Asceticism in the Thoughts of Romano Guardini

ABSTRACT

Contrary to the general perception of asceticism as something negative, coercive and oppressive, a practice hard to pursue in life, Romano Guardini understands it as something positive. Guardini postulates that asceticism for a human person has to do with distancing oneself from one s impulses with a view to becoming free in the pursuit of self-completion. Thus it is a positive educational value which ought to be embraced and practiced in any educational efforts.Guardini defines education as a process of self-formation and self-becoming. Any educational venture has to be rooted in promoting self-discipline in the person being educated. No effort can be considered as educational, unless it focuses on self-formation and self-becoming. How does asceticism function in this process? Asceticism for a human person operates as he/she overcomes self-centeredness and enters relationship with other people and other objects, thus becoming the image of the Creator in the process. Self-formation goes hand in hand with self-becoming. Self-becoming is made possible through a deliberate process of self-discipline, meditation, and asceticism. Here asceticism involves overcoming and polishing oneself in the process of self-becoming. Asceticism as Guardini conceives it helps with establishing desirable behaviors in an educational process and thus contributes to our finding ways to freedom and happiness through self-becoming.