Asceticism And Monasticism

Asceticism Asceticism is an extremely unique practice that has been demonstrated by Doctors of the Church, John the Baptist, St. Francis of Assisi, the twelve apostles, the dessert fathers and most importantly Jesus Christ himself. It is something reiterated constantly in the Bible and seen in the actions of our Savior, yet we still fail to grasp the concept and true meaning of this powerful word. We are familiar with monks and nuns, but we are oblivious to the ascetic lives in which they live. Ascetic practices have been undergone by church followers for thousands of years. Asceticism is dying, killed by today’s society. It is being attack by the obsession and addiction to physical materials and needs. It is killing the very practice that …show more content…
This was only beginning to an essential and necessary practice in our every day faith today. St. Anthony is a prominent church figure who can be credited for the spread of asceticism. Anthony was reared form a very wealthy family in Egypt. He received a calling from God to abandon his life and riches to find God. He began his ascetic practice by retreating to the desert and practicing “sleepless nights spent in prayer, fasting every other day, and eating only bread and water” (Anthony of Egypt). He was the first important figure to begin the practices and eventually formed monasticism based off ascetic views. His actions began a new era of worship, which we see practiced today. Today’s society has drifted away from ascetic practices, and it has been affecting the people and the Church drastically. Church attendance is at all time lows, the number of practicing Catholics is decreasing and vocations in the monastery are nearly nonexistent. All these terrifying things can be traced back to the lack of ascetic practices that once filled our faith in abundance. Christians strayed away from the practice that truly allowed them to see Jesus. They veered away from the path set by Jesus and the Church founders. Asceticism is an endangered species; it is so close to demise, which in turn would be disastrous for the …show more content…
It is all about self appearance. Diets, anorexia and vegetarianism are all forms of asceticism but not for religious purposes. They starve their bodies to conform to society norms, it is not a selfless act but instead an act of selfishness. People look to improve their physical beings, rather than their minds. This sort of asceticism is rapidly increasing in popularity. It is sick to see todays youth torment their bodies only to fit into a society, where the standards are completely unachievable. The standard is not in any way standard today, it is merely a figment of imagination. People need to divert their ascetic practices to religious purpose rather than secular ones. Humanity is dependent on this