Debauchery

Posted on August 16, 2015 by paulcoholic

The Second Reading from today’s Mass for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (boldface mine):

Ephesians 5:15-20 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”

We know about debauchery. Some of us more than others. St. Paul offers excellent advice on countering this: doing alternative, spiritual things such as singing hymns, reading the Psalms (always a great source of comfort) and giving thanks to God (showing “gratitude.”) How often have you been to an AA meeting and heard about gratitude? Be grateful for what you have, desire nothing more than having your needs fulfilled.

If you’ve been clean and sober for a while, and have explored the spiritual riches of the Faith, perhaps you’ve run across suggestions of doing the virtue in opposition to the vice you’re acting out. For example, practice humility to counter pride. This is what St. Paul is suggesting. Counter debauchery with holiness.

That may sound trite, but all this does serve to interrupt the thought processes leading to sin and relapse. Something has to be done to stop the process.

So, read the Psalms. Break out into song! 😉 Fill your heart and soul with holiness!

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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!!)

Not a destructive drug

Posted on June 28, 2015 by paulcoholic

The First Reading from today’s Mass on the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is a rather interesting one from a sober Catholic perspective:

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24…

(italics mine)

“God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.”

Courtesy: USCCB

God does not desire for us to perish. But perish we do, as a consequence of our actions. But it wasn’t supposed to be that way.

The things of the earth were not supposed to be destructive in nature, God created everything and called it “good.” (Genesis, Chapter 1). Life wasn’t drudgery and full of pain; that didn’t set in until our Rebellion (Genesis, Chapter 3). That Rebellion, when our First Parents were duped by Satan in to thinking that they can be “like gods” and decide for themselves what is “good” and “evil” is when “death entered the world.”

Literal death, but also other “deaths,” anything that devalued and destroyed life. Disease, addictions, pain, suffering…

Despite the beliefs of certain Protestant Fundamentalists, there’s nothing wrong with drinking alcohol. Abusing it, yes. But merely consuming it, no – if done in moderation. Many things done in moderation become sinful when abused. That is inherent in sin, which is the abuse and misuse of the good things God gave us: our minds, bodies and stuff about us. Just like what our First Parents did, and their Original Sin is replicated quite often today when people disregard God’s Laws and make their own…

You don’t have to suffer from addiction… you can be free of it…

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!!)

Immaculate Heart of Mary and Purity

Posted on June 13, 2015 by paulcoholic

Back when I was looking around for Catholic resources for addiction recovery, I was stunned to discover that almost all of them dealt with porn, lust and sex addiction.

Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an optional Feast Day on the Church’s liturgical calendar. Mary is the refuge of those seeking purity, as it was only through her immaculate conception that Our Lord was able to become Incarnate and redeem us from our sins (as He certainly could not be born through a woman enslaved by Original Sin, right?)

Today is also the 98th Anniversary of the Fatima Apparition of June 13, 1917. It is a happy coincidence that the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary falls this year on that anniversary.

One of the significant parts of the “Message of Fatima” is that the Lord is greatly offended by the increase in sexual impurity. Those are my words, Our Lady didn’t speak that way to innocent children. She basically said that various fashions are displeasing to the Lord and many people go to Hell for such offenses. Later on, I think, this was interpreted to mean the increasing secular nature of culture and the growing trends towards immodest fashions and casual sex.

If the Lord was offended by the standards of sexual culture 100 years ago, you can imagine His offense today.

Anyway, if you are troubled by lust and impurity, the Rosary is a safe refuge. Praying it slowly, meditating of the Mysteries can interrupt the thought processes leading you to impure acts. Perhaps find sacred art and place it around your residence. Fill your mind with holy things! It will take effort, some times easier than others. Lust never sleeps; like alcohol, it is “cunning, baffling and poewerful.”

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!!)

repentance posting

Posted on March 11, 2015 by paulcoholic

OK, I did it again! Although I didn’t formally announce it, I sort of strongly implied that I’d be blogging daily during Lent. I actually may have come out and said it, I don’t remember.

Well, no posts these past two days. {{{sigh}}}

(The “I did it again!” refers to my annual Lenten pledge to blog daily, and then failing to do so. It’s been done once, maybe twice. Probably once.)

