Category Archives: Forgiveness

Sounds of glad rejoicing

Posted on by

Verse 10 of Psalm 51 recalls a happy and healthy benefit to forgiveness:

Psalm 51:10: “Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”

(Via USCCB.)

When God forgives, you are restored to your inheritance. You who were lost, are now found once again, and you can claim your rightful place as one of His children, eligible to enter into His home once He calls you to it.

Luke 15:21-24: “His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.”

You were crushed by your sin. You have repented and petitioned Him for forgiveness,and He has answered. You rejoice, as with the Saints in Heaven.

Luke 15:7: “I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

All Scripture quotes courtesy of:

(Via USCCB.)

Go to Confession, soon.

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 have done such evil in your sight

Posted on by

Psalm 51:6: “Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight. That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.”

(Via USCCB.)

So begins verse 6 of the Miserere.

Sin harms and ruptures one’s relationship with God. If it is a mortal sin, it kills it. The sin may involve others, but the thing to remember is the importance of repairing the relationship with God. The penitent’s admission of guilt and recognition of it before God initiates the process of repair. In reconciliation, you recognize God’s perfect justice.

If one’s conscience is well formed and you engage in contemplative introspection, you see the root causes of your sinning. As such, you know yourself better. You see why you sin and work towards amending your life. As God brings good out of evil, this knowledge strengthens you and your spiritual progress.

How is your relationship with God? Does it need amends?

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!!)

Cleanse me

Posted on by

The fourth verse of Psalm 51 continues from verse 3 the penitent’s petition for a clean slate:

Psalm 51:4: “Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.”

(Via USCCB.)

It is a recognition on the part of the penitent that the sinful offense has dirtied and sullied the soul. We are made in the image and likeness of God, our soul is a reflection of that image. Only God can forgive sins and therefore only He can wash our souls clean of our offense.

The penitent clearly states their sole responsibility in the sin. Even though someone else may have been involved, the sinner says “my guilt”, “my sin”. No blame is placed upon another. The sinner bears responsibility for their wrongdoing. We alcoholics and addicts are known for shirking responsibility. It is “people, places and things”, or our weakness, our disease, or some other such matter. Although there are mitigating circumstances that can lead us into our addictive behavior, in the end we committed the sin. At what point do we stop making excuses and just say that, “Yeah, these factors came in to play in my demise. But I could have said ‘no.’ I could have reached out for help that is their, even if it is a plaintive prayer into the darkness.”

We bear responsibility for recognizing our true nature as sons and daughters of God, and in seeing that since our souls were made to reflect His goodness, we must strive to keep them clean and on the path to holiness. We allow our consciences to be formed and guided by the Gospel.

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!!)

Have mercy on me

Posted on by

The first verse of Psalm 51, after the introduction, is a plaintive cry for mercy:

Psalm 51:3: “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.”

(Via USCCB.)

The repentant sinner in uttering this cry asking for nothing less than a clean slate. The penitent knows that mercy springs forth from God’s inherent and eternal goodness. Furthermore, God’s compassion for the sinner puts and end to the offense, it is as if it never happened.

God is incapable, as a human understands it, of harboring resentment. The seemingly never-ending rehashing of a grudge or psychological wound is an imperfection of our human nature.

Verse 3 of this Psalm is therefore a confident understanding by the penitent that God will blot out the offense, and start over with the sinner.

As alcoholics and addicts, we have plenty to “blot out”. But also much to learn about compassion. Are we as ready to blot out the offenses of others against us? And how long are we capable of taking to do this? And does reconciliation always result?

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!!)

Psalm 51 Meditations

Posted on by

One of my favorite Psalms is the 51st, “The Miserere”. The first 2 verses explain it:

Psalm 51:1-2: “For the leader. A psalm of David,

when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.”

(Via USCCB)

Nathan the Prophet confronted King David with his adultery, and the Psalm is David’s repentence.

I have written up some notes that form the basis of some meditations on each verse of the Psalm. I think it is appropriate it since the Church’s liturgical year is winding down. As Advent approaches, the Church will start to remind us of the coming of Christ, and the need to repent.

(These meditations also serve as a revival of something I started in 2007, called the “The Wisdom Dose”, a series of originally daily, then occasional, then discontinued, meditations on the Wisdom Books of the Bible, including the Psalms. I will do these again, on an irregular basis.)

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!!)

Approaching the Throne of Grace

Posted on by

The Second Reading for the Mass of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time speaks to us of Jesus as our helper in our weakness:

Hebrews 4:14-16:“Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”

(Via USCCB.)

