Piety and Ascetic Practice

Just my thoughts on the subject.

There is a type of religious piety that is an end in itself; the counting up of devotions kept, litanies and chaplets said, hours spent in silence, or the saying of a prayer that someone else wrote, but another person altogether has granted a certain indulgence to you -- payable post-death.

There is another type of piety that says such religious practices are a great waste of time, and reflects a lack of faith.

There doesn't seem to be much in the way of middle ground.

The kind of piety I wish to explore, and/or practice, will assist me with asceticism .

A temptation comes. It is subtle, it is one perhaps you know all too well. I think this could apply to almost any temptation, a fill-in-the-blank approach. Your temptation comes, and the usual thing is for you to give in. Okay, if you can nail that moment down, the giving in, it is possible to find a way of stopping your own will to sin.

Now that takes a bit of work. I want to look at various practices that might be useful. First, here is what I do not think is a good idea. Once it was considered reasonable to use the scourge upon ones person. Not very many people still use the scourge, and that's a good thing. Use of the scourge could easily get caught up into the sexual sphere, and then you have two problems instead of one.

I'm have to find something because growth must occur. I'm on a plateau, and acedia could easily creep up and knock me out of the race.

There are Litanies. By the time you finish reciting a litany you're not likely going to be giving in to the temptation you were trying to overcome--at least that day. I'll do it.

There is Hail Mary, full of grace.... Once around a rosary is fifty-three Hail Mary's. Experience has taught me that after fifty-three, I'm not up for my planned, and usual sin. I'll do it.

The point is that no matter how many times you say you will not do something, in the end, you do it anyway. That type of sin has to be rooted out with special acts. That is the purpose of this post, what will actually break open those moments of weak will, and help me push a little closer to God.