Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
History and Religion
On Catholic Bodily Mortification & Penance

On Catholic Bodily Mortification & Penance

Last updated on: June 15, 2023 at 1:11 pm by Dave Armstrong

0 Comments

On Catholic Bodily Mortification & Penance 2023-06-15T13:11:34-04:00 Dave Armstrong

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Reply to a Protestant who criticizes Catholics “crawling on their hands and knees across stone”

I’m not certain at all that this person you mention “had zero knowledge of the Gospel.” Portions of the Gospels are read every week at Mass. In one reading that is cyclical every year, John 3:16 is featured. I always chuckle about that to myself because supposedly Catholics “never hear the gospel.” John 3:16 [“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”: RSV] certainly is that! Prayers to the saints aren’t superstitious, either. Jesus explicitly teaches it in Luke 16. You mention Mexicans “crawling on their hands and knees across stone.” This is, of course, penance (bodily mortification, in particular), and it has massive biblical support as well. Here are a few examples:

The well-known Protestant reference work, New Bible Dictionary (edited by J. D. Douglas, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1962, “Sackcloth,” p. 1112), describes biblical sackcloth:

A coarse cloth . . . usually made of goat’s hair . . . Sackcloth was worn as a sign of mourning for the dead . . . , or of mourning for personal or national disaster . . . or of penitence for sins (1 Ki. 21:27; Ne. 9:1; Jon. 3:5; Mt. 11:21), or of special prayer for deliverance . . . The form of the symbolic sackcloth was often a band or kilt tied around the waist . . . it was usually worn next to the skin (2 Ki. 6:30; Jb. 16:15; 2 Macc. 3:19), and was sometimes kept on all night (1 Ki. 21:27; Joel 1:13) . . . Sometimes the sackcloth was spread out to lie on (2 Sa. 21:10; Is. 58:5) . . . Prophets sometimes wore it as a symbol of the repentance which they preached (Is. 20:2; Rev. 11:3).

Isaiah the prophet, speaking on behalf of God (as prophets are wont to do), recommends (“prescribes”?) the wearing of sackcloth (Is 32:11). Jeremiah does the same (Jer 4:8; 6:26). Ahab’s use of sackcloth, fasting, etc., is seen by God Himself as evidence of his humility before God (1 Ki 21:27-29), as is the similar behavior of the Ninevites, when they repented (Jonah 3:5-10). Isaiah reports (Is 22:12; RSV, as throughout) that God Himself prescribed sackcloth and other similar customs: “In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called to . . . baldness and girding with sackcloth.”

Likewise, Jeremiah has God proclaiming, “Gird yourselves with sackcloth” (Jer 49:3). The prophet Joel brings the following “word of the LORD” (Joel 1:1): “Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth . . . Gird on sackcloth and lament, O priests” (Joel 1:8, 13). The prophet Amos quotes God in the same vein: “I will bring sackcloth upon all loins” (Amos 8:10). This all sounds awful prescriptive (not just permissive).

Moreover, it is God (not mere Babylonian or Assyrian or Persian custom) Who commands the prophet Ezekiel to lay on his left side for 390 days, so as to “bear” the “punishment” of Israel (Ezek 4:4-5), and then on his right side for another 40 days, to “bear the punishment” of Judah (Ezek 4:6). Then God tells him: “I will put cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other” (Ezek 4:8).

Even much later, at the outset of the new covenant, our Lord casually refers to sackcloth in association with repentance, with no hint of condemnation (Matt 11:21; Lk 10:13). Jesus knew that the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Joel had all prescribed and thoroughly condoned the practice, as had God the Father, as reported by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos.

Finally, St. John reports in inspired Scripture that God proclaims in the period near the end of the age: “I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth” (Rev 11:3). God again prescribed or sanctioned the ancient custom, several thousand years after it began.