Jesus is not some mighty deity who reigns distantly from Heaven and judges us for our misdeeds. Although His divinity prevented Him from sinning, He experienced the temptations and sufferings that we experience. Perhaps His divinity made Him acutely aware of the pain temptation brings. He couldn’t sin to temporarily relieve the painful desire of temptation. Not that our succumbing to temptation to relieve the pain is any excuse for us.

Therefore, knowing full well that Jesus understands what we go through, because He’s been there,we can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” Grace is all you need to heal from your addiction. The sacraments are the primary instruments of God’s grace, and the sure means of receiving it.

Go to Confession soon and the attend Mass and receive the Eucharist. Go to Confession frequently, for as addicts and alcoholics we are a tough bunch to maintain our holiness.

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!!)

Now and at the hour of our death, amen

Posted on by

Today, August 22nd, is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. It is the day Catholics celebrate her coronation as Queen of Heaven.

The Hail Mary has the line:

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

We are all sinners, and Christianity teaches that this is so. Yet we do have a powerful intercessor with God for us.

That intercessor is Mary.

She can intercede for us at anytime, like any good mother will for her children. All we have to do is ask and the Hail Mary is that prayer.

The time of our death is never known to us, it can occur anytime. Only God knows when it will happen. Cultivating a good relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary is an excellent method of insuring your salvation. The “hour of our death” is a particularly important time of battle, as that is Satan’s final chance to claim our soul for eternity. The Adversary will pull out all the stops in that final hour, if it feels there is an opportunity to win.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you,

Blessed are you amongst 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

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!!)

Breaking the Chains of Addiction

Posted on by

Johnny Garcia a member of Catholic Recovery has this excellent video on breaking addiction’s chains:

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!!)

Confessing Sins

Posted on by

We are all sinners. Every one of us. There is no one who is sinless and incapable of sinning (except for Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary). But we have recourse to the Sacrament of Confession to remove our sins.

Psalm 32:5: “Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, ‘I confess my faults to the LORD,’ and you took away the guilt of my sin.”

(Via USCCB.)

We confess our sins to a priest and through him God cleanses us of our sin and its guilt. That is how the sacrament works.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1116: “Sacraments are ‘powers that comes forth’ from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are ‘the masterworks of God’ in the new and everlasting covenant.”

(Via USCCB.)

We can confess our sins to God, but in doing so there is no guarantee of absolution (the removal of the sin and guilt). Jesus after all gave His disciples the power to forgive sins or not to (so why bother if we can just go straight to God?):

John 20:22-23: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.'”

(Via USCCB.)

Even Twelve Step movements recognize the need to clear the air of the past with another person. In Step 5 people are exhorted to admit to God, to yourself and to another person the wrongs of the past. The courage needed to talk to another person helps to strengthen the “firm purpose of amendment” that we must possess and increases our personal honesty. It is a sign of humility.

The main practical here-and-now difference between confessing your sins to a priest, however, and “doing a Step 5” with another is that the priest is bound by the seal of confession to not reveal whatever is said during it. No person hearing an alcoholic’s 5th Step list of wrongs is bound by such a thing. Your Step 5 “confession” is not guaranteed to remain a secret.

So, in recognition of the fact that going to Confession is hard if you’re not used to it, confess your sins to God, as a start. As a humble prayer present your sins to God along with a petition for the courage to see a priest for the sacrament. As I said in the beginning, we are all sinners, no getting around that. Jesus established the sacrament for a reason; a direct, tangible and certain way for us to know that our sins are forgiven and removed. This is something that those going directly to God in prayer cannot ever be certain of. Non-Catholics may disagree, but simply put, going straight to God with a prayer of petition to forgive sins is nothing more than a prayer. And as everyone knows, although God does answer all of our prayers, He may not do so in the manner we want, nor in the time we need. Using Confession removes all doubt. We are using the tools that God expressly provided for us to ask Him to do something for us. He is bound by it.

Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'”

(Via USCCB.)

So, go to Confession soon. Once a month isn’t too difficult. Often enough for a good cleansing, but not too often that it is “burdensome”. After a fashion you may opt for a more frequent schedule!

Psalm 32:1: “Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven.”

(Via USCCB.)

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!!)

Getting stuck in the past

Posted on by

There is an excellent article today from Spirit Daily on repentance and not dwelling on the past once you’ve gotten past it.

(Via Spirit Daily.)

Try reading it, you’ll find it useful if you’re a frequent user of Confession and still dwell on your past sins.

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!!)