Annunciation Novena begins March 16th!

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The Feast of the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Our Lady is coming upmon March 25th. That means the Novena starts on March 16th! I found three nice ones for you to pick from (the last one is a link to a downloadable PDF file):

Annunciation Novena courtesy of Pray More Novenas 

The Annunciation Novena courtesy of EWTN

Annunciation Novena (PDF download) courtesy of USCCB

 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Examinations of Conscience from the USCCB

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I ran across a reference on Spirit Daily to the USCCB’s Examination of Concience page. They list several for different states of life:

Examination of Conscience based on the Ten Commandments

Examination of Conscience in the Public Square / (también en español)

Examination of Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching / (tambien en español)

Examination of Conscience for Children

Examination of Conscience for Young Adults

Examination of Conscience for Single People

Examination of Conscience for Married Persons

Please visit the page right here: Examinations of Conscience | USCCB:

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Announcing the Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery!!!

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Ash Wednesday is this March 5th and on that day begins the “Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery!”

I’ve written about it before: Reminder post, and for the details on how to pray it and who might be interested, (and it’s NOT just for alcoholics and addicts, but for anyone with persistent character defects they hope to be rid of) just scan the QR code…

…or go to the special page I’ve set up: Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery Page 

Please share the Page and the graphic! Thank you!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery Page is now Live!

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To facilitate the social media promotion (my own, and hopefully you’ll share about it, too!) of the Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery, I created a special page to leave up live for it, especially as I think it could be an annual thing.

Please go here for the page. You can also just share this social media image:

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Reminder about the Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery (begins Ash Wednesday!)

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A while back, I announced an idea. I’m reminding you of it today because Lent is coming up, and there’s a Lenten observance you may be interested in: “A Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery.”

Lent begins on March 5th this year. Last year, I prayed two successful Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novenas. I did some calculations with a calendar and discovered that starting with Ash Wednesday as the first day, the 54th and final day would be:

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY!!!!!

I don’t think that’s a coincidence. The very Sunday when the floodgates of God’s unfathomable ocean of Mercy open up and spill out over every sinner who in humility begs for forgiveness is the very day the completion of the Miraculous 54-day Rosary Novena ends! 

Think about that. Are you still trapped in the miseries of alcoholism and drug addiction? Or, do you know someone who is? This may be the perfect time for deliverance from that slavery. And it may not even be for alcoholics and drug addicts. Sex and porn addicts, as well as anyone who can’t break masturbation, take comfort! Your deliverance may be at hand! You will be beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary, the very Mother of Purity, for her intercession to liberate you from lust! How can she not help you?

So, get the word out. Start preparing. Get in the spirit by ramping up your own Rosary devotion. (Need help? There’s this book: The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts.) Start working on your examination of conscience. We’re supposed to do that every evening before bedtime (just a review of our day and where we might have offended God or not done His will; but we do a more detailed one just before going to confession. Here’s a great guide to Confession, complete with an Examen.) If you are a Twelve-Stepper, now’s a good time to do (or repeat) your 4th Step Inventory and find someone to do the 5th Step with.) Try doing the 10th Step throughout your day.

To sum it all up, this Lent of 2025 could be the season when you finally become free of your deepest, darkest character defects. I have loads of things wrong with me, and so I will definitely be doing it.

So, what are the basics of this novena, and is it truly miraculous? I think it is, at least in the sense that practitioners have reported they’ve gotten their petitions answered. (Obviously, the petitions have to be reasonable and subject to God’s Will for you.)

The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena originated in the late 19th century in Naples, Italy, when a young girl suffering from an illness thought to be incurable prayed to Our Lady for help. Mary appeared to her and promised her healing if she prayed three novenas. The girl did so, and was miraculously healed. In a later apparition, Mary specified that the full prayer should have 3 novenas in petition, and 3 novenas in thanksgiving.

How to pray the Novena:

The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven consecutive days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven consecutive days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet. (This is where faith comes in; you’re thanking the Blessed Virgin and God for granting the request without first waiting for it to be granted. That’s gratitude, too.) 

The first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena starts all over with the Joyful, etc., and continues on in that sequence (Joyful-Sorrowful-Glorious) throughout the 54 days of the novena. The Luminous Mysteries aren’t included only because they did not exist when Our Lady taught this novena to the girl. 

There are special additional prayers to begin and conclude it during all the days of petition and thanksgiving, as well as at the end of each decade. Please visit these sites for information on how to pray the Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena:

How to Pray the 54-Day Rosary Novena courtesy of Hallow

FIFTY-FOUR DAY NOVENA (This is a downloadable PDF file; it also has more prayers than the previous two links. 

