The Catholic Commons

Have you ever willingly done something extreme or difficult for the sake of building your body’s resilience? Today, people add ankle weights at the gym, wear weighted vests on walks, and even plunge into ice- cold water—all in pursuit of strength and vitality. These practices stand out because we live in a world where most people avoid discomfort at all costs. In that sense, those who choose it for the sake of growth are worth the admiration.

Discipline of the Body vs. Zeal for the Soul

Just the other day, I overheard my husband and my brothers-in-law talking about the benefits and idea of cold plunging. The idea may be popularized by Joe Rogan and the wellness world, but it’s hardly new—cold exposure as therapy has been practiced since ancient times. Their conversation turned to figures like Jocko Willink and David Goggins—men known for their extreme discipline when it comes to their bodies. The natural questions arose: Is it worth it? Is it even sustainable to live like that?

These are valuable questions, but what strikes me most is not the practices themselves, but the sheer lengths people go to for the body. To look and feel good, people willingly endure hardship, discomfort, and even pain. That kind of discipline is admirable, but leaves me wondering: how often do we show the same zeal for the soul?

As human beings, we are comprised of both body and soul—both aspects integral to the human person. All of our actions have physical and spiritual dimensions. The body makes visible what is invisible within us (our spirits). Caring for our bodily health is essential, but if we neglect the soul, we miss the deepest part of what it means to live as a whole human person. The spiritual dimension matters just as much as the physical—and in fact, with regards to eternity, it matters more.

Mortification: Spiritual Training

There is a practice in Catholicism that mirrors the self-denial and the self-discipline people admire in the fitness world, but with an infinitely greater goal: the practice of mortification. We often associate the word “mortification” as something to avoid, but it is ultimately something good when applied to the spiritual life. Mortification is the voluntary restraint of natural desires and appetites, chosen so as to strengthen the soul and draw closer to God.

This, too, is a kind of training. It involves the body—since we are both physical and spiritual beings—but the goal is freedom.

Freedom to live as we ought to live, in alignment with God’s will.

Just as no one plunges into freezing water merely for the pain, Christians do not mortify themselves just to suffer.

Mortification is what frees us from being enslaved to sin, passions, and worldly attachments so that we might align ourselves more fully with the will of God.

Daily Acts of Mortification

You might recognize this kind of practice most clearly in the season of Lent, when Christians take on sacrifices and penances for purification and spiritual growth. But mortification is not meant only for Lent; it is meant to be a daily habit. The daily training of the soul in self-denial and virtue is how we grow in holiness and freedom.

So, how do we train the soul? Do we merely pile on difficult spiritual practices to prove our spiritual toughness? No. The heart of mortification is much simpler—and much deeper.

To grow in mortification, we make small, daily acts of self-denial. As the athlete plunges himself into freezing water, Christians practice daily mortification.

This can look like choosing patience when you want to snap, putting down your phone when you feel the urge to endlessly scroll, or stopping what you are doing so as to attend to the person in front of you who needs your attention.

As St. Jose Maria Escriva said:

“The appropriate word you left unsaid; the joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who annoy you; that silence when you’re unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in the persons who live with you… this, with perseverance, is indeed solid interior mortification.”

Mortification ultimately helps us overcome self-love and pride, so we can grow in humility, generosity, and trust in God—as well as in our love for others.

We need this kind of growth in a culture that values the self above all.

It is the kind of growth that changes hearts and can thus change the world.

Freedom and Joy in Christ

Our culture tells us that the most important thing is to pursue whatever makes us happy.

Mortification challenges this—not because happiness is a bad thing, but because it isn’t our final end.

True joy comes from aligning our will with God’s.

This kind of joy endures beyond this life into eternity.

Mortification is different from suffering for the sake of suffering. We are not called to be masochists! Sacrifices and pains are undertaken for a greater good, and never for some sadistic reason. When we embrace the hardships of life and offer them up well, we build ourselves up in virtue more readily.

This is how we train our souls.

This is the way we run the race.

This is ultimately the path to freedom.

In a culture obsessed with comfort and the self, this is the daily antidote: to die to ourselves, so that Christ may live more fully in us.