Category Archives: Grace

Paulie X; or “Get your recovery where you can.”

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“Get your recovery where you can” is an odd title, but it’s a very accurate description of my methods in maintaining my sobriety these seventeen years. It basically means just that: as I am reading or watching something, I have a tendency to try and glean something useful from it to help my sobriety. (The ‘Paulie X’ part is inferred later.)

You can find something valuable almost anywhere. TV shows, for instance. Three episodes of two different TV series have been critical in helping me maintain that sobriety. NONE of them are related to recovery; they weren’t non-fiction health shows or even religious and spiritual programs on EWTN, for example.

They are two Star Trek series and Babylon 5. Yes, science-fiction TV dramas.

I have had this blog post in mind for quite a while, but something happened the other day while watching a Star Trek episode that finally caused me to write it now.

I am a Trekkie (an avid fan of the whole Star Trek franchise.) I’ve watched it from the early 1970’s, so for about 45 years. Not too much in the past decade or so for reasons unimportant, but last week I ordered and recieved the “Complete Series” DVD collection for the Original Star Trek series; the “Classic” one, featuring the interstellar adventures of Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and others on the Starship USS Enterprise, (“NCC-1701. No bloody A, B, C, or D”.) And so I started watching the episodes in the order presented in the collection. I hadn’t see these in perhaps fifteen years. It was like getting reacquanted with old friends, absent from your life since forever. (I had seen these episodes probably dozens of times over previous decades. Down to quoting whole parts and winning Star Trek trivia contests.)

I got to the episode entitled “Charlie X.” In that episode, “the Enterprise takes seventeen-year-old Charles Evans aboard for transport after he spent fourteen years alone on a deserted planet, but his inability to reintegrate with his fellow Humans is compounded by his very un-Human powers.” (Information courtesy Memory Alpha.)

Many of us who are alcoholics and addicts have poor social skills. Even after a period of sobriety, we may be a little odd. But Charles Evans had never been socialized, at all. He only had computer tapes and non-human incorporeal beings to talk to. No real information on how to properly interact with others of his own species.

This causes problems, exacerbated by the “super” powers the aliens had given him to survive.

In short, Charlie is a self-centered, egotistical jerk who thinks that needs and wants are identical, and his immediate gratification needs are paramount.

There are numerous scenes which illustrate this, and the growing conflict with the crew a consequence. One such scene is a chess game between Charlie and Mr. Spock, the logical-by-culture science officer and Enterprise second-in-command.

Charlie wanders in the rec room just when Captain Kirk defeats Spock in a game; Charlie asks to play and Kirk leaves him to Spock. Play begins and Spock defeats Charlie in two moves. Charlie initially denies having been checkmated, but the result is obvious and Spock leaves. Charlie studies the game boards and realizes that, indeed, he has lost. In anger he uses his powers to melt the pieces he played with.

This reached right inside me where it matters most and I saw myself melting those chess pieces.

What?

You see, one of my character defects (and I still have very many) is that inanimate objects really yank my scapulars when they don’t do what I want them to do. This has been for quite a while; back in the day when I was an AA meeting-goer I mentioned it; people thought it quaint. (I usually referred to the defect in humorous terms.) I also personalize it, as if the inanimate object is ticking me off intentionally, like it has a will of its own. (Electronic and mechanical devices are particular offenders. Don’t get me going about touch screens.)

Stupid, huh?

At times I do get seriously irritated when this happens (the inanimate objects’ refusal to cooperate, not my reaction). Once in a while I give the object a murderous look, as if I wanted to melt the thing with the sheer force of my anger.

That’s when I saw myself as Charlie X, in the chess piece melting scene. “Oh, my, gosh…”  I thought. I can relate to that.

The ego, immaturity, selfishness, the stupidity…

The silliness, too. I mean, really. Stuff just doesn’t work right sometimes. Or you’re using it wrong. Or gremlins…

Anyway, this whole experience had the impact of me witnessing something from an objective point of view. You see someone else exhibit bad behaviour that you’re guilty of and you see how ridiculous or wrong it is.

