Category Archives: Church

On scandal

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Not that anyone cares or is curious about what I think concerning the current scandal devastating the Church, but this is just a short note to say that I am composing a post on it. It is difficult, and it is addressed primarily to those who are considering leaving it (or who have already left.) There has been a lot of noise, good and bad and so forth. I want to get my post “just right.”

It should be out soon.

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!!)

This side of paradise

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I blogged a few months ago about my decision to start attending a “Traditional Latin Mass,” or the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,” to refer to it by its proper name. This post may repeat some of the points I made then, so bear with me.

This post also further explains my recent blogging disappearance. Why would a Mass affect one’s blogging? Because I have become almost obsessed, nay, call it addicted to learning the rubrics (the “rules” of how to offer a liturgy) of the Latin Mass and thus have spent hours poring over Latin Mass websites, or Facebook Groups on Catholic Tradition and liturgy, or digesting the “words in red” in the Missal I use. As the saying goes, “Say the black, do the red,” the black being the prayers and readings recited, while the red in missals and breviarys are the directions or instructions as to what is supposed to be going on and what to do. I’m finding this stuff fascinating. The Missal that I use is the St. Andrew Daily Missal. I’m finding the “words in red” to be not just instructional, but informative as to the deeper religious and spiritual meaning of what is going on. This isn’t always the case in the more recent liturgical books. As I said elsewehere, “‘Ritual’ is also the hidden word in spiRITUALity,” and my “spiritual progress” since attending the Extraordinary Form has improved.

Why have I become so affected by the Latin Mass? It is uplifting. The beauty of it, even when said simply, is awesome. I feel disconnected from the outside world. This is what the Mass is supposed to do for you: when you first walk into a Catholic Church, you should feel different. You should feel that you have left the secular world and have entered into an extension of Heaven. And the Mass that is offered should take you further away from the world outside. Otherworldiness…. and I just can’t get over the notion that all my favorite saints celebrated or attended this same Latin rite.

Although I do believe that the Mass imposed since 1970 is valid and licit, there is too much of a discontinuity with the Ancient Rite; the closest that I’ve experienced in the Ordinary Form that compares to the Traditional Mass is when the former is said by a pious priest more attentive to the rubrics and to the proper worship of God than he is to making certain that the people are entertained or are totally incredible for being there.

The Mass is about the right and proper worship due the Lord; it is not about us.

I’ll just leave you with that…

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!!)

Where I’m at

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Well, I was going to try and catch up on some overdue blogging and wrap up this month devoted to the Blessed Mother by finishing up a draft post about a wonderful book I have on a Marian devotion, but unfortunately the website where you can purchase the book appears to be offline. It’ll have to remain in draft mode until I can found out about the publisher. (It’s a book that basically convinced me to consecrate this blog to the Blessed Virgin.)

So, just an arbitrary, gratuitous post about various things, kind of like a “Where I’m at” post.

OK, so “Where am I at?”

I’ve gotten deeper into appreciating the Tridentine Rite Mass. As I’ve blogged before in Spiritual progression, Latin style that I started attending the Mass in the Extraordinary Form (The “Latin Mass,” or “TLM.”) I’ve attended six so far. I’ve taken to studying the Missal I’m using to get a better understanding of the Mass and its parts and also what to do. The Missal, known as the Saint Andrew Daily Missal, is one of the best available, according to various online opinions. It is a bit dated, using as it does the Roman Calendar as of 1945, rather than the 1962 Calendar approved for use by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 in Summorum Pontificum. Nevertheless, from what I have learned, it is essentially accurate if all you are doing is attending Sunday Masses; if you are blessed enough to reside in an area that offers a daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form, it may be less useful. Some feast days were moved around or added, and the Holy Week liturgies were changed from 1955 and again in 1960 or 1961. Where it excels is in the copious notes for each Sunday and Feast day; very informative catechesis on the history and liturgy of the day, as well as doctrinal notes. These beautifully illuminate the background of the Mass. You develop a love for the Church in Her development throughout history as well as a love for the liturgy.

And as I said in that blogpost I linked to, it has caused me to stay offline more than usual, apart from checking into Facebook, etc.

What else am I doing? Spending more time on my novel. No, I’m not saying anything about the plot. 😛 Since Winter is finally over, I’m spending more time outside, doing yardwork and getting my vegetable garden ready. Planting is planned for this Sunday and/or Monday, weather permitting.

