On this third day of the novena, we pray for the gift of understanding.

As usual we say the beginning prayer (actually an old, common prayer for the Holy Spirit):

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and rekindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the Earth.

As alcoholics we were seriously misunderstood. That’s one reason why we drank, to escape from those around us who didn’t understand us and to escape into a fantasy world where everything made sense. And we mattered.

Let us not in our sobriety do unto others what had been done unto us. We perhaps deserved being misunderstood. Perhaps we expected others to just get us and just allow us into their lives. We wanted to be accepted for ourselves on our own terms and that was that. When we didn’t fit in to other people’s expectations (or we refused to) we ran off and drank.

We pray today for the gift of understanding. We do not know what is going on in someone else’s head or heart. We do not know what is going on in their life. We shall not judge from outward appearances what could just be a snapshot of a momentary period in their life.

We let it go, or perhaps don’t pick it up.

Oh, Holy Spirit, enable us to see others as the Father sees them. That all whom we meet are children of the Father like us, and just like us are broken and wounded though perhaps in ways we may not understand. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.

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!!)