Father Placid comments on our relationship with food from a monastic context: It sometimes happens in the written account of the Lives of the Saints, that certain saints are presented as overdoing their asceticism and ruining their health in the process. This is so in the cases of Saints John Chrysostom, Aelred of Rievaulx, and our own Bernard of Clairvaux; they fasted so severely that their health broke down. Their stomachs would no longer digest food properly afterward. Typically in these accounts, while their zeal is applauded, their going overboard is not.
Today, the exercise industry continues to offer up fads for losing weight, while at the same time the fast food industry continues to boom, and obesity abounds. How we THINK of our relationship to food is unmentioned by these industries. The focus is rather on how we feel about our bodies.
When we turn our minds to food and how we relate to it, we discover a different way of eating. Eating is not for its own sake but simply a necessary fuel to help us go about our day and gives us the strength to do so. When we keep the true end in view, we learn to listen to our bodies and use thoughtful discernment regarding what foods we should eat or not eat. This discernment also frees us to turn our minds to more important thoughts, such as our relationships with God and others.
Blessings,
Your brothers of New Clairvaux
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