the left took over parishes, one of the first things they stamped out was drinking at parish events.”

I guess our parish has been impervious to the left. Our biggest alcohol controversy is how many different brands of beer should be available at parish events.

sitetest

[sitetest]

Dear Spartan79,

Excellent post. My Italian-American family grew up just like the five points in the study you cite.

We all drank from an early age. I started with a sip of my father’s beer at dinner at age 4, just about every night.

Four siblings, no drinking problems [plenty of other problems, to be sure, but no alcohol or drug abuse].

It was never a forbidden fruit. It was never done alone. It was always associated with being together with one’s family, even if it was just my father and me on a Saturday afternoon sharing beers, watching old movies on TV after doing the chores. Almost always with a meal. And to drink to excess was shameful and an indicator that one was less mature than was thought.

sitetest

[onedoug]

‘Ever been to a synagogue post-service kiddush? They make these Christians seem like teatotalers by comparison.