I am a writer and blogger whose currently avocation focuseson addiction. I am the author of two Catholic devotional booklets for people in recovery. My primary creative desire, apart from continuing the devotionals, is to write Catholic-themed spiritual fiction. I hope to explore those areas at the intersections of Faith and Reason; contemporary drama with side trips though the preternatural with rest stops in the boundaries of the afterlife. I am one of those who think there is another reality just out of the corner of your eye; you turn to look, it disappears. I try and focus on my characters as I have found that by creating interesting people I can actually sustain the writing effort. My characters need a life, and the novels they will be in help them to discover such a one as they work out their situations and each other.
So, I suppose that Catholicism, addiction recovery, reading, writing, death and the fuzzy gray areas along the borders of life are interests. Oh, I also like cats and Mac computers.
Or just go here: https://www.sobercatholic.com/paulcoholic/
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:
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.
“…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.
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.
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.
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:
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.”
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.
February 20th is the Feast Day for Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the seers who witnessed the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal in 1917.
A novena to them begins today, the 11th (or, if you are reading this on the 12th, you can begin it then – it will end right on their feast day.)
Why are they important to us Sober Catholics? If you read about them (Fatima post archive) and The Three Fatima Seers (for the latter link, please scroll way down untill you get to the parts about Sts. Francisco and Jacinta.) You will learn that they were deeply affected by the vision of Hell and that many sinners go there because of sins of impurity (sexual sins in addition to immodest dress.) They were also dedicated to offering up their prayers and sufferings in reparation for the sins of those on the path to Hell.
Given the fluid and imperfect morality of many in early recovery (understandable in light of all of the ‘new feelings’ and ‘new emotions’ to cope with) as well as impure behavior during the period of active addiction, it may be good idea for us to add these saints to our repertiore of heavenly friends. Not just for ourselves, but for others still suffering.
Given the significance of this Apparition to us alcoholics and addicts (recovered or not) I wrote an entire chapter on it in “The Sober Catholic Way.”
From Chapter XVI: “Live the Message of Lourdes:”
How is the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes related to the Sober Catholic Way? We are sick people, regardless of the length of our sobriety. Our Lady of Lourdes is our special channel of healing graces. Jesus is the Divine Physician and He works through His Mother at Lourdes.
Furthermore, Our Lady told Bernadette several times about the need for penance. This strikes at the heart of who we are. For we have hurt and damaged others through the sins we committed against them during our active years of addiction. Penance is something we desperately need.
Therefore:
We should also willingly “take up our Crosses” and accept those trials, troubles, and tribulations that come into our lives every day and offer them up in reparation for our sins and those of others.
You could rephrase a part of that in Twelve Step language as a type of ‘making amends.’
And one last thing: it’s OUR FEAST DAY, TOO!!
Pope St. John Paul II had declared February 11th as the “World Day of the Sick,” a special day for healing Masses and prayers for anyone suffering from any illness, malady, or disability. It’s our feast day!
St. Onesimus was mentioned in St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon. He was a slave who escaped and was later baptized, and served St. Paul before being sent back to his master. St. Onesimus’s faith in the Gospel of Jesus, preached by St. Paul, overcame an obvious reluctance to return to Philemon. His story can inspire alcoholics and addicts, who often struggle with doing what they often rather not do. St. Onesimus should be considered the patron saint of those who need courage to overcome their reluctance or natural aversion to doing something.
And since his feast day is February 16th, this means that a novena to him begins either today, February 7th, or tomorrow, the 8th. Here is a prayer that In wrote for that “upcoming book.”
St. Onesimus, disciple and servant of St. Paul, you discovered the liberating graces of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Asked to return to a situation you would rather have avoided, please intercede on behalf of all alcoholics and addicts and show them how the courage of the Gospel can give them the strength and fortitude to do the rightful things they’d rather not do.
From an earlier post on St. Onesimus:
In St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon, the Apostle reveals that Onesimus, a slave of Philemon who escaped, possibly with stolen property of his master’s, has been with him for some time and has been of valuable service. Onesimus has also been baptized and as such is now a brother in Christ to Paul and Philemon, as the latter is also a Christian. However Paul is convinced that due to the Christian charity that Philemon has shown in the past, he will take back Onesimus and greet him as a brother, equal in dignity and will not punish Onesimus or re-enslave him.
And so Onesimus is sent back to Philemon by Paul, with this Letter as a sort of greeting and passage.
I’ve always been intrigued by this. Imagine you’re Onesimus. You’ve been a slave. There must have been a reason why you escaped. Was Philemon cruel? Or did you just have an instinctive aversion to being considered property of another? You just saw an opportunity to leave and took it? Anyway, the punishment for escaped slaves was most likely death. Probably painful and not quick if you’re also guilty of theft. And now your new friend, whom you’ve been serving and who has treated you like an equal, a person, is sending you back to your old master. With full confidence that Philemon’s Christianity is all that is standing between you and a painful termination.
