Category Archives: Divine Mercy

A review of two books on the Sacred Heart: “Healing Promises: the Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart” and “A Little Book of Reparation: First Friday Devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus;” both by Anne Costa

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For this Sacred Heart Friday I am reviewing two great books on the Sacred Heart Devotion. Both of them are by Anne Costa, of Revive Hope and Healing Ministries. 

I wish Anne had written these years ago. Waybackwhen I’d always wanted to have a greater insight into the Sacred Heart Devotion, but for some reason just couldn’t get it. I don’t know why; I was never taught much about it “growing up Catholic” except that it’s important to go to Mass for nine consecutive first Fridays of the month and there were also those twelve promises. But what’s that all to do with Jesus’ Heart? I always felt I was missing out on some key piece to a puzzle. That, in itself, may not be too surprising: try and show me any alcoholic or addict that didn’t think they missed something keenly important that they’re supposed to know! These two books by Costa fill in the details; together they comprise an invaluable handbook to the Sacred Heart! Read these and you’ll ‘get it;’ not only that, you’ll be wanting more!

First up is “Healing Promises: the Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart”

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If you know nothing about the Sacred Heart Devotion, or just the basics, like it involves a statue of Jesus pointing to His Heart, or going to Mass for a bunch of Fridays, and that it inspired generations of Catholic parents until the 1950s to name their daughters “Margaret Mary,” then this book is for you! In a very accessible style Anne introduces you to everything you need to know to make it a part of your devotional and sacramental life.

Part One has a basic history of where and when the devotion started and a biography on St. Margaret Mary.

Part Two gets into the nitty gritty of various aspects of the devotion, such as consecration and reparation, the centrality of the Blessed Sacrament, its Solemnities and Feast Days – including saints associated with the devotion, and Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in your home (and this is a major theme of the book.) Part Two finishes up with chapters connecting the Blessed Mother to the Sacred Heart and (and this is what I particularly enjoyed) putting the Sacred Heart Devotion in context with the Divine Mercy Devotion. I personally have long held that the Divine Mercy devotion according to St. Faustina Kowalska was like a 20th Century update or ‘reboot’ of the centuries older Sacred Heart. Costa’s chapter connects the two. In my devotional life, the two will from now on become intertwined!

Part Three goes into the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart. There are actually many more promises that Jesus told to St. Margaret Mary for those who work out the Devotion, and they are detailed in the classic book by Fr. Croiset. The Twelve that are popularly listed in virtually any book on the Sacred Heart are a summary of most of the promises. Anne has one chapter for each promise!

Each chapter in Part 3 also has testimonials or inspiring stories which illustrate how that Promise was fulfilled in the life or family of someone. I love testimonials. Just reading about how someone’s life was changed for the better by something greatly moves me.

Throughout the book are little ‘Heart Notes,’ brief asides ‘to encourage further reflection and practical ways to bring the Sacred Heart devotion to your life.’ 

After Part Three are appendices which serve as wonderful references and collections of prayers, including ceremonies for Enthronement along with additional resources on the Sacred Heart.

Next up is a nice little book that can easily serve as a companion to Healing Promises: A Little Book of Reparation: First Friday Devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It focuses on one of the more critical parts of the Sacred Heart Devotion, the Nine First Fridays. The Kindle edition is also free at the link above!

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The book tells you everything you need to know about the First Friday Devotion: where it came from, its purpose, the dispositions needed, and much on acts of reparation one can do.  It includes suggested approaches for reparation, along with excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a selection of prayers. 

It is a wonderful companion to take with you to Mass on the First Friday of every month!

Costa has written other books, including the excellent “Praying for Those with Addictions”

“Anne Costa is a devoted wife, proud mother, inspired writer and impassioned speaker on all things related to faithful living, authentic womanhood and healing the soul. Her books are written to encourage, affirm and inspire Christians and Catholics with practical messages of hope-“ from her Amazon Author Page.

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!!)

Contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord

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This excerpt from the Second Reading of the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours for today is “From the Mirror of Love by Saint Aelred, abbot.” It is quite suitable for Sacred Heart Friday and as a daily Lenten meditation!

…If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savor the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love.

But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Savior.

The first line of the excerpted passage is the essence of conversion during Lent (or anytime) combined with the Sacred Heart. The gentle humanity of the Lord is His profound and deep love for us, as expressed through His Sacred Heart. You just go beyond yourself and your self will and try to love as He loves. Be merciful to yourself and your weaknesses and consign them to the mercy of God; and love others as He does. Furthermore, you must love your enemies (quite a Gospel truth!) and in keeping with the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, make reparations for those who have sinned against you and the Lord.

