Everything about Cilice totally explained
A
cilice was originally a
garment or
undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a
hairshirt). In more modern religious circles, the word has come to simply mean an object that can be worn to induce some degree of discomfort or pain.
Usage
Such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the
history of the Christian faith, to
mortify the flesh or as
penance for adorning oneself. Being made of rough
cloth, generally woven from
goats' hair, and worn close to the
skin, they'd feel very itchy. When worn continuously, it could form a breeding-ground for
lice, which would heighten the discomfort.
Cilices were worn by
ascetics,
saints,
monks, and
lay persons.
Thomas Becket was wearing one when he was
murdered,
St. Patrick reputedly wore one,
Charlemagne was buried in a hairshirt, and
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany, famously wore one in the
Walk to Canossa during the
Investiture Controversy. Prince
Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460.
This type of mortification has a long history in Christianity, especially the Catholic Church. It has been endorsed by Popes as a way of following Christ who died in a bloody
crucifixion and who gave this advice: "let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." (Lk 9:23) Supporters say that opposition to mortification is rooted in having lost (1) the "sense of the enormity of
sin" or offense against
God, and the consequent
penance, both interior and exterior, (2) the notions of "
wounded human nature" and of
concupiscence or inclination to sin, and thus the need for "spiritual battle," and (3) a spirit of
sacrifice for love and "supernatural ends," and not only for physical enhancement.
Sackcloth and ashes
To show deep repentance, it was the custom in Biblical times to wear a hairshirt (
sackcloth) and ashes. Jesus expected people to repent using sackcloth and ashes: "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you'd been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they'd have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes." (Luke 10:13; see also Mt 11:21)
Modern usage
In more recent times the word has come to refer not to a hairshirt, but to a spiked metal belt or chain worn strapped tight around the upper thigh. Many religious orders within the
Roman Catholic Church have used the cilice as a form of "
corporal mortification," but in recent years it has become known as a practice of numeraries (celibate lay people) of
Opus Dei, a
personal prelature of the
Roman Catholic Church. It is worn for two hours a day, and while it causes discomfort, it doesn't draw blood or even break the skin.
Paola Binetti, the conservative Italian senator and member of Opus Dei, is one modern figure known to wear the cilice. According to an American Catholic writer, its practice in the Catholic Church is "more widespread than many observers imagine." In modern times it has been used by Blessed
Mother Teresa, Saint
Padre Pio, and slain archbishop
Óscar Romero.
Etymology
The word is
SILL-iss, and derives from the
Latin cilicium, a covering made of goat's hair from
Cilicia, a Roman
province in south-east
Asia Minor.
The
Latin word for hairshirt is
cilicium, and the reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term, rather than some other earlier term, is in the original Latin
Vulgate of
Psalm 35:13,
"Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicio." This is translated as
hair-cloth in the Douai Bible, and as
sackcloth in the
Anglican Authorized Version and the
Book of Common Prayer (
"But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth." in the King James Bible). Sackcloth is often mentioned in the
Bible as a symbol of
mourning and penance, and probably was a form of hairshirt. Sackcloth may also mean
burlap.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cilice'.
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