OK, that’s all for now about me.

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!!)

Spiritual progression, Latin style

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NOTE: Parts of this post were copied and edited from my other blog, In Exile.

For the past three Sundays I’ve attended the “Traditional Latin Mass” instead of the typical English one you’re probably used to. Formally called the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,” (“EF” for short) it differs from the usual Mass (the “Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite,” or “OF” for short) in its solemnity, richness of ritual and use of Latin. It’s also old, dating from the 16th Century, although in some variations it goes back over a thousand years before then.

I had long been wanting to go, but for various reasons haven’t been able to. Those reasons are largely resolved (perhaps it was just time) and so I went on April 22nd.

I loved it. Even before it commenced I felt that I was in the presence of something awesome. Something ancient and sacred was about to happen.

I had some idea of what to expect; I had gone to one before, perhaps 15 years ago. I had no clue then as to what was going on. This time I was better informed from prior study.

I loved it, although I still didn’t quite understand everything. My knowledge of Latin is bad.

The priest is offering the sacrifice on behalf of the people; we observe and unite our prayers to his. The offering of the Mass is between him and God, we are present but in a less participatory role than in the OF. I may have said this with less than precise terminology. If in error, I will accept charitable correction. But this is what I believe I’ve gleaned from my study and observation. The Mass is a sacrifice, the priest offers it, we observe. The OF Mass has altered this understanding, and I think the manner in which it was done has been detrimental to contemporary Catholicism. The emphasis seems to have shifted from worshiping God to the Mass being some sort of communal celebration about us.

Anyway, it was a transcendental experience; despite my newness to it I sensed that something was different, something otherwordly was taking place. A kind of awesome mystery. I felt completely detached from the outside world, something that rarely ever happens to me at an Ordinary Form Mass. This is actually one reason why I haven’t blogged in nearly a month. It’s odd, but this disconnectedness has rendered in me a lack of desire to engage much in online activity. I spend some time on Facebook and MeWe and elsewhere, but not for as long as usual. This week I was hardly online at all.

I can just imagine the experience may intensify after I am more familiar with the Mass.

This is the “Mass of the Ages,” the Mass the Catholic Church celebrated for centuries prior to Vatican II. I felt somehow connected to those who had celebrated it before… not just ordinary priests and laity, but saints. This is the Mass that St. Maximilian Kolbe offered; the Mass that St….. think of your favorite saint from centuries ago, he or she celebrated or attended this Mass.

They say that Vatican II created a rupture in the continuity of tradition between the contemporary Church and the one of ages past. I will not comment on that but it is apparent that we lost a lot. Although I will not become bitter, angry and resentful over “what we lost,” for you and I well know what those emotions can lead to, I will develop a much greater interest in the liturgy and its importance in life. I already have to some great degree taken the liturgy to be something more than something done on Sundays or how you pray. I do live a fairly liturgical life: from taking a keen interest in the liturgical seasons and deriving a personal connection or life application from them to praying the Divine Office. The liturgical year contributes to the ebb and flow of my life, almost like the temporal seasons and their connection to growing things.

I will be attending the Mass in both forms. My wife shows little interest in the EF. That’s all right. I like a good OF Mass said with due and proper attention to the rubrics. (The OF lends itself to abuse.) Besides, the readings aren’t the same, and for now it feels odd to not attend the Mass 99% of Catholics attend (just a guess at the percentage.)

I will blog about this over time. There is definitely something of value here to the recovering alcoholic and addict; the feeling of transcendental holiness and other-worldliness has got to be a sure “cure” for the people, places and things plaguing life. This is why I titles this post, “Spiritual progression, Latin style;” I feel that my growth as a Catholic, my spiritual development, has taken a quantum leap upward.

I’m going again tomorrow!

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!!)

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

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I knew I wrote something before about today’s feast, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle. I searched and found it, from very early in Sober Catholic’s history. I can’t do any better today, it said all that I wanted to, and more! So, here’s a blast from the past, a sober oldie from February, 22, 2007:

“We are not celebrating a chair, so to speak, but rather the authority of the Pope, who derives his authority to teach and lead the Catholic Church by virtue of being the legitimate successor to St. Peter, the first Pope.