The last line should be studied and carried with us in our hearts: ‘keep the eyes of your soul always fixed on the serene patience of your beloved Lord and Savior.’

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Want forgiveness? Great! But there’s a catch…

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In this excerpt from the Gospel for the Mass of Tuesday of the First week of Lent, Jesus reminds us that there is a condition for our bring forgiven for our sins: 

Matthew 6:14-15

“If you forgive men their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men,

neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

That is probably the hardest part of the prayer, and the significance of it is, I think, ofter overlooked. We rarely think of the implications. I know that when I remind others of this part and what it means, they get nervous.

If you want forgiveness from God for your sins, you must forgive others who have sinned against you. If you cannot extend to others this mercy, then you shouldn’t expect it from God.

This is related to that other Gospel parable of Jesus where He talks about the guy who owed his master a lot of money and couldn’t pay it back. The master was going to sell him, his wife and children into slavery to get the money he was owed. The guy begged forgiveness and the master relented. Then, upon leaving the man throttled another who owed him much less. This was reported to the guy’s master, who was less than thrilled that his servant did not extend the kindness he himself had received. The fact that Jesus tells the same moral lesson in different ways underlies the importance by which He regards mercy and forgiveness. He is trying to tell us something.

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

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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!!)

On the Consecration of Russia AND Ukraine by Pope Francis on March 25, 2022

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This upcoming Friday, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. This is the latest in a string of Papal consecrations of Russia done by the Popes since the Virgin made this request in 1917. 

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding these consecrations; namely whether or not they were done properly. Many say that when Our Lady requested that Russia be consecrated, it was implied that only Russia should be mentioned. Well, let’s see what she actually said at Fatima:

You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.

This war will end, but if men do not refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and unknown light [this occurred on January 28, 1938], you will know it is the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war and with hunger, and by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.

To prevent this, I shall come to the world to ask that Russia be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, and I shall ask that on the First Saturday of every month Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world. If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, bringing new wars and persecution of the Church; the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer; certain nations will be annihilated. But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and the world will enjoy a period of peace. In Portugal, the faith will always be preserved…

Source: EWTN

Where in that does it say that Russia alone must be mentioned? It doesn’t. Previous consecrations do not mention Russia, but they mention the World; well, is not Russia a part of the world? If the World was consecrated, and Russia is located on the World, then Russia was consecrated. If you are married with children and tell them that you love them, is your spouse excluded from that declaration just because you didn’t mention them? Yes, of course, your spouse probably would like it if you specifically mention them from time to time, but still, I doubt they’ll feel excluded. 

THERE IS NOTHING IMPLIED in her words that invalidates consecrations if they include things other than Russia, or even that Russia has to be mentioned if it is a part of the thing being consecrated. Admittedly, it ‘would be nice’ if Russia was specifically mentioned, but insisting on that is hair-splitting legalism which I think impugns God’s Mercy and Providence. 

But mercy exalts itself above judgment. James 2:13. 

Source: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

If a Papal consecration used words that effectively consecrated Russia, then it’s good, even if Ukraine was mentioned, the World was mentioned, Humanity was mentioned, or whatever else.

And if you want to bring up, “Well, where is the period of peace promised by her, if past consecrations were valid?” Where is it implied that this would begin immediately afterward? Also, the peace promised was the prevention of what was to be World War II, if you read her words above carefully. “To prevent this…” Russia is to be consecrated. To prevent what? The war she referred to in the previous paragraph, which was World War II. 

SINCE the consecrations were all too late (I think the first was in 1942) the effects were limited. The 1942 one probably ended WW2 earlier than it otherwise would have ended; the 1984 one terminated the USSR (key events leading to the breakup of the USSR occurred on or near Marian feast days.) For the consecration to have had total effectiveness, it should have been done before Hitler’s rise to power, or at least before he re-armed Germany.

I have this alternate history theory that if Pope Pius XI did the consecration before 1933 (when Hitler took power,) or before 1936 (when he announce Germany’s re-armament) then ‘something’ would have happened which would have prevented World War II. Whether that would have been Hitler’s assassination or something else that would have kept Germany from invading her neighboring countries and starting that War is debatable. In this theory, with no European war, the USSR’s military would not have achieved the level of readiness that it did. This means that quite possibly it would have been a target of Imperialist Japan, which had invaded and occupied China in the 1930s. Once Japan consolidated its grip on China, it might have turned north to Siberia. Japan’s military could have easily defeated the Soviet military; this would have embarrassed the Soviet government, and quite possibly stirred a rebellion. I think in the confusion over the loss of eastern Siberia, and unrest at home, certain individuals in the Soviet military would have assassinated Stalin, the Soviet dictator. There is no reason to believe that they would have retained the Communist Party, given that it would have served as an organized opposition to military rule. The Communist Party would have been liquidated. And there you have it, no more would Russia be spreading her errors throughout the world.

