He becomes intoxicated,
which in itself is a sin. He deprives himself of the use of reason,
abuses God's great gift, and becomes like a brute beast. Indeed in a way
he becomes worse than a beast; for beasts always follow the laws that
God has given to their nature, and never drink to excess. They obey God,
and man is the only one of God's creatures that does not always keep His
laws. Think too of the number of insane persons confined in asylums, who
would give all in this world for the use of their reason, if they could
only understand their miserable condition. Yet the drunkard abuses the
gift that would make these poor unfortunate lunatics happy. Again, the
drunkard injures his health and thus violates the Fifth Commandment by
committing a kind of slow suicide. He loses self-respect, makes use of
sinful language; frequently neglects Mass and all his religious duties,
exposes himself to the danger of death while in a state of sin, gives
scandal to his family and neighbors, and by his bad example causes some
to leave or remain out of the true Church. By continued intemperance, he
may become insane and remain in that condition till death puts an end to
his career and he goes unprepared before the judgment seat of God.
Besides all this he squanders the money he should put to a better use
and turns God's gifts into a means of offending Him. If a father, he
neglects the children and wife for whom he has promised to provide;
leaves them cold and hungry while he commits sin with the means that
would make them comfortable. Drunkenness therefore is a sin accompanied
by many deplorable evils. There are three great sins you should always
be on your guard against during your whole lives, namely, drunkenness,
dishonesty, and impurity. If you avoid these you will almost surely
avoid all other sins; for nearly all sins can be traced back to these
three. They are the most dangerous, first, because they have most
followers, and secondly, because they grow upon us almost without our
knowing it. The drunkard begins perhaps as a boy by taking a little,
even very little; the second time he takes a little more; the next time
still more, then he begins to be fond of strong drink and can scarcely
do without it; finally he becomes the slave of intemperance and sells
his soul and body for it. The passions of dishonesty and impurity grow
by degrees in the same manner. Therefore avoid them in the beginning and
resist them while they are under your