Category Archives: Eucharist

All you who labor and are burdened

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An excerpt from the Gospel reading from today’s Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Matthew 11:28-30;

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Rest in Jesus. Visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament. If there is no custom of having the exposed Eucharist available for prayer at a parish near you, then go to Mass earlier than normal, or stay after longer than needed and pray before the tabernacle. He is there, truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. Just how exactly remains a Mystery, but go and pray, and meditate and unburden yourself of all your troubles. The peace and serenity of praying in the Presence of the Lord surpasses most any other methods of prayer.

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!!)

Finding Jesus

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Penitent Jeff over at Conversion For Life as a nice reflection on the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, “The Finding of Jesus in the Temple” here .

As Catholic Christians we do believe that Jesus is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. Therefore He is there at Mass and in our Tabernacles or Adoration chapels. But we needn’t rely on going to those places when we need Him. He is wherever we are. He is within us as we possess the Holy Spirit due to our sacraments (wherever one member of the Trinity is present, the other two are also there).

Prayer, meditation and contemplation can help us find Jesus in our lives, either in our spiritual interior or in the lives of other people.

Next time you are lost, He can find you. Jesus isn’t far.

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 Through St. Maximilian Kolbe – Day 8

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Almost there! Day 8 of our novena through St. Maximilian Kolbe for anyone, or yourself, still struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol. Like on previous days, go here and then read this, and ponder:

James 2:13;

For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Remember this. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

God’s mercy triumphs over God’s judgment. For all your faults and failings and struggles, if you are sincere in your effort to stop drinking and drugging, God will look upon you with mercy instead with harsh judgment.

Remember this when others are harsh with you and treat you like filth. They may be judging you, but they have no business doing so. They may withhold their trust and keep you at bay for a while if you’ve hurt them with your drinking and drugging. And that is a Cross you have to bear.

He will help you bear it, He who is Mercy.

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!!)

"I look at Him, and He looks at Me"

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One of the things that I have seriously overlooked on Sober Catholic is talking about the lives of the Saints. I think I mentioned that in my introductory post, or in some other “About this Blog” post that I would do that. As this blog concerns itself with using the Catholic Faith and spirituality in maintaining one’s sobriety, talking about the saints is a crucial aspect in this regard. After all, saints Made It. They’re in Heaven, and they were once Down Here, like us. So, they did something right, against whatever odds and personal failings they struggled with.

So, I will attempt to be more attentive to the saints as the appear on the Church calendar. I may even discuss saints not on the calendar, along with probable future saints.

Anyway, today, August 4th, is the feast of St. John Mary Vianney. He is as good a saint as any to start with. He was known as the “Cure of Ars” and you can read more about him here. Ars is the small town in France where he was assigned as priest. “Cure” (pronounced kyoo-ray) means “Pastor”. So, he was the pastor of a church in a small town in France.

One day, or so the story goes, St. Vianney saw a little French farmer visit his chapel daily, about noon. The Cure was curious as to what the farmer was doing in there, as he was alone. Not worried, I guess, just concerned. Anyway, one day he decided to ask him. And so he did. The little farmer said that he comes in to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (The Eucharist reposed in the Tabernacle).

The little farmer’s style of prayer was simple. He told the future saint, “I just look at Him, and He looks back at me.”

A simple, yet profound declaration. Take a look at this passage from St. Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 3:18;

All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This is what the little French guy was doing, gazing upon the Lord and being transformed. We are no longer the same person when we partake of the Eucharist, whether it is receiving it at Mass, or gazing upon it in an Adoration chapel. This is what Jesus, in His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, does for us. And if this is focused on our efforts to remain sober and clean, how successful we will become! Ask Jesus, in faith, next time you receive Him in Communion, or pray before the Tabernacle to help you strengthen your sobriety. No matter how long you’ve been sober. Ask Him to help you. Ask Him for what you need to know to accomplish this.

Read from the Gospel of Matthew 7:7-8;

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
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!!)

Month of the Precious Blood

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July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. It is a symbol of our Redemption by Jesus’ sacrifice and death. It is among the oldest Christian devotions.