The full text of Pope Francis’ Consecration prayer is found on the CNA website. 

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!!)

Four things to help you get through difficult times

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I am going through some ‘stuff’ right now; some personal issues as well as the usual anxieties about world and national events. The latter are bothersome, but I’ve gotten to realize that there’s not much I can do about them apart from prayer. The personal stuff is very worrying and those worries intrude on my limited personal time (evenings and a short weekend.) 

This post is on “Four things to help you get through difficult times” and although they are not new to me nor probably to you, I have been reacquainted with them in my recent spiritual readings and recollections. They are beginning to help me cope with the difficulties that are besetting me.

I have a two-hour Holy Hour on Friday evenings and the one on February 18th spurred much of this. I read a lot of what St. Maximillian Kolbe wrote on ‘suffering’ during that Holy Hour and it summarized or synthesized the entirety of traditional Catholic teachings on it. So here is the first thing:

Suffering. It shows that God is pruning you of pride and self-love; that bearing up with suffering in the spirit of ‘taking up your Cross’ will give you greater glory in Heaven; in a related note, that God is preparing your soul for special graces and this will mark you in a special way when your Earthly exile is over. Now, I had known this, and have even blogged this before, but I needed a reminder. St. Maximilian’s simple and unadorned way of writing helped to knock some sense into me and in presenting these time-honored truths in his simple style, brought them to me as if I was being introduced to them for the first time! That was an amazing Holy Hour. It was as if Jesus knew I needed a primer on suffering and got St. Max to teach me.

The next three things grew from that Friday.

The Present Moment is the second. St. Max didn’t write about this (or at least I can’t recall at this time,) but Mother Angelica of EWTN did write and talk about it a lot, and since I closely associate St. Maximilian with Mother Angelica (there are a lot of parallels in the development of their evangelical ministries), reading St. Max made me think of her and naturally her doctrine of the Present Moment. To describe it briefly, all we have is now. The past is left to God’s Divine Mercy, the future to His Divine Providence; leaving only the here and now to His Divine Grace. God does not give you His special helps (graces) for the past. Nor does He give it to you for the future. His graces are given to you for what is going on right now. This may help with things done in the past, such as healing from trauma and addiction and such, and He may give you a grace now that will develop into something for a future issue, but it is still given to you for where you are now. (The ‘Now’ could be regarded as the intersection of the past with the future; so that may help with understanding the previous sentence.) Anyway, being too worried about the future may cause you to not receive and cooperate with the graces being given to you now. In a way, it’s like you’re driving down a road, craning your neck out the window of your car to see something going on farther down, and a truck coming up from the right that you didn’t see collides with you. You would have seen it had you been paying attention. Ok, a little graphic, but it paints the picture. Naturally, since thinking about St. Max’s writings lead me to think about Mother Angelica, she got me to think about St. Faustina Kowalska, the “Apostle of Divine Mercy,” since Mother’s EWTN is the major promoter of the Divine Mercy devotion. St. Faustina wrote in her diary about the Present Moment:

2 “When I look into the future, I am frightened, But why plunge into the future?

Only the present moment is precious to me, As the future may never enter my soul at all.
It is no longer in my power,
To change, correct or add to the past;
For neither sages nor prophets could do that.

And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire.
I desire to use you as best I can.
And although I am weak and small,
You grant me the grace of your omnipotence.

And so, trusting in Your mercy,
I walk through life like a little child,
Offering You each day this heart Burning with love for Your greater glory.

Trust in Jesus is the third thing. Since Max lead me to Angelica, and she lead me to Faustina, the big thing about the latter is the whole ‘Jesus I Trust in You’ theology of the Divine Mercy message. Trust in Jesus. He’s got your back, so to speak. He knows more than you do what’s going on with you, and why. Trusting in Him gives Him great delight; it allows Him to operate more freely within your soul, granting you the graces needed to help you get through ‘stuff.’ And it is a soothing balm to comfort you in trying times. All that is within your reach you can deal with; beyond that (the past, the future, and contemporary trials that are beyond your control) is in God’s hands. If your relationship with God has developed where you believe it’s now a personal one, then this should not be too hard. You love God, you know He loves you, it’s not hard to trust in the ones you love. I know, (trust me, I know!) that it is difficult at times to take that ‘leap of faith’ and believe that Jesus will ‘take care of the matter,’ but when this happens, think about all the times in the past when Jesus rescues you from a situation. Why would He abandon you now?

