Category Archives: Destiny

Hell

Posted on by

On this date (July 13) in 1917, Our Lady appeared to the seers of Fatima for the third time. This was one of the most memorable and crucial of the six, perhaps second only to the last one on October 13 with its Miracle of the Sun.

For on this day, the three seers were gifted with a vision of Hell.

The children saw people falling into Hell and the indescribable torments they suffered from demons. What I find interesting is that some of the demons appeared to be animals of unknown kinds. (Few ever bring that part up but it’s always intrigued me.)

The children almost died from fright and horror off what they saw. It affected them deeply and Sts Jacinta and Francesco seemed particularly concerned with making reparations and offering sacrifices on behalf of people to prevent even more from damnation.

“You saw hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” – The Blessed Virgin Mary (to the children.)

There were three secrets imparted to the children by Our Lady. I’m not going to go into details of the second and third secrets, since the vision of Hell was the first of the ‘Three Secrets of Fatima”  and is the subject of this post. You can read this piece for the particulars of the July apparition: What Our Lady Said About Hell at Fatima on July 13, 1917 .

Hell is real and many people are in denial about its existence (meaning they keep it out of their conscious minds) or deny it exists altogether. I can understand if they aren’t Christian, but if they are then they are foolish on the one hand or calling Jesus a liar on the other. One of the biggest and sneakiest successes of Satan is getting people to disbelieve in him or Hell. If they do not exist for you, then you will not learn to avoid the road to Hell or Satan’s temptations.

In AA meetings I’ve heard 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 and therefore consign yourself to Hell. There are whole other ways to screw up your life besides drinking. You may still do those. 

Think of pain. Think of how you flinch for an instant when you experience it. Now dwell on that never-ending. 

While you’re at it, please read this: Focus on the Message of Fatima.

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 Unintended

Posted on by

My parents got drunk on their 25th wedding anniversary in April 1962.

Nine months later I was born.

My parents did this ‘later in life,’ Dad was shy of 50 and Mom had just turned 46. That’s ‘old’ to have kids even nowadays; in the early 1960s? “Ancient.”

I never suspected. I recall asking my Mom as to when she expected me. My due date was a particular date in February 1963. So I counted backwards nine months and arrived in May 1962. Nothing extraordinary occurred in the family history in that month that would account for my being conceived, so I figured I was an ordinary accident. It wasn’t until the early 1990s when I found out the truth about what really happened around April 15, 1962! My sainted mother ‘obscured the truth.’ That’s more charitable than accusing her of ‘lying.’ She easily remembered my alleged due date as that is the date I was baptized. I had always thought that was a neat coincidence; they enshrined my original due date by having me christened on it! HAH!

I honestly believe that people who ‘shouldn’t have been born’ because of the circumstances surrounding their conception have no special purpose in life. This refers to people conceived under sinful circumstances: drunkenness, rape, carelessness, whatever – the parents ‘sinned.’ If one or both parents behaved properly, then they wouldn’t have had the child. They are the Unintended. They weren’t willed by God to be born, just permitted to be and so weren’t assigned any real special task. Just be good, don’t sin as much as you are able to, follow the natural law of good and evil written on the hearts of all and muddle through life as best you can. Anything good and meritorious accomplished is an unintended bonus. Pure profit.

I know it is said that we all have a special mission or purpose unique to us. Something only we can do, no one else. The old Baltimore Catechism said that we were born to ‘know, love, and serve God in this life and be happy with Him forever in the next.” That’s basic and applicable to everyone. Call it a ‘Default Purpose.’ Those willed to exist by God may have special features added to that. Those not willed by God to be born, the Unintended, just do the ‘know, love, and serve,’ stuff as a part of the “just be good, don’t sin as much as you are able to, follow the natural law of good and evil written on the hearts of all and muddle through as best you can” part.

This is all kind of comforting to me, if correct. Nothing much is expected of me and so maybe I’ll be judged lightly when the time comes for my Particular Judgement upon death. Doesn’t mean I’ll be whisked right on through; I expect to become acquainted with Purgatory. But I really doubt that God willed a specific intended purpose for someone who ‘shouldn’t be.’

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 Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 2

Posted on by

As I stated in Part 1 of today’s Sacred Heart Friday post from last week (this makes sense only you read the conversation I had with the voices in my head that was transcribed in the Part 1 post) an alliance is always serves as a means to an end. Political alliances bolster the political standing of each member on the world stage. Military alliances ensure the security of each member. So, what is the end of the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary?

Our salvation, of course!

