Category Archives: Holy Days and Sundays

Memorial of St. Athanasius (May 2nd)

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Today’s Mass was the Memorial of St. Athanasius. An excerpt from the First Reading (1 John 5:3-5):

For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who (indeed) is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Here, then is the key in our victory over alcohol. If we keep the Commandments of the Lord, we show that we love God, and we are rewarded with victory over the world (especially its allurements and entrapments, such as alcohol).

An interesting point is made in the verse that states, “And His commandments are not burdensome…”. The world will tell you the opposite. The world will tell you that following God’s commandments puts you at odds with fully enjoying the world’s offerings of sin and wonder. And didn’t we agree to this when we were drinking? Didn’t we cast off the “shackles” of organized religion? Didn’t we feel “freer”. Perhaps, until we were caught in the world’s traps, and discovered the false allure of the world’s “freedom”. It’s “freedom” comes at a price (alcoholism, drug and porn addiction, sexually transmitted disease).

His commandments are not burdensome. They instead liberate us from the confines of the world and help us overcome it and conquer it. If we look upon them as best we humanly can from the perspective of eternity, then we can see they are easy to follow, once we keep our eyes on the prize of Heaven and our salvation.

Keep your eyes on the prize.

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!!)

Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist

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Today is the Feast Day of St. Mark, the author of the second Gospel. Also the shortest Gospel, can be read in one sitting.

From the Gospel of today’s Mass:

Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

One easy and obvious take on this Gospel passage is that if believers can do all these things, well then certainly they can stay sober. Well, certainly, and that is the whole point of this blog. But a much deeper examination is called for and asks, “Why can believers do these things?”

The answer is: faith. Faith is belief in the unknowable, of things unseen by human eyes and instruments, and as the old hymn by St. Thomas Aquinas declares, “What our senses fail to fathom let us grasp with faith’s assent.” God is unknowable, at least by the limitations of human reason.

With faith we can bridge the chasm created by our fears, previously drowned in alcohol, and connect with the unseen God. Our faith tells us that He exists, and is there to aid us in being fully human. Alcohol robs us of the capacity to be fully human.

Faith is belief. You believe. An all-encompassing, marrow-tingling, world-view shaking life change. When a Christian believes, he or she just doesn’t (or shouldn’t) believe at the surface, a Christian allows that faith to make them new, different than before. An all-encompassing transfiguration from a person broken and beaten and used up by the world into someone born anew in Christ. This re-birth is sustained by the sacraments, from our baptismal renewal every time we use holy water, to our partaking of Holy Communion and Confession.

If we apply this to our recovery from alcohol abuse then we believe that we no longer need alcohol and exchange it for our love for Jesus. Faith in Jesus renders our need for alcohol to nothingness, and therefore our faith sustains us. No matter how good or how bad, drinking is no longer an option for us. It is no longer desired.

The passage “if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them”, I cannot explain as I am not a Biblical scholar, except that it probably isn’t to be interpreted literally, in much the same sense that one doesn’t actually pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin. It more than likely is a symbolism of Jesus’ victory over death, and how powerless the evils of the world are against Him. All who believe in Him will achieve eternal life with Him in Heaven. I felt the need to address that verse considering the focus of this blog.

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!!)

Octave of Easter

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This week we are in the Octave of Easter. This means that Easter is celebrated for eight days. This is evident to anyone who prays the Liturgy of the Hours (link from Universalis way up above posts) as parts of Morning and Evening Prayers are taken from Easter Sunday.

Imagine a holiday that last for 8 days.

As sober alcoholics we do not need to drink during that holiday. Imagine back in the days of our drinking the very idea of us celebrating anything for 8 days and doing it without drinking. Impossible.

This is the new life we have, the new life as sober alcoholics. Just as Christ’s Resurrection on that Easter morning 20 centuries ago gave all of humanity the potential for eternal life in Heaven, our Resurrection on our own Easter morning, whenever our last drink was, gave us the freedom to choose that eternity with Him. We have a new life in Christ.

Live it wisely, and soberly.

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!!)

