In the previous post I briefly mentioned about the Catholic Church’s rules and regulations and how people may view them as obstacles that get in the way of a personal relationship with God.

People forget that God Himself established rules. (“Ten Commandments”) Although He wants a personal relationship with each one of us, that doesn’t mean that we get to pick and choose what we can do. Humans, being such, usually pick the path of least resistance or the “lowest common denominator”. Rules are designed to tell people the right and correct way of living and acting so as to be pleasing to Him. They can be viewed as negative, but only by those who seek the temporary and passing joys of the world, things which do not endure. They are not easy, rules usually aren’t, but viewed from the right perspective they can be seen as a sort of safety mechanism. They assist in achieving long-term survival, as opposed to short-term gain. Pleasure is here today, gone tomorrow. If you wish to perpetuate it, you need to keep chasing after it. It doesn’t endure. The peace and serenity that is derived from following the Commandments endure.

Same for the obligations that the Catholic Church expects of its members. Instead of being viewed as chains keeping us down and limiting our enjoyment of the passing fancies of the world, the precepts and “regulations” of the Church can be seen as an attempt to liberate the average person from the limitations of being human. Face it, the joys and pleasures of the world (like alcohol) are ultimately destructive at worst, forgetful at best and possibly humiliating in between (Are you paid what you’re worth? Is your dignity as a human being respected by the world at large? This is what I mean.)

Instead of focusing on the short-term pleasure and satisfaction that rules may seem to deny you, try to focus of the long-term gains achieved by following them. You already do this in a manner of speaking if you’ve attained any degree of sobriety. Wouldn’t a drink taste very good right now? Wouldn’t it help take the edge off, ease the pain and suffering you’re going through, or even just the petty little inconveniences called “daily living”? Of course it would! So why not have a drink? Just one? Of course you wouldn’t! Why? Because some time ago you learned that the fruits of long-term sobriety are better than the pleasures of a short-term drinking spell. Following the principles of a 12-Step movement are grand, but they only deal with sobriety. And I am aware that sobriety is the basis or starting point from which the rest of life is lived. But why limit yourself to just that? There is so much more to living than just not needing to take a drink today. That is a part of it, and indeed an important part. But there is so much more. Too many AA’s are chained to the notion of “not drinking” almost as much and as desperately as they were chained to the notion of “drinking”.

Liberate yourself from such a deterministic attitude. Yes, you’re sober. But you can be Catholic, and instead of seeing life through the lens of sobriety, you can start seeing life through the lens of a vastly universal spirituality. The things that drove you to drinking in the past, and to AA meetings now, will seem minuscule.

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!!)

One may ask, “Why be Catholic?” Or, “Why the Church for help in one’s sobriety? It’s just a Church, full of rules and regulations that just get in the way. Why not just have a personal relationship with God?”

Well, you can. And the best place for that to happen is within the Catholic Church. It is the historical church established by Jesus Christ and His Apostles and it bears all the hallmarks of a Church established by Him. There are four marks, or signs, usually named to identify the church founded by Jesus. Those four marks are that it is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

It is one: Jesus established only one church, not numerous churches. The apostles, as they scattered about spreading the Gospel, established churches in their journeys, but all were subject to the authority of Peter, the first Pope, and his successors. Some churches may have held a large degree of autonomy, but ultimately they were united under the leadership of what would eventually be known as the Papacy.

It is holy: It’s holiness is not found in the actions and behavior of its members, from the rank-and-file butts in the pews and the clergy, to the Pope. It’s holiness is derived from its establishment by Jesus, the miracles God works through it, and the lives of the saints and martyrs.

It is catholic: “catholic” means “universal”. This means that it holds the fullness of the Gospel truths taught by Jesus. The Catholic Church has never discarded as inconvenient or irrelevant any of the teachings of Jesus. It teaches everything that Jesus taught, with no redactions. As such, its teachings are applicable to everyone, in every place in every time and in every situation. Other Christian denominations, while they are to be respected for the sincerity of their member’s beliefs, have over the centuries discarded (or “reinterpreted”) various of His teachings.)

It is apostolic: It traces its history back to the time of the apostles. The apostles were entrusted by Jesus to teach and spread His message to all nations. The twelve apostles were the bishops of the early Church, they in turn passed their authority to teach to their successors. This has been transferred down the centuries to today’s bishops.

If you examine Catholic history, you will see a history replete with heresy (rejection of Catholic teaching), schism (rejection of Catholic authority), scandals, crimes and corruption. Yet it survives. It survives due to the actions of the Holy Spirit to maintain it despite its leadership and membership. It survives because Jesus said that He will be with it even until the end of time, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Its history has shown that Hell has sought to prevail, and while Hell has had some success it causing the above mentioned troubles, in the end it will fail.

No mere human-founded organization has such a guarantee of survival. Not a bad thing to link your sobriety to.

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!!)