Self-flagellation

[mullenpm]

Today I was speaking with a neighbor who has a brother-in-law who had been a seminarian at one time. My neighbor, and her sister (married to the man in question here) are not Catholic.

My neighbor said that her brother-in-law left the seminary because he liked the self-flagellation that they performed and when that was stopped he no longer wanted to be there.

I was shocked, I will admit, because the fact that self-flagellation would be going on in a modern day Catholic seminary would never have occurred to me.:nope: I must be clear and say that this seminary was a Diocesan seminary and not an Order seminary.

She said he liked the very strict life; but I can’t believe that he truly had a vocation if this was his excuse to leave.

Am I missing something here?

 

[Joannm]

Today I was speaking with a neighbor who has a brother-in-law who had been a seminarian at one time. My neighbor, and her sister (married to the man in question here) are not Catholic.

My neighbor said that her brother-in-law left the seminary because he liked the self-flagellation that they performed and when that was stopped he no longer wanted to be there.

I was shocked, I will admit, because the fact that self-flagellation would be going on in a modern day Catholic seminary would never have occurred to me.:nope: I must be clear and say that this seminary was a Diocesan seminary and not an Order seminary.

She said he liked the very strict life; but I can’t believe that he truly had a vocation if this was his excuse to leave.

Am I missing something here?

What year was this? I know many older priests who have talked extensivly about their seminary formation, and while they spoke of some very strict practices (like not being allowed to have another seminarian in your room, not being allowed to become good friends with another seminarians, not allowed to walk beyond a certain point ont he seminary grounds without permission…I have never heard of anyone speak of self-flagellation. In fact the priests I know would probably have left if they had to do that. I find this hard to believe, especially in a diocesan seminary.

 

[CarmeliteGirl25]

Today I was speaking with a neighbor who has a brother-in-law who had been a seminarian at one time. My neighbor, and her sister (married to the man in question here) are not Catholic.

My neighbor said that her brother-in-law left the seminary because he liked the self-flagellation that they performed and when that was stopped he no longer wanted to be there.

I was shocked, I will admit, because the fact that self-flagellation would be going on in a modern day Catholic seminary would never have occurred to me.:nope: I must be clear and say that this seminary was a Diocesan seminary and not an Order seminary.

She said he liked the very strict life; but I can’t believe that he truly had a vocation if this was his excuse to leave.

Am I missing something here?

The only part that raises suspicion in my mind is that he left only after they ended self-mortification. I agree that it appears he didn’t have a genuine vocation (though you can never really tell) if he didn’t stay. His problem may have become that he was using self-flagellation as a prideful advantage in his seminary years. Some do this and think that by mortifying themselves, they’ll be better. It gets into your head that you can’t go without it, even though it becomes unhealthy. As for me, I don’t believe I could ever take on this practice. I know the Carmelite Nuns in Valaparaiso, NE use whips, but I don’t know how hard they hit themselves. Still, I wouldn’t agree with the practice since I have a history of depression.