Simple Living/Asceticism?

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I am trying to practice simple living/asceticism. So far, I’ve managed to stop watching TV, except for religious programming on EWTN, and I’ve been trying to spend more time in prayer each day. I’m at a loss about where to go from here. Are there any specific saints that I could mimic? Perhaps St. Francis of Assisi? Does anyone have any suggestions or websites I could visit?
 
it might be of benefit to structure your day, as monastics do, suited to your vocation and lifestyle of course. LOTH is a good hinge for that, or you can schedule your other devotions, scripture readings etc so that the times of the day are honored. It must work because monastic rules for all orders have some type of structure for the day built in–time for prayer, for physical labor, for housework, for eating, for hygiene, for sacred reading, for reflection and so forth. Not in the sense of locking your self into a rigid schedule so you panic if you miss your morning rosary for instance, but giving yourself a framework, which helps you prioritize areas of your life, and in so doing, dedicate all of them to God.
 
If in mentioning St. Francis of Assisi you mean that you are attracted to his life of Gospel poverty, you might be interested in reading the book Happy Are You Poor: The Simple Life and Spiritual Freedom by Rev. Thomas Dubay. Father Dubay addresses the question of how we can live this out appropriately depending on our state in life (priest, religious, lay person).
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
I am trying to practice simple living/asceticism. So far, I’ve managed to stop watching TV, except for religious programming on EWTN, and I’ve been trying to spend more time in prayer each day. I’m at a loss about where to go from here. Are there any specific saints that I could mimic? Perhaps St. Francis of Assisi? Does anyone have any suggestions or websites I could visit?
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Following a rule of life for lay people would be good. You can either follow the rule of life for Franciscans or Secular Order Discalced Carmelites.

BTW, you gave up TV? Hats off to you. I wish I had that gumption!

Jim
 
Thanks everyone, for the great advice. It has been a tremendous help.
JimR-OCDS said:
BTW, you gave up TV? Hats off to you. I wish I had that gumption!
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It was really tough. I just kept my nose buried in excellent novels. Plus, my old TV fetched a few bucks that came in handy.🙂
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
I am trying to practice simple living/asceticism. So far, I’ve managed to stop watching TV, except for religious programming on EWTN, and I’ve been trying to spend more time in prayer each day. I’m at a loss about where to go from here. Are there any specific saints that I could mimic? Perhaps St. Francis of Assisi? Does anyone have any suggestions or websites I could visit?
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Perhaps The Confraternity Of Penitents? I’m 63 years old, and find their quiet program of penance at home to be what I need.

penitents.org/

I haven’t had a TV set since the year 1985. I might be tempted to buy one just for access to EWTN, however
 
Hello,

If you don’t already have one, I would suggest getting a Spiritual Director.

As for what you can do, I have several suggestions.
  1. You can simplify your diet (no more lobster and caviar). You can make food simply with simple ingredients. This could be accompanied (not necessary though) with growing a greater portion of your food yourself. If you need recipes, they can be provided.
  2. As some have suggested, you can adopt a daily horologion. You could adopt one from a lay community or develop your own (probably best to do with your Spiritual Advisor).
  3. You could limit the amount of sleep you get each night. If you regularly get eight hours, maybe wean yourself down to seven or six. Don’t go too extreme without talking it over with your Spiritual Director and/or physician.
  4. Walk or ride a bike instead of drive a car. Obviously you’d want to drive if you have to travel a great distance. But for those short commutes (~> 3 miles), just walk or ride a bike.
  5. Grab a magazine such as Mother Earth News and incorporate some of their tips into your life. Their current issue describes making your own household cleaners. This will help you to do several things, such as be a better steward of the earth, save money that can be better used elsewhere (i.e., charity), generally simplify your life from the current Walmart disposable society we live in, etc.
  6. Go to daily Mass.
  7. More ideas could be provided if needed. Good Luck! 👍
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
I will look into that, thank you.
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Besides the Confraternity of Penitents, there are many Third Orders around. You might check out the local Monastaries and Convents in your area to see if they have programs for Third Orders.

This idea goes back to Saint Francis, and his Third Order Of The Continent, for whom the original rule of 1221 was written
 
Don’t forget to incorporate corporal works of mercy into your regime.

The idea of an ascetical life is not for its own sake or for our satisfaction. St. Ignatius said it well when he said that all things are for the “greater glory and honour of God.”