"Do this in memory of me"

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Luke 22:19
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”

During the Homily on Palm Sunday, my priest mentioned the significance of the word “memory” in Hebrew. The word used in Luke was “shoah“, which means more than merely recalling an event in the past. It meant something far deeper. It means to remember it so intimately that the past event “becomes present” to you. You “come into” the event, it becomes real, not merely a symbol. This is what Jesus meant when he referred to the bread as his body (see this) and that we were to do this again, as if we were present in the event.

What Jesus was establishing was the Eucharist. The Last Supper was in essence, the first Mass. When you attend a Catholic Mass, you are as if you are present at the Last Supper, you are as if you are on Calvary, present at the Crucifixion of Jesus. The Mass is the presentation again of the Last Supper and the continuation of the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, although in unbloodied form. It is NOT a re-sacrifice, or a sacrificing of Him again, but a participation across the chasm of time and the distance of space. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, is carrying out Jesus’ command that we do this in memory of Him. The Mass is the full meaning of the Hebrew word, shoah, we are coming into the presence of Jesus at the Last Supper and on the Cross. We are not merely re-enacting or symbolically “remembering” an event from 2,000 years ago. We are there, regardless of where the parish offering the Mass is located. And if you think of it, this “across the chasm of time and the distance of space” idea also means that you are sharing in all the Masses that are being offered now and ever have been offered in the past.

How does this relate to a Catholic recovering from alcohol? In Twelve Step groups, it is advised that members have a “Higher Power”, or a “God of your own understanding”. For a Catholic, this is the Trinitarian God of the Bible. If you want to have a “Higher Power” that is not some vague, ill-defined spirit force or a god of your own creation, and would rather instead meet the Real Thing, live, up close and personal, right there in the flesh (so to speak), then go to Mass. He is there, waiting for you. No greater love or devotion that you can offer to God than a prayerful attendance and participation at Mass.

Your prayers offered at Mass are heard with greater force than at any other time. For if Catholic teaching on the Mass is true, then the Mass is where Heaven and Earth meet. Angels in Heaven worship God, and since God is physically present in the form of the Eucharistic bread, angels from Heaven descend upon the church where the Mass is offered and worship the Eucharistic God. Whether the church is St. Peter’s Basilica or a lonely mission chapel in the desert, Heaven unites with Earth. Therefore, when you pray in the presence of the Lord, He hears it more clearly than at any other time. (Yes, God hears all prayers, regardless of the person or the place. But despite this, sometimes it is more efficacious to pray with others. Christians of any denomination ask each other to pray for particular intentions, despite the fact that God hears the intentions of the original supplicant.)

Make the Mass the source and summit of your prayer life. Don’t just attend Mass on Sundays, many Catholic parishes offer it throughout the week. (For active, faithful Catholics, Sunday Mass is an obligation, the weekday Mass is optional.) If it’s not available daily, or your schedule prohibits you from attending, watch it on EWTN. If you don’t have EWTN on cable or satellite, go to the EWTN link in the sidebar. EWTN broadcasts their Masses every day, and rebroadcasts them numerous times throughout the day.

Attempting to maintain a regular Mass attendance, and prayerfully participating in Mass, provides a focus for you. A summit, “God’s holy mountain” for you to climb. You will be amply rewarded.

In the sidebar, way down, there’s a link to a site created by R.J. Grigaitis: “A Very Simple Guide to the Catholic Mass”. It’s the yellow and purple javascript link that jumps around. Nicely done, it takes you by the hand and guides you through what happens at Mass.

What is your Higher Power? Where is it? How does it compare to Jesus, present at the Mass?

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!!)

Solemnity of the Annunciation, Part 2 (On Humility)

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In the previous post I started out by discussing the Annunciation, and the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary that relates to it. Now, I’ll conclude with a bit on what actually was announced.

An angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to bear a child and that He will be the Messiah, the Son of God. OK, now here we get into the whole thing about humility.

We are basically saying that God, the creator of the Universe, from the largest galactic super cluster and all the trillions of stars, down to the smallest subatomic particle, and everything in between, was going to be born into humanity. As a baby.

Think about that.

Why? Not about the thinking part, but why as a baby?

Because God wanted to teach us about humility. He became born into humanity so that He can eventually die for us, thus paying the price for our Original Sin. The only other way for its price to be paid would be our extinction as a species. The Original Sin was the Fall of Adam and Eve as told in Genesis, Chapter 3. What exactly happened is unknown, it probably wasn’t literally Satan posing as a talking snake conning some naked lady into the idea that if she and her husband ate an apple then they would be like God and possess His wisdom. But something occurred that convinced our Original Parents that they could find fulfillment outside of God’s will. That they could be like God and determine for themselves what is right and what is wrong. That is Pride, the opposite of humility. And such an evil thing was this expession of pride that we almost died as a species.

For God to teach us this lesson on humility, along with redeeming us for our sin of pride, He bacame a little baby.

He could have come down from Heaven as a mighty force laying waste to enemies of His will, but that would serve no teaching purpose. Humility is learned.

You learn humility by being humbled. By accepting little humiliations and getting stronger as a result.

By these ways we learn that humility is accepting reality for what it is, adjusting your life to that reality, and being content with the result.

We can accept all that more easily by thinking about the result of the Annunciation (the birth of Jesus nine months later). If the God of the Universe can incarnate (become flesh, as opposed to remaining a Spirit) Himself as a baby, and suffer all sorts of indignities as a part of His human-ness, then who are we to complain about the ordinaries of daily living? Of course, He was God, and knew it, and therefore probably had superior coping mechanisms, but He was fully human, and still suffered the ordinaries of being human. Exactly how this is so is a puzzle not comprehended by 20 centuries of Christians, but it was so.

Meditate on this next time you have a lousy day. Like I said at the end of Part 1, stuff like this keeps you sober. It also brings you closer to God.

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!!)

Solemnity of the Annunciation, Part 1

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On March 25th the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation. (In the United States and perhaps other countries, it is moved to the 26th of March when the 25th falls on a Sunday as it does in 2007).

The Annunciation is the event in which the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, an innocent little Jewish girl in 1st Century Palestine, and tells her that she has been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God.

It is perhaps an understatement to say that this is significant on many levels. And the significance involves humility, a topic of so many 12-Step meetings. I’ll get into that in Part 2 of this post.

Set aside the less-than-every-day occurrence of a messenger from God telling you that you’re going to give birth to His Son. According to the Gospel accounts, Mary handled it rather well, better than most perhaps as she merely wondered how it would come to pass as she is a Virgin.

All she needed to say was “Yes”, and the whole epic of salvation would continue on its intended course, and the world would be liberated from its enslavement to sin.

So, we have the humility of Mary accepting the stupendous role of being the mother of the Son of God. Her perfect humility enabled her to bear the responsibility of this role, for if pride played a part she would not have been suitable. Pride is a tool the Devil uses in convincing us that we are responsible for our own talents and achievements, as opposed to a humble acknowledgement that we were placed here by God and we cultivate our talents to the best of our ability.

Mary’s purpose was to be the vessel through which the world received the Savior.

Such a vessel has to be free of all stain of sin, hence the angel’s greeting to her with the phrase “Hail, Mary, full of grace” (or “Hail, Highly Favored One” in some translations.) Mary was preserved from Original Sin by the anticipated merits of Jesus’ eventual death and Resurrection. This is the Catholic Dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. If she had Original Sin, then Jesus, by being in her womb and sharing her body and blood, would have shared in her Sin, which is impossible as God is sinless. One could argue then that why couldn’t Jesus have been conceived immaculately? He could have, but the difficulty in that would be that He still would be in Mary’s womb, and what would be the barrier between Him and Original Sin? His own sacrifice on the cross, decades later? He is divine and sinless, so His own death was not for Himself, He died for humanity. So Mary, by sharing her body and blood with Jesus in her womb, would benefit from the eventual sacrifice of Jesus. Mary is the physical barrier between Jesus and her ancestral line, caught in Original Sin like the rest of humanity. The physical barrier protecting Mary from her mother’s state of Original Sin was Jesus, operating from the fullness of time, as God dwells in Eternity.

I believe it was done in this manner to signify the importance of the sacrament of Baptism. Original Sin is washed away by Baptism, which is the sacrament signified by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. By His Blood we are redeemed of Original Sin and born into the Body of Christ (Christianity). Baptism enables us to receive the Holy Spirit. Mary could not have conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit if she was trapped in Original Sin. If she could have, then there would be little rationale for Baptism. Baptism is so important in our being born into the Body of Christ (well, it’s the only way to accomplish that) that this rather confusing and impossible to fully comprehend method occurred. Her “baptism”, so to speak, was Jesus’ eventual shedding of His Blood during His torture and Crucifixion. Through it, she was preserved from inheriting Original Sin. If Jesus was conceived immaculately, solely by God the Father’s will, then there would be no real need for Baptism. It would be purely symbolic, as the Father could make us into his own by use of His own will.

God asked for Mary’s permission, her acquiescence was key. The whole epic of salvation hinged upon her saying “Yes” to God. God loves us, and needs our cooperation to fulfill His plan.

Phew. I’m tired just writing that. And I still have Part 2, later. (The “Incarnation”.)

She accepted God’s will for herself, as so should we. Her acceptance was necessitated by her being a sinless vessel to bear the Lord. While we are certainly not sinless, we should to the best of our ability resist the tendency towards sin by humbling ourselves before God and willingly accept Him into our lives. We must live out our Baptismal life by being Catholic Christians, fully participating in the sacramental life of the Church. For ordinary rank-and-file butts-in-the-pews Catholics this means going to Mass and recieving Holy Communion. And to recieve it properly by previously going to sacramental Confession and having our sins forgiven. (This is so that we can be a proper receptacle for receiving Jesus into ourselves, as that is what Communion is, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, in the form of Bread. (Read, “Does this shock you?” )

What does all this have to do with recovery from alcoholism? Well, this is “Sober Catholic” and the intended purpose of this blog is to help you realize the richness and fullness of the Catholic Faith. Giving you things like the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception to mentally munch on is supposed to get you to start thinking of less mundane things. If you can spend some time every day wrapping your mind around such concepts, things tempting you to drink won’t sstand a chance.

Worked for me.

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!!)

Jumping off place

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Every alcoholic eventually arrives at a bottom. It is different for each, for some it could be the loss of house, spouse, job, money, health and respect. For others it could merely be the threat of those losses. Something happens at which point the alcoholic decides, “This cannot go on.” It is that point at which the alcoholic decides that maybe not drinking is better than drinking. “If I continue to drink I will die.” Or, “If I stop drinking, I may just wish I were dead.”

At any rate, the alcoholic is at a crossroads. AA’s basic text, the so-called “Big Book”calls it the “Jumping off place”. It is that point at which the alcoholic decides between life or death. It may not be an easy decision, some fight with it and manage to struggle for years before finally choosing (or have the choice made for them).

Choosing life is the path to recovery from alcohol and sobriety. It is also the path back into the Father’s loving embrace as you seek His help in staying free from alcohol.

It is a choice made in today’s Gospel reading, “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” See Luke 15:11-32. The Gospel contains a verse (#17): “Coming to his senses he thought…”. This implies the son had reached a decision after some thought. He had squandered his inheritance from his father, lived as a lowly servant feeding pigs, and envied the pigs. You would think he wouldn’t take too long in deciding the right course of action, but human pride is a strange thing. Some have trouble admitting to having made bad decisions, they would rather continue on the destructive course they are on. Perhaps a form of suicide. He eventually chose to return to his father and plead for mercy and forgiveness, accepting whatever he would receive.

Rather than receiving punishment and chastisement, the son was most warmly welcomed and embraced back into the fold of his father’s house.

So to, are we received by our Father in Heaven, when we come to our senses by whatever means we arrive at, repent and ask forgiveness. We drank and hurt Him, others and ourselves. We stop and begin the painful process to picking up our lives and amending it.

If you are reading this and are an alcoholic, perhaps you have hit bottom and have made the decision to choose life. You found this blog perhaps because you were seeking tools to help in your continued recovery. That is wonderful, I do hope this place helps. Or perhaps you have yet to reach that point, and still think you do not have a problem or can handle it on your own. Your decision-making process is affected by your drinking, listen to the voices around you who may be telling you things about your behavior. Take a cold, hard look at life. Has it always been this way? perhaps things were terrible before you began drinking, but how are they now, compared to those times?

Have you come to your senses?

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!!)

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

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We are not celebrating a chair, so to speak, but rather the authority of the Pope, who derives his authority to teach and lead the Catholic Church by virtue of being the legitimate successor to St. Peter, the first Pope.

Jesus established His Church on Earth, and appointed St. Peter to lead it in His stead. This is why the Pope holds the title “Vicar of Christ”, he is the visible head of Christ’s Church on Earth, and teaches with the same authority. This is shown in today’s Gospel reading:

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
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.”

St. Peter was the only Apostle to answer Jesus’ question correctly, and Jesus revealed that it was not through his own ability that he answered, but only through the revelation of God the Father. This is a basis for the Catholic Doctrine of Papal Infallibility, that the Pope is protected from teaching moral and doctrinal error by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is not protected from behaving immorally, as history has shown there to have been “bad popes”, but only when he exercises his authority as the successor to St. Peter in teaching matters of Faith and Morals. He cannot pick the winners of the World Series, the Super Bowl or the World Cup, or mandate that involvement in a war somewhere is wrong. Only in his role as leader and teacher of the fullness of Gospel and Apostolic Truth is he infallible.

This makes sense. You would think that Jesus’ Church would have a leader who has a guarantee of certitude in teaching. Otherwise he’s just a human, subject to human frailties and weakness. He is just a human, and subject to those flaws, but excluded are the areas I already referred to.

This is because Jesus knew that we would be easily led astray but all manner of strange teachings, as shown by all the Protestant and Evangelical denominations that all claim authority, but contradict each other, and often teach things in contradiction to Sacred Scripture. They have no singular authority with the guarantee that was conferred upon Peter and his successors.

This certitude is what attracted me to the idea of the primacy of the Catholic Church in my sobriety. AA was wonderful in helping me to establish my sobriety, but the vagueness and shallowness of its spirituality leaves it open to many personal interpretations and too many risks for falling for anything that sounds good. While this may be fine in some areas, when my immortal soul is at risk, I need a little definition.

In its 2,000 years of history, the Catholic Church has never changed its teachings on Faith and Morals to be fundamentally different than what they were. Her teachings have become more developed as the Gospel and Apostolic writings have become better understood, but the core remains the same.

This, to me, strongly implies that the Church has the guarantee of protection by the Holy Spirit. No mere human institution could have survived the Catholic Church’s turbulent history. It is a creation of God, and therefore as with all things that are of God, endures despite itself.

We, as Catholics, therefore need not have worries or questions about the why’s and what’s of Reality. The answers to everything are all in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (the body of teachings of the Church from the Apostles and their successors, rooted in and derived from Scripture, and which illuminates it as well.) All other belief systems have some elements of truth, just not the fullness of God’s Truth. The human elements shift and change with passing human fancy.

Not a bad deal to safeguard your sobriety? This is the first of probably many (and occasional) postings on “Why the Church?” as a vehicle for sobriety I mentioned I would write, sometime before.

You want to weather adversity, and the storms that ordinary life tosses at you, no better refuge that the Rock: Peter, his successors and the fundamental certitude of their teachings, solidly rooted in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.

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!!)

Rending your hearts

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From the First Reading from the Mass for Ash Wednesday, 2007:

Joel 2:12-14

Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God.

The Israelites practiced circumcision on males to show fidelity and obedience to the Law of Moses, and by this, to God. Jesus did away with that as he completed and fulfilled the ancient Hebrew prophecies and established a new covenant with us. The passage I took from today’s Mass I liken to a “circumcision of the heart”, a way to show our fidelity and obedience today.

We strayed, and must return to the Lord with our whole heart. We repent from our misdeeds of the past. In this season of Lent we fast and abstain, and regarding our sins, weep and mourn.

God’s mercy triumphs over His judgment (James 2:13). Repent and be sorrowful for your sins. Offer up your sorrow to the Lord as a prayer.

Lent is a great time also to prepare for Confession, especially if you haven’t been in years.

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!!)