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St.Eric
Guest
shannin said:
WOW. Very interesting. Any elaboration for why she was called to this paritcular practice?
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WOW. Very interesting. Any elaboration for why she was called to this paritcular practice?
H
hilde_the_dog
Guest
Mercygate at our parish it seems to be coming back at least in small steps. At confession I have been told to begin with small acts of mortification such as cold showers, less salad dressing with an eye toward Christ’s suffering (this priest was influenced by OD priests although he is not OD). And now the other priests have begun to introduce the idea of mortification and not just with an eye towards Lent.
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mikew262
Guest
hilde the dog:
Oh brother!
M
mercygate
Guest
hilde the dog:
Physical mortification has always been a call for the few and should always be undertaken carefully with guidance – as you indicate here.
It is certainly true that these things are far less dangerous than is commonly stated. Some people are called to this and some are not. Perhaps the need for this kind of effort is indicated by the resistance with which the idea is frequently met . . .
What you describe qualifies as “under spiritual direction.”
Physical mortification has always been a call for the few and should always be undertaken carefully with guidance – as you indicate here.
It is certainly true that these things are far less dangerous than is commonly stated. Some people are called to this and some are not. Perhaps the need for this kind of effort is indicated by the resistance with which the idea is frequently met . . .
V
Veritas41
Guest
Yes, it does, but we can also make reparation for sins through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and other means that don’t involve corporal mortification. I think the suggestion that you seek the guidance and direction of your confessor to be an excellent one.
J
J89
Guest
Hi,
I think corporal mortification is an excellent idea as long as it isn’t taken to excess. Taking a cold shower, I think, is very good. (Besides, you save money on your electric/gas bill
) It helps me especially with fighting temptations of impurity.
J89
I think corporal mortification is an excellent idea as long as it isn’t taken to excess. Taking a cold shower, I think, is very good. (Besides, you save money on your electric/gas bill
) It helps me especially with fighting temptations of impurity.J89
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svoboda
Guest
I guess I can see how pain/physical discomfort can distract one from impure thoughts.
I think a very good “corporal mortification” is doing something to help someone else. It at once mortifies the mind by giving ourselves to another’s service, the body because it might require doing something (like the laundry
), and helps a fellow human being.
I think a very good “corporal mortification” is doing something to help someone else. It at once mortifies the mind by giving ourselves to another’s service, the body because it might require doing something (like the laundry
), and helps a fellow human being.
C
Celtic_FC
Guest
I have Ulcerative Colitis, so I have ways already to unite my suffering with Jesus and using it for good. Lately though, I have been contemplating more ways to suffer. I would like to use a cilice, but I have no idea where to purchase one.
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St.Eric
Guest
I am not sure where to purchase a cillice (sp). I would eventually like to try one as well.
AS promised, I am reporting back today. I spoke with my confessor/spiritual director today during confession. He thought the idea of practicing corporal mortification is beneficial. He wants me to start out samll at first with things like denying myself certain things- foods, activities, etc. Evidently it is not a smart idea to dive right in with the heavy duty stuff. So, all in all it was a good discussion and am thankful he was supportive!
Glory be to God!
AS promised, I am reporting back today. I spoke with my confessor/spiritual director today during confession. He thought the idea of practicing corporal mortification is beneficial. He wants me to start out samll at first with things like denying myself certain things- foods, activities, etc. Evidently it is not a smart idea to dive right in with the heavy duty stuff. So, all in all it was a good discussion and am thankful he was supportive!
Glory be to God!
M
m134e5
Guest
Do not do mortifications (other than perhaps fasting according to the guidelines given by the Church) without spiritual direction from a qualified spiritual director. You can get carried away and really hurt yourself. Find a good spiritual director- we are not spiritual directors here, and our advice- other than to find a spiritual director and ask for his advice- could do you more harm than good.
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m134e5
Guest
Your acts of penitence should be between you and God- only. It is fine to share them here (but I wouldn’t do it unless I thought it would benefit somebody else for me to tell them), because nobody here knows you (hopefully you haven’t given enough information about yourself that people here could find you in person).
R
RickAllenMedia
Guest
I am just a lay Catholic, and not a good one at that. I am very new even to the idea of mortification. But here are the reasons that I am looking in to select versions of it. I will also tell you what I am looking into doing.
Remember the Bible in Mathew Ch 5 Vs 30 where it says the following: “And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell.”
For me this is the primary reason that I am considering mortification. Sin is what separates us from God. Sin is more serious than people today want to admit, much more serious. If something is separating you from God then you need to get rid of whatever is separating you from God.
For me, I forget God. For a time I read books like “The Imitation of Christ” and for a while I focus on being a better Catholic Christian, but then something distracts me and I again fall into the temptations and desires of life. Overeating, getting angry with others and their sins, pride, these are just some of my common failings which are many. I need something to help me focus more on the lord. I need something that reminds me to always keep my eyes and focus on Christ. Do you remember Peter walking on the water? Here is a quote from the bible I found online:
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
The reason that Peter began to sink was because he took his focus off of the Lord and onto the storm and focused on his fear instead of his faith. This is what happens when we forget the Lord and focus on the daily happenings, problems, and trials of life. It is because of this that I am looking into things that cause me discomfort in a way that reminds me of Christ and God. I was looking for a Crucifix to wear that has the nails going through the cross and poking out slightly in the back side, that way I would always feels the crucifix that I was wearing in an irritating, slightly painful way, but I cannot find one. For now, I am looking for a ring and other more visible jewelry and items that will remind me more constantly about God. Christian clothing is also something that I am looking into.
