Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, religious

Enter through the narrow gate;

for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.

Asceticism may be called the practice of habitually choosing the narrow gate. In its long history the church has seen many peculiar kinds of asceticism, including hair shirts, scourges, severe fasting, vigils and so forth. Today’s spirituality rarely recommends such practices but it will insist on the duty to care for the temple of one’s body. It will discourage the use of tobacco, and abstemious use of alcohol. Spirituality encourages a healthy diet, sufficient sleep and exercise, a proper balance of work and leisure, solitude and companionship, and so forth.

Asceticism is especially wary of self-pity or any mood that justifies intoxication, over-eating, or over-indulgence in any behavior. It wants to be aware of the spirits that move one toward generosity or selfishness, piety or cynicism, and always to choose the better part.

Finally, a Christian asceticism demands that one forget oneself and the maintenance of one’s health in the service of God and others. It is all too easy to become solipsistic or narcissistic in the practice of virtuous living.

Saint Theresa of Avila compared the spiritual life to gardening. In the beginning, the gardener prepares the land and plants the seeds and laboriously carries water bucket by bucket into the field. Eventually she will develop an irrigation system which requires continual maintenance and effort, but is easier than toting buckets. Then she learns to wait on the rainfall, which has its own cycles of plenty and drought. Finally, the roots have reached deep into the soil, she finds her field bearing fruit without her effort.

The new convert to the spiritual life will make much effort to reform her ways and learn the new way of life. Eventually she will develop habits of prayer and practice that resemble the process of irrigation. The day comes when she experiences spiritual floods (consolation) and drought (desolation.) She must wait attentively and eagerly for the floods and bear patiently with the droughts.

Finally, she will bear fruit for others without much encouragement from heaven. This last stage sounds like the easiest but one can live through years, as Mother Theresa complained, of hard, sacrificial work without much spiritual comfort.