One moving scene in Mel Gibson’s epic film, “The Passion of the Christ” depicted Mary and Mary Magdalene taking rags and cleaning up Jesus’ blood after His scourging at the pillar.

There is a special prayer one can say in this devotion.

“Eternal Father, I offer you the Precious Blood or your Divine Son Jesus, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass said throughout the world today, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners every where, in the Universal Church, in my own home and within my family.”

The Precious Blood is the symbol of God’s mercy, as it was spilled to pay for our sins. It is part of the Eucharist (whether you partake of the wine at Mass or not, its redemptive and spiritual significance is in the Bread as well).

Imagine yourself swimming in the blood-red sea of God’s mercy.

More on the Precious Blood here.

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!!)

Liberty to the Captives

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The basic idea behind “Sober Catholic” is that you can use the religion and spirituality of Catholic Christianity to preserve and maintain your sobriety. Catholicism may not be your only tool, but should be the primary one.

The Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Bible contains many of the Hebrew prophecies concerning the Messiah (the anointed One of God), whom Christians regard as Jesus Christ.

The following excerpt from the First Reading of today’s Mass (which celebrated the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua) is from Isaiah :

Isaiah 61:1-2 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn…

This is Jesus. He had come, and is still present among us in the form of the Eucharist, and still guides us through His Church. Following Jesus and participating in the sacramental life of the Church (living out your baptismal promises and receiving Holy Communion and going to Confession) liberates you from the false and empty promises and lies of alcohol and the other seductions that the world pollutes you with. You were once a captive of alcohol. It seduced you into thinking that it was your best and only friend and only through drinking could you discover your true self.

After a fashion you discovered that this wasn’t the case. In the end you hit bottom and ended up sitting in front of a computer reading about how Catholicism can keep you sober. But like everything else about the Catholic Church, it merely points the way to Jesus. Committing to Him, as you’ve presumably have done (or are thinking of doing) liberates you from the need to subscribe to the world’s values and the world’s solutions. Jesus is “The Way, the Truth and the Life” and is the only true counter-cultural force that endures. By “counter-cultural” I mean that in being a Christian one operates in contradiction to the the preferred manner of the world. Your master reigns in Heaven, and is not subject to this world’s demands. And by following Him, neither are you.

Alcohol and its abuse is an aberration used by people who have an unfortunate misperception of the world. Feeling rejected or at odds with it, they turn to alcohol and suddenly feel accepted. Alcohol makes you feel as though you finally “fit in”. It’s a lie, of course. In the end you are nearly destroyed by the lie.

Follow Jesus. You were once captive, and now you are free. Study the Gospels and get radical about living. Study the Catholic Church’s teachings, and be lifted up. They are not designed to chain you by listing a series of “do’s and don’ts”. Taken with the proper perspective, they liberate you from the limitations of being merely human.

Faith endures. Truth liberates.

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!!)

Corpus Christi

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Today the Church marks the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. (It was celebrated last Thursday in most areas of the world, but in the USA it was moved to this day.)

In essence, the Church is specifically honoring the Eucharist, the nature of which I have written about before, here and here.

Eucharist means “Thanksgiving”, and at Mass we are giving thanks for the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, thereby redeeming (paying the price) for our sins.

Plenty to be thankful for.

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!!)

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

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From today’s Mass Reading:

John 6:60-69;

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

I’ve written about this passage before. The disciples and Jews could not accept the teaching that Jesus was putting forth. He was speaking literally, and not figuratively, and they understood that or else He would have corrected their misunderstanding that had caused them to return to their former way of life. He was telling them that they had to literally eat of His Flesh and drink of His Blood in order to have eternal life, even though He was referring to His Body and Blood in the form of Bread and Wine. This was all too confusing, or disgusting, and so they left Him. And He allowed them to go.

When you are confronted with Scriptural or Catechetical truths that are too hard to understand, what do you do? Do you work to understand them, knowing that aince these are Divine Mysteries it will never be possible to fully comprehend them? But you accept them anyway in all humility like Peter? Or do you respond like Jesus’ disciples and the Jews in the passage above and turn away and leave? Perhaps refashion the teachings in such a way that are more acceptable to human understanding, despite their contradicting the Divine truth?

