"Self-Discipline" from Fulton Sheen

"Mortification is good, but only when it is done out of love of God. A 'saint' who spends his [or her] life sizzling on hot coals or reclining on railroad spikes would never be canonized by the Church. Asceticism for asceticism's sake is actually a form of egotism, for self-discipline is only a means, the end of which is greater love of God. Any form of asceticism that disrupted charity would be wrong - this was the mistake of the monk who decided to live only on crusts and upset the whole monastery, turning it into one vast crust hunt to satisfy his idiosyncrasies."

  

                                                                     FULTON J. SHEEN, PEACE OF SOUL

TASTING THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD

Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow in salvation - if indeed you have tasted that the Lord to good.                   (1 Peter 2:1-3)

PRAYER

Lord of Love, give us the self-discipline of the gardener who prunes the rose bush to make it bloom more beautifully. Let us likewise sacrifice our pleasures this Lent in order to groom our souls for eternal life. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION

What personal pleasure will I get along without for the betterment of my soul? Think of this denial as an exchange: self-discipline in exchange for our soul, in exchange for spiritual progress.

(Taken from Lent and Easter Wisdom from Fulton J. Sheen by Ligouri Publications, 2004)