Like I said in the previous post, all authentic Marian devotion leads the soul to Jesus. “To Jesus Through Mary” is the theme of many saints’ writings; especially St. Louis deMontfort and St. Maximilian Kolbe. Even Our Lady said at Fatima that she desired devotion to not just her Immaculate Heart, but of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In Scripture, we’ve seen how Mary “kept all these things pondering them in her heart.” What things? What was being said about Jesus. Her heart was ever united to contemplating Him; she was His first disciple and greatest Apostle. Of course, neither role was mentioned in the Bible, but it stands to reason that she was. 

There is also another reason for the union of the Two Hearts: genetic. Jesus had no human father; He received all His humanity from Mary. What this actually means and its significance may be difficult to understand, but her heart was identical to His. Given His Sacred Humanity and Divinity and her Immaculate Conception, this must mean the union of the Two Hearts had to have supernatural implications.

Maybe we need to spend some time pondering these things in our hearts.

Now to the ‘our salvation’ part. Mary (our Mother and Jesus’) and Jesus (our brother) desire nothing less than we join them in Heaven. The devotion to the Hearts is geared towards that. The Immaculate Heart of Mary has suffered from the indifference of souls air not outright sacrilege and blasphemy. The Devotion of the Five First Saturdays is about reparation for the offenses against her Heart. Read about that here: Five First Saturday Devotions. Similarly, the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is about reparation for our sins and the sins of others. You can read about that here: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Both are about reparation for sin. Who knows how many have been turned back from the path of perdition and now enjoy the blessedness of Heaven because of these?

Next week: “The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 3!” I think it will be on the history of the Alliance, the saints that promoted it and so forth. That might need to carry over into a Part 4. There might be a Part 5, and that might involve Catholic Prophecy!

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!!)

33 day Consecration to Mary can begin this Friday!

Posted on by

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.)

You can look into his effort here: Gabi After Hours Community posting on 33 day consecration to Mary.

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.)

This is a new one:

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!!)

Marian Consecration and the Guarantee of Eternal life

Posted on by

Many saints have said that those who are consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary are never lost. Sts. Louis deMontfort, Alphonsus de Liguori, and Maximilian Kolbe have all declared at one time or another that those souls who become ‘the property’ of Our Lady will never suffer eternal damnation.

This may seem to some as a kind of overconfidence and even the mortal sin of presuming upon God’s Mercy. This post will try to explain why it is not.

I have many friends (or know of people online) who are consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, either through the method of Total Consecration by St. Louis deMontfort or that of St. Maximilian Kolbe. And yet I’ve heard them express some doubt as to their salvation! I know why they say this: they are fearful of presuming upon God’s Mercy or of acting with pride. They mean well, but I think they’re wrong.

Here’s why I think this way. If you believe that consecrating yourself to the Blessed Mother safeguards your soul from eternal damnation, then still being concerned over its final destiny, as if you could still be damned, is—I think—a sign of mistrust in Our Lady’s promises (as known in private revelations) and of the judgment of saints.

Now I’m not declaring that you should consecrate yourself to Our Lady and then think that you can just go ‘Lah-dih-dah!!!Look at me! I belong to Mary! I’m saved! I’m gonna now go drinkin’ and druggin’ and whorin’ and do all sorts of stuff because I won’t go to Hell!” That’s kind of like a Catholic variant of the ‘Once Saved; Always Saved’ heresy.

I liken it to a relationship. Let’s say you’re married. This means that your relationship with someone has gotten to the point where you cannot live without them and that you wish to dedicate your life to them. You have the conviction that This Person is The One and Only and so you forsake all others. You remain faithful and married for the rest of your life. You’ve grown in maturity and wisdom and realize this person is It and you get married.

Same with Marian Consecration. You’ve grown in holiness and spirituality and now you feel that as a Catholic you must take your relationship with Mary ‘to the next level.’ You’ve heard of Marian Consecration through all this and you go ahead and do it.

So, after that, you’re the same person as before? No! If you’ve reached this level in your relationship with Mary, and therefore, with Jesus (since all authentic Marian devotion leads to Him,) then you have little desire to offend them and the rupture the relationship!

It is not that you won’t sin. We are all sinners and we will still sin after Consecration. But I believe that Consecration enables us to become more sensitive to the state of our souls; that we rise up more easily after every fall and offer prayers of repentance and contrition (plus a resolution to go to Confession as soon as possible.) In fact, I think it is Consecration which makes it easier for me to go to Confession once a month or more.

So, that is what I believe: that when you do Total Consecration to Our Lady your relationship is at a deeper level of trust and love and while you won’t stop sinning, you’ll make yourself more available to the sacraments and other means of obtaining the grace of repentance and amendment. And quite possibly the Blessed Mother, who is the channel by which graces come to us from the Lord, will help you achieve these graces, and thus ensure your salvation. You still may spend time in Purgatory; that’s OK. It’s better than Hell.

