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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...

Sister Sobodka said: "Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance. "We would hear it – we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellate himself. He did it when he was still capable of moving on his own." The flagellation is also confirmed by another bishop who has given testimony. Emery Kabongo was a secretary for Pope John Paul. "He would punish himself and in particular just before he ordained bishops and priests," he said. "I never actually saw it myself but several people...

1. Gospel and legal mortification differ in their principles from which they proceed. Gospel mortification is from gospel principles, viz. the Spirit of God [Rom. 8. 13], 'If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live'; Faith in Christ [Acts 15. 9], 'Purifying their hearts by faith'; The love of Christ constraining [2 Cor. 5. 14], 'The love of Christ constraineth us.' But legal mortification is from legal principles such as, from the applause and praise of men, as in the Pharisees; from pride of self-righteousness, as in Paul before his conversion; from the fear...

The What and Why of Mortification by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The best description of mortification was given by Our Lord. He said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mat 16:24). Mortification, therefore, is self-denial. And self-denial is doing the will of God, even when the Divine will crosses at right angles to our will. Mortification is the imitation of Christ in the surrender of what we naturally like in order to please God. Self-Denial to Make Up for Past Sins There is...

"The true way to advance in holy virtues is to persevere in a holy cheerfulness. The cheerful are much easier to guide in the spiritual life than the melancholy.... Excessive sadness seldom spring from any other source than pride. Charity and cheerfulness, or charity and humility, should be our motto. It is very necessary to be cheerful, but we must not on that account give in to frivolity. Frivolity incapacitates a person from receiving any additional spirituality from God. Frivolity also roots up the little a man may have already acquired...." "Those who pay a moderate attention to the mortification...

The sacrament of baptism has made us temples of the Holy Spirit. Baptism washes away Original Sin, but we are left with the effects of Original Sin. Our intellect is darkened and our will is weakened. The Daily Struggle Due to the effects of Original Sin and our own personal sins that are committed after baptism, our souls are filled with many things that are not of God. Like a good spring-cleaning, Lent provides us an excellent opportunity to rid our souls of anything and everything that does not belong there. The practice of mortification is the way to free...

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN MORTIFICATION by Cardinal Desire Mercier (1851-1926) NB: All the practices of mortification which we have collected here are derived from the examples of the Saints, especially Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Teresa, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint John Berchmans; or they are recommended by acknowledged masters of the spiritual life, such as the Venerable Louis de Blois, Rodriguez, Scaramelli, Mgr. Gay, Abbe Allemand, Abbe Hamon, Abbe Dubois, etc.. ' 1 - In the matter of food, restrict yourself as far as possible to simple necessity. Consider these words which Saint Augustine addressed to God: "O my...