Question about Pope John Paul II

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RuthErickson

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dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1230351/So-DID-Pope-John-Paul-whip-himself.html

I am a protestant christian looking into the Catholic Church. I have a lot of questions right now about faith and the Catholic Church. I asked a few questions in a different forum here and people jumped all over me. Is what is in this Artical true about John Paul II whipping himself ? Why would someone do this? Isn’t this against the Bible? I am not asking this to judge. I just want to understand this issue. Thank you for your replies and understanding.
 
As a former Protestant, I’m not a big fan of this style of self imposed suffering. However the purpose is to add one’s sufferings to those of Christ. As it is, there is great unevenness in suffering. The martyrs of the Soviet era probably wonder how much suffering Western Christians did. The answer is “not much”.

It’s not un-Biblical. Christ said we must pick up our cross and follow him. And Paul wrote that he filled up the sufferings of Christ, with all the pain and turmoil he went through. One of the misconceptions of modern Protestantism is that we don’t have to suffer, and that Christ did it all. The fact is He expects us to suffer with Hiim.

The difference is that this is self imposed, but it is in line with that sentiment.

We find it peculiar and even repellant because of our culture, but medieval Christians would have been quite familiar with the concept. In fact, they probably think we modern Western Christians are bunch of spoilt sissies, rushing for an aspirin as soon as a headache strikes, sitting on comfortable seats in church, complaining if the sermon is too long, and whose idea of a spiritual pilgrimage is listening to a Christian music CD in a plushly upholstered, air conditioned car.

The Catholic version of yuppie Christianity might be a pilgrimage to the Vatican via the South of France.

Secondly the Pope is head of the church on earth, and as such may feel he has a special responsibility to suffer on behalf of the church.

In summary, it’s not un-Bibical. But by our cultural standards, we find it strange.
 
Self-mortification takes many forms in Catholic spirituality. I have no idea whether JPII practiced mortification, and I didn’t look at the article.

You asked if mortification was against the bible. The answer to that is no. Here St. Paul is talking about running the race to the finish (staying faithful to Christ) and reaching the prize (heaven) and that one must train oneself physically just as if running a race. St Paul practiced mortification, of what type we don’t know exactly, but he mentions it several times:

1 Corinthians 9: 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
 
Thank you every one who replied to my post. I just saw that article and it kind of scared me Thank you for clarifying things.
 
I can’t find the reference, but I’m pretty sure some of the Early Church Fathers spoke out against such acts.
 
Nine_Two said:
I can’t find the reference, but I’m pretty sure some of the Early Church Fathers spoke out against such acts.
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I think it is like most everything else, some did, some did not.

If you wanted to take the extreme view, moving to the desert to live as a hermit is a form of forcing suffering upon yourself.

The practice is almost gone from the Catholic CHurch. Those who practice it correctly are supposed to be under the care of a spiritual advisor and have limits on what they do.
 
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