Is this novena truly miraculous? I believe so. I think you do have to follow the format provided by the instructions I linked to; I’ve said 54-day rosary novenas in the past without the special prayers, and the results were not what I hoped for. Faith abides. If you are sincere, and if the petitions are in accordance with God’s will for you, then there should be some positive result. A full healing? Perhaps! Just increased strength and determination to recover? Possibly? Doors opened for you to be admitted to a treatment facility? Maybe! How the petitions are answered is up to God, but they could very well include a complete remission of your urges to drink, drug, lust, and whatnot.

It is said that the only prayers that God is guaranteed to answer positively are those for a soul’s salvation, since He desires that all be saved. (Even though not all are.) So perhaps connect your recovery to your salvation?

Let this upcoming Divine Mercy Sunday be the best yet! May the ocean of mercy pour down upon you and completely wash away your sins and leave you renewed, refreshed, and forgiven! 

Please read these posts on Divine Mercy Sunday:

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday: A great day for those who’ve really messed things up

Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Sunday

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I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Lenten reading suggestion: my Goodreads review of “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

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A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1)A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a must-read. It has become an annual read for me for Lent (this year during Septuagesima.) Despite having been written in the 1950s, it is still relevant today. People refer to it as an example of “cyclic history;” however I think that misses the point: Human nature remains the same and concupiscence runs throughout every human life and culture. Evil (sin) does not have to innovate of come up with new schemes; old ones work everytime and will be repeated. Awareness of history is not a preventatitve, either: people can be willfully blind and listen to their pride rather than reason. Whether it is the “Flame Deluge” (nuclear war) of the 20th Century and the resulting “Simplification” (wanton destruction and mass killing of anyone intelligent) we learned about in “Fiat Homo” (the first Book of the novel), to the pride and intellectual bindness of Thon Taddeo in “Fiat Lux” (Book 2): Human nature’s tendency towards sin is the lowest common denominator in moving history forward.

The third Book of the volume is especially poignant. “Fiat Voluntas Tua” is set in a 38th Century human civilization that bypassed the technological achievements of the European-American one that destroyed the world in a nuclear holocaust in the 20th Century. I learned more moral theology listening to Abbot Zerchi than anywhere else.

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I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

(Future St.) Bartolo Longo and the Luminous Mysteries

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I am personally intrigued by one of the Church’a newest saints. I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Blessed Bartolo Longo will be canonized (no date set, yet.) He was a satanist, turned Catholic, and not only that, spread devotion to the Rosary so much that Pope St. John Paul II referred to him as the “Apostle of the Rosary.” He also developed a new devotional practice called “The Fifteen Saturdays of the Holy Rosary.”

I looked up information on him today and found this tidbit:

From Bartolo Longo — School of Faith: (Emphasis is mine.)

Bartolo Longo had the habit of meditating on the whole life of Jesus and His teachings, not limiting his meditation in the Rosary to the 15 mysteries…Hmm… sound familiar….And this practice of Bl. Bartolo inspired St. John Paul II to add the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary. Regarding the influence of Bl. Bartolo, JPII, in his letter on the Rosary writes:

In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding conversation with Jesus and Mary, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, (that is, in friendship with them) we can become, to the extent of our openness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”. Rosarium 15

Who said personal relationships end with death? Bl. Bartolo’s pious devotion to the Rosary and his meditations on the life of Christ “in Mary’s company” influenced a future Pope to transform one of the most fundamental Catholic devotions. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Blessed Bartolo Longo, Former Satanic Priest who turned Catholic and is the “Apostle Of The Rosary” to be Canonized!!!!

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Pope Francis:

“…approved the favorable votes of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops of the Dicastery for the canonization of Blessed Bartolo Longo, lay faithful, born in Latiano (Italy) on February 10, 1841, and died in Pompeii (Italy) on October 5, 1926.

Blessed Bartolo was a lawyer from Naples who initially despised the Church, but converted and became responsible for establishing the Shrine of the Holy Rosary at Pompeii.”

Blessed Bartolo Longo was a former “Satanic priest” who returned to the Catholic faith. He dedicated his life to the propagation of the Rosary and the Virgin Mary.

Read further on Pope Francis’ decree here (but come back, because after the photo below of Bl. Bartolo there’s more REALLY GOOD STUFF):

Bartolo Longo had become a Satanic priest in his youth. (Wikipedia has a good biography on him.) However, he began having problems with mental illness, paranoia, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. A friend introduced him to a Dominican friar and priest, who convinced him to leave Satanism and return to Catholicism. The Dominican led him into a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. 

The rest is history. (Although it should be noted that he aided in restoring a church, at which numerous mircles occurred. This church is now the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei.)

He also developed a new devotional practice called “The Fifteen Saturdays of the Holy Rosary.”

Bartolo Longo, the apostle of the Rosary, is also the apostle of the Fifteen Saturdays, which he in his times spread throughout the world, pouring an alluring spirituality into the pages complied by himself.

What are the “Fifteen Saturdays”?

