Editing Mortification of the flesh (section)

===Instruments of penance===
[[File:Guardia Sanframondi (31500390952).jpg|thumb|A [[confraternity of penitents]] in Italy mortifying the flesh with [[discipline (instrument of penance)|disciplines]] in a seven-hour procession; penitents wear [[capirote]] so that attention is not drawn toward themselves as they repent but rather to God.]]
Christians practicing mortification of the flesh often use instruments of penance as they repent, with the purpose of being contrite and sharing in the suffering of Jesus. These include the following:
*[[Discipline (instrument of penance)|Discipline]], a scourge usually having seven tails (representing the seven deadly sins and seven virtues) for self-flagellation of the back<ref name="Yates1999"/>
*[[Hairshirt]], a garment made of camel's hair or sackcloth worn to cause the Christian mild discomfort<ref name="Brewer">{{cite book |last1=Brewer |first1=Ebenezer Cobham |title=A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic |date=1884 |publisher=Chatto and Windus |page=56 |language=English}}</ref>
*[[Chain cilice]], a wire chain worn around the legs to cause the penitent mild discomfort<ref name="Long2021">{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=Gideon |title=Weary Peruvians to choose yet another president amid crises and Covid |language=English |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |date=6 April 2021 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6327d4a4-a3df-48d6-8afa-cfdf53df7634 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406180338/https://amp.ft.com/content/6327d4a4-a3df-48d6-8afa-cfdf53df7634 |archive-date=6 April 2021 |quote=López Aliaga, a member of Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic movement, raised eyebrows recently by revealing he uses a cilice — a metal chain with spikes on it — to suppress his sexual desire and bring him closer to God. "It's a small mortification and I do it voluntarily," he told a local radio station.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrow |first1=Jeffrey L. |title=Liturgy and Sacrament, Mystagogy and Martyrdom: Essays in Theological Exegesis |date=13 October 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-5326-9382-3 |language=English}}</ref>
*[[Spugna]], a round cork containing metal studs, metal spikes, or needles that is used to beat one's chest<ref>{{cite web |title=Italian religious festival bans selfies |date=24 August 2017 |publisher=Express Digest |language=English |url=https://expressdigest.com/italian-religious-festival-bans-selfies/ |access-date=8 April 2021 |quote=Hundreds of locals in the medieval village of Guardia Sanframondi in the southern region of Campania will gather this week to beat themselves in the chest with corks containing metal spikes. ... During the march, they will pound their chests with 'spugna', a round piece of cork containing needles.}}</ref>
*[[Christian cross|Cross]], which is carried in the [[imitation of Christ]], especially in [[Lent]]en processions<ref name="Bennett">{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=W. P. |title=The Mortification of the Flesh and Lent |publisher=The Mystical Humanity of Christ Publishing |language=English |url=https://www.coraevans.com/blog/article/physical-penances-and-the-mortification-of-the-flesh |access-date=10 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="Jones2013">{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kevin J. |title=UK pilgrims will carry life-sized cross to historic shrine |publisher=[[Catholic News Agency |CNA]] |language=English |date=23 March 2013 |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26857/uk-pilgrims-will-carry-life-sized-cross-to-historic-shrine |access-date=10 April 2021}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Christian discipline used in mortification of the flesh.jpg|[[Discipline (instrument of penance)|Discipline]]
File:Christian Hairshirt.jpg|[[Hairshirt]]
File:Cilice.jpg|[[Cilice|Chain Cilice]]
File:Guardia Sanframondi - spugna dei battenti.jpg|[[Spugna]]
File:Stuttgart 2009 040 (RaBoe).jpg|[[Christian cross|Cross]]
</gallery>