Well, I’m not going to beat myself up over it; I will just resolve to get back up and proceed onward. And that is a lesson for all of us sinners. We repent and confess our sins; we relapse and sin again. Do we quit with the repentance and confession? After all, we’re probably just going to do it again! Of course not! Even though we will probably commit the same sins, or even new ones, we still pick our sorry selves back up and repent and confess. As long as it takes (which will probably be the rest of our lives).

This separates the saints from those who are not. Saints ALWAYS pick themselves back up and resume.

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!!)

Those who are healthy do not need a physician

Posted on February 21, 2015 by paulcoholic

Today’s Lenten post is an excerpt from the Gospel for today’s Mass for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday.

Luke 5: 31-32

“And responding, Jesus said to them: “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who have maladies. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

I know I have blogged about this passage before, given its significance for us alcoholics. For we are truly sick and in need of a physician. Who better than the Divine Physician, Jesus, who heals all?

In fact, His healing didn’t stop with His Earthly life, it continued on ever afterward in the Church He established. The Catholic Church is the repository of His mission: to preserve intact the Gospel message, free from error and heresy, to preach it to the nations, and to continue healing the broken and wounded. The sacraments offer healing. Avail yourself of them. Go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Mass. Pray before th Blessed Sacrament.

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!!)

A broken and contrite heart

Posted on February 20, 2015 by paulcoholic

An excerpt from the Responsorial Psalm in today’s Mass for the Friday after Ash Wednesday:

Psalm 51:19

“A crushed spirit is a sacrifice to God. A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not spurn.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

A crushed spirit is the person who is aware of their sins, is wounded by them and who has demonstrated sincere humility in desiring to repent of them.

Offer up the pain of your remorse and your dread of being separated from God by the sins. Lift up your heart and soul and pray for forgiveness. If you do a thorough (“fearless and searching”) examination of conscience you can often get through to the root of repeated and consistent sins. Go to Confession frequently throughout Lent to aid in ridding yourself of the root causes of sin.

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!!)

God, you will not spurn

Posted on March 12, 2014 by paulcoholic

The Responsorial Psalm from today’s Mass for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent is Psalm 51, a favorite of mine. It is also a favorite of the Church’s, as it appears often on Fridays in the Divine Office, and today is the second time since Lent began that it is used as the Responsorial. I also blogged about it last week: A heart contrite and humbled.

As it is a good prayer to use when you are truly contrite and wish to be reconciled to the Lord, it is not altogether strange that the Church emphasizes it at appropriate times. Perhaps the Church is reminding us of the need for repentannce, as well as frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession.

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 entered the world

Posted on March 12, 2014 by paulcoholic

I’ve fallen behind in my daily Lenten blogging, not that I said I was going to but every year I at least make the attempt and this year is no different. Some years I succeed, others, no. You can read prior year’s Lenten posts here: Lent Archives on Sober Catholic

Anyway, this excerpt is from the Second Reading for this past Sunday, the Mass of the First Sunday of Lent:

Romans 5:12: “Through one man sin entered the world,and through sin, death.”

via USCCB.

The Fall of Adam was the Original Sin that we inherited. By succumbing to the temptation St. Paul write that “death entered the world.” To me, this doesn’t mean just the physical death of the body, it also means the corruption of our relationship with God, which subsequently needs regular reconciliation, and all sorts of things which hinder life. Namely, physical and mental disabilities, illnesses and diseases, things like cancer, as well as addictions.

THis ultimately may be the racial root cause of our addictive maladies. All the more then, the need for a spiritual response to alcoholism and addiction.

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!!)

A heart contrite and humbled

Posted on March 7, 2014 by paulcoholic

The response for the Psalm (Psalm 51:9) for today’s Mass is: “a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.”

As this is Lent, chances are that if you are taking it seriously as a means of spiritual progression in the rejecting of sin and self-will, as well as in the casting off of character defects, then you might be taking advantage of the Sacrament of Confession more so than during the rest of the year.

The Responsorial Psalm today is from Psalm 51. It is an excellent Psalm to pray and meditate upon before going to Confession. I have written a series of meditations before on it, found here: Psalm 51.

Pray for the humility to be truly contrite, and make a good Confession.

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!!)

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Catholicism, Recovery, Sobriety, Conversion, Prayer, Fasting, Repentance, Penance

Category Archives: Concupiscence

Debauchery

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Not a destructive drug

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Immaculate Heart of Mary and Purity

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repentance posting

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Those who are healthy do not need a physician

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A broken and contrite heart

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God, you will not spurn

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Death entered the world

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A heart contrite and humbled

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