The practice of the Fifteen Saturdays consists in pledging oneself to live, for fifteen consecutive Saturdays, the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, which, in synthesis, are the story of our salvation, the Gospel we pray along with the Mother of God.

That which above all emerges in this holy practice is participation in the Eucharist, in memory of the Son of God, having become incarnate, having died, having risen; therefore, deep meditation of a mystery is reserved to each Saturday, along with the reciting of the entire Rosary.

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You can read more about this devotion, including when to practice it and what prayers to say at: Fifteen Saturdays of The Most Holy Rosary A Very Efficacious Devotion To Obtain All Kinds Of Graces courtesy of the Rosarian

I will write more about him and elaborate on his life, God willing. I think that Bartolo Longo would be a very good saint for readers of this blog to develop a relationship with.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Holy Face Novena begins February 23rd

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Just an announcement that the Holy Face Novena begins on Sunday, February 23rd, so as to end on Monday, March 3rd. The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus is Tuesday, March 4th, 2025 (it is always the day before Ash Wednesday.)

Novena prayers are listed at these sites:

The Holy Face Novena at The Holy Face Devotion dot org

There are THREE Novenas listed here: Holy Face Novena and Act of Consecration to the Holy Face at Illumina Domine

This is the one that I will be saying (as it’s also on a prayer card I use):


(Short Novena) Holy Face Novena Prayer by The Holy Man of Tours, Leo DuPont

O Lord Jesus Christ, in presenting ourselves before Your adorable Face, to ask of You the graces of which we stand most in need, we beseech You, above all, to give us that interior disposition of never refusing at any time to do what You require of us by Your Holy Commandments and Your Divine inspirations.

O Good Jesus, Who has said: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” give us, O Lord, that faith which obtains all, or supply in us what may be deficient. Grant us, by the pure effect of Thy Charity and for Thy eternal glory, the graces we need and which we look for from Thine infinite mercy. Amen.

Be merciful to us, O God, and reject not our prayers when, amid our afflictions, we call upon Your Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Your Adorable Face.

We thank You, O Lord, for all Thy benefits, and we entreat You to engrave in our hearts feeling of love and gratitude, putting upon our lips songs of thanksgiving to Your eternal praise. Amen.

 

HEAD’S UP: That last resource (Illumina Domine) has a really interesting post on something I never knew. 

Many Catholics are unaware of the fact that this millennium was dedicated to the Face of Christ by Pope St. John Paul II. He lifted high before the Church the banner of the Holy Face of Jesus at the dawn of the millennium. The Face of Christ was to be the standard for the faithful to follow in this spiritual battle that exists in the world between light and darkness.

 

You can read that wonderful post here: Pope St. John Paul II.

I have written before on the Holy Face Devotion. In The Holy Face Devotion: what we need for our times I said:

This Devotion is intended to make reparation for the sins of blasphemy against the Holy Name of God and the profanation of Sundays and Holy Days. In addition, it is to be a spiritual weapon against Communists.

I think it can, and should, be used as a spiritual weapon against right-wing extremism and not just Communism. Communism and Fascism are two sides of the same coin. 

You can apply the Holy Face Devotion to your alcoholism and addction recovery! Please read these two posts:

The Holy Face of Jesus Chaplet for Alcoholics and Addicts

Using the Holy Face Chaplet as a “sobriety’ or “recovery” chaplet

Resources on the Holy Face Devotion:

The Holy Face, Disfigured by Sin

Books on the Holy Face Devotion. And a chaplet.

A Prayer to the Holy Face from EWTN

The archive of posts on the Holy Face is here.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Fifteen Thursdays of St. Rita devotion begins!

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REBLOGGING AN EARLIER POST: I’m sharing this here because St. Rita’s Feast day is my sobriety date (May 22, 2002) and I think she picked me to be one of her clients. I’ve been doing this devotion for the past few years.

BEGINNING THIS THURSDAY FEB 13th!!!

Quote: “The Fifteen Thursdays of St. Rita devotion — i Quindici Giovedi di Santa Rita, in Italy — takes place on the fifteen Thursdays preceeding May 22, her feast day — i.e., this devotion starts on a Thursday in February and continues on for fifteen Thursdays — until the last Thursday before May 22. Each of these fifteen days begins with the same preparatory prayer followed by a reading on the life of St. Rita, a reflection about the lesson of that aspect of her life, and a final prayer.”

Link to all the prayers including a downloadable pdf file: 15 Thursdays of St. Rita Devotio: Prayers and a downloadable pdf

I may have erred in saying it begins tomorrow; the quote says “for fifteen Thursdays — until the last Thursday before May 22”. Starting tomorrow will make it end ON her feast day of May 22nd, which occurs on a Thursday this year. So, it should have started last Thursday. I don’t believe the mistake is all that bad, I doubt St. Rita will ignore your prayer requeats. I’ll just have to remember this for the next time her feast falls on Thursday.

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I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)