_Part IX of a series on The Ten Wellsprings of Grace for an Evangelical Catholic Spirituality
An ascetic life is related to the “way of prayer” discussed by Catholic spiritual writers, such as St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. They make it clear that one will advance in prayer only at “the pace of a snail” unless they mortify their various appetites. John says that until we do this, we will do no more than run around in circles. But what exactly is meant by the ascetic life?
Asceticism is the practice of self denial — the training by which our spirit gains mastery over our body. While the hedonist seeks self-fulfillment in pleasure, the ascetic seeks God through the mortification of his fleshly appetites. A rejection of ascetic practice has grave consequences, especially for spiritual leaders. Many of these in our time and times past have suffered shipwreck in the faith, severely damaged the lives of others and caused untold collatoral spiritual damage to their flock through this failure to mortify some appetite. Pentecostalism, for example, is a virtual graveyard of former holy men who fell through fleshly indulgence, and the painful reality of pedophilia in our own Church still weighs heavily upon us.
A true evangelical spirit does not reject the ascetic life, but warmly embraces it as a means of seeking fuller union with God. Following the example of the great ascetics of the Church — Jesus, John the Baptist, St. Paul and the innumerable monastic ascetics — and knowing that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” an evangelical Catholic desires to “discipline himself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). It takes inspiration from the ancient desert ascetics like St. Gregory and in the lives and writings of medieval masters such as The Ascent of Mount Carmel, by St.John of the Cross and The Spiritual Dialogue by St. Catherine of Genoa.
So what types of ascetic practice does an evangelical Catholic undertake? Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and following the example of more saintly people, he or she begins with the ancient practices of prayer, fasting, and watchings (limiting sleep for the purpose of prayer). It should be mentioned, that our modern sensibilities recoil at some of the harsh practices we read about in medieval spiritual literature, and, perhaps, they should. Keeping to mortifications suggested by the Church today, such as Friday fasts, rising in the morning at a set time to pray and dedicating ourselves to almsgiving is generally a safe and sure route to go. Consult, of course, with your spiritual director or confessor. Perhaps, most important to remember, is that there are a multitude of occasions every day to mortify our flesh! St. Therese, the Little Flower and Doctor of the Church, taught us well, that we needn’t look far or to great and severe mortifications to become masters of our flesh. Every inconvenience, intrusion, imposition, obligation, suffering, and opportunity to minister to the needs of others comprises our “little way of perfection,” as we endeavor to embrace them, by God’s grace, with patience, love, and even joy.