Discipline (instrument of penance)

They also often contain three knots on each cord, representing the number of days Jesus Christ remained in the tomb after bearing the sins of humanity.

[4] In the Bible, Saint Paul writes:[5] "I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:27 NRSV).

[12] The Capuchins have a ritual observed thrice a week, in which the psalms Miserere Mei Deus and De Profundis are recited as the friars flagellate themselves with a discipline.

[1] Martin Luther, the German Reformer, practiced mortification of the flesh through fasting and self-flagellation while still a monk, even sleeping in a stone cell without a blanket.

[17] Congregationalist writer and leader within the evangelical Christian movement, Sarah Osborn, practiced self-flagellation in order "to remind her of her continued sin, depravity, and vileness in the eyes of God".

A discipline with seven cords lying on top of the Raccolta , a Catholic prayer book containing several acts of reparation , and other devotions. Beside it are several sacramentals : a rosary , the Fivefold Scapular , a crucifix , and a phial of holy oil of Saint Philomena .
Fresco in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella showing Saint Dominic with a discipline in his hand, kneeling before a crucifix
A confraternity of penitents in Italy mortifying the flesh with disciplines in a seven-hour procession; capirote are worn by penitents so that attention is not drawn towards themselves as they repent.