“If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress in perfection.”
                            -St. John of the Cross

For Reflection:

In this consumerist and self-centered culture, self-denial is out of step unless it helps to cause weight loss or physical fitness. Why is a “lean soul” and a “muscular spirit” necessary for spiritual perfection?

In Conversation With God Vol 2 – Lent and Easter
Francis Fernandez-Carvajal     Pb 609 pgs
Click Here For More Information

Page 4
1.2 Works of penance.  Frequent confession, mortification, alms-giving.

Detachment from material goods, mortification and abstinence purify us from our sins and help us to find God in our everyday life.  For  whoever seeks God whilst wanting to hold on to his own likes and dislikes, may seek Him day and night, but will never find Him.  Our daily duties are the principal source for this mortification: order, punctuality in starting our work, concentration and intensity we bring to it, etc.