Jesus established His Church on Earth, and appointed St. Peter to lead it in His stead. This is why the Pope holds the title “Vicar of Christ”, he is the visible head of Christ’s Church on Earth, and teaches with the same authority. This is shown in today’s Gospel reading:

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

St. Peter was the only Apostle to answer Jesus’ question correctly, and Jesus revealed that it was not through his own ability that he answered, but only through the revelation of God the Father. This is a basis for the Catholic Doctrine of Papal Infallibility, that the Pope is protected from teaching moral and doctrinal error by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is not protected from behaving immorally, as history has shown there to have been “bad popes”, but only when he exercises his authority as the successor to St. Peter in teaching matters of Faith and Morals. He cannot pick the winners of the World Series, the Super Bowl or the World Cup, or mandate that involvement in a war somewhere is wrong. Only in his role as leader and teacher of the fullness of Gospel and Apostolic Truth is he infallible.

This makes sense. You would think that Jesus’ Church would have a leader who has a guarantee of certitude in teaching. Otherwise he’s just a human, subject to human frailties and weakness. He is just a human, and subject to those flaws, but excluded are the areas I already referred to.

This is because Jesus knew that we would be easily led astray but all manner of strange teachings, as shown by all the Protestant and Evangelical denominations that all claim authority, but contradict each other, and often teach things in contradiction to Sacred Scripture. They have no singular authority with the guarantee that was conferred upon Peter and his successors.

This certitude is what attracted me to the idea of the primacy of the Catholic Church in my sobriety. AA was wonderful in helping me to establish my sobriety, but the vagueness and shallowness of its spirituality leaves it open to many personal interpretations and too many risks for falling for anything that sounds good. While this may be fine in some areas, when my immortal soul is at risk, I need a little definition.

In its 2,000 years of history, the Catholic Church has never changed its teachings on Faith and Morals to be fundamentally different than what they were. Her teachings have become more developed as the Gospel and Apostolic writings have become better understood, but the core remains the same.

This, to me, strongly implies that the Church has the guarantee of protection by the Holy Spirit. No mere human institution could have survived the Catholic Church’s turbulent history. It is a creation of God, and therefore as with all things that are of God, endures despite itself.

We, as Catholics, therefore need not have worries or questions about the why’s and what’s of Reality. The answers to everything are all in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (the body of teachings of the Church from the Apostles and their successors, rooted in and derived from Scripture, and which illuminates it as well.) All other belief systems have some elements of truth, just not the fullness of God’s Truth. The human elements shift and change with passing human fancy.

Not a bad deal to safeguard your sobriety? This is the first of probably many (and occasional) postings on “Why the Church?” as a vehicle for sobriety I mentioned I would write, sometime before.

You want to weather adversity, and the storms that ordinary life tosses at you, no better refuge that the Rock: Peter, his successors and the fundamental certitude of their teachings, solidly rooted in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.”

 

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!!)

Advent is upon us!

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As I’ve been doing for nearly eleven years, I’m about to remind you of the beginning of another season on the Church’s liturgical calendar. Although you are probably aware of Advent starting tomorrow night, my doing so is like a little exhortation to not just think of it as another page on the calendar or noticing differently colored priestly vestments or a new missal; no, it’s to help drive home the awesome wonderfulness of the liturgical calendar.

We pray and worship with the seasons and each one benefits us in a different way all the while drawing us closer to Jesus.

To me, it also helps the years pass by more quickly and aids in coping.

Advent is here, and with it we await Jesus’ first coming among us as a helpless babe. Teaching us humility, that the Second Person of the Trinity had the audacity to come to us in that manner rather than in some mighty and magnificent way (like one would expect), God drives home a difficult message and becomes humble. Humility is a trait not quite respected in most “advanced” cultures on Earth. We could use more of it. (NOTE TO SELF!)

Take advantage of the season: Jesus is coming and we have to prepare! Clear away from your hearts and minds all that is impure, unwholesome, wicked and selfish. Conquer self-will, try God’s will. Go to Confession at least once and clear out the gunk.

Here’s a good resource for those of you who wish to delve deeply into the season: Praying Advent 2018

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!!)

Death as a passage

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What do you think of death? Is it something to be feared, avoided and denied? Like many people do you ignore it and hope it never bothers you?

I have had a relationship with death stretching back to my childhood. Not that I lost anyone close to me during that time, but I feared that I would. My Mom had celebrated her 47th birthday 11 days before I was born. Dad turned 50 a few months before that. I thought nothing of it until I went to school at age 5. At school events (choir, plays, etc.) I noticed right away that the other kid’s parents seemed different. I discovered that they were younger. They were farther away from death than my parents were. Death… as in going away permanently. I didn’t much like that. I was convinced that at any time Mom and Dad were going to die. I developed the habit of checking their chests while they were napping to see if they were breathing. This continued long after I reached adulthood during vacations home and after I returned home from California in 1995 to care for Mom.

