Mortification of the flesh
Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their
In
Although the term mortification of the flesh, which is derived from the
Christianity
Etymology
The term mortification of the flesh comes from the
According to Christian
Forms of mortification
In its simplest form, mortification of the flesh can mean merely denying oneself certain pleasures, such as permanently or temporarily
Purposes
Mortification of the flesh is undertaken by Christians in order to repent of sins and share in the Passion of Jesus.[2]
Through the centuries, some Christians have practiced voluntary penances as a way of imitating Jesus who, according to the New Testament, voluntarily accepted the sufferings of his passion and death on the cross at Calvary in order to redeem humankind.[2] Some Christians note that the cross carried by Jesus is the crossbar or patibulum, a rough tree trunk, which probably weighed 80–110 pounds (36–50 kg).[citation needed] Jesus also fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, an example of submission to the first person of the Trinity, God the Father, and as a way of preparing for ministry.
The early Christians mortified the flesh through martyrdom and through what has been called "confession of the faith": accepting torture in a joyful way. As Christians experienced persecution, they often embraced their fate of suffering due to their love for Christ and the transformation they said they experienced from following him; these individuals became martyrs of the Christian faith.[17][18] St. Jerome, a Western church father and biblical scholar who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), was famous for his severe penances in the desert.[citation needed]
Instruments of penance
Christians practicing mortification of the flesh often use instruments of penance as they repent, with the purpose of being contrite and sharing in the suffering of Jesus. These include the following:
- Discipline, a scourge usually having seven tails (representing the seven deadly sins and seven virtues) for self-flagellation of the back[19]
- Hairshirt, a garment made of camel's hair or sackcloth worn to cause the Christian mild discomfort[20]
- Chain cilice, a wire chain worn around the legs to cause the penitent mild discomfort[21][22]
- Spugna, a round cork containing metal studs, metal spikes, or needles that is used to beat one's chest[23]
- Cross, which is carried in the imitation of Christ, especially in Lenten processions[24][25]
-
Hairshirt
Denominational practices
Catholicism
Some canonized Catholic saints and founders of Catholic religious organizations practiced mortification in order to imitate
Lutheranism
The Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Church supports the practice of mortification of the flesh, stating:
For they [our teachers] have always taught concerning the cross that it behooves Christians to bear afflictions. This is the true, earnest, and unfeigned mortification, to wit, to be exercised with divers afflictions, and to be crucified with Christ. Moreover, they teach that every Christian ought to train and subdue himself with bodily restraints, or bodily exercises and labors that neither satiety nor slothfulness tempt him to sin, but not that we may merit grace or make satisfaction for sins by such exercises. And such external discipline ought to be urged at all times, not only on a few and set days. So Christ commands, Luke 21:34: Take heed lest your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting; also Matt. 17:21: This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Paul also says, 1 Cor. 9:27: I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. Here he clearly shows that he was keeping under his body, not to merit forgiveness of sins by that discipline, but to have his body in subjection and fitted for spiritual things, and for the discharge of duty according to his calling.[27]
In the
Methodism
By using yourselves to consideration, you will come to be aware of the snares that your spiritual enemies lay for you, of the snake under the green grass, and will not be imposed upon so easily as many are by the wiles of Satan; and by habituating yourselves to
Western Orthodoxy
The
Other Christian viewpoints
It became "quite common" for members of the
"He understands this redemptive work to be finished, completed, and perfected. Nothing remains to be done, and the suffering of Christ's followers does not put the finishing touches on the triumph of Calvary. Paul does not believe that suffering has any atoning benefit for himself or for others. It does, however, 'serve to increase Paul's living knowledge of Christ.'"[40]
This suffering Paul refers to comes as one takes on the commission to share the gospel. Persecution and suffering such as that experienced by Christ will follow and Christians should see this suffering as a divine necessity. In chapter 9, "Paul compares the evangelistic lifestyle of believers to athletes who sacrifice normal pursuits for the sake of strict training and a competitive edge".[41] In the Corinth church there were grey areas of lifestyle and behaviors[42] not specifically covered by the Mosaic law, and Paul was encouraging them to discipline themselves to abstain from those behaviors and practices for the sake of winning others to Christ.[citation needed]