And so for the past few days whenever I feel like I want to melt something with my eyeballs, I grab hold of myself and mutter “Charlie X, remember Charlie X…”

Silly, yes, and it’s only been a few days; but so far, so good. Mostly. Realization-and-reaction-times are off once in a while. (By “realization-and-reaction-times” I mean the times when you realize you’re doing something wrong and your reaction – i.e. “self-control” – kicks in.)

So that’s that. Paulie X.

Oh, I mentioned that there are three episodes of two series. The others are “Emmisary,” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and “Passing Through Gethsemane,” from Babylon 5. You’ll have to wait a little, maybe later this week.

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!!)

Signal grace from St. Rita of Cascia

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A “signal grace” is a free gift from God (grace) that is extraordinary in nature and evident in some manner (signal). It may be a visible sign or deep interior feeling that a prayer has been answered or a direction you’ve been seeking has been given. Another name for signal grace is “God-incidence,” a play on “coincidence” as with God there are none, because God actually works in that mysterious intersection where seemingly unrelated events in space and time meet up.

Well, I received one of those signal graces today.

Almost every day I stop off at my territorial parish and pray for a few minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I’m blessed that He is Really, Truly, Present: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity just a couple of miles away. Anyway, this morning I wander in and see this by the side entrance:
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…a painting of St. Rita of Cascia. She is important to me in that her feast day, May 22nd, is also my sobriety date. This year will mark my 17th year sober. Just have to make it another thirteen days. 😉 I’ve written about her before: St. Rita of Cascia, Patroness of Lost Causes

Near this side entrance is a table where people can leave things for others to have. Usually the items are books, sometimes statues or prayer cards and other Catholicy things. Today, however, were a few paintings and posters. I saw St. Rita and went “Wow. MINE!” Although just to be sure that I could take it I hunted down someone with reasonably appropriate authority to give and found the nun who runs the social justice ministries. I figured she was official enough, so I asked her and she said “Yeah, take it. All that stuff out there is free.” I already knew that but this, to me, was a major haul and I had to check.

OK, so by now you’re asking, “That’s wonderful, Paulcoholic, but how is a beautiful painting of St. Rita of Cascia a signal grace? And could you get to a point?” Well, yes I am. Please read on…

I have been wondering a lot recently about life; (actually, my life has been consumed by this “wondering about life”) and where mine is going. I spent part of last night tossing about in bed wondering… I like to write or blog or whatever it is when you put words on paper or screen for others to read. Thing is, I don’t do it as often as you’d think I would. So, it got me to thinking, “Was it all just ego? Pride? Oh, look at me and read my thoughts?” I have been working on fiction off and on over the past 5 years, somewhat steadily (by my terms 😉 ) compared to prior eras but the novel is nowhere near being finished. I like working on it though; I love the characters and sometimes they go for rides in the car with me and we talk (Um, all righty…..) but seriously, the odds of it getting completed are somewhat low. But I might surprise myself. Or maybe not. Could it have all been a deception by Satan to keep me from doing better things? Or is it me with a discipline issue? Or, maybe the discipline issue was God’s way of keeping me from writing and publishing junk that I’d disown now since my reversion to the Catholic Church in 2002? Because the stuff I was working on back in the ’80s and ’90s was crap, no evidence of Faith (when I even had it) or a decent moral conviction. But mostly crap. So it might not have been a bad thing to be a slacker then as the stuff went unpublished or unfinished. Besides, I got material from slackerdom for writing when I did it later. BUT, since my reversion in ’02, and my desire to become a Catholic writer, one needs to know more about the Faith in order to be a good Catholic writer, and that takes time and maturation. So, my slowness in getting the novel written is actually all about me spending time learning more about the Faith, in order to write a better Catholic novel. Because I do read a lot. Or maybe that’s all hogwash and I’m just a lazy slacker, no matter how you slice it and reading is just an reputable way to be a slacker. But, see, I couldn’t be…. And then there’s…

See? This is what goes on in my brain. You would never want to take a stroll in there.