Trust in the Blessed Mother is the fourth thing. You have to have a pretty good devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary to get this. But it does bring things to a full circle; Maximilian took me to Angelica, who took me to Faustina who took me back to Maximilian. Not surprising since Faustina and Max were Polish contemporaries and their teachings parallel each other. St. Maximilian wrote that “Whatever does not depend upon our will is surely the will of the Immaculata.” This takes some meditation to get. In essence, he means that whatever is beyond the grasp of our will, falls within the grasp of Mary’s. It is his teaching, as well as that of many other great Marian saints, that Mary’s will is identical to that of God’s. Since Our Lady was conceived with Original Sin, she didn’t suffer concupiscence. She never sinned. Sin is essentially turning your will away from God’s. Therefore, her will was always united to God’s. So, we can conclude that since Our Lady is in Heaven watching over us and interceding on our behalf, what she wants for us is the same as what God wants. Trusting in the Blessed Mother and her maternal intercession is complementary to trusting in Divine Providence and Jesus. Our basic trust in Our Lady is evident in the Hail Mary prayer:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace; 
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners, 
now, and at the hour of our death.

AMEN

There, she is praying for us now, and at some future time when we die. If you are consecrated to her in some manner, such as by the method of St. Louis de Montfort or St. Maximilian Kolbe, then you belong to her and are under her special protection as well as guidance. Entrust your problems, your ‘stuff’ to her and her Son. Using inspiration, graces, including perhaps signal graces, Jesus and Mary will lead, guide, console, and intervene. Patience is necessary since Heaven’s Time is not ours. But then we go back to the first thing, suffering, which we can offer up in redemption for our sins, those of others, and for the general intercessory powers of Heaven.

Now, regarding that quotation from St. Maximilian, “Whatever does not depend upon our will is surely the will of the Immaculata.” There is a tricky thing about that. Our will is that tricky thing. If our will is united to God’s will, to the best of our ability to discern that, then anything beyond that is the will of the Virgin Mary. And what depends upon our will is helped by God’s grace. That’s great. Solutions to the ‘stuff’ are in the works. But, if our will is mostly self-willed pride, and therefore divorced from God’s will, then there lies a problem. What depends upon our will is going to be a great struggle, a tremendous burden, and a trial. We may begin to doubt ourselves, our pride is wounded or we get angry and aggressive. Perhaps the ‘stuff’ that you are going through is the result of your self-willed pride. Perhaps not. (This is what I am attempting to discern about my ‘stuff.’ Am I doing God’s will? Or I’m not and I’m suffering as a result? Or I am and His will is for me to suffer the ‘stuff’ right now? Who knows? (And neither do you since I haven’t identified the ‘stuff’ I’m going through 😉 )

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!!)

A Vision of the Judgment Seat of God

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In her diary, ‘Divine Mercy in my Soul,” St. Maria Faustina Kowalska writes of when she was given the gift of appearing before the judgement seat of God:

36 Once I was summoned to the judgment [seat] of God. I stood alone before the Lord. Jesus
appeared such as we know Him during His Passion. After a moment, His wounds
disappeared except for five, those in His hands, His feet and His side. Suddenly I saw the
complete condition of my soul as God sees it. I could clearly see all that is displeasing to
God. I did not know that even the smallest transgressions will have to be accounted for.
What a moment! Who can describe it? To stand before the Thrice-Holy God! Jesus asked
me, Who are you? I answered, “I am Your servant, Lord.” You are guilty of one day of
fire in purgatory. I wanted to throw myself immediately into the flames of
purgatory, but Jesus stopped me and said, Which do you prefer, suffer now for one
day in purgatory or for a short while on earth? I replied, “Jesus, I want to suffer in
purgatory, and I want to suffer also the greatest pains on earth, even if it were until the end
of the world.” Jesus said, One [of the two] is enough; you will go back to earth, and
there you will suffer much, but not for long; you will accomplish My will and My
desires, and a faithful servant of Mine will help you to do this. Now, rest your head
on My bosom, on My heart, and draw from it strength and power for these
sufferings, because you will find neither relief nor help nor comfort anywhere else.
Know that you will have much, much to suffer, but don’t let this frighten you; I am
with you.

What a gift! To be given this opportunity before one dies to see yourself as God see you. Fully transparent, everything exposed in the light of God’s Justice. An opportunity to see ALL of your sins, flaws, faults, and “character defects,” and still have the time to do something about them.

