Healing Body Image Issues & Eating Disorders Through The Eucharist & Modesty

Many women today struggle with body image issues and thus develop eating disorders. An estimated 1 in 5 women in the U.S. will experience an eating disorder before the age of 40. Why is this happening to women? The source of healing for a disordered relationship with food and body image can be found at the Eucharistic Banquet, upon consuming The Body of Christ.

Intimacy with The Lord in Communion brings healing to disorder. God invites His love to shine through intimately, in areas of your life where brokenness and sin can be found. Out of the greatest misery, comes the great intimacy with The Lord. In allowing yourself to be fed with the holiness that is The Living God, this Divine Meal, nourishes your being in full, thus being a meal of restoration and ultimate healing. 

Many women have body image issues due to the immodesty that the culture perpetuates. The need to attain a “certain size” to fit into immodest attire such as bikinis, crop tops, shorts, etc, has fueled many eating disorders and body image issues in women. We can observe the danger of immodest dress, simply by examining women’s disordered behavior in trying to thus wear these items. Magazines, ads, commercials, and products, target women to “slim down” to wear a bikini. The truth is women, should not be wearing these items in the first place, therefore the pressure that comes from trying to wear these items does not come from God but rather the enemy. 

Christ calls women to be modest for many good reasons. Modesty protects a woman’s mind, heart, body, and soul. Immodesty brings many levels of destruction and instability to the well-being of a woman. Numerous women are unable to enjoy days at the beach and by the pool, because of feeling insecure in immodest bathing attire. This discomfort is there for a reason, and its tied to the discomfort that comes from engaging in the sin of immodesty. If you go to popular chain consumer stores, you will notice displays of immodest swimwear for women, with seldom any modest options. In case nobody has ever told you, there are modest swimwear options that you can wear, that will make you feel at ease, and thus not cause others and yourself to fall into sin. 

In addition to immodesty being a fueling factor to body image issues in women, the ‘need for control when feeling out of control’, wounds, pain, suffering, trauma, and sin, contribute and fuel disordered relationships with food and body image in women. Christ came to break chains and set us free from that which is weighing us down. One must direct their free will to the healing power of Jesus Christ, to thus obtain the healing that is freely offered as a gift to us by The Good Lord. 

The Word of God says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

We are to treat our bodies with great care and respect; thus nourishing ourselves with healthy and whole foods; foods that God created and put on this earth for us to consume. God commands us to glorify Him in all that we do. “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” - 1 Corinthians 10:31 Praying before meals, taking up the hobby of gardening, and cooking fresh homemade meals contribute to healing. Modern fast-food consumerism has largely stripped thanksgiving for the bounty of the earth, the food that God provides. Thus bringing a disconnection between a proper relationship with food. I believe satan has attacked women via food, because well, the fall started with Eve eating the forbidden fruit. One of the seven deadly sins is Gluttony, so we can see how satan will attack in this realm. As satan brings grave disorder, Christ brings Himself as nourishment in The Holy Eucharist. The safest food to eat is The Bread and Wine of healing, The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

Being in a whole state of grace, and thus maintaining a proper disposition to receive all the grace available to you, allows the rays of healing from consuming The Eucharist to nourish you completely. The Food Of The Spirit is God. The goal of our lives is to attend The Wedding Feast of The Lamb, the Great and Supreme Banquet. 

Allow The Lord to feed you with Himself, and experience the total transformation and healing that is waiting for you in The Eucharist.