Fasting is also obviously an example of bodily deprivation for a spiritual purpose. See: Ex 34:28 and Deut 9:9 (Moses went forty days without even water); Deut 9:18 (Moses again fasts forty days without “bread” or “water” on behalf of the Israelites, after the sin of the idolatry of the golden calf); 1 Sam 30:12 (three days without water); 1 Sam 31:13 (seven days); 2 Sam 1:12; 1 Ki 19:8 (forty days); 1 Chron 10:12 (seven days); 2 Chron 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; 10:6; Neh 1:4; 9:1; Esther 4:3; 4:16 (three days without food and water); 9:31; Ps 69:10 (“humbled my soul with fasting”); Ps 109:24 (“My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt”); Jer 36:9; Dan 6:18; Joel 1:14; 2:12, 15; Jon 3:5, 7; Zech 7:3, 5; 8:19; Matt 4:2 (Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the wilderness); Matt 6:16-18; 9:14-15 (cf. Mk 2:18-20; Lk 5:33-35; 18:12); Lk 7:33 (cf. Matt 11:18; Lk 1:15); Acts 13:2-3; 14:23.

So, granted, the people you refer to would likely not even know about all this biblical support (which is true of all Christians, especially those who never read apologetics or many theological books at all, including the Bible, didn’t go to Bible studies or Sunday School, etc.), but Protestants who know the Bible relatively much better ought to (and there is much more). Paul even ties willingness to suffer directly to salvation and glorification:

Romans 8:16-17 (RSV) it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Paul repeatedly teaches the notion of suffering with Christ (a form of penance), that he practiced himself (and he often said that his followers should imitate him):

1 Corinthians 9:27 but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

2 Corinthians 1:5-7 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. [6] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. [7] Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 4:10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; . . .

Galatians 6:17 Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks [Gk., stigma] of Jesus.

Philippians 3:10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

2 Timothy 2:11 . . . If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;

How often do Protestants highlight these passages? Have you ever pondered them? I sure didn’t hear much about them in sermons. So I’m not so sure at all that the people crawling on their knees and whipping themselves on the back are so far from the Bible and the gospel, or that they are being merely superstitious. I think they are very close to the spirit of the above verses from Paul, and that Protestants who see this as superstitious are in fact the ones being insufficiently biblical and spiritual, and misinformed about the place of penance and suffering in the Christian life.

I used to fast as a Protestant. That’s a variation of penance: the idea that some form of self-imposed (in this case, bodily) suffering can advance one in the spiritual life. It was a great practice. I had to stop because of my low blood sugar. But I wish I could do more of that. I’m not inclined to crawl on pavement (with my often sore knees), but I can’t say that it’s an “unbibical” practice, per all of the above, and much more.
*
I think this is a case where Protestants haven’t delved into the Bible deeply enough. That’s hard for informed Protestants to admit (it was for me; I was an apologist for nine years and thought I knew the Bible very well), but Catholicism truly incorporates all the themes in Scripture that God wishes for us to learn and live out in our discipleship. We don’t pick and choose what we like and don’t care for, and what we want to highlight, to the exclusion of other equally important verses (the “Catholic verses”: as I refer to them in one of my book titles).
*
Once again, then, I’m all for understanding relative emphasis, and what Vatican II taught about Marian excesses. That’s all well and good and very important. But I am opposed with equal vigor to Protestant casual dismissal of things like penance, because it’s utterly biblical. Ironically, I think this is a case where Protestants are being quite unbiblical, in the very act of criticizing Catholics for supposedly being so, and I must defend my Catholic brothers and sisters — at least to a certain degree — from this charge of being so ignorant and unaware of the gospel and the Bible, etc. They are following Catholic teachings which themselves are grounded — indeed, “soaked” — in the Bible. Both sides of that debate are routinely unacquainted with the biblical rationale for penance (part of which I demonstrated above). That’s why apologetics are so necessary and one of 200 reasons why I have devoted my life to it.
*
Lastly, you keep mentioning this church with an icon or stained glass window of Mary over the altar. This is very unusual. I don’t recall ever seeing such a thing in any Catholic church I have attended these past 32 years. So it can’t be used as an example of the experience of most Catholics at Mass. But there are certainly statues of Mary on side altars, and there is nothing wrong with them, once Catholic Mariology is correctly understood. In my own parish, there is a huge carving / sculpture of Jesus on the cross, front and center. I don’t know if there even is a statue of Mary. If there is, it’s so inconspicuous that I’m not even sure it is there, after 2 1/2 years.
*
Two sides to every story, I always say! Once I heard the Catholic side myself, it was all over. I never would have predicted that in a hundred years, but it happened! I came to conclude that Catholicism is not only much more in line with Church history, but also with the Bible.

