Where/ How Can I Obtain a "Hair Shirt?"

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Faithdancer said:
I agree that obedience, prayer, study of difficult material (though don’t let that in turn be a source of pride) and offering up the daily irritations and irritating people as mortifications are very helpful tactics. I agree that bloodletting and scarring one’s self are over the top. Exercise doesn’t really count because it is ultimately pleasurable (endorphins).
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It seems to me that, if exercise redirects the passions into another direction then it “counts”. One does not have to feel pain and suffering to redirect oneself to something life giving.
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
It’s a type of whip used for riding horses. Just because something doesn’t cause physical damage, doesn’t mean it won’t cause psychological damage. I strongly discourage any type of whipping to overcome lust, especially when one uses it at the time of temptation. The reason being is that the brain will become conditioned to associate lustrous desires with physical pain, and will eventually cause such actions to be a substitute for sexual release. Such a corporal mortification requires the very strong supervision of a competent spiritual director. If you can’t get one, then you don’t engage in such a mortification. Obedience is a greater mortification than giving in to our own self will.
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This is very true, Deo. The reason punishment works is that the brain associates the unpleasant stimulus with the connected behavior. In fact, the brain will become conditioned to associate sexual desire with physical pain. This is the basic principle that underlies the subculture of sadomasichism that exists in every large metropolitian area in the US.
 
Faithdancer said:
I’m not letting no “spiritual director” near me with no riding crop or anything else. And they expect to get paid, too!

And as far as lust becoming associated with pain, well, that’s kind of the point.🙂
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An authentic spiritual director will not expect to get paid.
 
Faithdancer said:
I’m not letting no “spiritual director” near me with no riding crop or anything else. And they expect to get paid, too!

And as far as lust becoming associated with pain, well, that’s kind of the point.🙂
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Or it is more accurate to say that spiritual direction is not denied based on inability to pay.
 
guanophore said:
It seems to me that, if exercise redirects the passions into another direction then it “counts”. One does not have to feel pain and suffering to redirect oneself to something life giving.
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I suppose it coul .d be a mortification if and when one really doesn’t feel like working out but does it anyway. However, when one is conditioned to working out regularly but encounters psychological resistance to working out on a particular day, that can be a sign of overtraining, often the first sign.
 
Belshazzar said:
I intend to do some serious prayer, fasting, and penance this coming year of 2016, not just because I feel the end times are near, or the dismal presidential election before us, rather it’s something I feel called to. I have been thinking of undertaking certain bodily mortifications and hair shirts came to mind after hearing a sermon about John the Baptist just the other day. But I still have a few questions and concerns…

1). Where would I find one? and 2). would I have to wear it continuously, or just during prayer? and 3). how would I care for it? Toss it in with my regular laundry? Drip- dry? (Ew!) By the way, this is something I’m absolutely serious about and not something I’m gonna show off to my friends or even let anybody know about it should I obtain one. Any help would be appreciated.
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I can say from experience, wearing a wool scapular next to the skin can be a strong reminder. It is somewhat itchy.
 
Back to the OP and a particular suggestion I thought was good, even if it was intended to be flip (and I don’t advocate the riding crop for the OP btw).

Anyway I’m referring to the suggestion to read something really difficult. Leviticus comes to mind, but the particular work I had in mind was Dark Night of the Soul. I have to read every page at least three times before it sinks in, maybe that’s just me but I’ve read quotes by others who find it challenging too. *Interior Castle *isn’t easy either, though I find it a bit more accessible. And for a pure, downright humbling read, though not so difficult, I’d recommend Thomas a Kempis. If you don’t feel the conviction if sin at least once per chapter, then you’re already a saint, I guess!
 
Faithdancer said:
I use a riding crop, and only on occasions of lust. It doesn’t cause any lasting damage, and I certainly don’t feel proud about it. Brother body needs chastisement at times.

I agree that obedience, prayer, study of difficult material (though don’t let that in turn be a source of pride) and offering up the daily irritations and irritating people as mortifications are very helpful tactics. I agree that bloodletting and scarring one’s self are over the top. Exercise doesn’t really count because it is ultimately pleasurable (endorphins).

As far as spiritual directors, around here they are typically very difficult to find, unless you are comfortable with someone who is into enneagrams, or mixing yoga with Christian prayer, or some other such New Age nonsense. 🤷
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Everyone has access to a confessor, and that is who the OP should ask permission from to engage in corporal penance. As for spiritual directors, a priest is always free.
 
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