NOTE: This is a “retropost,” a post from an old blog I wrote on “The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (& Purgatory) and Hell” that I shuttered a few years ago. Individual posts are being transferred to either In Exile or Sober Catholic, whichever seems appropriate. Some are backdated, others postdated, in case you’re confused as to why you never saw a particular post if you’re a diligent reader. The process should be completed by early 2022.

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. Faustina’s Vision of Purgatory Part 2

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In Paragraph 21 of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska’s diary: “Divine Mercy in My Soul,” the Saint writes of when she was visited by a suffering soul :

21 …My superiors [probably Mother Leonard and Mother
Jane] sent me to the novitiate in Cracow. An inconceivable joy reigned in my soul. When
we arrived at the novitiate, Sister [Henry] was dying. A few days later she came to me
[in spirit, after her death] and bid me to go to the Mother Directress of Novices [Sister
Margaret] and tell her to ask her confessor, Father Rospond, to offer one Mass for
her and three ejaculatory prayers. At first I agreed, but the next day I decided I would not
go to Mother Directress, because I was not sure whether this had happened in a dream or in
reality. And so I did not go.

The following night the same thing was repeated more clearly; I had no more doubt. Still,
in the morning I decided not to tell the Directress about it unless I saw her [Sister Henry]
during the day. At once I ran into her in the corridor. She reproached me for not having
gone immediately, and a great uneasiness filled my soul. So I went immediately to Mother
Directress and told her everything that had happened to me. Mother responded that she
would take care of the matter. At once peace reigned in my soul, and on the third day this
sister came to me and said, “May God repay you.”

This serves as a useful reminder to always pray for the faithful departed, regardless of your thoughts as to the reasons. Never “rationalize” away a reason to pray. Yes, they might be in Heaven already, or the inspiration may be a strange thought. Prays for the dead are always a great act of charity.

For more information on St. Faustina, click here:

The Divine Mercy Message from the Marians of the Immaculate Conception

NOTE: This is a “retropost,” a post from an old blog I wrote on “The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (& Purgatory) and Hell” that I shuttered a few years ago. Individual posts are being transferred to either In Exile or Sober Catholic, whichever seems appropriate. Some are backdated, others postdated, in case you’re confused as to why you never saw a particular post if you’re a diligent reader. The process should be completed by early 2022.

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. Faustina’s Vision of Purgatory Part 1

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In Paragraph 20 of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska’s diary: “Divine Mercy in My Soul,” the Saint writes of a vision of Purgatory that the Lord permitted her to see:

20…I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I
was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They
were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The
flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave
me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me
in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the
souls in Purgatory. The souls call her “The Star of the Sea.” She brings them refreshment. I
wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We
went out of that prison of suffering.[I heard and interior voice] which said, My mercy does
not want this, but justice demands it. Since that time, I am in closer communion with
the suffering souls.

A “longing for God” was their greatest torment. They know Him, as they had already perceived Him when they endured their own individual Particular Judgment. And they can, according to some Catholic concepts of Purgatory, see a glimpse of Him off in their future. However, they are separated from Him by their sins, and the pain of that torments them. They long for Him, they desire Him, but cannot as yet be united to Him in the beautiful vision of Heaven. The pain burns.

Eventually the pain burns the stain of their sins away from their soul, and their longing for God purges them from any remaining attachment to their Earthly desires.

They will eventually be Home.

For more information on St. Faustina, click here:

The Divine Mercy Message from the Marians of the Immaculate Conception

NOTE: This is a “retropost,” a post from an old blog I wrote on “The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (& Purgatory) and Hell” that I shuttered a few years ago. Individual posts are being transferred to either In Exile or Sober Catholic, whichever seems appropriate. Some are backdated, others postdated, in case you’re confused as to why you never saw a particular post if you’re a diligent reader. The process should be completed by early 2022.

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!!)

Divine Mercy Sunday 2021

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Divine Mercy Sunday is upon us. This is one of my favorite Sundays since the Divine Mercy devotion was instrumental in my reversion to the Church, but also due to the promises of Our Lord towards those who approach Him with sincere repentance and contrition in wiping away their sins.

I have always viewed Divine Mercy Sunday as a metaphorical ocean of the Precious Blood of Jesus, bottomless, with the shore off an infinite distance. And I dive into it, covering myself in His Blood and seeing my sins washed away.

I’ve blogged about this day before, so please read this post: Divine Mercy Sunday, and also this one: Divine Mercy Sunday: a Great Day for those who’ve really messed things up.

Here is another great resource on the holiday from the Marians: Divine Mercy FAQs

I do hope that you can avail yourself of this incredible example of the Divine Love for each one of us.

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!!)