St. Vincent de Paul taught that the virtue of mortification, or self-discipline and denial of worldly desires, was essential to following Christ and establishing His kingdom. He urged Christians to constantly cut away evil tendencies through mortification, using the analogy of a vine-dresser pruning away harmful branches. St. Vincent encouraged his missionaries to perform acts of mortification daily and overcome themselves by submitting their will, judgment, and senses to God in order to walk the narrow path that leads to life with Jesus Christ.

1. The Virtue of Mortification
as taught by St. Vincent de Paul

2. Saint Vincent de Paul
expressed his spirituality in
five virtues drawn from his
way of looking at Christ,
namely: simplicity, humility,
gentleness, mortification,
and zeal for souls.!
!
Here we will take a closer
look at the virtue of
mortification.

3. When St. Vincent invites us
to practice mortification, he
is talking about self-
discipline in a spirit of
penance. !
!
He urges us to let go of
any worldly inclinations that
rob us of our freedom to
follow Jesus, and to work
for the establishment of His
Kingdom.

4. Of the thousands who
followed Jesus to hear his
words, the majority
abandoned him and
deserted him. They did not
have the dispositions
which our Lord said were
necessary. They chose not
to overcome themselves,
not to deny themselves,
not to bear their cross.

5. For St. Vincent,
mortification was always
necessary in life. He
explained this to us using
the parable of the vine-
dresser:!

6. “May it please God to grant
us the grace of becoming
like the good vine-dresser,
who always carries his
knife in his pocket to cut
away whatever he sees as
injurious to his vine [...]!
So we too, with the knife of
mortification, should
unceasingly cut away the
evil branches in ourselves
that our fallen nature
constantly tries to put
forth.”!
“On Mortification,” May 12, 1659, O.C., xi, 522-523

7. “A good vine-dresser
labors long in the vineyard.
We, too, will be good
disciples of Jesus Christ, if
we constantly mortify our
senses, if we labor to
repress our passions, if we
work to submit our
judgment and regulate our
will.”!
“On Mortification,” May 12, 1659, O.C., xi, 522-523

8. With enthusiasm St.
Vincent encouraged his
missionaries to mortify
themselves:!
!
“Courage! Pleasure follows
pain, and the more
obstacles the faithful have
to surmount, the more joy
they feel in having mortified
themselves: their reward is
as great as their labor.”
“On Mortification,” May 12, 1659, O.C., xi, 523

9. “Let us labor, my brothers,
so that no day may pass in
which we have not
performed at least three or
four acts of mortification
and then we can truly say
that we follow our Lord.”
“On Mortification,” May 12, 1659, O.C., xi, 523

10. “We shall walk in the
narrow way which leads to
life and Jesus Christ will
reign with us in this mortal
life, and we with Him in
eternal life.”
“On Mortification,” May 12, 1659, O.C., xi, 523

11. My Lord, what were you doing during your whole life but
fighting continually against the world, the flesh and the devil? !
!
Did you ever do your own will? Did you ever give priority to
your own judgment? Did you ever listen to sensuality? No,
never. There were in you only constant mortification and
absolute renunciation of all things.!
!
Grant us, Lord, the strength to carry the cross of
mortification, to follow you closely and to live your life now
and in eternity. We pray in your name Lord Jesus, who live
and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer

12. text adapted from “The Way of St. Vincent Is Our Way.
28. Mortification in Body and Spirit”, Authors: Miguel Pérez
Flores, C.M. & Antonino Orcajo, C.M.
Images: Depaul Image Archive