What is Asceticism?
Ascetic as a noun is defined as "a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons."
As an adjective, ascetic means "relating to asceticism, the doctrine that one can reach a high spiritual state through the practice of extreme self-denial or self-mortification."
The adjective "ascetic" originates from the ancient Greek term askēsis, which means "training" or "exercise." In the Christian context, an ascetic is like a "spiritual athlete" training their discipline and disposition of heart to cultivate virtue and faith within themselves. Traditionally, the ascetic "exercises" of the faith include daily prayers, Bible reading, fasting, almsgiving, and church services.
Ascetic Self-Denial
Self-mortification may sound grim. However, it simply means to deny our self-will to follow the commandments of Christ. As Christ said in Matthew 16:24, "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Here are more Bible verses that mention self-denial to follow Christ and live by His teachings:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." ~ Luke 14:26
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ~ Galatians 2:20
"And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:15
Asceticism in Practice
Asceticism is the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires to attain a spiritual purpose or goal. Hardly any religion has been without elements of asceticism.
The roots of asceticism related to the training and development of the human physique, as stated by Brittanica.com:
The origins of asceticism lie in man’s attempts to achieve various ultimate goals or ideals: development of the “whole” person, human creativity, ideas, the “self,” or skills demanding technical proficiency. Athletic askēsis (“training”), involving the ideal of bodily fitness and excellence, was developed to ensure the highest possible degree of physical fitness in an athlete.
For Christianity, asceticism relates to the body, mind, and soul. Christian asceticism is the practice of self-denial (i.e., control of one's passions and base impulses) to overcome our fallen nature with the help and grace of God.
"Do not think about or do anything without a spiritual purpose, whereby it is done for God. For If you travel without purpose, you shall labor in vain." ~ St. Mark the Ascetic
The Importance of Asceticism Today
The Christian ascetic takes on the challenge of sorting out things that can become passions and separates himself or herself from allowing them to take ownership of his mind and heart. Whatever enslaves you owns you. Therefore, if you are serious about giving yourself to Christ, you must be free to do so. Practicing asceticism is identifying the worldly attachments that preclude our devotion and allegiance to Christ and laboring to overcome them. You must replace these earthly passions with things profitable for faith, hope, and love, such as prayer, Bible reading, family gatherings, attending church, charity, etc.
"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:7-8)
Christian Quotes on Asceticism
"Let all involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion for repentance." ~ St. Mark the Ascetic
"In truth there is only one freedom - the holy freedom of Christ, whereby He freed us from sin, from evil, from the devil. It binds us to God. All other freedoms are illusory, and false. That is to say, they are all, in fact, slavery." ~ St. Justin Popovich
“It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little.” ~ Diogenes of Sinope
"Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction, virtue has not been tested." ~ St. Mark the Ascetic
“If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh (taking care of course to keep within the limits of what seems permissible to the world), we shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ. When the flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Asceticism in the Bible
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and his pride in possessions—comes not from the Father but from the world” ~ 1 John 2:15
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." ~ 2 Timothy 3:1-5
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ~ Matthew 6:16-18
"And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed." ~ Acts 14:23
Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ~ 1 Corinthians 7:5
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ~ 1 Timothy 6:12
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ~ 2 Timothy 2:5
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ~ 2 Timothy 4:7
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24
Sources:
Asceticism - Brittanica.com
The Ascetic and the Mystic - oca.org
Photo credit: Getty/Anastasiia-Stiahailo
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