Call to the hair shirt

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'The** false love** of the flesh destroys the true charity which we owe to ourselves: inordinate compassion towards the body is** full of cruelty**, because by indulging the flesh it kills the soul. Speaking of sensualists who deride the mortifications of the saints, the same Father says: “If we are cruel in crucifying the flesh,** you by sparing it are far more cruel.” **

Yes, for by the pleasures of the body in this life you shall merit for soul and body inexpressible torments forever in the next.

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

‘Woe to the religious who loves health more than sanctity.’

St. Joseph Calasanctius

'If, then, we wish to be saved, and to please God, we must take pleasure in what the flesh refuses, and must reject what the flesh demands. Our Lord once said to St. Francis of Assisi: “If you desire my love, accept the things that are bitter as if they were sweet, and the things that are sweet as if they were bitter.”

Some will say that perfection does not consist in the mortification of the body, but in the abnegation of the will.

To them I answer with Father Pinamonti, that the fruit of the vineyard does not consist in the surrounding hedge; but still if the hedge be taken away, you will seek in vain for the produce of the vine.

Where there is no hedge, says the Holy Ghost,** the possession shall be spoiled.’**

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

‘We leave the choir, to-day, because the head aches; on to-morrow, because it has ached; and on the day after, lest it should ache. . . You have entered religion not to indulge the flesh but to die for Jesus Christ. If we do not resolve to disregard the want of health, we shall do nothing. What injury will death do us? How often have our bodies molested us? Shall not we torment them in return?’

St. Teresa of Avila

'Mortifications raise the soul to God. St. Francis de Sales used to say, that a soul cannot ascend to the throne of God unless the flesh is mortified and depressed. There are many beautiful remarks on this subject in the works of St. Teresa: “It would be folly,” says this great saint, “to think that God admits to his familiar friendship those who seek their own ease.” Sensuality and prayer are incompatible. Souls who truly love God cannot desire repose."

. . . all the elect must be martyrs, either by the sword of the tyrant or by the voluntary crucifixion of the flesh.’

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
 
'If the soul do not subdue the body, the flesh will conquer the spirit.

Cruel indeed must be the physician who gives to a sick man noxious draughts because they are pleasing to the taste, and who does not administer useful remedies, because they are bitter and disgusting. And great is the cruelty of the sensual, when to escape some trifling corporal pain in this life they expose their souls and bodies to eternal torments in the next.

“Such charity,” says St. Bernard, " is destructive of charity: such mercy is full of cruelty; because it serves the body so as to destroy the soul."’

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
 
“Who, can behold his God covered with wounds and harassed by persecutions, without embracing and even desiring a portion of his Saviour’s sufferings ?”

St. Teresa of Jesus

Haircloths are of various kinds: some are made of strong or coarse hair; the others are bands or chains of brass or iron wire. . .

These are the ordinary species of hair cloths, and may be safely used by all. Far different from them were the hair cloths worn by the saints. . .

Disciplines or flagellations are a species of mortification strongly recommended by St. Francis de Sales, and universally adopted in religious Communities of both sexes. **All the modern saints, without a single exception, have continually practised this sort of penance. **

It is related of St. Aloysius that he often scourged himself unto blood three times in the day. And at the point of death, not having sufficient strength to use the lash, he besought the Provincial to have him disciplined from head to foot. Surely, then, it would not be too much for you to take the discipline once in the day, or at least three or four times in the week. However, the practice of this penance should be regulated by the confessor.

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Doctor of the Church, from the book ‘The True Spouse of Jesus Christ’ a book of advice to nuns.
 
ByzCath said:
I am not so sure this is real. That is the poster.

In another of his threads he claims to be a hermit, actually that he has been forced by God to be a hermit and he is trying to “escape” that vocation.

How do i get out of a vocation I hate?
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Well spotted ByzCath!. This poster has been loitering around for quite a while and I took him to task ‘his enforced hermit lifestyle’.
 
