Category Archives: About this blog

Addiction and Mental Health Resources Page is up!

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As a part of my overhaul of this blog, I’ve deleted many resources along the sidebars and moved them over to their own page; this would make it easier for readers using mobile devices to navigate around as well as for anyone to share it.

You can access the page along to tabs across the top, or go here: Addiction and Mental Health Resources Page

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!!)

And so I published something on Medium today!

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Medium is a publishing platform where anyone with writing aspirations can sign up, write stuff and publish it where no one or maybe lots of someones will read it. You can also earn money. The trick to the latter is that you have to join their partnership program and for that, you need at least 100 followers. There’s a lot to it, and some of the lotness means you have to shell out money, but following someone is free. 

This is what I published to Medium today: Two Theories on How the World Ends

If you would be so kind as to click on the ‘follow’ link at the article, that would make me really happy. What am I going to be writing there? General oddments, some Catholic, a lot not. Nothing injurious to your Faith, of course 😉 

Much of what I will publish there I’ve written elsewhere (like on Paul Sofranko Space).But any ‘old material’ will be edited and updated to meet the needs of a wider audience. I do have ideas for completely new stuff, so it won’t be just rehashed old stuff.

I will be uploading and publishing some old Paul Sofranko Space stuff over the next few days.

On another note: I’m still working out the details of the overhaul to SoberCatholic that I wrote about earlier. Change is hard and although it will be good, I usually struggle with carrying it through. All the basics have been done: the new Pages are written and ready to go, all I have to do is… do it. 

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!!)

ATTENTION Subscribers…

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I am having issues with the new subscription thingy I installed the other day. I apparently have to manually add emails to the subscription list (I looked around and there was nothing in the settings to allow new subscribers to be automatically added.) I am trying a new option but I’m not how its is working, just yet. If you subscribed and aren’t getting anything, that’s why. Patience, please! 

I wish the old subscription thingy wasn’t deprecated by WordPress. It was working just fine; I forgot it was there!

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!!)

Subscribe option is back! And I may be looking into WordPress alternatives…

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Someone recently wrote me (and donated $10!!!) and asked me to add her to the subscription list. I had thought there was a subscribe option, but apparently the old subscribe widget was obsoleted and legacied by WordPress. (Nice going, WP. It worked perfectly well, there was no need to change things!) Anyway, I struggled through WordPress’s options and found a new plugin that should work as a subscription thingy. So, if you wish to subscribe, please do so, upper top left in the sidebar. Or, if on mobile, I think it’s at the begin Ning of all the stuff past the posts.

(I may be looking into an alternative to WordPress, the ‘under the hood stuff’ for this blog is getting more difficult with each passing year.)

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!!)

Be shepherds like the Lord

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The Second Reading from the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours for today is from a homily by Saint Asterius of Amasea, bishop

Emphasis is mine.

You were made in the image of God. If then you wish to resemble him, follow his example. Since the very name you bear as Christians is a profession of love for men, imitate the love of Christ.

Reflect for a moment on the wealth of his kindness. Before he came as a man to be among men, he sent John the Baptist to preach repentance and lead men to practise it. John himself was preceded by the prophets, who were to teach the people to repent, to return to God and to amend their lives. Then Christ came himself, and with his own lips cried out: Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. How did he receive those who listened to his call? He readily forgave them their sins; he freed them instantly from all that troubled them. The Word made them holy; the Spirit set his seal on them. The old Adam was buried in the waters of baptism; the new man was reborn to the vigour of grace.

What was the result? Those who had been God’s enemies became his friends, those estranged from him became his sons, those who did not know him came to worship and love him.

Let us then be shepherds like the Lord. We must meditate on the Gospel, and as we see in this mirror the example of zeal and loving kindness, we should become thoroughly schooled in these virtues.

For there, obscurely, in the form of a parable, we see a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. When one of them was separated from the flock and lost its way, that shepherd did not remain with the sheep who kept together at pasture. No, he went off to look for the stray. He crossed many valleys and thickets, he climbed great and towering mountains, he spent much time and labour in wandering through solitary places until at last he found his sheep.