So, while tossing and turning in bed last night I was going over all this. All the reasons why I shouldn’t give up the whole fiction thing, (’cause I’ve been working on that most years since high school, I can’t give up now. Except for when I was drinking; then I stopped. You see, the stereotype is that writers drink a lot, as it’s a lonely profession or you get inspiration. But not me, I didn’t drink when I was writing and when I started drinking I gave up writing. I can’t even do that right.) Where was I? Oh, …Why I should try and do both it and blogging, or maybe just blunder along and be dissatisfied with both and give credence to the voices in my head.

And then I saw St. Rita this morning. And I thought, (right after going “Wow. MINE!) “OK, so I should focus on the blogging, after all St. Rita’s feast day is also my sobriety date, and she is the patroness of lost causes, and boy-oh-boy am I one. She ties it all together. After all, perhaps God gave me way back when the whole ‘like to write or blog or whatever it is when you put words on paper or screen for others to read’ so that after I stop drinking years later and sober up, I’d have sufficient skills to write a moderately enjoyable and reasonable blog on how the Catholic Faith can help maintain sobriety. The fiction could be just a hobby, or therapy. Maybe if that’s God’s will, too, it’ll get done somehow.” (yeah, like if I get a chunk load of money and can retire and scribble full time, yeah…)

I’ll have to mull this over (NO!!! IT’S A SIGNAL GRACE, YOU MORON; THERE’S NOTHING TO MULL OVER!). So, OK, now there’s certitude about things. I’m supposed to do this thing at SoberCatholic. “Blogging” is how my “writing” career will come to fruition. It’s not like all plans work out the way you intended. And sometimes write fiction, whenever, but not stress over it; if stuff gets finished, stuff’ll get finished. And from this some degree of confidence infuses other things in life. And I can still read a lot.

Perhaps this is a part of all that Divine Mercy stuff about “Jesus, I Trust in You,” and confidence in Divine Providence. TRUST, and He’ll let you in in things when you ask…

Here’s a close up:

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 Novena Reminder!

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Just giving all my readers a heads up that the Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday.

This is an excellent annual novena to take yourself on the journey to Divine Mercy Sunday, that annual festival wherein we bathe ourselves in the ocean of mercy that is God’s love and forgiveness.

No matter how bad a sinner you may have been, there is no sin that God cannot forgive, no sinner that God will not take back in His loving, merciful arms. The only barrier is pride and lack of humility and repentance.

Information on how to pray the Novena is in the link in the first sentence; information on Divine Mercy Sunday is in the link in the second paragraph. And in that last link there is a reminder to yours truly: “I posted before about this day, and perhaps next year I will, God willing, post more in the days leading up to it.” So, all righty, then. “NOTE TO SELF: post a bunch of stuff next week on Divine Mercy Sunday!” 😉

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 word on Suffering and Providence

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The year 2019 is three weeks old. It has not been a good year for me so far. I will not go into details apart from sufferings from bad weather and extended power outages, some trouble with family members that required the attention of police, and transportation issues. May as well toss in some health concerns while I’m at it.

My typical reaction has been a common and understandable one: “This year sucks already and I can’t wait for 2020.” Not a great way to begin a year, wishing it was already over.

However, through it all God’s Providence has shown itself. The Lord has carried us through all the “stuff” so far, and done so marvelously. In one issue He had helped us in a way I wouldn’t have bothered to script, thinking “It doesn’t happen that way.” (For a variety of reasons I won’t describe the issue.)

This all had me thinking. Especially as every time I think “This year sucks…” I get a feeling that I am being ungrateful. And so I thought about that.

Therefore I have tried to start thinking rather than regard 2019 as a Year of Hell and I Wish It Would Just End Already; I am instead going to start thinking that it might be a year in which God works His Divine Providence in my life (and perhaps my wife’s life and a few others’) in an awesome manner.

