Traditional harmless mortifications

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Ariana_Katlyn

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What are small, moderately harmless mortifications I can use in order to subdue bodily desires and better conform my will to the will of the Lord? I already make use of partial fasting (avoiding snacks, sweets, etc.) but what are others I can do?

I’m looking to discipline my body and break my will, in ways in which there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person’s health, nothing traumatic. I know that if it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it.
 
A decently unpleasant (but still fairly benign) mortification would be to forego your daily coffee/tea/caffeine supplement (if you have a daily habit/supplement with caffeine on a daily basis).

The only downside to this is that you will in all likelihood feel very sluggish, and you’ll lose the beneficial properties the caffeine would provide (the hypothermic effect it has on the body, for example).

Then again, you could consider these things to be an addition to the extant mortification of not having the caffeine in the first place… 🤷
 
Occasionally I have coffee, and when I do it’s decaf

Thanks though for the suggestion 👍
 
One mortification is to accept little suffering and contradictions in life peacefully, like getting stuck in traffic, someone falsely accusing you or not understanding you or speaking badly about you, or being sick or unwell in some way.

I try to mortify my eyes, sometimes, by not looking so much at attractive girls and this usually gives me a greater sense of peace, but obviously things like this must be done in moderation.

We can also mortify our curiosity.

So, in short, we can mortify our body, like appetite our intellect, like frivolous use of our imagination, and our senses. There are so many things.

Passive mortifications are ones we don’t choose but come upon us. They may be thoe most meritorious and beneficial as compared to ones we choose ourselves.
 
Seeker345 said:
A decently unpleasant (but still fairly benign) mortification would be to forego your daily coffee/tea/caffeine supplement (if you have a daily habit/supplement with caffeine on a daily basis).

The only downside to this is that you will in all likelihood feel very sluggish, and you’ll lose the beneficial properties the caffeine would provide (the hypothermic effect it has on the body, for example).

Then again, you could consider these things to be an addition to the extant mortification of not having the caffeine in the first place… 🤷
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Or not putting sweetener in your coffee or tea. I should do this myself sometimes.
 
JamalChristophr said:
One mortification is to accept little suffering and contradictions in life peacefully, like getting stuck in traffic, someone falsely accusing you or not understanding you or speaking badly about you, or being sick or unwell in some way.

I try to mortify my eyes, sometimes, by not looking so much at attractive girls and this usually give me a greater sense of peace, but obviously things like this must be done in moderation.

We can also mortify our curiosity.

So, in short, we can mortify our body, like appetite our intellect, like frivolous use of our imagination, and our senses. There are so many things.

Passive mortifications are ones we don’t choose but come upon us. They may be thoe most meritorious and beneficial as compared to ones we choose ourselves.
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I’m trying to allow annoyances to sanctify me. One in particular, on the bus. At this time I cannot drive (due to the expenses of affording a brand new car and modifying it to my needs).

I am expecting a set of St. Therese beads for Easter, which are a set of ten beads strung up on a cord that can be moved. Every time you allow yourself to partake in sacrifice or mortification, you move one bead up. Every time you catch yourself acting in a sinful behavior, you move one down. I am hoping that these will help me greatly.

thelittleways.com/about (history of the beads started by St. Therese’s mother)
 
The St. Therese beads are a great idea. Don’t tell Little Flower but I haven’t gotten that far yet, I think. 😊
 
Ariana - I see from another thread that you have Cerebral Palsy and will be starting RCIA soon to fully enter the Church and receive the sacraments. You already have a lot on your plate and if you try to do too much at once you may inadvertently miss an opportunity that God places before you.

I would suggest you focus 100% on RCIA until you are fully into the Church and then you can discuss mortification, if you still wish, with your Priest. From reading your story in the other thread I you are bearing a pretty heavy cross now - God does not ever give us more than we can handle with His grace.

I will pray for your intentions at Mass this weekend.
 
I see you are in Pennsylvania. If you really want to allow annoyances to sanctify you, then say a prayer for every Phillie game this season - lots of annoyances there!😃

Unless you are a Pirate fan - in which case you already have an extra cross to bear…:cool:
 
Sometimes life deals some pretty tough mortifications. Having loved ones die is still hard for me even though it’s been a while.

My precious dog also died. That still hangs over my head like a dark cloud.

Think about the regular things in life that are not easy to accept because they can’t be changed.
 
One can forego listening to a favorite music CD and saying a decade of the Rosary instead.
 
TheDoctor said:
Ariana - I see from another thread that you have Cerebral Palsy and will be starting RCIA soon to fully enter the Church and receive the sacraments. You already have a lot on your plate and if you try to do too much at once you may inadvertently miss an opportunity that God places before you.

I would suggest you focus 100% on RCIA until you are fully into the Church and then you can discuss mortification, if you still wish, with your Priest. From reading your story in the other thread I you are bearing a pretty heavy cross now - God does not ever give us more than we can handle with His grace.

I will pray for your intentions at Mass this weekend.
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Thank you! I’m excited for Easter and I requested a Catechism book to study over the summer to be prepared when November comes. My largest problem is hurdling into things too fast… I’m working on impluse control 😃
 
Give up tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, salt, vinegar, cocacola, pepsi, mineral drinks

Give up watching tv for a while or on certain days

Excellent idea;
For one week, decide, i will only do catholic things as recreation, eg books, tv, music, must be catholic, eg ewtn, hymns, bible or catholic book

Do not use the internet or apps on your phone for a day (aaaagony!!!)

Decide each day before you retire, to do one good deed, eg phone an old person you know, tidy up for your mom, make a cd for a friend,

Be balanced.

The Holy Spirit is moderate
Do a few things, stop if its too much

Satan is extreme, and if he cant tempt a saint to sin, tempts them to fast so much it damages their health, or puts some holy notion in their head to remove them from God’s plan of moderation where they are
Ariana_Katlyn said:
What are small, moderately harmless mortifications I can use in order to subdue bodily desires and better conform my will to the will of the Lord? I already make use of partial fasting (avoiding snacks, sweets, etc.) but what are others I can do?

I’m looking to discipline my body and break my will, in ways in which there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person’s health, nothing traumatic. I know that if it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it.
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Ariana_Katlyn said:
I had never heard that before. So the best mortifications are small ones, done inconspicuously, only known to the Lord, yes?
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You already know much of the spirituality of St. Therese and her Little Way. The desire to be hidden is one of the signs of holiness.

Jesus says we must always do whatever we do, not to be seen by men, but for the love of God who sees in secret.

But at the same time our light must shine before men! 🙂 So it is a careful balance.
 
some of these posts make me very sad … surely Jesus suffered so we do not need to… and remember Isiaiah on “true fasting” so we can give to the poor, as some have said many of us have more than enough pain and ills… I honestly see no point in eg giving up coffee or sugar etc. But then I am very old now.
 
Nelka said:
Yes, I find one mortification is kneeling whilst I pray, I feel like an old man getting up afterwards.

😃
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at my age attempting to kneel because getting up is nigh impossible now with age and infirmity would be sheer exhibitionism…it is something I do very rarely and then in an empty church to avoid distracting others…
 
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