I think that all of these thoughts on mortifying the body are being taken out of context. There are two contexts that have to be understood. First, one must understand the culture of the time. I know for a fact, that even though St. Francis himself mortified his body through fasting and penances, he also asked the body for forgiveness just before he died. He comes to the realization that mastery of the body is about self-control and discipline of the affections, not about doing harm to the body. What is most interesting is that in his rule he prescribes fasting and abstinence, not physical mortification. These are never mentioned in our rule.

History tells us that when a novice cried out in hunger during a fast, Francis woke up the entire community and had everyone served food. In the chapter on poverty he writes to the brothers that we are to eat whatever is put before us, not that we are to refrain from what is put before us. He states very clearly that our poverty and our penance should never lead us to spiritual pride or to violate charity toward those who are kind enough to feed us. Mastery is at the service of charity and humility, not for the purpose of doing harm to the self.

The second context that has to be understood is the theological context. All of the citations above were part of larger pieces of writing. We have to avoid the temptation to pull slices of spiritual writings out and cite them without the benefit of the full message. Even Teresa of Avila, who applied many severe disciplines to her body, did not prescribe them to the nuns and the friars of the Carmelite Reform. Her writings on coroporal discipline are embedded in her writings on detachment. She was leading a movement toward the original heremetical Carmelite life, not to a morbid life of self-hatred. In fact, she took great pleasure in the little pleasures of life. Her biography is filled with anecdotes about her love for things like figs and eggs.

Francis had a very close friend named Lady Jacoba, whom he dubbed Brother Jacoba, so that she could visit him within the enclosure of the friary. Here is an interesting twist in monastic discipline. In considering and treating Lady Jacoba as a male, he justifies her entrance into the enclosure. When he is sick, he asked the brothers to send word to Brother Jacoba to bring him pastries that she made, which he loved.

When Mother Teresa founded the Society of the Missionaries of Charity she wrote into her statutes that the sisters should eat the same food as the Indian people. When the Medical Mission Sisters who trained her in nursing pointed out that if her sisters submitted to this diet they would suffer the same infirmities as the people whom they were serving and would not last very long, she thought about it and realized that it was best that the sisters should eat a balanced diet, which they observe to this day. Granted, they don’t eat lobster and steak every day, maybe never. I don’t know. But I do know this; they eat a balanced diet. When she was sick, Mother accepted the care provided for her by the doctors who took care of her. No one would accuse Mother Teresa of not being austere enough or not following the lead of the saints. In fact, she writes in her journals that she was deeply inspired by Francis and Benedict, both of whom were very austere men.

Even Benedict himself never demanded that the monks deny themselves good nutrition, proper clothing, proper housing or healthcare.

Given these examples of grea men and women who were austere and lived lives of great discipline, we can see from their governance of their religious families that they were not bent on making people suffer, but on developing character. But character was to be lived with a great sense of joy and appreciation for what life offered. There is a difference between austere poverty and penance that leads to conversion and self-hatred.

That term “self-hatred”, in mystical theology does not have the same nuance as self-loathing. It refers to self-denial for the sake of charity, not for the sake of pain. Vatican II was very clear that the univeral call to all men is the call to holiness. But no one said that holiness is achieved through injustice toward the mind and body. Even our Holy Father Pope John Paul II was treated by the best medical practitioners that money could buy. Yet, who questions his heroic virtue.

Finally, if an individual needs to practice bodilly mortification, it is not something that he or she engages in on a whim or an impulse. It is carefully discerned with the help of a spiritual director or some other person of authority who can be objective and help you distinguish between your spiritual pride and the movement of the Holy Spirit.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
jpk1313- I know a lot of people suggest speaking to a “spiritual director” which is very good advice.

As a matter of fact you have two Religious on here basically telling you the deal on hair shirts which is awesome. 👍

I don’t mean to be rude or ignorant but I think you should speak to either a psychatrist, psychologist, or a counselor.

