What is an "act of mortification"?

[MaryD7]

In our diocese newspaper there was a column entitled “Lenten Regulations”. It basically spelled out the Church’s requirements for Lent. There was, however, one paragraph that I have a question about:

“All other Fridays of the year remain as days of penance in prayerful remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Bishops of the United States have recommended abstinence from meat as a penance for all Fridays of the year, although each individual may substitute for that tradition some other practice of voluntary self-denial or personal penance. This may involve acts of mortification, prayer or charity.”

What exactly is an act of mortification?

 

[Joysong]

Dictionary: (Christianity) the act of mortifying the lusts of the flesh by self-denial and privation.

Mary, the choice is left up to us as to how we deny ourselves, but our self denial is meant to put to death the inordinate cravings of our nature that cause us to move father away from God’s will for us and which may even lead us to sin. Jesus cautioned us that unless we do penance, we will perish. It is a fact of life that we need to be constantly on guard to “mortify” those things that obstruct our union with Him. Lent is a wonderful time to examine what these may be for each of us, and work to reform our lives accordingly.

I hope this was helpful.

 

[Andruschak]

In our diocese newspaper there was a column entitled “Lenten Regulations”. It basically spelled out the Church’s requirements for Lent. There was, however, one paragraph that I have a question about:

“All other Fridays of the year remain as days of penance in prayerful remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Bishops of the United States have recommended abstinence from meat as a penance for all Fridays of the year, although each individual may substitute for that tradition some other practice of voluntary self-denial or personal penance. This may involve acts of mortification, prayer or charity.”

What exactly is an act of mortification?

I guess giving up something for a greater good. Over at the CFP, we are challenged to do three mortifications…time, food, and posessions

Mortification of time is done by ramping up, over a two year period, to doing 90 minutes of prayer per day. (God is more important then TV and movies.) The next year, food is brought under control by fasting and abstinance, to make more room for God. The 4th and last year of Formation is when clothing and posessions are simplified to make more room for God.

The CFP also states that no further mortifications are to be done without the consent of your spiritual director