Most people think gluttony means one thing: eating too much.

Aquinas disagrees.

In this episode, we break open a far sharper insight:gluttony has five distinct forms — and most of them have nothing to do with quantity.

You might not overeat…and still be deeply caught in it.

Eating too early.Obsessing over “perfect” food.Needing it expensive.Eating fast, mindlessly, constantly.

Suddenly, gluttony doesn’t look rare.It looks… normal.

We also tackle a bigger question:Is gluttony actually the worst sin?

And the answer reveals something unsettling —it may not be the greatest… but it quietly opens the door to many others.

This episode will change the way you look at food, discipline, and desire.

Because what feels small… is shaping everything.

Read The Relevant Articles of the Summa Theologica Here:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 148. Article 3. Whether gluttony is the greatest of sins?

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 148. Article 4. Whether the species of gluttony are fittingly distinguished?

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You’ve been told gluttony is about eating too much.

It isn’t.

It’s about why you eat.

Gluttony, as the Summa defines it, isn’t about the amount on your plate. It’s about whether your desire for food is ordered — governed by reason — or whether it has slipped its leash and started running the show. The diet industry counts calories. Aquinas counts something harder to measure: whether your hunger is in its proper place.

In this episode, we dig into Article 1 of Question 148 — whether gluttony is even a sin, and what separates a legitimate desire for food from a disordered one. The answer cuts deeper than abstinence and excess. It’s about a desire that bypasses reason — one that turns eating from a human act into something closer to compulsion. And the implications go well beyond the dinner table.

If you thought this vice was just about seconds at the buffet, this episode will change your frame entirely.

Read The Relevant Articles of the Summa Theologica Here:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 148. Article 1. Whether gluttony is a sin?

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 148. Article 2. Whether the species of gluttony are fittingly described?

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You followed every rule. One meal. No seconds. And according to Aquinas, it still counted for nothing.

In this episode, we unpack why Lent falls before Easter — not after — and why that order matters more than most people think. Then Aquinas goes further: what kind of fasting actually works, and what kind quietly fails.

There’s a “fast of joy” that has nothing to do with penance. Fasting on a Sunday of Lent isn’t holy — it’s sinful. And the one-meal rule isn’t a loophole. Eat immoderately at that single meal, and the entire merit of the fast evaporates. Aquinas cares about intention. He always has.

The problem was never the rule. It was the person keeping it.

Read The Relevant Articles of the Summa Theologica Here:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 147. Article 5. Whether the times for the church’s fast are fittingly appointed.

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 147. Article 6. Whether it is requisite for fasting that one eat but once.

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Modern culture tells us to “listen to your inner child.” To “Just do it!” and to “Obey your thirst!”

Aquinas would say that’s exactly the problem.

In this episode, we explore one of the most unexpected claims in the Summa: intemperance is childish. Not because children enjoy pleasure — but because both children and unchecked desires refuse to listen to reason.

Left alone, a child becomes headstrong.Left alone, desire becomes a tyrant.

Through this lens, Aquinas reveals something surprisingly practical: why discipline matters, why habits harden into necessities, and why self-control works the same way good parenting does — you train what would otherwise take over.

If you’ve ever felt like your impulses were running the show, this episode explains why.

Read Along Here:Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 142. Article 2. Whether intemperance is a childish sin?

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We’ve heard a thousand sermons about excess.

Almost none about deficiency.

In this episode, we dive into the vice of insensibility — the strange and nearly forgotten sin of refusing legitimate pleasure. Can denying wine, sex, or even simple joy actually be contrary to reason? When does abstinence become pride? When does “discipline” become disdain for God’s design?

Through Aristotle and Aquinas, we unpack why virtue is qualitative, not mathematical — and why the body is not your enemy. To reject pleasure without right reason isn’t holiness. It’s a failure to understand human nature itself.

If you’ve ever confused seriousness with sanctity, this one’s going to hit.

Read Along Here:Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 142. Article 1. Whether insensibility is a vice?

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You don’t have a discipline problem. You have a dictator problem.

In this episode, we unpack why abstinence and fasting aren’t medieval leftovers but weapons against the quiet tyranny of desire. Drawing from Aquinas, we break down the difference between a habit and an act of virtue, why virtue isn’t about “moderation” in a shallow sense, and how unchecked desire slowly takes over like a ruler who never leaves office.

Fasting does three radical things: it lowers the volume of lust, frees the mind for God, and scrubs the stains sin leaves behind—even after confession. Lent isn’t about diet culture. It’s about regime change in the soul.

Read The Relevant Articles of the Summa Theologica Here:Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 146. Abstinence

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 147. Article 1. Whether fasting is an act of virtue?

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Some pleasures don’t just tempt you—they hijack you. In this episode, we unpack why temperance isn’t about being boring or repressed, but about protecting your freedom, your integrity, and your sanity. Aquinas shows how unchecked desire corrupts judgment, shatters tranquility, and stains reputations beyond repair. From addiction to inner turmoil to public disgrace, we explore why temperance is the quiet virtue that keeps your soul ordered, peaceful, and beautiful.Read Along Here:Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 141. Article 2. Whether temperance is a special virtue?

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Does more pleasure mean more happiness? Or does lived experience say otherwise? Drawing from Aquinas, this episode shows why excess quietly sabotages enjoyment, and how the virtue of temperance doesn’t suppress desire but trains it. From food and drink to deeper human pleasures, reason sets the limits that make enjoyment last. Lose moderation, and pleasure turns on you. Master it, and pleasure finally does what it’s supposed to do.

Notes:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 141. Article 1. Whether temperance is a virtue?

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Perseverance is more than willpower — it’s a virtue that keeps you holding on to good goals when things get hard. In this episode, we explore two vices that oppose perseverance: effeminacy (softness, indulgence, avoiding hardship) and pertinacity (stubbornness, headstrong rigidity). We also unpack practical ways to remove the obstacles in your soul — voluntary deprivation, penance, and mortification — so that perseverance can take root and flourish.

Notes:

Notes:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 138. Article 1. Whether effeminacy is opposed to perseverance?

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 138. Article 2. Whether pertinacity is opposed to perseverance?

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Starting is easy. Lasting is not. In this episode, we break down what perseverance really is — not as raw willpower, but as a virtue that shows up in two very different ways: the perseverance you need to get through ordinary days, and the perseverance required to finish well at the very end of life. Along the way, we touch on constancy, why it’s so rare, and what physical training can teach us about patience, endurance, and staying the course when quitting feels reasonable. If you’ve ever wondered why momentum fades, discipline collapses, or good intentions don’t survive time, this episode gets to the root of it.

Notes:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 137. Article 1: Whether Perseverance Is A Virtue?

Article 4: Whether Perseverance Needs The Help Of Grace