Have you ever been helped for booze, drugs, sex, etc.?

camh.net/

Anything else?

healthline.com/symptomsearch?addterm=Attention%20Seeking%20Behavior

You started a thread and asked the question, “How do I get out of a Vocation I hate?” than you talk about being on drugs, booze, and being with loose women. <–You got bored with that life and now you’re bored with being a hermit?

Our Lord, would never force someone into a Vocation. As a matter of fact, read about the Rich Young Ruler - Matthew 19:16-26

biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2010:17-31&version=NASB
 
This is a little off topic, but if you’re bored or unhappy being a hermit, then it’s not your vocation to be one. The true sign of a vocation is the feeling of having arrived home.

When I first walked into my first pregnancy center, as religious brother, and finished my first session with an expectant father who was unsure about his unborn child, which was a tough conversation . . .

When I had to stay up all night, as I do tonight, to answer the pregnancy crisis hotline . . .

When I had to ask for everything that I need (toothpaste, the use of a car, the use of computer, the use of money) . . .

When I had to pray the Liturgy of the Hours five times a day . . .

When I had to go to Rome for more school, after having completed an advanced degree in the USA . . .

When I had to sit in a community room for recreation rather than watch TV . . .

When I had to spend an hour a day in front of the Blessed Sacrament . . .

When I had to give up all of my clothes, except a habit and two pairs of pants . . .

I felt that I had come home.

That’s what a vocation feels like. It’s like getting home, kicking off your shoes and sitting down to enjoy being there.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
If you would like to mortify oneself for the Glory of God, why dont you besome an Opus Dei priest? Dont listen to any roumurs about them though, they were startes by the anti-Catholics.
 
JReducation said:
This is a little off topic, but if you’re bored or unhappy being a hermit, then it’s not your vocation to be one. The true sign of a vocation is the feeling of having arrived home.

When I first walked into my first pregnancy center, as religious brother, and finished my first session with an expectant father who was unsure about his unborn child, which was a tough conversation . . .

When I had to stay up all night, as I do tonight, to answer the pregnancy crisis hotline . . .

When I had to ask for everything that I need (toothpaste, the use of a car, the use of computer, the use of money) . . .

When I had to pray the Liturgy of the Hours five times a day . . .

When I had to go to Rome for more school, after having completed an advanced degree in the USA . . .

When I had to sit in a community room for recreation rather than watch TV . . .

When I had to spend an hour a day in front of the Blessed Sacrament . . .

When I had to give up all of my clothes, except a habit and two pairs of pants . . .

I felt that I had come home.

That’s what a vocation feels like. It’s like getting home, kicking off your shoes and sitting down to enjoy being there.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
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Brother,
When are you going to realize that the thread initiator is winding people up.
Look at hos other threads/posts.
 
Hello again, Maybe we should Fast on Monday and Wednesday for the virtue of Humility and charity towards our brothers. You are all right, you should not wear a hairshirt you still feel your life is a punishment and that is your mortification. Life is not a punishment it is a class room for you based on what you need in order to succeed. You should LOVE it embrase it and THANK GOD everyday for the opprotunities to grow that he has provided you. A hairshirt are for those who have already reached that point and want to share in the passion of Jesus. Even the children of Fatima understood what mortification was about. The reason you need a spiritual director is to ensure you are doing it out of LOVE and not pride. When you Love God you will love one another he is calling each of you, set your pride aside and go to him. Stopping poking fun at one another, we are adults we know why your doing it. It doesn’t matter how you justify it it is still wrong. You are making this site sound like a chat room. A few people don’t like what is being said so they gang up on every one. You are supposed to set an example to those who are looking for answers. You are Catholics with a very beautiful history learn it and you will see that Sin is right!! Please if not for your fellow humans then do it for yourselves. I can not find the Chaplet for the holy souls in purgatory. Ask Mother Mary and she will guide you. She is waiting!!!
 
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