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!!)

Follow me! (It’s that easy?)

Posted on by

In the Gospel reading for the Mass for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday we read of Jesus calling a tax collector (Levi, also known as Matthew) to become one of His disciples. 

Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, “Follow me.”

And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,

and a large crowd of tax collectors

and others were at table with them.

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus said to them in reply,

“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

And that was that. Levi was doing his job one day, one that paid him well not counting the typical graft tax collectors padded their purses with. He was hated by the people he collected taxes from, because of who he collected taxes for (the occupying Roman forces.) This made him a traitor in the eyes of his fellow Jews.

So you might think that there was a confluence of factors at work here. He was hated, and no one likes that, no matter how good the pay is. Perhaps he was already hating his job to the point of quitting it soon. We don’t know. This is all conjecture on my part, but it makes for a good ‘spiritual growth’ and ‘conversion’ post. So, perhaps Jesus’ timing was perfect. He knew just when to approach Levi and get while the getting was good.

Jesus always knows when the timing is right to ‘get us.’ I was a hard-heading pig brain when He got me. I had left the Church years before and then I was ready for His abduction about the same time I sobered up. I needed to be brought low to be receptive to His call.

What about you?

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

Posted on by

In the Gospel for today’s Mass for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Jesus exhorts us to come and follow Him. However, there’s a catch. The road isn’t easy.

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?

The path to following Jesus isn’t always strewn with flower petals with birds singing and butterflies fluttering. It is a hard one since in following Christ, you are essentially telling the World with its transitory and vain ways that, “Sorry! I’m rejecting you! You may claim that the World’s ways are just and true and so forth; I know different! The World’s path leads to despair and emptiness. Many are aware of this but know not what to do except to fill that emptiness with immorality. Again, sorry! I will not comply!”

And so the World reacts by persecuting you. If not outrightly, then by mockery and other means of tearing you down.

You must reject your baser instincts that desire the World and its falsehoods and take up the counter-cultural path of following Jesus. It doing that you will save your life.

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!!)

Let’s start a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations!

Posted on by

The idea: Popularizing a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations.

What’s a Triduum? A Triduum is three consecutive days on the liturgical calendar commemorating or celebrating a feast day. We used to have many back in the olden times before Vatican 2. We’re really down to just the Easter Triduum of the evening of Holy Thursday  through Easter Sunday. They’ve kind of gone the way of octaves. And Holy Days of Obligation, once you think of that. Did you know that the Catholic Church once had thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation?

Why? Consecration to the Blessed Virgin is important. Devotion to Mary is a sure sign of predestination (not in the Protestant sense of the word but rather that God knows in advance who will be saved and who won’t, because He is omniscient and exists outside of linear time. Foreknowledge of who will be saved doesn’t mean prior determination of the saved. And devotion to Mary has the advantage of bestowing greater receptivity to graces which flow to us through her; just like if you study hard in school you are ‘predestined’ to go to a good college. Huh? Studying hard makes you receptive to learning and knowledge; hence getting into a better college, OK? ) And souls dedicated to Mary are never lost. 

Why a Triduum? Because it’s neat. It’s a cool word. Next time you go to Church and find yourself amongst other Catholics, just try and work the word ‘triduum’ into a conversation. See how people look at you.  Also, it reinforces one’s dedication. Three straight days every month heightens and focuses one’s attention and devotion. Also, as far as I know, a Triduum of Marian Feast Days has never been a devotion so this could go viral and bring a lot of readers to the blog and who can maybe perhaps PayPalMe. HAHA. LOL. In all seriousness, I think it’s a pretty good idea and I wonder why nobody’s thought of it before.

OK, Marian Consecration is a good thing and a ‘triduum’ sounds old school Catholic and people look at you weird. But three days? You’ve got specific Marian feast days or titles in mind? Because I’m sensing that you do. I sure do! Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Fatima. Those are on the 11th, 12th and 13th of the month.

Yeah, but they’re not on the same month. Isn’t Lourdes in February, Guadalupe in December and Fatima in May? Yeah, but I heard tell that some people do a monthly conseration or dedication on the 13th of every month in honor of the Fatima Apparitions as a way to foster living out the Fatima Message. Also, I have this little Guadalupe prayer book from a monastery in Oregon (they don’t print it anymore; the one I have dates from 1959) where there’s a monthly consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe on the 12th of each month.

So I got to thinking…

Why not string them all together?