Humility is understanding your relationship to reality, adjusting your perspective to fit that reality, and being content with the results. Reality is that Jesus is God, not you, and that the only way to eternal life is through Jesus, (This does not mean that non-Christians do not attain eternal life, just that Jesus, the Just Judge, determines your admittance to Heaven based on the choices you’ve made in life. To continue on this track, then why be Christian? Because Christianity is the sole guaranteed roadmap to achieving salvation. Guaranteed by God.)

Now, many Catholics in AA and other Twelve Step Movements end up leaving the Church or accepting an illegitimate diluted Catholicism because the recovery movements offer an easier and softer way. Easier concepts to accept. Do not sellout or take the easier path. The richness of the Catholic Faith and Her spirituality offer far greater rewards than merely “staying sober”. Consider the teachings of Jesus and His Church to be a mountain that you have to ascend. The higher you climb (the tougher the Divine Mysteries you’re trying to grasp or the tougher the teachings you’re trying to live by) the more character defects you need to shed are cast off. Catholicism liberates you from the restraints of being merely human.

Go mountain climbing.

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 Mass of the Lord's Supper: a Model to Follow

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From the Gospel Reading in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, celebrated during the evening of Holy Thursday:

John 13:12-15
So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

We have the image of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper commemorates the establishment of the Eucharist and the ordained priesthood. Jesus is telling His disciples, the eventual Bishops of the Church, that their vocation is one of service, not power.

Despite the seemingly exalted position that the Bishops of today rightfully have (after all, they are the legitimate successors to the Apostles) theirs is one of service to the faithful.

Setting that catachetical and editorial moment aside, what can we take from the actions of Jesus during this moment at the Last Supper? That of service. We are here to serve. No matter who we are or our position and state in life, we are called to serve others. It is a basic Christian duty, and one of the major methods we have at our disposal to cooperate in building up the Kingdom of God. That Kingdom awaits us in Heaven after we die, but we start now, building it here on Earth, in the present.

Service, or doing things for others without financial compensation or any material reward, contributes to our growth as individuals, both on the personal and spiritual plane.

This giving of ourselves, helps us to get outside of ourselves. It helps develop humility by permitting us to see the world through the eyes of other people. In service, it’s about the other person, not yourself.

In our alcoholism, we were selfish, putting ourselves and our needs and desires, if not fantasies, before anyone else. Service work, regardless of what or where it is, is applied medicine for our continual recovery. It goes beyond meeting attendance or reading and the like.

It is Faith in action.

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!!)

Bruised reeds…

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Isaiah 42:3

A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench…

This excerpt from The Book of Isaiah from yesterday’s Mass (Monday of Holy Week) speaks of the mercy of Christ.

This passage is an important one for anyone to remember, but particularly for us alcoholics.

For we were bruised reeds and we were smoldering wicks. Caught in the grips of alcoholism and perhaps at the depths of despair, we were on the verge of breaking or winking out.

And yet we did not break; our light, however dim, was not quenched. How we managed to grab onto whatever lifeline that pulled us out of our misery may be a mystery. It might have been a family member calling the local AA hotline, or a clergy rescuing a lost soul, or some other seemingly coincidental or improbable event, but whatever it was, we had enough hope left in us to grab onto that lifeline.

Some of us pulled on that lifeline and entered AA. A lot stayed there, content to remain with the comfortable and easygoing spirituality and friendships it offered. Some of us were not satisfied and kept on searching. We needed something deeper and more sustainable and somehow entered the Catholic Church.

Perhaps our hurt was not fully healed by the 12 Steps of AA, and we responded well to the Church’s teachings on God’s mercy and forgiveness. That despite whatever our past, God still loves us and desires us to be close to Him. We heeded the sacramental call and drank of the deep waters of the Eucharist and Penance. And we were satiated like alcohol never could do for us.

There was a “hole in our soul” that we thought could be filled by our addiction, and we were eventually disappointed and wounded. But upon entering the Church, we became whole again, healed by the sacraments and an invigorated, deeper prayer life.

Rest in God’s mercy.

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!!)