When he found it, he did not chastise it; he did not use rough blows to drive it back, but gently placed it on his own shoulders and carried it back to the flock. He took greater joy in this one sheep, lost and found, than in all the others.

Let us look more closely at the hidden meaning of this parable. The sheep is more than a sheep, the shepherd more than a shepherd. They are examples enshrining holy truths. They teach us that we should not look on men as lost or beyond hope; we should not abandon them when they are in danger or be slow to come to their help. When they turn away from the right path and wander, we must lead them back, and rejoice at their return, welcoming them back into the company of those who lead good and holy lives.

At the risk of sounding arrogant and boastful, the words I emphasized in bold and underline form the mission of this blog, Sober Catholic. 

Too often in the past I’ve seen Catholics stray from the Faith due to exposure to secular or non-denominational recovery movements. Nothing wrong with Catholics attending these, to a point. But the risk is often too great if the faith is weak.

Hence, SoberCatholic.com, my humble, faltering attempt to show Catholics what the Faith can offer them to maintain their sobriety. Like a shepherd of sorts going after a lost sheep, I’m trying to go after the lost sheep of the House of St. Peter. 

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!!)

Sober Catholic Books UPDATE!

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Recently my wife got me an early birthday present, Publisher Rocket by Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. It’s a book marketing and research tool that comes highly recommended by pages and pages of Google and DuckDuckGo search results. I’ve only had it a couple of days and I am thinking I should have gotten it years ago. It helps you find a lot of things to aid your self-published books gain traction on Amazon along with a whole bunch of other useful tools for self-publishing. The Kindlepreneur site itself is a goldmine of things every self-publisher needs to know.

I have just used it to discover over a dozen categories in which to place my two books (see the signature that is at the bottom of every post for links to them.) I ust submitted a request to have Amazon place them in those categories. Right now just for the ebooks, I’ll try and add the paperback versions later today. 

That all being said, I’ve been inspired to dust off several of my Sober Catholic Books-in-progress. Although the Stations and Rosary books came out a decade ago, I’ve never given up on the idea of writing more. Things got in the way, including some nasty character defects (complacency and laziness) but I would occasionally piddle with a few ideas. 

Well, I have started work on two, maybe three books. One is on the Ten Commandments and the other is on the Litany of the Sacred Heart. The possible third is a prayer book. Not sure about that one. I have no idea when they will be finished, but I am enthused about self-publishing again. If something were to happen to me and SoberCatholic.com goes offline, then the books should be around as long as Amazon and the other publishers are online. So there’s that motivation. 

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!!)

Introducing Sacred Heart Fridays

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I know I’ll probably screw it up but I intend to write one (and maybe more) posts every Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart. 

I have been thinking about doing this for quite a few years and for a variety of reasons that will not be revealed, feel that 2023 is the year it’ll finally get done.

This project is long overdue. The Sacred Heart devotion is one of the oldest Catholic devotions and is second to that of the Rosary. The Sacred Heart devotion is also near and dear to Sober Catholics (or it should be!)

The posts will be inspired by classic Catholic devotionals on the Sacred Heart, some from my own interior life; some will be just book reviews (so as to introduce to you many classic and contemporary Sacred Heart spiritual readings.)

By the end of 2023, if I live to see its end, the 52+ posts will hopefully bestow upon you a greater devotion to the Sacred Heart than you already have.

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!!)

16th Bloggaversary of Sober Catholic: How I stayed sober for almost 21 years

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Today marks the 16th Bloggaversary of Sober Catholic. In honor of that, I’ve edited and cleaned up a messy note I wrote who-knows-when on “The Sober Catholic Way.” It is a summary of everything I’ve been doing since I became sober on May 22, 2002. Some I do better than others. 