And there you have it! Readers of this blog and whomever they share this post with can consecrate themselves every month to Mary under her titles of Our Lady of Lourdes, Guadalupe and Fatima!

 I also think it’s not a coincidence that those apparitions are associated with dates that are right in consecutive order. That must mean they are of considerable importance? They are! Why? And how so? Read on!

Our Lady of Lourdes is associated with healing. Spiritual healings, physical healings, all sorts of healings. Seventy of the medical ones have been declared miraculous (out of the thousands claimed.) Our Lady also told the seer, St. Bernadette Soubirous, messages concerning repentance from sin.

Our Lady of Gudalupe is associated with the pro-life movement (given that she appears pregnant in the Sacred Image on the Tilma of St. Juan Diego.) She is also associated with the largest voluntary mass conversion of people to Catholicism. Fourteen years after the Protestant Revolt in Europe which stripped millions from the One True Faith, millions of pagans in Mexico replaced them through her intercession! And if you read up on the Tilma, you’ll learn of the tremendous symbolism of the images depicted on it; symbols significant to both the Aztecs and the Spanish. Her words to St. Juan Diego practically clamored for the unity of the Americas, of all the peoples living on it. No class conflict or cultural segregation; but a unity of European and indigenous peoples.

And at Fatima, Our Lady messaged about repentance from sin, pray the Rosary, make sacrifices in reparation for sin, and that war is punishment for sin (the most grievous kinds were sins of the flesh, i.e. sexual sins and immodest attire.)

So, repentance, conversion, prayer;  and if you dig just a little deeper, there’s pro-life advocacy, pacifism, chastity, cross-cultural unity rather than conflict, Catholicism as the alternative to paganism and the demonic…. See what I’m getting at?

Repentance, conversion and prayer are the antidotes to the scourge of abortion and contraception, to the endless war that is now threatening to go nuclear, sexual depravity now championed as ‘normal,’ and an increasingly pagan culture developing in the ‘post-Christian West’ that is careening towards the demonic paganism similar to that of the Aztec Empire the Spanish destroyed and the Catholic Church healed through Our Lady’s intervention.

We need Mary’s maternal intervention and her intercession in our lives and society. If we can consecrate ourselves every month under these three titles of Our Lady, then perhaps miracles will occur and the general race to the cultural and moral bottom we are descending into will stop. Or if not, then perhaps some of us will somehow escape the Chastisement certain to come (unless it’s already here and going on.)

Spread the word!

So here are the three Acts of Consecration. You can see in the one to Guadalupe the seeds of this idea. It suggests making that consecration  on the 12th of each month, as well as being mindful of Our Lady’s  messages at Lourdes and Fatima.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Lourdes (to be said every month on the 11th):

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Virgin Immaculate, you appeared 18 times to Bernadette at the grotto in Lourdes to remind Christians of what the truths in the Gospel require of them. You call them to prayer, penance, the Eucharist and the life of the church. To answer your call more fully, I dedicate myself, through you, to your Son Jesus. Make me willing to accept what he said. By the fervour of my faith, by the conduct of my life in all its aspects, by my devotion to the sick, let me work with you in the comforting of those who suffer and in the reconciliation of people that the church may be one and there be peace in the world. All this I ask, confident that you, Our Lady, will fully answer my prayer. Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St. Bernadette, pray for us.

And so today, may Mary, the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for us and lead us closer to her son, Jesus.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe (to be said every month on the 12th):

O most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I (Name,) although  most unworthy of being thy servant, yet moved by thy wonderful mercy and by my desire to serve thee, consecrate myself to thy Immaculate Heart, and choose thee today, in the presence of my Guardian Angel and the whole heavenly court, for my especial Lady, Advocate and Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the name given to the heavenly image left us as pledge of they motherly kindness. I firmly resolve that I will love and serve thee always, and do whatever I can to induce others to love and serve thee. I pray thee, Mother of God, and my most kind and amiable Mother, that thou wilt receive me into the number of thy servants for thy child and servant forever. Assist me in all my thoughts, words, and actions at every moment of my life, that every step and breath be directed to the greater glory of God; and through thy most powerful intercession obtain for me that I may never more offend my beloved Jesus, that I may glorify Him in this life, and that I may also love thee, and enjoy thee, in the company of the Blessed Trinity through eternity in holy Paradise.

In order to live this consecration as another St. Juan Diego, I promise to renew it frequently, especially on the twelfth day of each month; and mindful of thy messages to us at Lourdes and Fatima, I will strive to lead a life of prayer and sacrifice, of fidelity to thy Rosary and of reparation to thy Immaculate Heart. Amen.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Fatima (to be said every month on the 13th):

O MOST Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, in accordance with thy wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to thine Immaculate Heart. To thee I entrust all that I have, all that I am, to thy blessed charge and special keeping and into thine Immaculate Heart. For this day, for every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body.

