I have a new book out: The Sober Catholic Way is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life and 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, “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!
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.It is currently available through Amazon on Amazon Kindle,as well as a paperback: click here to buy as a paperback.It is also available as a paperback through Barnes and Noble: Order The Sober Catholic Way as a B&N paperback! as well as an ebook for your Nook! It is also now available at numerous other ebook retailers like Apple Books and Smashwords.
This upcoming Monday I will be interviewed by Bear Woznick of Bear’s School of Manliness at Spirit of Adventure Ministries. I’ve listened to his radio show on my local Catholic radio station, but have never viewed the video version. To get into the spirit, I’m spending this weekend catching up and this one from a month or so ago caught my attention:
“From Addiction to Catholicism with Deacon Lou Aaron”
In this heartfelt episode, we sit down with Deacon Lou to explore his personal journey of faith, addiction, and God’s healing power. Raised in the Catholic Church, Deacon Lou shares his struggle with alcoholism, his path to sobriety, and the life-changing moment when he surrendered to God. Through raw and honest storytelling, he opens up about how his faith was rekindled, the power of prayer, and his miraculous recovery from cancer.
Join us as Deacon Lou talks about his call to the diaconate, his deep dive into the writings of the Early Church Fathers, and how his illness became an unexpected blessing, opening doors to new ministry opportunities. His story is a testament to the grace of God and the transformative power of faith. Don’t miss this powerful testimony of hope, healing, and redemption.
It’s really interesting. Deacon Lou is another Sober Catholic (in the sense that he’s a Catholic who’s sober, as far as I know he’s not a reader of this blog) who didn’t need AA. You will have to watch the show to learn more. IT IS REALLY WORTH YOUR TIME!!!!.
This has meant different things to me over the years. For the first decade or so, it was merely a pious devotional act. “I belong to Mary! Yay!” And nothing beyond that. At times, it didn’t mean much of anything and was something on the periphery of my devotional life.
However, within the past decade it has taken on a more substantive meaning. It had partly to do with the centennial anniversary of the MI in 2017. I became more interested in what it actually meant to be an MI and consecrated to Mary. The sudden availablity of Mary’s Knight,an epic biography of St. Maximilian that I long had my eye on, but had been out of print, helped with that. It is a very comprehensive biography with incredibly detailed information, presented in narrative (it reads like a novel) form. Toss in the Complete Writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and I was on fire.
In more recent times my consecration has lead me to try and implement the teachings and life of St. Maximilian Kolbe in my blog and writing as well as to figure out how to work out my consecration in a practical, concrete form. I had written a few posts on ‘Marching Orders from Mary’ which, after a fashion, became fleshed out as a book, ‘Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics.’
(This is the second version of the book, the earlier version “The Catholicpunk Manifesto,” is now unpublished and pulled from circulation; “Building…” is a revised and retitled edition. The Catholic Punk material is still present, but I’ve added several chapters on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Read on…)
I really thought that at this time in my life I should have something to show for it. “It” being my life. Or, more precisely, “it” is more like “proof” that Marian Consecration has made a significant impact and difference in my life. I wanted to show some sign that that Marian Consecration impacted my thinking and that I have something important and useful to suggest and share with others.
Marian Consecration via St. Maximilan’s method contains and outward evangelican dimension. That’s the fundamental difference between it and DeMontfort’s. With St. Maximilian’s, you become a tool of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a “pen” or “paintbrush” in her hands. You take your consecration and do something with it to change the world. And in writing that book, “Bulding a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics,” I had thought to provide some inspiration and motivation to other Catholic creatives. The book is NOT a ‘how to write,’ or ‘how to do a podcast,’ or anything else like that. It is directed at people who are creatives, have done something about it, but may need encouragement and inspiration to ‘get them through’ tough times when they might doubt their efficacy or purpose. It is also directed at people who aren’t ‘working creatives’ but who have the dream of writing or filming and so forth, but like established creatives, might need a ‘manifesto’ to help them ‘get going.’ (Not to mention page after page at the end of “creative prompts” derived from litanies to St. Max Kolbe. The prompts aren’t just for writers…)
One reason why I unpublished the original version is that it was made known to me that calling it “Catholicpunk Manifesto” may be offputting. But that also inspired me in another way: I had gotten some ideas on expanding it. Hence, the first half is now on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Because in studying their messages and lessons I detected some themes that serve as blueprints for a ‘new world order’ (oh, my!) but based upon Catholic social and moral teachings. Mary, in those apparitions, has the answer to today’s slide towards cultural and social moral decadence and decline, plus the antidote to the negative and demeaning identity politics that are rampant today. I used those chapters to exhort Catholic creatives and creative “wannabes” to apply the lessons the Blessed Mother taught us in Mexico, France and Portugal.
Again, the book is not a how-to on writing, filming or painting. It assumes you know your craft and how to perfect it. What it hopes to accomplish is to inspire you to more effectively connect your Catholic faith to your creativity and change the world.
Now, I am working of a new book of prayers for Sober Catholics, and I am including material on the Holy Face Devotion. While attending to that chapter, I got the idea that we can say the chaplet ourselves with the intention of making reparation for the abuses of our senses during the time of our addictions. Each one was abused by us during our addictions; for with each we committed sins against ourselves and others.
Take some time to reflect on they ways by which you sinfully used touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste during your active addiction.
Instead of waiting for that book to come out (no release date planned yet, because it’s nowhere near being finished) I thought I’d write a few things that expand upon the above quote. This post could serve as a rough draft for that portion of the Holy Face Devotion chapter.
OK, like I said in that above quoted post:
The chaplet of the Holy Face is comprised of 33 beads divided into five groups of six beads, headed by another bead, with three extra ones at the end. At the head of the Chaplet are an image of the Holy Face of Jesus and a Cross. The chaplet of the Holy Face has the purpose of honoring of the five senses of Our Lord Jesus Christ, all of which were abused during His Passion. The 33 beads represent the 33 years He spent on Earth.
When you say the chaplet, (available from EWTN here and here or at other Catholic shops selling rosaries and chaplets) just try and contemplate the sins you’ve committed with those senses.
This aligns quite nicely with the reparative work of the chaplet. Each set of beads corresponds with that sense of Our Lord that was abused by the Romans during Passion: from the night of Holy Thursday when He was arrested and lead away to be tortured, all the way through to His Crucifixion. The Holy Face Devotion, like the Sacred Heart Devotion, is a work or reparation. We pray it to make reparation for the sins of others. When we use this to recall our sins committed by our senses during our addiction, we make reparation for them.
The first sense prayed about is touch. Possible sins of touch are any of self-inflicted impurity (masturbation.) Also, the hands in picking up the drink, or in using drugs.
The second sense is that of hearing. Possible sins could be in hearing the call of the drink, or the drug. Listening to sinful music. Listenng to gossip. There could be more. Dwell on that.
Next sense is sight. Pornography is an obvious one. Also, watching sinful movies and TV. Another could be letting your eyes distract you from whatever purpose you have in front of you.
Next is smell. Ever snorteed drugs or any bother substance? (Offhand, those are all I can think of regarding this sense.)
Next is taste. Drinking and drugging are the obvious ones. Also, gluttony.
So, every time you recite the “Holy Face Chaplet (of Sobriety/of Recovery)” meditate on the senses and how you abused them. If you are a Twelve-Stepper, this could be useful in your Step Four work. This could also be an Examination of Conscience, either your daily one, or the one done just before Confession.
Both are products of the work of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers. Many of the chapters of the book serve as episodes of the “My Lourdes Faith Journey” program. One in particular stood out for me. At the end of Episode 5- Jamie Jensen, Mr Jensen (a quadriplegic who’s been to Lourdes well over a dozen times and serves on the Board of Advisors to the Hospitality NA Volunteers group) casually mentioned about a “Sign of the Cross Apostolate.” I couldn’t find any website, not even a page on the Volunteers Hospitality site, but that might be because it’s very simple and probably spreads by word of mouth by those who participate in the Volunteers Hospitality pilgimages.
Here’s some background: Our Lady of Lourdes North American Volunteers is an apostolate dedicated to arranging pilgrimages to Lourdes for North Americans who need to immerse themselves in the baths, visit the grotto, and obtain a physical, mental or spiritual healing. They are based in Syracuse, NY (not too far from my hometown of Oneida!) The book, “Everyday Miracles of Lourdes” details 21 stories of healing and conversion. The EWTN series “My Lourdes Faith Journey,” like I said above, is about many of those stories. Marlene Watkins, the host of the show and author of the book, interviews the pilgrims. It’s quite a wonderful, uplifting experience.
Now, about the Sign of the Cross Apostolate. Mr. Jensen refers to it near the end of the episode he’s featured on. Since he is a quadriplegic, he cannot physically make the Sign of the Cross. People have to do it for him. He said in the book’s chapter on him as well as on the show, that if he could move his arms only once, it would be to make the Sign of the Cross.
The Sign of the Cross is an important part of the Lourdes devotion because St. Bernadette said that it is the path to Heaven when done with devotion and piety. The Sign of the Cross is also important when you consider the words:
“In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen””
Whenever you pray ‘In the name of,’ such as praying in the Name of Jesus (“In Jesus’ Name!”) and so forth, you are submitted to the authority contained in that name. In essence, when making the Sign of the Cross, you are inviting the Will of God into your life and and are subjecting your prayers to His authority. You may get the things you prayed for or you may not. It’s all up to whether it’s a part of God’s Will for you. So, when you make the Sign of the Cross, you are inviting the Trinity. (I think you are also inviting the Blessed Mother in since being the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she is an integral part of the Trinity. St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote extensively on her ‘Quasi-Trinitarian participation in a quasi-hypostatic union’ – or something like that – with the Trinity since she is the Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Spirit.)
Many people cannot make the Sign of the Cross because of their physical disability. Many people cannot do it in certain countries because it’ll mean imprisonment or death. This kind of shamed me (not a bad thing; the world can use a greater awareness of ‘shame’) since I am a rather casual Sign of the Cross maker.
THAT is the Sign of the Cross Apostolate. Making the Sign of the Cross for those who cannot. That’s it. No special prayers or writings or devotions. Just make the Sign of the Cross for those who cannot.
So, every time I make the Sign of the Cross, whether in private or in public (a courageous act!) I will do it with this in mind. Not only for my salvation, as per St. Bernadette’s conviction, but for all of those who cannot do it for whatever reason.
I couldn’t this morning decide what to watch on TV during the time I set aside for that before ‘beginning my day.’ Old reruns of “Sliders?” How about “Farscape?” “Babylon 5?” Maybe pick up where I left off during an interrupted binging of the original “Quantum Leap?” No, no, no, and no. I was restless in my indecision. Then I felt a tiny inspiration to watch classic Mother Angelica episodes on EWTN. And so I did!
Am I ever glad!
I am, as usual, ‘going through stuff’ and I am awaiting a decision on a job application I made yesterday. And so I binged on Mother Angelica videos on EWTN and later YouTube for about 3 hours. Several were on fear, anxiety, and inner peace. I split my time between “Mother Angelica Live Classics” and “From the Heart with Mother Angelica” an older show I don’t think I’ve seen before.
I feel I’m being prepped for failure (I won’t get the job) or success (I’ll get it and properly cope with new job anxieties.)
Either way, whatever happens, I feel like I received a grace today to cope with stuff. If the prayer is answered in the way that I hope it will, (I get the job) then “Yay!” If it gets answered ‘the other way,’ (I don’t get the job) then I’ll assume that God has other plans for me. I hope he lets me know what they are soon!
I cannot recommend watching Mother Angelica enough. I watched her programming quite a lot way back when, and I have read all the books she’s written and the ones edited or written by her biographer (Raymond Arroyo.) If you’re down, afraid, consumed with fear and anxiety, or are depressed, if you’re confused about anything: please go to the links I posted a few paragraphs above and just scroll through the offerings. If you’re suicidal, she has kind and loving things to say to you. She is a lifeline. She will help you pull back from the abyss.
“Father Joseph Mary Wolfe and Doug Keck mine decades of viewer phone calls answered by Mother Angelica. Mother dishes out teaching, advice, laughter and plenty of prayers as she takes calls from her “Family”. No subject is off limits and no problem too big for the wisdom and compassion of the one and only, Mother Angelica!
I listen to clips of this program on my local Catholic radio station (which is available to you on iCatholicRadio (available for the desktop or an iOS or Android app.) I may start listening to entire episodes: I need more Mother!
Mother Angelica is a balm, a healing remedy for these strange times which have gotten much worse since her shows aired. I kept thinking to myself “Imagine what she’d be saying nowadays!” She was four years younger than my Mom, but she’s always come across as a wise (-cracking) and loving Grandma who really cares about her family (all several million of us.)
I wish those folks down in Alabama would get started on her cause for beatification and canonization. If there was ever a woman who led a life of heroic virtue and who had a major, positive impact on millions of people worldwide, it’s Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation.
Advent begins on Sunday. It is the traditional time of preparation for both comings of Jesus: it’s a memorial of His first coming as a baby as well as an anticipation of His Second Coming in Triumph to judge all nations and history. This latter is obvious if you pray the Liturgy of the Hours and take a look at the Mass Readings. They’ve been quite apocalyptic in recent weeks and will continue to be so.
What do we do in preparing for Jesus’ coming? (Either one.) We enter into a penitential mindset. I only learned this a few years ago, that Advent is a time of penance; perhaps not quite to the degree that Lent is but just as you prepare yourself to receive Him in Holy Communion by confessing mortal sins and serious venial ones, you have to rid yourself of character defects and other sinful habits. This all reminds us of why He came in the first place (to redeem us of our sins) and that when He Returns, it will be to bring to closure human history and the final separation of the Elect from the Damned.
The practice of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a perfect way to prepare for Advent. It adds a certain dimension otherwise lacking, I think. For in its practice, we are offering our actions as a means of reparation for those who are trapped in sin. These may scoff at God and Belief, or, if believers, they may be lukewarm or be those who feel they have plenty of time to get it right with God.
Out acts of reparation according to the Sacred Heart Devotion may just be the catalyst to spur these people back on the path to God.
Today is October 13th, the day we recall the “Miracle of the Sun” event at Fatima in 1917. This was intended to be a warning. Our Lady said at Fatima, ‘War is punishment for sin.” World War I was raging at the time and among her warnings was that a worse war would take place if her warnings went unheeded. They were and it did. What were her warnings? One was that the Pope and all the bishops in union with him would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Although consecrations did take place, they were either too late or improperly done. The consecration request finally was done properly in 1984 with Pope (now Saint) John Paul II. There were other warnings, such as the increasingly offensive fashion styles (conservative and almost modest by today’s standards) and about sexual sin being the chief cause of why souls go to Hell.
Those are also being ignored. You wonder how much longer Heaven will tolerate being ignored.
As we’ve already seen with several of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intimately united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this Sacred Heart Friday, I would like to remind readers of this duality and how it can be used to at the personal level, increase your spiritual growth, and at a larger level, help combat evil in the world.
The personal level: recall the Fatima Message of prayer, penance, and especially reparation for sins. Now, combine that with the Sacred Heart devotion which essentially calls for the same thing. We return God’s love for us with prayer and acts of sacrifice in reparation for our and others’ sins. This increases the flow of grace into our souls, helps us beat back the attacks of the Devil and its minions, and sensitizes us to the sufferings of others (a natural side effect of concern for others sinning and the Hellish consequences of that.) We begin to become more aware of the humanity of other people; even those who do us harm. We see them as sick and broken. The wounded harm others when their wounds are not dressed.
The larger level: essentially an extension of the first. We become the change we wish to see in others and in reforming our own lives we can serve as examples for others. They want what we have. There is also the transformation at the spiritual level: our acts of prayer and repentance in some manner affect change in others. It calls grace down from Heaven and Mary distributes it to whom she wills.
So, I suppose one benefit of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts is the reminder to remember the Message of Fatima and the need to live it.
This Immaculate Heart Saturday post is intended to suggest ways to practically apply one’s Marian Consecration; this is the fruit of my closer studies of the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and Militia of the Immaculata literature and lots of woolgathering. It will hopefully help make manifest my Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary in my daily life and society as a whole and to encourage you to join the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.). This can be a roadmap for others in and out of the M.I. inasmuch as we ‘become the change we wish to see’ in the people around us and in the world at large. The ultimate change we seek is to win the world for Jesus. This the ultimate goal of Marian Consecration, especially for an M.I.
I used the formula of Marian Consecration developed by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe when I consecrated myself to Mary on October 7, 2002. In doing so I became a member of the Militia of the Immaculata movement he founded in 1917. His formula differs slightly, but significantly, from the more popular method by St. Louis deMontfort. Whereas the latter is also a total dedication of yourself to Mary, that’s where it remains. You are her property, slave, subject, whatever. Kolbe’s method adds an additional evangelical level to the Consecration. You become Mary’s, but with the proviso that you are also allowing her to use you ‘like a pen (or paintbrush) in her hands’ to bring about the conversion of many to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Incidentally, if you wish to join the Militia of the Immaculata, and already consecrated yourself to Our Lady by deMontfort’s method, that’s good enough. You needn’t use the consecration formula of Kolbe. Registering with your country’s national M.I. Office and letting them know when you consecrated yourself adds the evangelical dimension to it.)
That is the essence of belonging to Mary: you become a soldier in her Militia. While you do not take up actual weapons of war, you do allow her to supply you with the graces needed to go on missions for her.
In essence, you take up spiritual weapons to establish the Reign of the Sacred Heart. The Kingdom of the Sacred Heart includes the Social Reign of Christ: the institution of a just and moral social order based upon Traditional Catholic Social Justice Teachings; rooted in Scripture, Tradition (Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy) and exemplified by the governance of St. Maximilian in Niepokalanow (including during the Nazi Occupation), the life and teachings of St. Teresa of Calcutta and Therese of Lisieux, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI and St. John Paul II. Servant of God Dorothy Day emphasized the preference for such weapons by Christians in the 1930s and 1940s, when the world was ravaged by the World War II and its precursors, the Spanish Civil War and Japanese invasions of China. In winning the world for Jesus, we use our Marian Consecration by being “Christ-bearers;” since we belong to Mary we become like her in bearing Christ to others. True Marian Devotion always ends with Jesus, not Mary, and thus we help fulfill Mary’s desire to lead others to her Son.
To expand on this, an M.I. emulates St. Maximilian Kolbe in his role as the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era. (The ‘Civilization of Love’ and ‘New Marian Era’ are two phrases describing the same future culture.) This implies that we incorporate the Fatima Message of prayer, penance and reparation, since Fatima is a prophetic message that parallels Kolbe’s. The Fatima Apparitions prophesied the future establishment of the New Marian Era. We also seek to make use of the Message of Lourdes (daily recitation of the Rosary and a focus on Mary as the Immaculate Conception as the source of healing of the world’s ills, and not just medical and physical, but the political divisions that result in war and cultural clashes.) We can also call to mind the lessons of the Apparition of Our Lady at Guadalupe. There, an entire society was converted from barbaric paganism (human sacrifice was rampant) that was influence by the demonic over to Catholicism. Their new Catholic faith helped heal their society from its past and Guadalupe can serve as a lesson for the wholesale conversion of modern Western society.
As soldiers of Mary, we assist her in crushing the head of Satan and in destroying heresies. By heresies, I don’t think this only refers to traditional things such as doctrinal and dogmatic errors, but also combatting the influence of Satan in society by the pervasiveness of immorality, the normalization of sexual deviancy and political extremism of the Left and Right.
We use our talents, such as they are, in accordance with our state in life.
We surrender ourselves in love without reserving anything from her, enabling her to use us to bring others to her and thus onward to Jesus. This is how the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart is established; first in the hearts of humans and then by means of their will and actions, society. Everyone ‘becomes the change they wish to see’ and therefore society is renewed and transformed. We see this in the Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin as written by St. Maximilian Kolbe (and the boldface type is the part I emphasize that shows this ‘be the change you wish to see’ tactic):
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, (your 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.
Satan knows this, and is vigilant and always ready to attack Mary’s Knights and Ladies. We defend ourselves through our consecration, prayer (especially the Rosary), Mass, and the Sacraments, and reading Sacred Scripture and the Catechisms.
Continuing with the concept of emulating St. Maximilian Kolbe, we acknowledge him being also the “Patron of Mass Media.” So, in this contemporary age we use such means as are available to us: blogs, social media and creative works like novels, short stories, poetry and visual arts to spread the aims and means of the Immaculata. Kolbe had observed long ago that the visual arts, such as cinema and theatre, were being used to spread immoral ideas amongst the populace. Rather than shun such media as evil, he embraced the technology and the concept and worked to use it to spread moral values. His publishing empire included newspapers and magazines and books, and eventually a radio station. His friary of Niepokalanow never produced literary or cinematic works, but I believe they were eventually planned.
Taking St. Maximilian’s suggestions of using cultural expressions to advance the cause of the Immaculata, we can visualize a future social order rooted in the Social Kingship of Christ and its various forms. This recalls the main ‘title’ for St. Maximilian: “the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era.” He was the ‘Sign’ of this Civilization in his governance of the Niepokalanow friary, especially during the Nazi Occupation in his handling of refugees and making use of friary resources to assist the local population survive. He implemented his ideas of a just social order in hospitality and service to others. But, focusing on cultural tools, we can use creative works: fiction, such as novels and shorter works; and for those inclined, videos to illustrate how the Social Kingship would look like. Do you think that Distributism is the ideal economic system? Great! Create stories in which Distributism is that model. Do you believe that Monarchism is the ideal political system? Fine! Create stories featuring a Catholic Monarchy and how it would wield power. This latter example is interesting and intriguing given numerous Catholic prophecies (from approved apparitions and private revelations) involving a future “Great Catholic Monarch” and his realm existing during this ‘New Marian Era.’
Given St. Max’s interest in science, we should eventually endeavor to show that Religion and Science are two sides of the same coin. Divine Revelation occurs in two forms: God’s self-revelation through Sacred Scripture and the revelation of Himself through His works (the Universe and the means He used to create and sustain it.) Truth does not contradict Truth. Scientific research and investigation should be guided by moral principles. No more doing things just because we can; we should only proceed if the research can be seen to benefit the human condition in moral and ethical ways. In short, our humanity is enhanced, not sacrificed. This may include, when possible, space exploration and perhaps eventually colonization (remember that St. Max invented a plausible spaceship! [See Complete Writings!] So, perhaps stories involving space exploration of our Solar System and the Cosmos at large are in order! This fits wonderfully for those of us who have a predilection for science-fiction!
Of course, Distributism, Monarchism and science-fiction are suggestions based on my interests. You may have other ideas to creatively explore.
The thought occurred to me that if science rejected its militant atheistic bent, then we may make even greater progress in scientific achievements. God desires us to know Him better, therefore if we approach scientific exploration with the idea of knowing God better through His handiwork, well then perhaps He may open our eyes to things. Cures! Cheap Fusion power! Rocket propulsion that opens up the Solar System to humanity!
So, if you’re an M.I. with a talent for creativity, get started! Start writing or filming!! Is it crazy? Sure is! Read what Steve Jobs said about this (and yes, I know the Founder of Apple Computers was controversial in some regards and angered many by his behavior at times. Please recall the next to last petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” You can’t forgive Steve? He ‘trespassed’ against you? Be careful…)
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
So be the crazy Catholic misfit and rebel soldier of Mary and change the world by showing how things can be. Cause trouble. Mother Angelica did! There are enough blogs and essay sites where people write non-fiction about Catholic culture, economics and politics. But what will it look like? Theory is one thing, the practical aspects will convince people. Show them how things can be! Disrespect the secular status quo. See things differently. Don’t listen to those who say “You can’t write that! No one will publish it!” So try self-publishing! Be a rebel! Push the cause of the Immaculata forward! Pray before writing, research as much as necessary so you at least appear to know what you’re talking about and then get to it!
I am not the only one who thinks that Steve Jobs can inspire you to be a better Catholic (as well as achieve mighty deeds as a Knight or Lady of Mary.) Watch this when you can.
This is a weird way to conclude, but although Steve Jobs was not a Catholic, nor even a Christian, (he was Buddhist of a sort,) I do believe that if things were somehow different during his formative years he would have made an interesting one. I cannot help but think that during this hypothetical Catholic life of Steve Jobs, he would have been drawn to St Maximilian Kolbe by his life and creative vision. St. Maximilian was certainly a crazy misfit, troublemaker and dreamer. Jobs would have looked at St. Max’s M.I. movement, his writings on Marian Consecration and concluded that this would be an effective way to change the world. Whether he would have still invented the Apple computer, the iPod, iPad and iPhone is a whole different area of speculation. He quite possibly would have, but with his Catholic Faith and Marian Consecration through St. Maximilian, sustaining and inspiring him in ways superior to his Buddhist beliefs.
You can tell I’ve been reading St. Louis de Montfort.
I discovered that the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary still exists, and still is managed by the Dominicans just like back in the days of St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche! (Should I have known that?) This association was mentioned quite often in a book by St. Louis de Monfort I read this past week. (I’ll tell you which one at the end. Which “ones” actually.)
Because of this I may start another 33 day Montfortian consecration thingy this Friday April 28th. It’s de Montfort’s feast day. It’ll end just in time for May 31st which is the Feast of the Visitation on the new calendar 1970 calendar; it’s the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on the old 1962 calendar.
My wife and I already did it once before, leading up to our wedding day. We may do it again, together, as a renewal.
Gabi of the GabiAfterHours YouTube Channel is also doing it beginning this Friday (just found that out.)
I bring Gabi up because he’s uploaded several very important videos over the past few months or so. He posted this one quite recently on several books that are must reads:
This one:
…and this one:
…started me on saying the entire Rosary daily. Gabi got the idea from one of the de Montfort books he recommends in the first video above. Those are the one’s that I’ve read this week (numbers 1 and 2 on Gabi’s list.) “The Secret of Mary” and “The Secret of the Rosary.” They’re wonderful, inspiring reads. De Montfort writes in a style similar to that of St. Alphonse Liguori. (His “The Glories of Mary” is number 4 on Gabi’s list.)
It is currently available through Amazon on Amazon Kindle, as well as a paperback: click here to buy as a paperback. It is also available as a paperback through Barnes and Noble: Order The Sober Catholic Way as a B&N paperback! as well as an ebook for your Nook! It is also now available at numerous other ebook retailers like Apple Books and Smashwords.