My adult experience of death has been defined by my Mom’s dying in November 2005, and the subsequent griefwork (grief counseling, namely online discussion forums, in person counseling and grief support groups.) After the initial period which lasted well over a year, I developed the notion that death isn’t something to be feared. Sure, I would rather have my Mom and other loved ones still around, but as I moved past the pain and agony of the loss, I was able to see and understand the “Communion of Saints” doctrine of the Church as something of a comfort. This great “cloud of witnesses” that St. Paul writes about in Hebrews 12 may include our beloved dead, gone on before us. They form a part of the Church along with us. Those in Heaven being members of the Church Triumphant, while we still on Earth as a part of the Church Militant. Together with the Church Suffering (those souls in Purgatory) we all comprise the Mystical Body of Christ. We are all members of a community of believers, and as a community can still have a relational bond.

Through prayer and devotion to the deceased, we can still maintain our relationships with them. They are not completely gone. We obviously cannot interact with them as we once did, but it is uncharitable and cynical to regard them as forgotten or “gone” . They are just beyond from where we are.

Therefore, death ceases to be a means by which our beloved are taken away and are gone. Death becomes a passage through which our beloved experience the joy of entering into the presence of God, the domain of eternity where He is.

Ultimately it is a passage that we need to think about and meditate upon. Unlike most times where we focus upon the destination rather than the road, this passage is significant unto itself. Everyone will experience it. Regardless of what you believe happens after death, it is universal. Happens to everyone. Whether the passage of death leads one to Heaven or Hell depends upon the choices we make while alive. Therefore death as a passage forces this consideration of our daily living. How do we live?

If your attention is focused upon Heaven, and you consciously yearn for that place which is our true home, the death is to be welcomed and not feared. Perhaps not desired, but certainly not looked upon with dread.

And definitely a motivation to repent and reform our lives and practice our recovery principles.

Death is our way home.

NOTE: This post is reblogged from another blog of mine on Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell that is discontinued. Relevant posts on recovery are being migrated one at a time over the next few years to Sober Catholic.

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!!)

Slight change in direction for Sober Catholic

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In about a week I will commemorate the twelfth anniversary of my Mom’s death. One of the impacts of her dying and eventual death has been my increasing interest in Catholic teaching on the afterlife and specifically a growing devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. When I started Sober Catholic almost eleven years ago I also started a “sister” blog to discuss issues on Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, which are the called the “Four Last Things” in the Church. Hence, that was the blog’s name (“4LT” for short.).

4LT was a nice little blog, kind of intimate as I was probably one of a half-dozen readers. 😉 Last year I started thinking about whether it was necessary; that any posts there should be on here as “death and dying” and the afterlife are topics rarely discussed in recovery blogs or meetings. I thought that maybe they should be showcased in their own blog given how queasy some people feel about such things.

Excerpts from its first post:

There are four unalterable, unavoidable truths that every human must eventually face.

You will die.

You will be judged.

You will be received into Heaven or…

… your life will condemn you to Hell.

Period. No wishful thinking will alter the above truths. They are expressly laid out in the Bible and they cannot be avoided.

“But I’m not Christian…” Yeah, so what? Non-Christian religions may have much truth in them and they may lead people to God, but only in Judeo-Christianity has God revealed Himself to us and wrote a roadmap to the afterlife and salvation in the Bible. You will be judged for what you are responsible for (more on that in a later post).

Anyway, my name is Paul, and I am an alcoholic who found sobriety from drink in the Twelve Steps of a recovery program but discovered sustained sobriety in the Catholic Church. In the course of my recovery, I thought more deeply than most other 12-Steppers of my acquaintance on the eternal verities. Death. Judgement. Heaven. Hell. The four unavoidables.

I’ve rarely heard these topics brought up in recovery meetings, except that some members presumed that they’ve already experienced Hell or went through Purgatory on Earth as a consequence of their drinking. I understood that as an expression of suffering, but I wondered about the real places , or whatever they are. That will be explored in this blog…

…another reason why I am starting this blog is that one thing I’ve heard in 12 Step meetings is the basic conviction or feeling that once you’ve stopped drinking, that’s it. You’ve run the race and you’re “in”. That’s always bothered me. Just not drinking today isn’t enough. You may still sin (that is, offend God), and perhaps even mortally sin. There are whole other ways to screw up your life besides drinking. You may still do those. Hopefully this blog will make you aware of that and start thinking beyond “just not drinking.”

