It has been almost one year since I gave up chocolate, desserts and ales/beer for penance for three people who are agnostics. I share this with you to give you ideas on mortification.
Can you believe I have not lost any weight, and have actually gained weight while eating considerably less?
Well, when one chooses mortifications, the side-effects are up to God. I did not give up these things to lose weight.
I was talking to a friend about mortification recently. This is a misunderstood term. Mortification are things done over and above suffering. These must be voluntary and freely-chosen to gain merit.
Without mortification, we do not enter into the purgation of the senses or the spirit. We always will make an excuse for indulging in something.
Indulging one's self could be sin, or it could be an opportunity to stop and say "no".
One type of mortification could be not saying something in defense of one's self when one is in the right and the other person in the wrong. Another type of mortification could be serving someone one does not like. That irritable person at work? Buy them a cuppa.
Think about mortifications.