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.
Click on the image (or go here) to learn about his apostolate!
Bear interviewed me back in November. The interview was regarding my new book, “The Sober Catholic Way.” I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; it was like sitting across the table from him, just another dude at a tiki bar somewhere downing fruit juice drinks, enjoying the tropic breezes and watching the Pacific swells roll in, all the while yakking it up ‘bout stuff. Here’s what the program description on iCatholicRadio (where you can listen every 6PM ET Saturdays) says about it:
Bear’s rare adventures uniquely qualify him to be the adventure guide on this show that challenges men to deeper conversion and to servant leadership. Bear’s engaging interview style opens his guests to go deep and share their adventures, misadventures, conversion to the Lord and their walk with God.
That last line I emboldened is so true.
I told him stuff.
You should listen in.
“The Bear Woznick Adventure” airs on EWTN Radio on Saturday evenings 6PM ET/5PM CT (please refer to your local listings for any changes). It should be on your local EWTN radio affiliate, but if they do not carry it, please email them requesting that they do so for the future. But until then, you can tune in to EWTN Radio on the web, or use their app for Apple devices or their Android app, You can also download the iCatholicRadio app for Apple or Android.
His show also appears on YouTube:Bear Woznick Spirit of Adventure.Please take a look at it, it’s a good source of Catholic spirituality and his show is particularly good for men (and the women who love them.)
“The Sober Catholic Way” helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety. Drawn from nearly two decades of blogging at SoberCatholic.com, “The Sober Catholic Way” shows the importance of the sacraments, the Bible, the Catechism and other books. It continues on with the various ways one can “live” out Catholicism by nurturing devotions to the Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. All of these contribute to sobriety as well as one’s spiritual progression!
“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 has helped keep my sobriety intact since May 22, 2002.
…and 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.
Stop on over to the Shop SoberCatholic store on Pixels You can get apparel (T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, TankTops, Onesies, Menswear, Womenswear!!! While you’re at it, see what else is available, such as coffee mugs and rosary cases!
I did some updates to the blog and now I cannot post to it from the desktop blog editor I use. I have been on chat for 90 minutes with a BlueHost tech to resolve the issue. BlueHost is the webhosting company that I use. This particular problem has happened before, and despite my supplying the tech with the error messages and what happened in the past, he couldn’t fix things. (Don’t worry about what the issue is, this is merely an attempt on my part to see if I can at least post while directly logged in. If you can read this, then I was successful.
This is in one part a test post and in another an announcement that I installed a new blog theme for Sober Catholic. One neat aspect of the change of appearance is the header image, taken by my wife at Letchworth State Park in the Finger Lakes are of upstate New York, and a site icon, also an image taken by my wife. The site icon is the little image you see in your browser tab representing the site.
So, against my better judgment and in fear of cooperating in the overthrow of human governments and other power structures resulting in the enslavement of humanity, I downloaded the chatGPT desktop app for my Mac and asked it about Sober Catholic.
It gave me a good answer, except that it did not include any reference to SoberCatholic.com.
Stupid robot.
And so I then asked it: “Why didn’t you include references to sobercatholic.com”
It replied (boldface mine):
Including references to specific resources like sobercatholic.com can be very helpful. Here’s an updated version of the information with references to sobercatholic.com:
“Sober Catholic” refers to individuals who identify as Catholic and practice sobriety, often within the context of recovery from addiction. The concept emphasizes integrating one’s Catholic faith with principles of sobriety and recovery. Here are some key points about this term:
Faith and Recovery Integration
1. Spiritual Support: For many sober Catholics, their faith provides spiritual support and strength during the recovery process. This can involve prayer, attending Mass, and participating in the sacraments.
2. Community: The Catholic community can offer a supportive network. Many find solace and encouragement in the fellowship of other believers who understand the challenges of addiction and recovery.
3. Programs and Groups: Some specific programs and groups cater to Catholics in recovery, blending traditional recovery principles (like those in Alcoholics Anonymous) with Catholic teachings and practices. Examples include:
• Calix Society: An organization that supports Catholics recovering from alcoholism and other addictions.
• Catholic in Recovery: A group that combines the spiritual guidance of the Church with the 12-step recovery process.
Catholic Teachings and Sobriety
1. Moral Guidance: Catholic teachings on the dignity of the human person, the importance of self-control, and the value of living a virtuous life can provide a moral framework for sobriety.
2. Sacraments: The sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist, are seen as vital sources of grace and strength in the journey towards sobriety.
3. Saints and Role Models: Many sober Catholics look to the lives of saints who struggled with addiction or who are patrons of addiction recovery for inspiration and intercession. St. Maximilian Kolbe, for example, is often invoked by those seeking help in overcoming addiction.
Resources and Literature
• Books and Writings: There are several books and articles that explore the intersection of Catholic faith and sobriety. Titles like “Drinking with the Saints” and “The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments” offer insights and practical advice.
• Online Communities: Various online forums and social media groups provide spaces for sober Catholics to share experiences, offer support, and discuss the role of faith in their recovery journey.
• Sober Catholic Blog: SoberCatholic.com is a blog dedicated to Catholics in recovery, offering articles, reflections, and resources that blend Catholic faith with sobriety principles. It provides a unique perspective and support network for those integrating their faith with their recovery journey.
Personal Stories
• Testimonies: Many sober Catholics share their personal stories of how their faith helped them overcome addiction. These testimonies can be powerful sources of hope and encouragement for others facing similar struggles.
Overall, being a sober Catholic means living out one’s faith in a way that supports and enhances the journey of sobriety, drawing on the rich spiritual, communal, and sacramental resources of the Catholic Church.
The answer was the same as the first one, save for the addition of what I boldfaced.
Mwuahahahahahahahahaha! I can see the potential for this.