Would you want to return?
I didn’t think so. Me neither.
But Onesimus did. He probably did not go willingly, but apparently his faith in the Gospel of Jesus that Paul preached was enough to convince him that it is the right thing to do. So Onesimus’ faith overcame his possible very strong natural lack of inclination to return.
I think for that reason St. Onesimus should be of interest to alcoholics and addicts. Not that he was one, but we all do not want to do the things that we have to. Our addictive personality may make this disinclination stronger in us than in most people. “Normal” people can overcome unwillingness seemingly by just going ahead and doing the thing. But we have to use our spiritual toolkit to convince ourselves to “get going” and do the thing. We have our daily meditations, slogans and other aids to get us to do things that other people just do.
St. Onesimus can be our aid in this. Although I don’t think he is the patron saint of anything, he should be the Patron Saint of People Who Really Do Not Want to Do the Things That They Really Have to Do. ( I have to find a shorter, catchier term. “Patron Saint for People Who need Courage?” Still rather long…)
Blessed Michael Sopocko’s feast day is coming up: February 15. A novena to him for his intercessory power as a patron of alcoholics begins either today, Feb 6th, or tomorrow, Feb. 7th. Blessed Sopocko was instrumental in guiding and advising St. Faustina Kowalska during her life, especially in getting her to write down the messages she received from Jesus as well as other observations on her life. These became the masterpiece spiritual work, “Divine Mercy In My Soul, the Diary of Sister M. Faustina Kowalska.”
In postwar Poland Bl. Sopocko was involved in a sobriety movement. An important part of his activities were his educational programs promoting sobriety in a society. The movement was not identified.
This is a prayer that I composed for a new book I am writing. You can recite it every day for the novena:
Blessed Michael Sopocko, because of you we now have the Diary of St. Faustina to serve as a beacon of hope for those despairing of God’s Mercy. Please intercede for all of those who, as a result of their drinking, have committed sins, both grave and venial. Show them that God’s Mercy exists for all, and that there is no sin too great for God to forgive.
For some background, the following is an edited version of an earlier post:
“In my study of the Divine Mercy devotion, I ran across in one of the biographies of St. Faustina information concerning her spiritual director, Blessed Michael Sopocko (in Polish: Michał Sopoćko.) It is pronounced “Soh-potch-ko.”
I won’t get into a biography of him here (there’s a link later on that is a biography) but Blessed Sopocko was instrumental in guiding and advising Sr. Faustina during her life, especially in getting her to write down the messages she received from Jesus as well as other observations on her life (a spiritual journal, or diary.)
The information in particular that attracted my attention, apart from his assistance to Sr. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Message, was that in postwar Poland Fr. Sopocko was involved in a sobriety movement. I found nothing in particular as to what he did except for “In October 1947, the new academic year started at the seminary in Białystok. Father Sopoćko taught the same subjects that he had taught in Vilnius: catechetics, pedagogy, psychology, and the history of philosophy. His work at the seminary was not limited solely to teaching. He was also a confessor of the seminarians and conducted for them numerous retreats. At the same time, he also pursued pastoral, religious, social and educational activities. An important part of his activities were his educational programmes promoting sobriety in a society.“ From: Biography of Bl. Sopocko
I feel that since we sober (and sobering up) Catholics deeply need Divine Mercy to assist us in achieving and maintaining our sobriety, we should avail ourselves of yet another intercessor. Especially one who is closely acquainted with Divine Mercy and its Apostle. When you read his biography and do additional research on him in the Divine Mercy links in the sidebar, you can appreciate what a powerful intercessor he can be. He lived a difficult life, especially after St. Faustina died in 1938. From the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland, to the later Soviet sequel, to the banning of the Divine Mercy Message as taught by St. Faustina for over a 20 year period, Bl. Sopocko suffered persecution. A lesson many of us can draw strength from. Although we may not suffer persecution in our work, we can ask Bl. Sopocko for the strength to persevere.
He was beatified on September 28, 2008. His feast day is February 15th.
The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is important to me for a number of reasons. As I said in my book, “The Sober Catholic Way,”
How is the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes related to the Sober Catholic Way? We are sick people, regardless of the length of our sobriety. Our Lady of Lourdes is our special channel of healing graces. Jesus is the Divine Physician and He works through His Mother at Lourdes. Even if you cannot get to France, you can avail yourself through prayer and meditation of requests for spiritual healing. Adopt Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette Soubirous as your special patrons.
Also, it is a key day for those devoted to Our Lady as the Immaculate Conception. For it was at Lourdes in 1858 that the Virgin confirmed Pope Pius IX’s infallible declaration in 1854 that Our Lady was conceived without original sin. Also, Lourdes is about healing. I’ve been sickly most of my life, especially as a youngster and then with alcoholism in my 30s. And now I am beset with afflictions of joints and muscle and all sorts of things. And lastly, it was St. Maximilian Kolbe’s favorite Marian apparition. He was dedicated and focused on Mary’s self-declaration as “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
And if you’re reading this and are a Sober Catholic, then it must be an important feast for you, too! Our healing and recovery from addictions is never really over. Place yourself within Mary’s mantle.
If you aren’t already a reader of this blog, please let me introduce myself. My name is Paul Sofranko, aka “Paulcoholic” and I’ve been doing this blog for 18 years. I found nothing much like it and so I launched it in early January 2007. You can read more about its story on this page. You can read some more about me on this page, I tell my drunkalogue right here; and here’s my reversion story and here’s a post about my miraculous Militia of the Immaculata hat.
There are 54 days beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday. 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 very day the completion of a 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, 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? Visit this post for more info, including hown to pray the novena: Announcing a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery (and other sins!)
Now, on to what brought you here!
Bear made me mention my book, “The Sober Catholic Way’s” title about 700 times on the show 😉
“The Sober Catholic Way” is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. This book does not guarantee anything, but doing these things have helped me stay since May 22, 2002. Will I ever drink again? Quite unlikely, but the tools to help recover from a relapse are in every chapter! The love and mercy of God is everlasting and endless!
Discover the importance of the Real Presence, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, St. Joseph, St. Therese (the “Little Flower”) and Matt Talbot. You’ll get ideas on how to apply the Beatitudes, the Divine Mercy Message, as well as learning about the Apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima and how they can guide one’s life.
The idea for the book germinated one day after I was reviewing Sober Catholic’s posts. I realized that I hadn’t thought or done much about many of the things I had written about. This culminated in the realization that I have not always practiced what I’ve been “preaching” and therefore thought it might do me some good to organize much of the material into a coherent form that would help me reduce my hypocrisy. Seconds later I decided it might make for a nice book to publish and take its place next to my earlier Catholic recovery devotionals, “The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” and “The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics.”
You can get it here (links to the Rosary and Stations book follow):
You might try this Universal link: here and click on the logo of your fave online bookshop. (Some of the logos have trackers in them and these may be blocked by browser extensions. That’s why I listed them individually right above this.)
I have two other books that might interest you!
Do you like saying the Rosary? Well, have I got a devotional for you!
“The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” helps people to reflect on their recovery and relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks, months, or years, the reflections will lead them to meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far. The book takes a time-honored prayer and brings it into a useful format for people to pause and reflect on their recovery, their relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks or months, or many years, the reflections for each Mystery of the Rosary will help them meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far. Over the years, their thoughts on each meditation may change, depending on “where they’re at” in their recovery journey. It’s also available through Amazon and B&N and other retailers; vist the link in this paragraph’s first sentence.
And that’s not all!
Lent is coming up, and if you need some assistence with the Stations of the Cross, then The “Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics is a book that is rooted in an ancient Catholic devotion. It is intended to assist Catholics and other Christians find deeper meaning in their struggles with alcoholism, by connecting the oftentimes hard road of sobriety with Jesus’ suffering road to His Crucifixion. The reader sees that their old alcoholic ‘self’ is being led to the Cross and the joy of eventual resurrection of a new sober self can follow. Whether they are still drinking and struggling, or have been sober for many years and still have difficulties coping with sobriety, this book should help readers maintain that sobriety.
Wait! There’s more!
It is still in its nascent stages but I’m beginning to sell online products related to Sober Catholic at my Shop Sober Catholic store on Pixels———> ARTWORK BY SOBERCATHOLIC.
Imagine drinking your hot, deelish coffee (or tea or hot chocolate!) in a mug with the logo of your favorite Catholic sobriety and spirituality blog!!! Just click on the words or the image below! You can even customze the color! Blue, brown, yellow, green, whatever you prefer! It also comes in two sizes: “Small” is 11 oz, while “Large” is 15oz! (You can click on the images to buy…)
The first Scripture verse I memorized was Romans 12:2.
“And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.”
I thought it perfect for a mug as it recalls the essence of the Sober Catholic message. In our Catholic sobriety, we do not conform to the World, but in our newly sober life, we follow the will of God and do what is good and pleasing to Him.
There are other products, such as a throw pillow: Sober Catholic Throw Pillow and a weekender tote bag: Sober Catholic Tote Bag, for example, as well as the official Sober Catholic Rosary Case! At 6”x4” this is perfect to keep your Rosary and even Divine Mercy Chaplet handy! And like everything else, you can customize the color!
It also comes in a larger size, which should be big enough to store your copies of “The Sober Catholic Way,” as well as my Rosary and Stations books, or, if you prefer, a good Catholic Bible. 🙂
