ASCESIS is another term for self-discipline. It comes from the Greek word, askesis, which literally means exercise. During this Lenten season, God calls us to a period of ascesis.
The term can make us fearful or hesitant because it calls us to give up our appetites for pleasure and material things. It calls us to curb our inordinate desires for entertainment, food, drinks, and idle talks. It challenges us to get rid of all forms of addictions, whether it is alcohol, sex, drugs, gambling, gossiping or an unhealthy relationship. It urges us to put more time for prayer and self-sacrifice. Hence, ascesis can be understood as self-punishment and a loss of freedom.
But we have to look at the positive effects or fruits of ascesis. Just like anything in life, we can’t achieve wholeness, peace of mind, freedom, and a sense of fulfillment without self-discipline. Oliver of Clement in his book, The Roots of Christian Mysticism puts it well:
“The purpose of ascesis is thus to divest oneself of surplus of weight, of spiritual fat. It is to dissolve in the waters of baptism, in the water of tears, all hardness of the heart, so that it may become an antenna of infinite sensitivity. infinitely vulnerable to the beauty of the world and to the sufferings of human beings, and to God who is Love, who has conquered by the wood of the Cross.”
Ascesis then allows for self-transcendence and restoration of self that is tarnished by sin to its original brightness. It clears the silt away in the depth of the soul and frees the spring of living water. Indeed, it enlarges the heart and renews the spirit. Instead of limiting us, it gives us inner freedom from attachments to titles, recognition, and all forms of worldly ambitions. It frees the heart to love, to forgive, and to serve.
In the Gospel on the First Sunday of Lent, we hear Jesus Christ practicing ascesis as he spent forty days and forty nights in the desert. By successfully battling the temptations of the devil, he divested himself of self-preservation and self-glory in order to prepare himself for his ministry of redemption. He came out of the desert as bright as the sun and truly as the Son of God, ready to conquer the world with his mission of love and mercy.
May Lent be a period when each of us become a new Adam, free from the corruption of sin and death! May we persevere in all our sacrifices so we can come out of our deserts as bright as the sun and clear as the moon! Amen.
* * *
Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].