Editing Mortification of the flesh (section)

===Purposes===
Mortification of the flesh is undertaken by Christians in order to repent of [[Christian views on sin|sins]] and share in the [[Passion of Jesus]].<ref name="Nethersole2018">{{cite book |last1=Nethersole |first1=Scott |title=Art and Violence in Early Renaissance Florence |date=2018 |publisher=[[Yale University ]] |isbn=978-0-300-23351-3 |page=107 |language=English |quote=As Fra Antonio emphasised, the ''confratelli'' sought through self-inflicted pain to gain remission for their sins, by sharing in Christ's suffering, ''in imitatione Christi''.}}</ref>

Through the centuries, some Christians have practiced voluntary [[penance]]s as a way of imitating Jesus who, according to the New Testament, voluntarily accepted the sufferings of his passion and death on the cross at Calvary in order to redeem humankind.<ref name="Nethersole2018"/> Some Christians note that the cross carried by Jesus is the crossbar or ''patibulum'', a rough tree trunk, which probably weighed {{convert|80–110|lb}}.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}} Jesus also fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, an example of submission to the first person of the Trinity, God the Father, and as a way of preparing for ministry.

The early Christians mortified the flesh through martyrdom and through what has been called "confession of the faith": accepting torture in a joyful way. As [[persecution of Christians|Christians experienced persecution]], they often embraced their fate of suffering due to their love for Christ and the transformation they said they experienced from following him; these individuals became [[Christian martyr|martyrs of the Christian faith]].<ref name="Pierson2009">{{cite book |last=Pierson |first=Paul Everett |title=The Dynamics of Christian Mission: History Through a Missiological Perspective |year=2009 |publisher=WCIU Press |language=en |isbn=9780865850064 |page=45 |quote=A third factor Christians brought was their belief in Jesus' resurrection, and the certainty of their own eternal life. That made them willing to die for their faith. There are many stories of martyrs who, before death, won to the faith their persecutors or those that watched them die.}}</ref><ref name="Germain2011">{{cite book |last=Germain |first=Blaine St. |title=Generation Transformed |date=7 September 2011 |publisher=Lucid Books |language=en |isbn=9781935909293 |page=58 |quote=In 302 A.D. Emperor Diocletian issued the first of many edicts to persecute Christians ... When others began to see the Christians' devotion and willingness to die for their beliefs, they began to question their own lives. Even though there were an estimated 20,000 people killed in the persecution, Christianity grew ... These men were willing to die to spread the message of Jesus. They experienced transformation and wanted others to do the same.}}</ref> St. [[Jerome]], a Western church father and biblical scholar who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/lessons-from-the-remarkable-life-of-st-jerome/ | title=Lessons from the Remarkable Life of St. Jerome }}</ref> was famous for his severe penances in the desert <ref>{{cite web | url=https://catholicexchange.com/st-jerome-a-patron-for-an-angry-time/ | title=St. Jerome: A Patron for an Angry Time | date=27 September 2021 }}</ref> and his propagation of Christian asceticism including from his base in Palestine.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Jerome | title=St. Jerome &#124; Biography, Patron Saint, Birth, Death, Feast Day, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref>