a form of spiritual gluttony

Hello, Lord.

I was struck with something recently; a truth about spiritual gluttony.

I have read about spiritual gluttony before, mostly from John of the Cross.  And while it made sense, I felt it's presence in a conversation I had with someone about a week ago.

It was a Sunday morning; I had just attending a liturgy with my sister.  After the liturgy, some friends of my sister approached us to say hello.  I did not know them; I met them at that time.  We engaged in usual small talk, and we began to talk about churches, other parishes, etc.

One of my sister's friends made a comment: "I've heard this church is good; I've heard it has better homilies; I like it better than this other church".  His statement struck me, and didn't sit well with me.  My immediate reaction came forth, and I responded to his comment: "But Jesus is still there."

Then I realized why I was struck by his comment.  It reminded me of a weakness we can often have, what John of the Cross called spiritual gluttony.  Spiritual gluttony refers to a tendency to love God not so much for who he us - rather, it is loving God for what he can do for us, for how he can make us feel.  It is more accurately not loving God at all, but only a love for how we feel towards what he gives us.

Did not Jesus tell us, that when two or more are gathered in his name, he is present?  In any church, and in any gathering - which is more often wrought with individuals with sins, with weaknesses, with imperfections - Jesus is still there.

We shouldn't so much seek for what we can feel, for what we can get out of a particular church, a particular community, etc.  For all-in-all, Jesus is still present; Jesus is still very much alive and present.  "Jesus is there".