St. Francis did not give up material things because they were bad, but because they were obstacles. His goal was to detach from everything that made it difficult for him to be more like Christ. His rule begins with the following words, “To live the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It does not begin with “to live in poverty.” Poverty was a means to the Gospel. In his rule he wrote the words that were to be used in the profession of vows. “I vow and promise to observe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, in obedience, without property and in chastity.” Notice, the order: Gospel, obedience, poverty and chastity.

St. Teresa of Avila’s focus was on detachment from all material and social attachments that took away time from God. However, she also wrote into her rule of the importance of Charity. She herself spent most of her life on the road opening new monasteries, not behind the walls of the cloister, as much as she would have loved to do so. She realized that the ascetical life was to do the will of God.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the Sisters of Charity in the USA, yet she writes that first and foremost, she is mother. Regardless of the demands of being a Sister of Charity, she placed her vocation to be a mother to her five children as her primary obligation before God. She dedicated her life to bringing others to Christ and that group included her family. Among her first sisters was her daughter and a sister-in-law. Family was part of her asceticism.

Elizabeth of Hungary was a wife and queen, she was also a Franciscan. She applied St. Francis’ rule to her life as a wife and to her service as a queen. Ultimately, the goal was to serve God and to draw closer to him. He was present in her marriage and in her subjects.

True asceticism is about stepping outside outselves, not just about the things we give up. We give things up, so that we can take on Christ. 🙂
 
JMJ_coder - Thanks for the great advice. Do you links to recipes or anything I might be able to try?

PatienceAndLove - Thank you. I will put those at the top of my reading list.

Andruschak - Yes, I am looking into a Franciscan third order.

JReducation - Thank you for the wonderful examples. I will definitely keep all of that in mind as I develop my own ascetic lifestyle.

Thanks to everyone.
 
I recommend moving daily Mass up the list of things to do! If you can schedule your day around getting to Mass or Adoration, other things will naturally fall into place.
JMJ_coder said:
Hello,

If you don’t already have one, I would suggest getting a Spiritual Director.

As for what you can do, I have several suggestions.
  1. You can simplify your diet (no more lobster and caviar). You can make food simply with simple ingredients. This could be accompanied (not necessary though) with growing a greater portion of your food yourself. If you need recipes, they can be provided.
  2. As some have suggested, you can adopt a daily horologion. You could adopt one from a lay community or develop your own (probably best to do with your Spiritual Advisor).
  3. You could limit the amount of sleep you get each night. If you regularly get eight hours, maybe wean yourself down to seven or six. Don’t go too extreme without talking it over with your Spiritual Director and/or physician.
  4. Walk or ride a bike instead of drive a car. Obviously you’d want to drive if you have to travel a great distance. But for those short commutes (~> 3 miles), just walk or ride a bike.
  5. Grab a magazine such as Mother Earth News and incorporate some of their tips into your life. Their current issue describes making your own household cleaners. This will help you to do several things, such as be a better steward of the earth, save money that can be better used elsewhere (i.e., charity), generally simplify your life from the current Walmart disposable society we live in, etc.
  6. Go to daily Mass.
  7. More ideas could be provided if needed. Good Luck! 👍
Click to expand...
 
Hi ya
It’s very easy to be led astray when we get some zeal for spiritual things. We can go too easy or too far. We tend to be like a leaf that falls from the tree and the wind blows it this way then that, without spiritual direction. The Holy Spirit will really get to work on you if you have a holy and orthodox and knowledgeable spiritual director. Find a good one and you’ll fly in the spiritual life. Satan makes mince meat of almost all people when they have no spiritual director. If you really can’t get one the Holy Spirit will direct you Himself.
Check out these websites for all your heart desires. Opus Dei offers laymen a way to live as contemplatives in the middle of the world. It’s like the faith and fervour of the first christians but adapted for the modern world.
opusdei.org/
escrivaworks.org/
Good luck my friend.
 
Hello,
Sr_Sally said:
I recommend moving daily Mass up the list of things to do! If you can schedule your day around getting to Mass or Adoration, other things will naturally fall into place.
Click to expand...
I wrote things in the order that they popped into my head, not in order of importance - and I was too lazy to rearrange them before I hit the post button. 😛
 
Andruschak said:
Perhaps The Confraternity Of Penitents? I’m 63 years old, and find their quiet program of penance at home to be what I need.

penitents.org/

I haven’t had a TV set since the year 1985. I might be tempted to buy one just for access to EWTN, however
Click to expand...
You beat me to it, Harry! For the OP: send me a PM if you are interested. I am a vowed member of the Confraternity, a regional minister, and a formator.
 
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