Analogous non-Christian concepts
Indigenous practices and shamanism
Some indigenous cultures' shamans believe that endurance of pain or denial of appetites serves to increase spiritual power. In many indigenous cultures, painful rites are used to mark sexual maturity, marriage, procreation, or other major life stages. In Africa and Australia, indigenous people sometimes use genital mutilation on boys and girls that is intentionally painful, including
Shamans[
Secular practices
It has been speculated that extreme practices of mortification of the flesh may be used to obtain an
In some contexts, modern practices of body modification and plastic surgery overlap with mortification. Often, secular people will undergo painful experiences in order to become more self-aware, to take control of their bodies or "own" them more fully, to bond with a group that is spiritual in its aims, or to overcome the body's limitations in ways that do not refer to any higher power. Many times these rites are intended to empower the participant, rather than humble them. This represents a very different aim than many traditional mortifications.[46]
See also
References
- ^ Scheckel, Roger J. (2006). "Seeking Sanctification Through the Practice of Mortification". Marian Catechist Apostolate. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
Saint Paul sets forth in the above two passages the fundamental reason why we are in need of mortification. The Christian must continually seek to crucify and put to death that dimension of our self that remains under the influence of the fallen state of the First Adam into which we are conceived and born. After our baptism, the imputed sin of our First Parents is washed from our life, however a residue or stain of the Original Sin remains with us, what is known as concupiscence. The effects of this residue or stain are experienced primarily in our will, tending in the direction of a love of self rather than a love of God. This is what is meant by a "disordered will." This disorder can be expressed through our external senses as well as the operations of our soul, e.g., the imagination, memory, and intellect. Mortification seeks to address these manifestations of the "disordered will."
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-23351-3.
As Fra Antonio emphasised, the confratelli sought through self-inflicted pain to gain remission for their sins, by sharing in Christ's suffering, in imitatione Christi.
- ISBN 9781405179409.
In this period Clement of Alexandria, St Jerome, and Tertullian make the mortification of the flesh by fasting and abstinence as a way to holiness.
- ISBN 9782765908661.
The Holy Spirit frees the believers from sin and death. To this end the Word declares, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:1-2). The Holy Ghost is the Agent of the mortification of the sins of the flesh (Rom. 8:12-13).
- ^ Zechariah 13:6
- ^ 1 Kings 18:28–29
- ^ Cody, A. O. (1990). p. 358 The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. (S. J. Raymond E. Brown, Ed.) Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
- ^ Romans 8:13
- ^ Colossians 3:5
- ISBN 9781579100476.
- ^ a b Romans 8:13
- ^ Colossians 3:5
- ^ Galatians 5:24
- ^ Proverbs 20:30
- ^ "G4561 - sarx - Strong's Greek Lexicon (Esv)".
- ^ "G4983 - sōma - Strong's Greek Lexicon (Esv)".
- ISBN 9780865850064.
A third factor Christians brought was their belief in Jesus' resurrection, and the certainty of their own eternal life. That made them willing to die for their faith. There are many stories of martyrs who, before death, won to the faith their persecutors or those that watched them die.
- ISBN 9781935909293.
In 302 A.D. Emperor Diocletian issued the first of many edicts to persecute Christians ... When others began to see the Christians' devotion and willingness to die for their beiefs, they began to question their own lives. Even though there were an estimated 20,000 people killed in the persecution, Christianity grew ... These men were willing to die to spread the message of Jesus. They experienced transformation and wanted others to do the same.
- ^ ISBN 9780198269892.
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1884). A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic. Chatto and Windus. p. 56.
- ^ Long, Gideon (6 April 2021). "Weary Peruvians to choose yet another president amid crises and Covid". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021.
López Aliaga, a member of Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic movement, raised eyebrows recently by revealing he uses a cilice — a metal chain with spikes on it — to suppress his sexual desire and bring him closer to God. "It's a small mortification and I do it voluntarily," he told a local radio station.
- ISBN 978-1-5326-9382-3.
- ^ "Italian religious festival bans selfies". Express Digest. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
Hundreds of locals in the medieval village of Guardia Sanframondi in the southern region of Campania will gather this week to beat themselves in the chest with corks containing metal spikes. ... During the march, they will pound their chests with 'spugna', a round piece of cork containing needles.
- ^ Bennett, W. P. "The Mortification of the Flesh and Lent". The Mystical Humanity of Christ Publishing. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Jones, Kevin J. (23 March 2013). "UK pilgrims will carry life-sized cross to historic shrine". CNA. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Rite of Consecration of Virgins, prayer of consecration
- ^ Neve, Juergen Ludwig (1914). The Augsburg Confession: A Brief Review of Its History and an Interpretation of Its Doctrinal Articles, with Introductory Discussions on Confessional Questions. Lutheran Publication Society. p. 150.
- ISBN 9780140439212.
- ^ Theses, Ninety-five, of Luther. Concordia Publishing House. 2000.
- ISBN 9780939697557.
Luther subjected himself to long periods of fasting and self-flagellation. He spent many sleepless nights in a stone cell without a blanket to protect him from the damp cold that was characteristic of the area.
- ^ Wall, James T. The Boundless Frontier: America from Christopher Columbus to Abraham Lincoln. University Press of America. p. 103.
Though he did not go to the ends that had Luther— including even self-flagellation — the methods of ritualistic observance, self-denial, and good works did not satisfy.
- ^ ISBN 9780810870826.
Samuel weighed the pros and cons of Thomas à Kempis on the mortification of the flesh with Samuel taking a moderate position between two extremes. As for T. Kempsis, all the world are apt to strain o' one side or t'other. And 'tis no wonder if contemplative men...when they observed how mad the bulk of the world was for sensual pleasures, should run the matter too far o' the contrary extreme, and attempt to persuade us to have no senses at all ...But for all that, mortification is still an indispensable Christian duty." John, in his later years, would continue to hold à Kempis in high regard, recommending him to Sammie Wesley, Charles's son, for edification and hoped for evangelical conversion.
- ^ ISBN 9781421404806.
- ISBN 9780802867100.
Methodist preachers, in particular, may have been tempted to take the elevation of the spirit and concomitant mortification of the body to extremes. Early circuit riders often arose well before dawn for solitary prayer; they remained on their knees without food or drink or physical comforts sometimes for hours on end.
- ISBN 9780195083019.
Ascetic disciplines in both Catholicism and Protestantism were a system of rules of conduct to control the flesh by starvation and renunciation." John Cennick, the first Methodist lay preacher, exemplifies the fact that Protestant ascetics were required to adopt monastic regimens of the body in their everyday lives. "He fasted long and often, and prayed nine times a day. Fancying dry bread too great an indulgence for so great a sinner as himself, he began to feed on potatoes, acorns, crabs, and grass; and often wished that he could live on roots and herbs.
- ISBN 9780802867100.
- ^ a b Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine, Volume 36. 1813. p. 252. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ISBN 9780195083019.
In the many letters to her correspondents, Fish, Anthony, Hopkins, and Noyes, Osborn examined the state of her soul, sought spiritual guidance in the midst of her perplexities, and created a written forum for her continued self-examination. She cultivated an intense and abiding spirit of evangelical humiliation—self-flagellation and self-torture to remind her of her continued sin, depravity, and vileness in the eyes of God.
- ISBN 978-0-310-57098-1.
- ISBN 978-0-310-48490-5.
- ^ See 1 Corinthians 8
- ^ "Rites of Passage". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
- ^ Sacred Pain-Hurting the Body for the sake of the Soul, A. Glucklich, 2003
- ^ "Church of Body Modification". Archived from the original on 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
- ^ In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification, Victoria L. Pitts, 2003
- ^ Gay Body, a Journey through Shadow to Self, M. Thompson, 1999
- ^ Modern Primitives, Vale and Juno, RE/Search press, 1989
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .