Conversion Archives - Page 17 of 17 - Sober CatholicSober Catholic

Today, January 8th, the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord.

Luke 3: 21-22 “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (NAB)

The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan marks the beginning of Jesus’ public life.

In the journey of our sober life, the symbolism is clear. In ridding ourselves of our addictive practices, we embark upon a new life. A public life, so to speak. We are no longer “hidden”, in the sense that we are no longer considered useless or shunned because of the shame of our alcoholism. As in Baptism, in which we are incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ and therefore “put on Christ”, in our sobriety we “put on” a new person, our sober selves.

In Baptism, we are cleansed of Original Sin. Satan no longer owns us. In recovery we are cleansed of our alcoholism. Alcohol no longer owns us. Although the effects of Original Sin remain after Baptism (concupiscence), because we now belong to Christ we have the weaponry needed to defeat Satan and his trickery. Just as in recovery the temptation to drink may remain with us long afterwards, we now have the tools needed to defeat the drink.

To that end, as Catholics we have the Sacraments. The opportunity to attend Mass, (which is the presentation again of the Last Supper when Jesus established the Eucharist and the continuation of the sacrifice of Calvary in unbloodied form), and the ability to pray the Mass is a tremendous blessing and grace that can strengthen our sobriety if we freely will it. By attending Mass, we are as if we are in the Upper Room with Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, and we are as if we are in attendance on Calvary, at the foot of the Cross.

Immersing ourselves in the sacramental life of the Church, by participating in Sunday Mass and daily Mass if possible, and frequent Confession (at least once a month), we strengthen ourselves against the need to drink. We shift our need to fill the “hole in our soul” with alcohol in which phenomenal “truths” are perceived, darkly and ill-remembered, to filling that hole with Jesus and His Church, in which Truth is realized.

“Anima Christe”

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
In the hour of my death, call me.
And bid me come to Thee.
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee.
Forever and ever. Amen

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!!)

On January 7th the Church celebrates Epiphany, the day of the manifestation of the birth of Lord to the world, as symbolized by the Magi, the “Three Wise Men” from the East. They saw something described as a star which led them to where Jesus lay in a stable, one light leading them to the Light of the world.

How can this be applied to an individual’s journey of sobriety? In the depths of our alcoholism, all seems dark. There appears to be no hope. Some wish for death. Some reach that point described as “the jumping off place”, that time in every alcoholic’s life where something happens and we decide that maybe not drinking is better than drinking. That continuing to drink will kill us, but in not drinking we may only wish we were dead.

We find our way to some treatment, whether it’s detox and rehab and then AA (or an alternative sobriety program), or just AA. This may be sufficient. After all, we have been delivered from the gripping decay of alcoholism, we are now “happy, joyous and free”, and lead new lives.

But is that it, to be just sober? Just to not drink? For some that is enough. Given the drinking life of before, to just get through a day without drinking is a tremendous improvement. To look at oneself in the mirror and like what is seen, to look other people in the eye when that couldn’t be done before, is enough.

But I ask again, is that enough? Is that what we were made for? Some great thing happened and our drinking stopped. A gift was given to us, the gift of sobriety. While for many that may be enough (and considering the years or decades of drinking and lives hurt, sufficient) I think that this gift of sobriety should not stop there for some of us, regardless of one’s drunkalogue.

As Jesus manifested into the world as its Light of Salvation, we can manifest our new sober lives in ways that mirror His mission of healing and responding and teaching and giving. We can be a light to other alcoholics and addicts.

For some that calling is fulfilled more than adequately by attendance at AA meetings and service work. Whether service means opening up the meeting place and making coffee or just cleaning up, to serving as a representative in the hierarchy that AA has developed over the decades, depends on the individual. But there are other ways of being a light to others than just giving back to AA, especially when AA may have been merely a tool used by Someone to get you on the road to following the Light of all people.

We are all individuals, each of us making up the Mystical Body of Christ, and as St. Paul had written the Body is made up of many parts, each with its own task. (1 Cor 12: 1-31) By meditating on our sobriety, and what got us there, we can better achieve what may be God’ s Will in our lives. It is AA’s Step 3 (Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.) and Step 11 (Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out). Whether that is continued work with AA or another program, or branching out and using our newly sober lives elsewhere is the responsibility of the individual.

The Magi were not Jewish, and yet they sought out the prophesied King of the Jews. They were not bound by their (probable) Zoroastrian beliefs. I always wondered about that.

As Catholics, recovered from alcoholism and addiction, there is a wealth of sacramental and spiritual resources, free for the taking, for us to use in keeping sober and serene. To grow deeper spiritually in the Catholic Faith as a response to our sobriety is a treasure that cannot be kept to ourselves. It is a gift.

And we become gifts. We give ourselves to Christ, in service to Him and to others. And in doing so we help the Church grow.

Have a wonderful Epiphany.

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!!)