Discipline / Cilice why ?

[MARK65]

***This Question has been asked by Zarephath ***

May I ask if anyone might share their thoughts on how they discerned the method they have chosen? Why was the discipline chosen over a cilise or vice versa?

[Bro. Paul]

Alas, I cannot give a striaght answer on this one, as I use both methods... I use the cilice, and a hair shirt, on a daily basis. The cilice is worn for two hours, while the shirt all day. The former acts as a heightened sense of awareness, while the hair shirt provides a more sutle method of centering the mind.

With regards to the discipline, I use such three times a week, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, usually while reciting the Miserere... I may also use such when under threat from certain thoughts, to bring an instant centering of the mind! However, all this would be for nothing if not also backed up by prayer and meditation.

I know that this may not be the answer you were looking for, but, I trust it helps in some small way...

Pax

[zarephath]

Br. Paul,

Thanks for your reply. It does help simply to listen to someone elses reasoning. I find it a rather delicate problem in discerning how to entering into this in a very focused way (which, I guess, is the whole point.)

I do have to say as well that Trenchtown's opening post on self flagellation was another helpful testimony.

[Dark Knight]

Use of the Cilice was a first choice for me because it can be used discreetly whilst in the company of others, i use it for two hours on a Friday.

The idea of a hairshirt never actually occured to me i dont know why.

I only started using the Discipline some time afterwards, during my Night time prayer. This form of mortification has for me become the more frequent of the two, seemingly without any effort on my part.

[zarephath]

Hmmm, I can see this myself...although constancy is everything I am thinking that the very fact of desiring change is to be avoided.

[Urban Hermit]

For me the discipline seems to be scriptural. Perhaps I am totally misunderstanding certain verses in Holy Scripture, and I truly apologize if I lead anyone astray. However, when Jesus Christ cleansed the Temple at Jerusalem, He used a whip of cords to drive out the money changers. So it seems natural to me to use a whip of cords to cleanse the Temple of the Holy Spirit (our bodies) and drive out those passions that corrupt the soul. For me the discipline is used as a means of spiritual cleansing to accompany prayer and meditation.

[mark]

For me the discipline seems to be scriptural. Perhaps I am totally misunderstanding certain verses in Holy Scripture, and I truly apologize if I lead anyone astray. However, when Jesus Christ cleansed the Temple at Jerusalem, He used a whip of cords to drive out the money changers. So it seems natural to me to use a whip of cords to cleanse the Temple of the Holy Spirit (our bodies) and drive out those passions that corrupt the soul. For me the discipline is used as a means of spiritual cleansing to accompany prayer and meditation.

I think you are exactly right. That's why use the whip as I examine myself for sins or remember my sins.

[BrMichael]

I realize that this is an older post, but I believe it deserves a bit of a bump to the top since new people will undoubtedly come in and read it and may have the same questions themselves.

My reasons for using these forms of mortification, as well as other forms, is very simple. I want to be the very best person I can be, but certain flaws in me are horrible obstacles. Selfishness and pride are in my way daily.

I use a Cilice to break through that pride. After some time wearing it, I can feel my heart and mind turning away from pride and becoming more humble. It's hard to feel all puffed up and full of yourself when a simple little chain can make you want to whine like a baby. Only by having that continual pain as I go about my day can I insure that pride is kept to a minimum.

I also know people who are in continuous pain because of health issues. I can much more easily relate to them and be compassionate because I use a Cilice.

I use something similar to a discipline when I really need to get rid of impure thoughts. (Although that is not the only time I use it.) There is nothing like really sharp pain and a good stern pep talk from myself to take my mind off of things about which I should not be thinking.

[cecith]

I put myself in the spiritual director's hands for that as this was always the advice from the Church and the saints. It's just the way you can do internal & external penance (summinting yourself to your director counselling and looking for pain on your flesh)

But talking about reasons leading to choose corporal mortification... I should say that in my case it wasn't related to fighting impure thoughts or something like that. It was more or less related to a calling for doing prayer and penance for the others, replacing them when they don't want or cannot do it for themselves.

Basically, I use cilice 2 hours daily and discipline once a week but there are always exceptions and in this ocasions I ask my director to allow me to use them more often... that's it.