In short, mortification, even in small ways, can bring me closer to God. I know that I need something more because right now, I am only casually Christian and I need more constant reminders of the gravity of sin and the reality of death and judgement.
Remember the Bible in Mathew Ch 5 Vs 30 where it says the following: “And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell.”
For me this is the primary reason that I am considering mortification. Sin is what separates us from God. Sin is more serious than people today want to admit, much more serious. If something is separating you from God then you need to get rid of whatever is separating you from God.
For me, I forget God. For a time I read books like “The Imitation of Christ” and for a while I focus on being a better Catholic Christian, but then something distracts me and I again fall into the temptations and desires of life. Overeating, getting angry with others and their sins, pride, these are just some of my common failings which are many. I need something to help me focus more on the lord. I need something that reminds me to always keep my eyes and focus on Christ. Do you remember Peter walking on the water? Here is a quote from the bible I found online:
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
The reason that Peter began to sink was because he took his focus off of the Lord and onto the storm and focused on his fear instead of his faith. This is what happens when we forget the Lord and focus on the daily happenings, problems, and trials of life. It is because of this that I am looking into things that cause me discomfort in a way that reminds me of Christ and God. I was looking for a Crucifix to wear that has the nails going through the cross and poking out slightly in the back side, that way I would always feels the crucifix that I was wearing in an irritating, slightly painful way, but I cannot find one. For now, I am looking for a ring and other more visible jewelry and items that will remind me more constantly about God. Christian clothing is also something that I am looking into.
In short, mortification, even in small ways, can bring me closer to God. I know that I need something more because right now, I am only casually Christian and I need more constant reminders of the gravity of sin and the reality of death and judgement.
M
mercygate
Guest
What are you thinking of as “Christian” clothing?
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RickAllenMedia
Guest
T-Shirts with Christian designs, polo shirts with sew on emblems, things like that. I thought about trying to make or wear other chloting, such as period wear of the time of Christ, but I could find none that were not simply costumes. As well, theywould be inappropriot for my job.
I can say after getting 4 rings that they do help a lot to remind me of Jesus and God. having things on you or in front of you all the time to me is good. Too often do I forget about God and Christ. I need to always keep my mind God, but I do not. Todays age is the age of constant distraction. Everywhere it seems that everyone is constantlytrying to get and keep your attention. Politics, movies, news, advertisements, people in need of attention. At the same time the world is trying to eliminate God from everything. No religious wrapping paper on Christmas, no mention of all saints day in any halloween decorations. No angels in Christmas ornaments. Fewer and fewer Christian books and items in all the stores, especially book stores. The “new age” section full of pagen worship grows while the bible section shrinks now to merely one small rack in some barely used corner of the store.
As Bishop Fulton Sheen has said, “We are living at the end of Christondom”. Each daythat passes you will see more and more anti-God literature presented and less and less Christian literature printed. Get now the things that you would wish to have if the world was completely against you and your religion, for the day is soon comming when even the Bible may be hard to find.
I can say after getting 4 rings that they do help a lot to remind me of Jesus and God. having things on you or in front of you all the time to me is good. Too often do I forget about God and Christ. I need to always keep my mind God, but I do not. Todays age is the age of constant distraction. Everywhere it seems that everyone is constantlytrying to get and keep your attention. Politics, movies, news, advertisements, people in need of attention. At the same time the world is trying to eliminate God from everything. No religious wrapping paper on Christmas, no mention of all saints day in any halloween decorations. No angels in Christmas ornaments. Fewer and fewer Christian books and items in all the stores, especially book stores. The “new age” section full of pagen worship grows while the bible section shrinks now to merely one small rack in some barely used corner of the store.
As Bishop Fulton Sheen has said, “We are living at the end of Christondom”. Each daythat passes you will see more and more anti-God literature presented and less and less Christian literature printed. Get now the things that you would wish to have if the world was completely against you and your religion, for the day is soon comming when even the Bible may be hard to find.
S
Shin
Guest
Step by step! That’s how to do anything well!
Have you thought of wearing a scapular?
‘I shall have nothing for my own particular use, except the crucifix I wear on my breast, my little hand-bag, the case with my sermons in, my writings, my Breviary, my Rule, my hair-shirt, my little cross with sharp points, my spectacles, my rosary, the two disciplines, the one I use at the community exercise and the one I use at my secret penances at night, a little holy picture of the Immaculate Conception, the framed picture of St. Vincent Ferrer, with which I bless the sick: this is all I shall keep for my own particular use.’
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
‘Oh, how I like those little mortifications that are seen by nobody, such as rising a quarter of an hour sooner, rising for a little while in the night to pray!’
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars ( Selections on Mortification )
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mercygate
Guest
Glad you got over the period costume thing. I don’t know how old you are or what you do for work, but generally, message t-shirts are considered inappropriate for a professional work place. Mortification in clothing can often mean wearing clothing we may not necessarily like but that is considered appropriate in our culture. But this is a topic that will start a riot, so I’ll stop there.
“People in need of attention” are often Christ for us.
I would suggest that religious images on wrapping paper would be disrespectful – the paper is torn off and discarded, and often, what it wraps would be at least inconsistent with the theme of the paper. Ditto Halloween decorations. Halloween has become so much a thing in itself that the farther we can keep All Saints Day away from it the better off we will be. The pity is that so many of us don’t even know All Saints Day is one of the four great feasts of the Christian calendar.
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