Category Archives: Courage

Novena to St. Joseph for Alcoholics: Day 4

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On the fourth day of this Novena, we pray:

St. Joseph: “O most faithful Saint, who didst share the mysteries of our Redemption, glorious Saint Joseph, the prophecy of Simeon touching the sufferings of Jesus and Mary caused thee to shudder with mortal dread, but at the same time filled thee with a blessed joy for the salvation and glorious resurrection which, he foretold, would be attained by countless souls.

By this thy sorrow and this thy joy, obtain for us that we may be of the number of those who, through the merits of Jesus and the intercession of Mary the Virgin Mother, are predestined to a glorious resurrection.

Say the Our Father…, the Hail Mary…, and the Glory be….

(Via Inter Mirifica.)

We know not what the future holds. It is a dark and murky place, seen at best very dimly. Based on the experiences of our past, and how many times we have made mistakes and paid for them dearly, the future is feared to have much of the same.

However, if we have had some sustained sobriety, we may not view the future with dread. We know from experience that we have overcome our troubles and difficulties before, and will continue to do so. Each victory over ourselves and our trials increases our faith that we will persevere until the end. We learn to walk with God, knowing that if we keep the faith, we will endure.

Not all share this view, yet. Their experience is newer and they are still suffering from the stings and wounds of their past. For these people we pray.

Lord, protect the wounded and the broken beneath the shelter of your strength. Guide and lead them like the Good Shepherd that You are until they learn to trust and follow You. We ask this through Christ Our Lord, 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!!)

The stone that the builders rejected

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The Gospel Reading for Mass for Friday of the Second Week of Lent is an interesting one if it is applied to alcohol recovery through Catholicism.

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46: “Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
‘Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?’
They answered him,
He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.’
Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.’
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.”

(Via USCCB.)

Using metaphor, the vineyard can be likened to your life; the servants sent by the landowner can be grouped together and assigned the collective role of you, as the practicing alcoholic. The tenants who keep beating and killing the servants might be the symbols for alcoholism, as it sits in wait and repeatedly tries to kill you as you try to live a life.

The son of the landowner, who is finally sent to reclaim the vineyard, can also be you, still the alcoholic. But what makes the metaphor for “this” you different from the one for the servants who were waylaid and killed by the tenants?

The Scriptural passage indicates that the son was Jesus, and the Pharisees knew that the parable was about them. The servants were the prophets who were killed over the centuries by Israelite leaders, the precursors to the Pharisees who were symbolized by the tenants in the parable. The vineyard is the inheritance of being God’s “chosen”.

And so the son, who intends to vanquish the tenants and reclaim the vineyard, can be the metaphor for you, the person now in recovery. You, with the help of a “Higher Power” (all right, God the Holy Spirit and Jesus, the Son, working their mysterious ways) are working to defeat the addiction and live a newly sober life.

Will the tenants be successful? Will they drag you away and kill you like they did the son in the parable? Or will you persevere and survive?

Even if you fall, you can still take a cue from the parable. Jesus rose from the dead. He was the “cornerstone the builders rejected”; the Messiah the Jews didn’t believe in. You can take your failure and build on it. Call it “experience”, learn what didn’t work and take on the tenants again. (They will always be around.)

Alone, you cannot defeat alcoholism. Rare is the person who does. With Jesus you can accomplish anything. He is the Divine Physician, ready and able to help.

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!!)

Novena to St. Joseph for Alcoholics: Day 3

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On this third day of the novena, we pray:

St. Joseph: “III. O glorious Saint Joseph, thou who didst faithfully obey the law of God, thy heart was pierced at the sight of the Most Precious Blood that was shed by the Infant Saviour during His Circumcision, but the Name of Jesus gave thee new life and filled thee with quiet joy.

By this thy sorrow and this thy joy, obtain for us the grace to be freed from all sin during life, and to die rejoicing, with the holy Name of Jesus in our hearts and on our lips.

Now recite the Our Father…, followed by the Hail Mary…, and then the Glory be….”

(Via Inter Mirifica.)

We pray today for all those that are suffering physical and bodily pain as a result of their alcoholism. Whether it be failing health due to alcohol abuse, or the physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, the pain seems never ending. Sometimes the temptation to take a drink to end the pain is great.

For all these who are suffering, we pray for their health and strength to endure. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.

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!!)

Novena to St. Joseph for Alcoholics: Day 2

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On this second day of the Novena to St.Joseph for Alcoholics, we pray:

St. Joseph: “O most blessed Patriarch, glorious Saint Joseph, who wast chosen to be the foster-father of the Word made flesh, thy sorrow at seeing the Child Jesus born in such poverty was suddenly changed into heavenly exultation when thou didst hear the angelic hymn, and didst behold the glories of that resplendent night.

By this thy sorrow and this thy joy, we implore thee to obtain for us the grace to pass over from life’s pathway to hear the angelic songs of praise, and to rejoice in the shining splendor of celestial glory.

Now recite the Our Father…, then the Hail Mary…, and finally the Glory be…”

(Via Inter Mirifica.)

It is no great shock or surprise that alcoholism destroys careers and lives. Poverty, caused by the loss of money, home and jobs, is the resulting condition for many.

It may take a while for the alcoholic to regain what was lost. Some of us never do. While many of us do return to employment, it may not be at the level we previously enjoyed. Economic challenges remain until we learn to adjust to a reduced standard of living or we learn new skills. Nevertheless some of us endure this period of suffering for a long time.