To thee do I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through thy most holy intercession and thy merits all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will, and that of thy Divine Son.

Reign over me dearest Mother, that I may be thine in prosperity, in adversity, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. Grant that I may have no other spirit but thy spirit, to know Jesus Christ and His Divine and Holy Will; that I may have no other soul but thy soul, to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thy heart, to love God with a pure and burning love like thine.

My beloved Mother, my glorious Queen, I am all thine and all that I have is thine. 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!!)

16th Bloggaversary of Sober Catholic: How I stayed sober for almost 21 years

Posted on by

Today marks the 16th Bloggaversary of Sober Catholic. In honor of that, I’ve edited and cleaned up a messy note I wrote who-knows-when on “The Sober Catholic Way.” It is a summary of everything I’ve been doing since I became sober on May 22, 2002. Some I do better than others. 

This was originally a long, 2,000ish word post. There was the summary you see in the next paragraph followed by a longer version that fleshed out the details. But then I decided this morning during a feeling-sorry-for-myself pity party that the longer version is itself a summary of an even much longer version that’s been lurking in my head for 15 or so years. That being a book on the topic of “The Sober Catholic Way of Sobriety.” Or something like that. I shall begin working on that right away. I do not know when it will be finished.

The summary of the ‘Sober Catholic Method’ or ‘Way’ or ‘whatver’ is:

Wow, that’s a long list, Paulcoholic? Isn’t a Twelve-Step program simpler? Yeah, maybe. But doing the above has kept this sick puppy sober for over 20 years and I knew that AA couldn’t. Some people demand happiness in this life and they find it often by avoiding suffering all costs and more and more turn to things which can only be called ‘addictions.’ Whether it is the typical alcohol or drugs, or an inordinate attraction to the self, or to the Internet and social media, or  to fandoms (pop culture things like TV franchises, movies, comics or other entertainment stuff.) Someone may not be an alcoholic or a drug addict, but I betcha they’re ‘addicted’ to something. You need a lot of tools to crowd all that stuff out or at least keeping them in their proper perspective is an attribute of the Sober Catholic Method. Or Way. Or whatever… 😉 So this all could be a wholistic approach to dealing with life in general and addictions in particular.

There are probably books or devotions that should be on there, but this my list. Yours may be slightly different. Anyone who takes a look at the list will arrive at the conclusion that it is simply a decent Catholic lifestyle. We are all supposed to go to Mass, Confession, and live the Gospel life which is learned by studying the Bible, Catechism, lives of the Saints and their teachings along with a few particular devotions to assist us on our way – to help us ‘stay on the beam.’ So be it. What makes it a ‘Sober Catholic Way?’ Life hasn’t been perfect for me nor am I a serene, happy saint-to-be. Life sucks at times, and I am often cranky and melancholic. But God never promises happiness and peace in this life. Only in the life to come. This should help me get there.

If you’ve appreciated this blog as well as this post, you can PayPalMe a non-tax deductible donation (my real name is Paul Sofranko, like the destination link says.) I will greatly appreciate every donation. (I do have plans for the money; plans to buy software which will help out in the production and marketing of self-published books. I figure that if I can raise sufficient funds through the kindness of strangers, then I’ll feel responsible and actually start working on the planned books. More on that later. )

 Or, you can just buy a lot of my books I’ve already done:

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!!)

St. Stephen and St. Paul: united in Heaven

Posted on by

I’ve always loved this passage from the Second Reading of the Divine Office for the Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr:

From a sermon by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop:

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exalts, with Stephen he reigns. Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

It is probably my second favorite reading, right behind the one from Holy Saturday (‘Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.”)

I particularly enjoy the one from today’s Office because it convincingly states one aspect of Heaven: enemies forget their animosity or hostility and are united in fraternal love. Now, St. Stephen didn’t hate St. Paul while the two were living; there’s no record they ever actually met. Even if they did, Paul (then named Saul) was just one of the good number of Pharisees who opposed and tried to silence Stephen. But the lesson is there: Paul hated Stephen and this contributed to Stephen’s death. But now they are joined in Heaven. What caused their differences on Earth now unites them in Heaven.

Something that provides a great comfort for all of us down here. Given our past alcoholic and addictive behavior, we have compiled quite a list of people who hold us in less than high regard. It is comforting to know that if we all make it to Heaven, all of that Earthy stuff is gone. Our actions are understood and forgiven, and nothing is left but love. 

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!!)