The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:
“He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa) (CCC #2015)
Archbishop M. de Langalerie on the 13th day of “The Month of St. Joseph” shares with us the idea of St. Joseph as “Model of Patience and Mortification” to help us along our spiritual journey. We can admit that the word “mortification” can bring up some strange ideas and images in our brain but mortification in the best Christian sense is as the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us in the quote above to be a tool to lead us on a path of holiness.
The spiritual battle we are engaged in is real and even though St. Joseph in his earthly life did not, as Mary did, experience the reality of the cross, he did know the foreshadowing of the suffering, and using this suffering as a mortification in perfecting his heart to live the blessing of the Beatitudes in his daily life.
St. Joseph as a faithful Jew knew the history of redemption and we, following him in the Judeo-Christian tradition, also know, through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the reality of this saving mystery. In this way we are invited to ponder a reality and not delve into fantasy when we ponder the Cross. As Archbishop de Langalerie reminds us, “Without imagining unknown perils, he knew enough of the Incarnation and Redemption to be convinced that the Savior of the world would pay a great price for our ransom. His soul, as well as that of Mary, was pierced by the words of Simeon, and reflection often brought to his mind the mysteries of which he was an intimate participator.” (p 56)
Through our prayers and the sacramental life we are called to live as disciples, we experience a reality callings us into a deeper and fuller relationship with our God. We don’t look at the world without hope but recognize how our need for forgiveness and reconciliation invites into a reality and truth where we must, if we truly trust in the cross, bear the testimony of the suffering and death of Jesus.
This is where patience and mortification become tools of faith. We await the coming of Jesus into the fullness of the kingdom. We can become impatient and frustrated if we do not practice the mortification of emptying our hearts to allow Jesus to fill us with the graces needed to complete our journey. One of the simple ways of mortification is the practice of fasting, choosing to suffer in the renunciation of something, like meat on Friday, to make space in an intentional way for the presence of Most Holy Trinity. The voluntary acceptance of this mortification is the choice to allow God to fill us, not because we are mandated, but because we are in love. This witness and testimony opens us to the service of our sisters and brothers and a life of mercy through living the Beatitudes.
“The thought of testifying our love for God, and manifesting our gratitude for His benefits to us, and our happiness in being allowed to endure pains and sacrifices for Him in commemoration of the sufferings, sacrifices, and offenses that He endured for us should incessantly incite and inspire us to bear patiently all the sufferings, pains and sacrifices in life.” (p 57)
The challenge we all face is that the act of mortification can become mechanical and just one more thing to do. For example, I choose not to eat meat on Friday throughout the year. I can do this often without thinking about it and in many ways without “suffering, pain or any sacrifice” at all in my life. In prayer and through reflection I am, as we all are, invited into a deeper and more intentional sacrifice of recognizing the why we make the choice, not just doing it. What is the why?
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Mt 16:24-26)