***

Practical Matters: Perhaps some of my 4,300+ free online articles (the most comprehensive “one-stop” Catholic apologetics site) or fifty-one books have helped you (by God’s grace) to decide to become Catholic or to return to the Church, or better understand some doctrines and why we believe them.

Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. I’m always in need of more funds: especially monthly support. “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a full-time Catholic apologist, and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog.

PayPal donations are the easiest: just send to my email address: [email protected]. You’ll see the term “Catholic Used Book Service”, which is my old side-business. To learn about the different methods of contributing, including 100% tax deduction, etc., see my page: About Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong / Donation Information. Thanks a million from the bottom of my heart!

***

Photo credit: Elia Castillo, On his knees on the way to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Father Jonathan crawling. [Pinterest]

***

Summary: Are Catholics who crawl on their hands and knees across stone engaging in superstition or the biblical teaching on mortification & penance? I contend for the latter.

Saints & Purgatory & Penance

bodily mortification

Bodily Mortification & Penance

penance

penitential practices

sackcloth

suffering with Christ

Previous Post

June 14, 2023

Reply to Hays' “Biblical Calvinism” #3

Next Post

June 15, 2023 Reply to Hays' “Biblical Calvinism” #4

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Special pleading, and not a serious response to my arguments . . ."

Dave Armstrong

Is Venerating Men & Angels Worship? ..."

""no man needs to teach us."Didn't you just teach us?"

Dave Armstrong

Is Venerating Men & Angels Worship? ..."

""Catholics say they are the only church that can lead people into heaven."In fact, we ..."

Dave Armstrong

Is Venerating Men & Angels Worship? ..."

"And lastly, I belong to no denomination and am free to serve God as He ..."

Mariah

Is Venerating Men & Angels Worship? ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category & Last Things About Me Anti-Catholicism Atheism & Agnosticism Baptism and Sacramentalism Bible and Tradition Blessed Virgin Mary Books by Dave Armstrong C. S. Lewis Calvinism & General Protestantism Catholic Apologetics Catholic Apologists Catholic conversion Catholic converts Christmas Church (Ecclesiology) Church History Conversion and Converts Development of Doctrine Eastern Orthodoxy Ecumenism & Christian Unity Eucharist & Liturgy Fathers of the Church French Translations G. K. Chesterton Hell Hell & Satan Hell & Satan & Last Things Heresies & Comparative Religion Holistic Health Inquisition & Crusades & Scandals James White Jews & Judaism & Old Testament John Calvin John Henry Newman Liberal / Modernist Theology Life Issues Literary Resume Lutheranism Mariology Martin Luther Music Orthodoxy Papacy & Infallibility Personal Page Philosophy & Science Political & Ethical & Moral Issues Protestant Persecution & Intolerance Protestantism Purgatory Purgatory & Penance Romantic & Imaginative Theology Saints & Purgatory & Penance Salvation Salvation & Justification Satan & Last Things Sexuality and Gender Issues Spanish Translations Traditionalism vs. Radical Catholic Reactionaries Traducciones al español / tradução para português Trinitarianism & Christology Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 April 2010 March 2010 December 2009 October 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 February 2009 October 2008 September 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 October 2005 June 2005 April 2005 February 2005 July 2004 May 2004 April 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz