Posted on 02/12/2010 7:53:58 PM PST by James C. Bennett
The news that Pope John Paul II practised bodily mortification, which has caused a ripple of interest in the secular press, ought not to come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Catholic tradition.
The idea of a leather belt hanging in the wardrobe and the nights spent on the bare, cold floor may be piquant to the worldly mind, but the details as such are not important. Far more to the point is the spiritual lesson to be learned from the late pope.
John Paul II was for much of his reign a strong man, a powerful exponent of the Gospel, an athlete lionised by the media. Yet as his reign drew on, a different picture emerged: that of a man living with crippling illness.
At his final appearance in his office window he was unable to speak, yet then he was most eloquent; and as he lay dying, that was when perhaps his message was most clear.
His closing days vindicated his decision not to retire from the throne of Peter; for he was never a better shepherd and teacher than when he was visibly carrying the Cross.
The present revelation about bodily mortification is both salutary and useful, because it draws attention to a side of John Paul II that could easily be missed; amid the roaring crowds and the cries of "JP Two, we love you!" was man who was humble and convinced of his own personal sinfulness, his inadequacy before God.
But why should anyone deliberately choose to whip themselves? It is, on the face of it, a crazy thing to do. It is something, we can be sure, that the late pope did only with the permission of his confessor, and after careful consideration.
Many spiritual writers do not approve of bodily self-chastisement, but those who do allow it emphasise that its purpose is not simply to inflict pain on oneself. Pain is a physical evil, but the physical pain involved in this sort of penitential act is slight, or should be so, a token pain that awakes in the penitent a spiritual awareness.
Ping.
It does?
It’s open for discussion.
Sad. Some things are best left in the Dark Ages.
I love the man but would rather have not known about bizarre things like this.
It just may be his way of expressing deep penance. It’s not like he demanded anyone to do the same.
It does not take away any of the good that he did now, does it?
Well, I guess if you’re not lucky enough to have a Siberian gulag in your adopted country, you have to induce suffering, presumably to gain insight into something or other and to make yourself a better person. Maybe. Or make yourself feel less guilty about something. Or maybe not.
Just points out that he was weird
But that’s not how Catholics view this.
See this thread, there was a good discussion on the same:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2450213/posts
Everyone has their eccentricities. But this was more or less benign, in that it did not affect his conduct with others. So I don’t think ‘weird’ would be appropriate to categorise a person who indeed had noble intentions. Mind you, I’m not Catholic.
I am not Catholic and rely only on the history I have read.
Wasn’t this common practice for both preists and nuns in the not too distant past?
Pope John Paul was not a young man. Perhaps he carried on with the practice?
Some still practice self-flagellation; sleeping on the concrete floor; etc.
I believe the Cursillo teaches these practices.
I always found them to be self-defeating.
Life is hard enough without beating yourself up.
In secundo misterio doloroso flagellatione Domini Nostri Iesu Christi contemplamus et mortificatione corporis petimus.
???
One way to keep all that public adulation from going to your head.
Ping.
That makes sense, but the Catholics on the other thread would beg to differ.
Our bodies are something we should be grateful for, respect, and care for as a gift from God. I can only see self abuse like that as a sign of some kind of mental or emotional problem.
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