Perhaps that’s just “wishful thinking” to help me cope with a sucky year. 😉 But then again, we are supposed to have Faith. We are supposed to Trust in Jesus; have faith and confidence that He will show His Mercy and Love (and Justice) and will take care of our needs.

So that’s it: from now on I will just accept suffering as a way for God to show His Providence in my life. This is not new or original. It is a basic concept from the Gospel and Catholicism. All Christians are supposed to “take up our cross and follow Him.” Some people do this and grip their cross firmly, almost as if they were crucified to it. Others grip it but just hold onto it and cope. And still others drag it along resentfully behind them. (This is actually an image described by a saint in his or her writings; I’m wracking my brain but I can’t think of who it is. Perhaps the “Imitation of Christ?” “Divine Intimacy?” If I discover the source I’ll update the post. If any reader recognizes it, email me or post the info in a comment.)

UPDATE: Turns out it was neither the “Imitation of Christ” or “Divine Intimacy.” Rather, it was in St. Faustina Kowalska’s diary, “Divine Mercy in My Soul.” I rediscovered it during a recent rereading of that text. (Buy it if you don’t already have it. Don’t just read it; study it.)

Found in paragraph 446, it goes (words in bold are Jesus’):

“Then I saw the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross. When He had hung on it for a while, I saw a multitude of souls crucified like Him. Then I saw a second multitude of souls, and a third. The second multitude were not nailed to [their] crosses, but were holding them firmly in their hands. The third were neither nailed to [their] crosses nor holding them firmly in their hands, but were dragging [their] crosses behind them and were discontent. Jesus then said to me, Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory. And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblance to Me in glory.

Among the crucified souls, the most numerous were those of the clergy. I also saw some crucified souls whom I knew, and this gave me great joy. Then Jesus said to me, In your meditation tomorrow, you shall think about what you have seen today. And immediately Jesus disappeared on me.”

I wrote twice before on this: Just Enough and Crucible of Faith

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 Baptism

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This is a post I made today on Hozana, in the Matt Talbot Prayer Group:

“Today the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. When we are baptised, whether as infants or as adult converts, we are “born again,” born into the life of grace and we become the adopted sons and daughters of the Father.

We can take this to heart as people suffering from addictions; when we recover, we are “born anew,” ready to recover a life we are meant to lead. If you are a member of this Group,” (or, a reader of this blog) “because someone else in your life is an addict or alcoholic, then you may be a witness to their rebirth.

Everyone of us begins each day anew; each day is another chance to start afresh. Each day we can contemplate our baptism and what it means for us to be children of God. Rather than regard our baptism as something that happened at some point in the past, or was just a nice ceremony welcoming us into the Church, we can look to it for inspiration to resist sin, start anew and grow closer to God. We are His children. That is a profound declaration. Many can spend years meditating on that fact.

Start again! Here is a “Renewal of Baptismal Promises:”

V. Do you reject Satan?

R. I do.

V. And all his works?

R. I do.

V. And all his empty promises?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

R. I do.

V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

R. I do.

V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

R. 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!!)

Ember Days for Advent

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Last September I mentioned the traditional liturgical practice of Ember Days. This week marks the series of days for Advent. They fall today, December 19th and this Friday and Saturday, December 21st and 22nd.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia on New Advent:
“Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.”

That they fall immediately before the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord (a/k/a “Christmas”) is no coincidence. We can use the Ember Days practice of prayer, fasting and abstinence to put the finishing touches on our Advent preparations for Jesus’ Coming.

Use this “mini Lent” to clear out the cruft in your life, to help develop your interior life to better listen to the “still, small voice” of God speaking to you from within. As I said in that September post, any Lenten practice you use for fasting and abstinence will work. Fasting in this instance need not be from food, but could be from behaviour. Fast from profanity, from TV watching, Internet use (well, after you read this post 😉 ) or something else that may get in the way.

May God bless you and keep you safe from harm and may Christmas this year (and all years) be a time of focusing more on Jesus and less on commercialism and materialism. He did not Incarnate so that we can buy stuff.

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!!)

We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death

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An excerpt from the Second Reading from the Divine Office for the Feast of All Souls:

by St Ambrose, a book on the death of his brother Satyrus
“Let us die with Christ, to live with Christ”

“We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

(Via Universalis”

Death, that passage to a place where we are free from the constraints, troubles and fears of our Earthly life. (Assuming we’re saved upon death.) Look at the words used by St. Ambrose in this piece: detachment, free…from the desires of the body, remedy, grace… All things we need in recovery. So, “memento mori,” be mindful of death. Rather than something to be feared, it should be something desired. NOT in any manner of suicide, but rather in the manner of people seeking to leave their exile and come home.

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!!)

Spiritual Warfare

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I said in an earlier post, DON’T LEAVE JESUS BECAUSE OF JUDAS that “Those that are in the Church and are guilty of the crimes reported are followers of Judas. They will go to their own reward unless they repent. And speaking of who else dwells in the place of that particular reward, the scandals and corruption seem to me proof that Satan himself knows which Church is the One True Faith, for it would be that very Church which would suffer the most targeted and evil demonic attacks.”

(This is the “follow-up post. There will be others.)

We are engaged in spiritual warfare. It is us versus the Evil One. We have the Church and Her Sacraments and sacramentals, prayers, devotions and the MASS in our armory of weapons. Not to mention the considerable force of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she who will “crush the head” of the serpent.

Jesus established His Church (the only one, all others having been spun off of Her over the millennia) to safeguard His teachings and those of the Apostles and their successors. Satan knows this and has as his chief goal Her destruction. Hence, the primary target of his attacks on the Church has been against the hierarchy and priesthood.

No Pope, no Bishops and no priests: no Church.

This is not the time to remain weak, fair-weather Catholics.

St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.”

Courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

That is what we are doing battle with; to that end I will be reviewing my browser bookmarks and adding a new link section to Sober Catholics’s sidebar: “Spiritual Warfare.” For THAT is what we are engaged in, warfare. I’ll do a post announcing when it’s on the sidebar. I will also add a new post category with that same name as I will be writing more on weapons to be used in our spiritual warfare.

See: I won’t leave Peter because of Judas. Men don’t leave the Lady when She’s under attack. Stand and fight and defend Holy Mother Church. That was a Tweet I posted in the aftermath of the initial reports of the sex abuse scandal. (I referenced “Men,” obviously women are called to fight and defend the Church as well; I was referring to men due to our traditional roles as warriors and fighters for a cause.)

Start arming yourselves. Take up your Cross and follow Jesus. He is to be found truly, really Present in your Catholic Parish. Start spending time in Adoration.

Grab your Rosary, start saying it daily maybe even 4 times a day! It does make a difference!

Study your Catholic Bible. I recommend the Jerusalem Bible, primarily because Mother Angelica, EWTN Foundress loved it and used it in her Bible studies. It’s also a good read. I also like the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSVCE), it’s also a good read and Fr. Benedict Groeschel, who appeared often on EWTN, loved it. The Douay-Rheims is excellent if you’re in a traditional mindset. Available: EWTN Religious Catalog: Bibles

Study your Catechism. Not just the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” circa 1997, but also the venerable “Roman Catechism,” also known as the “Catechism of the Council of Trent.” The former is available in bookstores as well as EWTN Religious Catalog: Catechism, the latter, here: TAN Books (Note: you can also order the Douay-Rheims Bible through TAN.)

Frequent the Sacraments. Attend Mass every Sunday as well as Daily, if possible. If there is a Traditional Latin Mass with driving distance from your home, attend that. (I will post either here or on my other blog, In Exile Latin Mass resources.)

Study the Divine Mercy Message. Get St. Faustina’s Diary. (Available through the link in the previous sentence.)

Read the diary of St. Therese of Lisieux (“Story of a Soul.” Available anywhere.)

Try saying the Stations of the Cross; they’re not just for Lent, you know.

Learn about the Sacred Heart Devotion.

Another devotion is to begin saying (daily, if you can, otherwise whenever you are able) the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel. His Feast day is coming up on September 29th, so a Novena to him begins on the 20th; I will post some novena prayers for you as well as how to say the chaplet. (Probably within a few days, but just in time.)

This is a lot. But all is necessary. Studying the Bible and the Catechisms as well as the diaries I mentioned is important. There are many claims as to the “root causes” of the sex abuse scandal. All may be true to this or that degree, but the root cause of all is dissent. Toleration, acceptance and promotion of dissent from the teachings of Jesus as expressed through His Church is what caused all of this. This is why I referred to the perpetrators of the scandal as “Judases.” For they betrayed Him just like the original Traitor. All dissent is treason, if you are culpable (know that it is dissent, and not that “you didn’t know any better.”) So fortifying yourselves with TRUTH via the Catholic Bible, the Catechisms and great spiritual reading is paramount if we are to defeat the forces of darkness pervading the Church.

All of the above have their own links in the sidebar of Sober Catholic: as this blog was intended for people who might have left the Church due to various reasons encountered in their addictions or recovery, I placed many links to sites to help people learn about the Faith. Hence…

…How to Become Catholic or Return to the Church
The Church and the Bible
For all things Catholic…

Sacred Heart
Rosary
Divine Mercy…

… are all groups of website links in the sidebar. Visit and learn! There are other groups of links in the sidebar more particular to the purpose of this blog, peruse those as well. You never know what you might find of interest.

We are all in this together. We also need to pray for one another in these times; Satan will attack those fighting him. I know I will be under some manner of spiritual attack (it happens quite often.) So, if you’re a regular reader of Sober Catholic, please pray for me and this blog. Even if you’re not, please pray for me! 😉

As I said up above somewhere, there will be more posts in this category; I will bring up prayers and devotions, sacramentals, point out other websites that are fighting in the trenches, too.

We’ve got this, we will win.

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!!)

Another chance to celebrate Lent!

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“Say what? What’s Paulcoholic mean, ‘Another chance to celebrate Lent!’ Doesn’t he know it’s August?”

Of course, I know! But Time is open to interpretation. For a number of years I have introduced to my blog readers something I discovered (I forgot the source) a few years before I started Sober Catholic in 2007; that is, the idea of a “Second Chance Lent.” You can read about it in this older post: Second Chance Lent

But basically, tomorrow is August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It is the first day of this blessed opportunity for a Lenten “do-over.” Forty days later (Sundays are not counted) is the Feat of the Triumph (or Exaltation) of the Holy Cross. The Transfiguration is that Holy Day when Christ was ‘transfigured’ (glorified) on Mt. Tabor.

Both Feast days mark a beginning and ending of the Passion of Jesus.

Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus during His Transfiguration of what was to happen to Him in Jerusalem. (He knew what was going to happen; the traditional interpretation of the event is that their appearance was like and ‘endorsement’ of the Old Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) of the new Law of grace established by Jesus.) The Triumph of the Cross is the victory of His Resurrection. The fact that these days were placed 40 days apart on the liturgical calendar affords us the opportunity to practice “another Lent.” We mark the season of His Passion, starting with the “spiritual courage” of the Transfiguration and culminating in His victory over sin and death by His Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Don’t miss this opportunity for spiritual development. This is an excellent time for prayer and introspection geared towards ridding oneself of character defects. Perhaps you can take your Catholic Bible and read daily from the four Gospels all of the accounts of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Just a few minutes each day. Even re-reading them can help you pull greater meaning from the passages. Read “Divine Mercy in My Soul: the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalsksa.” Learn and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

How to pray The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy

How to get the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul: the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

So, there you have it. Another period in which to get focused and grow closer to the Lord and His Mercy by way of the Church’s liturgical year. It’s wonderful that we Catholics have access to so many helps on the way to Heaven.

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!!)

An Examination of Conscience

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I just added to the “Other Healing Resources” linkylist the following: Examination of Conscience from Beginning Catholic.

I thought you might find it useful.

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!!)