As to the fourth vice, which is spiritual gluttony, there is much to say; for there is scarce one of these beginners who, however well he may proceed, falls not into somewhat of the many imperfections this vice gives rise to, by reason of the relish he finds, at first, in spiritual exercises. For many of these, spoilt by the favor and relish they find in such exercises, try rather to give pleasure to the spiritual palate than to acquire true purity and devotion, which is what God looks at and accepts during the entire spiritual journey.1
This makes sense. There is a connection between genuine spiritual disciplines and devotion to God. If one’s spirituality is characterized by experiences but results in lack of devotion and commitment to God, then to pursue such spirituality for the experiences is spiritual gluttony.
______
1. St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul, trans. Gabriela Cunninghame Graham (New York: Barnes & Noble, 2005), 19. Italics mine. [Back]
the archives near Emmaus 
St. John of the Cross was the man. His insights are something that need to often be reflected upon by those who find themselves in Pentecostal circles. As a Pentecostal, it’s sure something I’ve dealt with and continue to deal with up until this day.
@Daniel: As one who is thankful for much of what Pentecostalism gave me you are so very right that this can be one of the great down falls. Sadly, I think for someone like myself, I am in the midst of a half decade reaction against it. I used to feel guilty about not praying long enough, fasting frequently, and other badges of honor. So I went all Lutheran to try to get away from the guilt. That led to a lapse in many spiritual disciplines.
Lent has been nice though. Even though the disciplines are small (not checking email before work in the morning; no candy) it is something that has helped me be a tad more disciplined and contentious.
Of course, one discipline that has thrived over the years has been study. Probably because I never felt guilty about not studying enough.
@Brian: I can relate with you, coming from a Pentecostal background myself. In fact, I sometimes battle with myself now in regards to prayer. I do not want to collapse the entire Pentecostal population into this statement, so please take it lightly, but I have found that the majority of those who “step back” for a second from Pentecostalism tend to struggle with the very same guilt when it comes to the spiritual disciplines. I use to struggle with prayer when I finally broke away from Pentecostalism (not theologically, though that did change in many ways, but I affirm the power of the Holy Spirit), I would question whether my prayer was sufficient. Thankfully I stumbled into Richard Foster’s book on Prayer which revolutionized everything for me.
@Daniel: Yes, overreach in experience is one of the points of awareness in Pentecostalism. I am still Pentecostal/charismatic in my experiences, but I have had to work at balancing it out. Bible college and now seminary did help with by providing the constant study. I appreciate St. John of the Cross because he deals with experience of dryness and dark nights in the spiritual life that every Christian faces. You are right that Pentecostals — and every believer — can learn from his insights.
@Brian: I think everyone does the Lutheran step at some point or another, especially when the dryness sets in. I’ve experienced the same thing with Lent. I decided not to overdo it on my first official Lent, and I’m glad for the progress in the smallest areas. The small steps lead to bigger steps. The issue comes after the Lenten season: do we keep going in our small disciplines or let up? Study has always been the bulk of my prayer as well.
@Ryan: Foster’s book was liberating for me as well. I found that I am better wired toward more contemplative forms of prayer, which I think is why I do well with study. I also found that liturgical prayer and I fit well together and so I returned to being a Latin Rite Catholic. 🙂
@Daniel: Foster was helpful, especially as I realized that prayer is not in one form for all people everywhere at all times. Along with JohnDave it seems prayer comes easier with Scripture set before me. Also, like you, I would say there is much of my thought that is “Pentecostal”, but I am not sociologically Pentecostal.
@JohnDave My “evangelical-Lent” has been similar. I bombed last year because I set large goals. This year I wanted small goals that would still make me conscious of practices that distract from my awareness of God (e.g. the urge to check email first thing in the morning).
@JohnDave,
Just for ecclesial clarification, are you a confirmed Roman Catholic now?
Bobby,
Yes, I am a confirmed Catholic.
@JohnDave: You and I sound a lot alike. I lean heavily towards contemplative prayer and find tremendous amounts of beauty in liturgical prayer. Though I do not lean “heavily” on liturgical prayer, I find it very much refreshing when I open up my Common Prayer Book. One of the best congregations I have ever been in was an Episcopal church in Pasadena, CA. Coming from a hyper-Pentecostal setting, I found myself lost with the liturgy but absolutely mesmerized. That Sunday revolutionized my thinking, and it resultantly trickled down into every facet of my faith, including prayer.
@JohnDave,
Thanks. If this is too far astray from what you want to get into on this thread, then don’t worry about responding to this question. But how did you work through issues surrounding authority and the episcopate?