However, because I rarely posted (there are 150 or so posts, and many are reblogs from prior years) there doesn’t seem to be much of a point. I think discussion of the Four Last Things is important for Catholics and anyone in recovery, but that blog had little exposure and thus its purpose was defeated. I never planned to blog on 4LT as much as on Sober Catholic, but I had hoped to much more often than I did. And so I have decided that further posts on death and the afterlife will be here (mostly around November).

The fact that I had debated this nearly a year ago and am only now doing something about it is further proof of 4LT’s “demise” in my mind. Read: The Future of the ‘Four Last Things’ Blog

The plan for 4LT’s closure will be different from what I envisioned in that post. I will not import 4LT’s posts into Sober Catholic; that won’t increase their exposure unless you explored the Categories and discovered a bunch of new ones. They will be edited for content and any needed updating and republished here (with an appropriate disclosure, just in case you’re one of 4LT’s six readers and would be wondering where you read that before 🙂 . Any that are of a “non-recovery” value will be appear on In Exile and thus giving it some bloglife.

One thing I will NOT do is go into endless debates on Purgatory, which seemed to crop up in 4LT’s comments section and are repetitious. I will hopefully post something on the Church’s teaching on that and be done with it. Doubters can read it and if it isn’t enough may politely ask a few more questions or make some more points; otherwise they can follow links to more information and pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit. Polite inquiry and dialogue I’m OK with; my temperament doesn’t jibe with what passes for “debate” or “dialogue” nowadays.

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!!)

Early October feasts

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October has a great number of feast days of some really awesome saints. On the 1st was St. Therese of Lisieux, the 2nd was our Guardian Angels, the 4th was St. Francis (with the celebration of his death and passing into eternity, the “Transitus” on the 3rd.) October 5th was the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska, the “Apostle of Divine Mercy,” who was inspired by Jesus to write a journal of His communications with her which is one of the 20th Century’s greatest mystical works (and may be on a short list of profound mystical writings in the 20 centuries of Catholicism). The 7th was the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Today is St. Teresa of Avila, a master spiritual writer and mystic.

There’s no real point to this post except for two things:

1) to point out in a small way the riches of the Church through the lives of the saints. Thi is a major reason for this blog. Each one I mentioned above has something of value to offer sober Catholics. I may do a few blogposts in the near future to expound a little on that;

2) I have been blogging much too sporadically this year. I know, this has been an ongoing issue with myself over the decade I’ve been blogging and it will probably never end but still it bugs me. This quickie post is just “a little something” to get through the blogging blockage I’ve been suffering. “Blogging blockage” is the term I just now invented; it’s like “writer’s block,” but is caused by getting out of the habit of regular blogging (even if its just a post-a-week.) The blockage is that emotional of psychological feeling that too much time has elapsed since my last post and there’s this inertia keeping me from posting. A blogger at rest tends to remain at rest and blogging will just continue to slide. That answer to that is just to post. Post anything, as long as it’s relevant (and sometimes not!) Hence this.

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!!)

The Fatima Message is ongoing

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The Centennial of Our Lady’s Apparitions at Fatima concluded this past Friday, October 13th. On that day in 1917, Our Lady appeared with a promised miracle, the “Miracle of the Sun” witnessed by over 70,000 people.

Because of this and other things I had thought that “something interesting” was going to occur of the 13th, something of a supernatural event. Nothing did, which is fine as my faith is not based upon prophetic events and the like. I was a little disappointed, but I got over it and “moved on.”

And so should we. The Fatima Message is not over with the centennial. I doubt anyone seriously thought that, but with all the postings in the Catholic blogosphere concerning 2017 being the anniversaries of several events (Fatima and the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata, the Bolshevik Revolution, the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Revolt, the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Freemasonry), I have a feeling that there was an expectation of something supernatural and with that a change in the world. Anyway…

God’s timing is not ours. We cannot will prophetic events. We can, however live Gospel lives and incorporate the Fatima Message into them. Prayer, penance, reparation for our sins and especially for those of others, saying the daily Rosary… all these point to living out our vocations as Catholics and hopefully making some positive impact on the world.

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!!)