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Building on the virtue of fortitude is the strength of mortification

Mortification-2023-2024-Mini-PDF

Mortification, based on Faith, is the strength to deny oneself through penance and austerity to strengthen the will in the practice of virtue and grow in the likeness of Christ.
The mortification is never an end in itself, but a means by which we become better followers of Christ..

“In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest” (John 12:24).

The root word for “mortification” comes from the Latin, mors and mortis, and it translates as “death.”
In the spiritual life, therefore, mortification refers to voluntary actions by which we gradually
“put to death” all of our vices, sinful habits, and the self-centered tendencies that lurk beneath them.
Spiritual writers use terms like abnegation, sacrifice, self-sacrifice, and self-denial to refer to the same thing.

Model yourselves on those who excel the most in mortification.” – St. Vincent de Paul

The opposing weakness is excessiveness – The weakness of refusing to control or deny yourself

In Christ’s Peace
Daniel Minter
President Assumption Catholic Schools

Mission to promote excellence and personal growth grounded in Catholic principles and tradition.