This was originally a long, 2,000ish word post. There was the summary you see in the next paragraph followed by a longer version that fleshed out the details. But then I decided this morning during a feeling-sorry-for-myself pity party that the longer version is itself a summary of an even much longer version that’s been lurking in my head for 15 or so years. That being a book on the topic of “The Sober Catholic Way of Sobriety.” Or something like that. I shall begin working on that right away. I do not know when it will be finished.

The summary of the ‘Sober Catholic Method’ or ‘Way’ or ‘whatver’ is:

Wow, that’s a long list, Paulcoholic? Isn’t a Twelve-Step program simpler? Yeah, maybe. But doing the above has kept this sick puppy sober for over 20 years and I knew that AA couldn’t. Some people demand happiness in this life and they find it often by avoiding suffering all costs and more and more turn to things which can only be called ‘addictions.’ Whether it is the typical alcohol or drugs, or an inordinate attraction to the self, or to the Internet and social media, or  to fandoms (pop culture things like TV franchises, movies, comics or other entertainment stuff.) Someone may not be an alcoholic or a drug addict, but I betcha they’re ‘addicted’ to something. You need a lot of tools to crowd all that stuff out or at least keeping them in their proper perspective is an attribute of the Sober Catholic Method. Or Way. Or whatever… 😉 So this all could be a wholistic approach to dealing with life in general and addictions in particular.

There are probably books or devotions that should be on there, but this my list. Yours may be slightly different. Anyone who takes a look at the list will arrive at the conclusion that it is simply a decent Catholic lifestyle. We are all supposed to go to Mass, Confession, and live the Gospel life which is learned by studying the Bible, Catechism, lives of the Saints and their teachings along with a few particular devotions to assist us on our way – to help us ‘stay on the beam.’ So be it. What makes it a ‘Sober Catholic Way?’ Life hasn’t been perfect for me nor am I a serene, happy saint-to-be. Life sucks at times, and I am often cranky and melancholic. But God never promises happiness and peace in this life. Only in the life to come. This should help me get there.

If you’ve appreciated this blog as well as this post, you can PayPalMe a non-tax deductible donation (my real name is Paul Sofranko, like the destination link says.) I will greatly appreciate every donation. (I do have plans for the money; plans to buy software which will help out in the production and marketing of self-published books. I figure that if I can raise sufficient funds through the kindness of strangers, then I’ll feel responsible and actually start working on the planned books. More on that later. )

 Or, you can just buy a lot of my books I’ve already done:

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!!)

Today is the 105th Anniversary of the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata

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NOTE: Edited from an earlier post. 

Today marks the 105th Anniversary of the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata, an evangelization apostolate of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Established on the evening of October 16, 1917 at the Conventual Franciscan’s College in Rome by St. Maximilian and six of his fellow students, its goal is to “win the whole world for Christ through the Immaculata, Mother of God and of the Church.”

The original aim of the MI was “To pursue the conversion to God of all people, be they sinners, or non-Catholics, or unbelievers, in particular the freemasons; and that all become saints, under the patronage and through the mediation of the Immaculate Virgin.

Kolbe was inspired to “do something” after a violent anti-Catholic demonstration by the Freemasons on Rome in early 1917, hence the original reference to the freemasons.

It has since spread throughout the world. One joins after a period of prayer and meditation on the charism of the MI. You then consecrate yourself to the Blessed Mother under the formula devised by St. Maximilian. His method is similar to the consecration of St. Louis DeMontfort; it differs only in that it includes an external evangelical dimension. One typically selects a feast day associated with the Blessed Mother in order to join with however many others are consecrating themselves, and as a way of honoring Mary. The Act of Consecration is as follows:

“O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.”

The Daily Renewal of Total Consecration is:

“Immaculata, Queen and Mother of the Church, I renew
my consecration to you this day and for always, so that you
may use me for the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus in
the whole world. To this end I offer you all my prayers,
actions and sacrifices of this day.”

I have been a member of the MI since 2002; I recently celebrated my 20th anniversary of consecration to Mary this past October 7th, having selected the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary as my day to enroll.