Some see it as a challenge. Not necessarily of one to overcome, but of one to adapt to. Once they have adapted to a new economic level of survival, that new life may be preferred to the old one. So, perhaps it is a challenge that was overcome.

For all those enduring poverty as a result of their addiction,we pray for their survival and for their ability to see whatever good that can come of it. Let it not be a wasted experience. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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!!)

Nun helps Bolivia's street kids build future from past of addiction

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Nice, uplifting story about hope in a Catholic News Service story: “Nun helps Bolivia’s street kids build future from past of addiction”

(Via CNS.)

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!!)

Just Do It

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The Readings for Mass for the Saturday in the First Week of Lent have a theme that essentially states that following the law of the Lord (keeping His commandments and doing His will) brings happiness. I will just post a link to all three readings instead of copying-and-pasting them here:

Readings for Saturday of the First Week of Lent

Via USCCB.)

This is arguably not an easy concept to grasp and follow. The secular world clearly does not equate “obedience” and “following the Law” with “freedom” and “happiness”. The secular world tells you to follow your own conscience, conveniently forgetting (or not realizing) that there is really no such thing as a “free-thinker”, or one who is truly independent. Everyone’s conscience is formed and influenced by something, be it by social organizations, political parties, or popular media.

In a contradiction typical of Christianity (such as a death means life), obeying God and doing His will regardless of the “world’s” sensibilities is freedom and liberation. In doing so, we are freed of the limitations imposed upon us by times and trends, by shifting and changing attitudes and human “truths”, and are connected to the eternal wisdom of God. We are not restrained by mere human, secular, relative ideals.

How does this relate to us sober (or sobering up) alcoholics?

The world tells us in general to avoid doing the hard things. “If it feels good, do it.” “Don’t rock the boat.” “Go with the flow.” And forget about interior conversion and struggling to change your life, unless you’re doing it by some pop “self-help” book which usually describes an easy way out, avoiding sacrifice.

We alcoholics with any degree of sustained sobriety know better. We have struggled to retrain ourselves how to react to things, to not drown our sorrows and troubles in some false and empty escapism. We have learned to trust in God, and to seek His way in all things.

We can take this further as sober Catholics and obey Church teaching, having learned that Jesus established the Church and promised to never abandon it, and that the Holy Spirit will guide it until the end of time, keeping it from teaching things contrary to what Jesus and the Apostles taught. Talk about being “countercultural” and being apart from the “world’s” ways.

So, “just do it.” Be a Catholic if you are one. And be the best that you can be. It will not be an easy road, for nothing good is truly easy. The rewards are many, even if seemingly far off. Your dignity as a human being is enhanced, as your life has an intrinsic, sacred value. This is far away from the world’s notion that life is cheap and can be bought and sold, or terminated for convenience.

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!!)

So Jonah went to Nineveh and this happened

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Everyone in the secular world focuses on the fishy part of the story of Jonah. They don’t pay too much attention to the key part of the reason for the Jonah epic in today’s First Reading in the Daily Mass from Wednesday of the First Week of Lent:

Jonah 3:1-10: “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
‘Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.’
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
‘Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,’
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
‘Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.’
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.”

(Via USCCB.)

It seems that the people of Nineveh (which is I think modern-day Mosul, Iraq) repented and converted immediately upon hearing Jonah’s warning. It says that “when the people of Nineveh believed God…” after Jonah had gone “but a single day’s walk.” After all, it took 3 days to go through it, but word apparently spread more quickly than Jonah’s passage. Perhaps quite unlike the Second Step of Twelve Step movements which implies a conversion process over time. (“Came to believe…”).

When the warning signs appear on your horizon and threaten your serenity and sobriety, what do you do? Do you heed them as soon as humanly possible? Have you trained yourself to recognize the “red flags” that serve as interior warning signs of probable doom? Or do you turn aside and hope they go away?

You do not need to put on sackcloth and sit in ashes to serve as a repentance. Remove the veil from your eyes and see the danger that threatens you and turn to the Lord for help. The last stanza from Psalm 18 excerpted in today’s Morning Prayer is one of my favorite Scriptural passages:

Psalm 18:29-30: “You, LORD, give light to my lamp; my God brightens the darkness about me. With you I can rush an armed band, with my God to help I can leap a wall.”

(Via USCCB.)

Ask God for help in steering clear of the danger to you. Without Him you can do nothing, with Him, anything is possible.

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!!)

Standing idly by

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The First Reading from the Daily Mass for Monday of the First Week of Lent has something interesting to declare about our responsibility towards our fellow sufferers:

Leviticus 19:16: “nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake.”

(Via USCCB.)

Say what you will about the suffering alcoholic’s need to “hit bottom” before making the decision to either continue drinking and die or stop drinking and wish for death (due to the pain of early recovery), perhaps the Holy Spirit may be using you as the instrument to help the addict in recognizing this. You might be the person who removes the veil from their eyes to see the truth of their situation.

Something to consider.

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!!)

Take up your cross daily and follow Him

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On this, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, the message is clear:

Luke 9:22-25: “Jesus said to his disciples:
‘The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.’

Then he said to all,
‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?’“

(Via USCCB.)

Ponder this today and oftentimes afterwards for a guide as to how well a disciple of Jesus you are.

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!!)

Nightly prayer for the next day

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“Lord, grant that I be treated tomorrow the way I treated others today.”

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!!)