Although the Militia of the Immaculata is not a recovery organization by any means, I do credit my consecration with keeping myself sober when AA was insufficient. I have always said here on “Sober Catholic” that my Catholic Faith has been primarily responsible for my sobriety, with AA and the Twelve Steps providing the focus for drinking-specific issues and root causes. But for spirituality and the growth and depth of my maturing relationship with my “Higher Power” (Jesus), the enduring basis for sobriety, I credit the Faith. And although I may not have realized it at the time, my consecration to the Blessed Mother quite possibly gave me the strength to deal with things that AA couldn’t. Putting yourself in the hands of Mary for her to use by whatever means she wishes to bring about a “Civilization of Love,” you’re pretty much guaranteed of a solid sobriety. Not that I haven’t on occasion “felt thirsty,” but the feeling withers quickly. The fact that as you develop your relationship with Mary and she leads you closer and closer to Jesus; this has a cumulative effect on your sobriety and recovery. Mary leads you to the Divine Physician. I have read quite a lot of Mariology in the tradition of ‘total consecration,’ especially Kolbean. And the more I read that, the more I am convinced that if you want to stay sober, consecrate yourself to Mary through the Militia of the Immaculate.  Note: I may develop those italicized lines into a series of posts since I think it is worth exploring.

I do think that “Sober Catholic” is a direct result of inspiration from Mary. This is all subjective, of course. But that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Quotes and other information courtesy of Militia of the Immaculata in the USA. When you visit that site, you’ll discover plenty of information on the history and founding of the MI, including how to enroll and the preparation needed, as well as material on the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

If you’re not in the USA, go here: MI International and you can locate information for your country.

I have also blogged about St. Maximilian Kolbe numerous times: St. Maximilian Kolbe post archives on Sober Catholic.

I administer an Unofficial M.I. Group on Facebook.

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!!)

Please help support Sober Catholic! Your donations are appreciated.

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Hi, all. I am writing this post to make a request. I have been blogging since early 2007, that’s nearly 15 1/2 years. I’ve quite enjoyed it and will probably never give it up (unless I can no longer mentally perform the tasks or I die.) This request is a humble one for donations. Sober Catholic’s hosting bill for the next three years is due at the end of the first week of June; with our domain names* coming due a week later. Although we can pay them, doing so will take quite a chunk from our financial reserves. I will try and negotiate a discount with the hosting service, given that we’ve been loyal customers sine 2010. But, it would be greatly appreciated if those of you who enjoy this blog can help support it in some way so as to help defray the costs.

I’m not just going to ask you to ‘please please gimme money’ and that’s that. I will try and do something in return. Maybe for $5 you can suggest something that I can blog about? Something at the intersection of Catholic Faith and recovery? Something else? My opinion or thoughts on this, that or whatever?

How about this? For $10 you get a PDF copy of one of my books (you pick). I know $10 is more that you’d pay if you bought them online from where they’re distributed, (unless you had to pay shipping) but there will be the ‘added value’ of supporting the blog. 

You can always just donate whatever you want without getting anything. That is true charity; giving something without expecting anything in return. But that doesn’t diminish the idea of giving in exchange for something. That’s nice, it establishes a kind of ‘proprietary’ interest in the blog. In fact, it’s giving me an idea for another post… But for now, something, anything you feel that contributes to the upkeep of this blog will be appreciated. 

You can PayPal me, or use the PayPal link in the sidebar. If you prefer to send a cheque, you can email me (details in the About Me page.)

*Regarding ‘domain names:” my wife and I have three sites. There’s this Sober Catholic blog, plus I have another at Paul Sofranko which I think I will transform into a static promotional site for current and future Sober Catholic books (yes, I’m planning more and should start the actual writing soon on one or two.) It could be renamed “Sober Catholic Books” or something like that; plus my wife has her site which she uses as like a ‘calling card’ for all of her online storefronts. Hey, there’s and idea!! You can also help out by checking out her stores and maybe buying stuff!!!

Whatever you do send, you will be in my prayers. 

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!!)