Category Archives: Holy Days and Sundays

Judging your Path along the Road of Happy Destiny

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“Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny” is a phrase from AA’s “Big Book” and is referenced a lot in meetings. It basically means your program of recovery.

Today’s Second Reading from the Mass for Pentecost Sunday offers a quick guide as to how you’re doing. Read the following excerpt and judge yourself as to how well you are resisting the allure and temptation of your addiction

Gal 5:16-23 : “So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence, the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions, envy, murder, inebriation, carousing, and similar things. About these things, I continue to preach to you, as I have preached to you: that those who act in this way shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance,meekness, faith, modesty, abstinence, chastity. There is no law against such things.”

(Via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.)

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!!)

Live Temperately, Justly, and Devoutly

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The Second Reading at Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Mass at Midnight has bits of advice for life that has relevance for all, but especially for those of us who love a sober life rooted in Catholic spirituality (I italicized the parts I mean):

Letter to Titus: 2:11-14: “Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.
“

(Via USCCB.)

We should all “reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age.” This is essential in order to live a sober and chaste life.

Pray daily, attend Mass Daily (if possible) and go to Confession frequently (at least once or twice a month. To say that you don’t need to go that often means you are deluding yourself.

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!!)

Who do you Serve?

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In this excerpt from the Gospel for the Mass of the First Sunday of Lent Jesus makes two very important points:

Matthew 4:7-10: “…Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’‘Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’At this, Jesus said to him, ‘Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”“

(Via USCCB.)

OK, so who do YOU serve? Do you serve the Lord and seek to accomplish His will here on Earth and in your life? Or do you subject Him to a test? Is there a battle of wills, yours versus His? Who do you think will win?

Humility is a major part of recovery, it is written into the Twelve Steps and is an essential part of any good Christian’s being.

What or Who is first in your life?

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!!)

Cherish no grudge

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The First Reading from the Mass for today is an exhortation against holding resentments.

Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. ‘You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.’”

(Via USCCB.)

As alcoholics and addicts we are told quite frequently about the dangers of holding onto resentments. They are dangerous to our continued sobriety and do not serve any useful purpose. They only hold us back in our spiritual development.

The Lord tells us something more, however. Holding a grudge prevents you from being holy. “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.”

We are made in the image and likeness of God, and it is our duty to “keep that image polished,” so to speak.

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 Our Lady of Lourdes

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Today, February 11th, is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

(Via EWTN.)

It is a day deeply connected with healing, as the waters in the grotto at Lourdes, France, has been the site of many healings of an unexplained, and therefore probably miraculous, nature. The EWTN link above has more information.

I have in the past had run a Novena but didn’t do that this year. If you click on this: Our Lady of Lourdes Search Results in Sober Catholic you will find a list of the blogposts with the nine days of prayer. Although novenas are typically started before the Feast day, there is no reason why you cannot start it on the day of the Feast.

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 Beatitudes

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This is a re-post from an earlier date. The Gospel Reading for Mass today (Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time) is the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus teaches His disciples and the crowds gathered about the “Beatitudes”.

Be-attitudes

I may have more posts on these today (that’s my plan 😉 )

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!!)

Making room in the Inn

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Advent, a time of waiting for the coming of Christ the Lord. How well do we receive Him into our lives? Is He welcome in all areas of it or do we compartmentalize (pigeon-hole) Him in convenient places?

There are many distractions, and we do not make sufficient room for Him in the inn that is our lives. He is pushed outdoors.

Some of these distractions are addictive. These addictions fill the “hole in the soul” that should be filled by Jesus and the Sacraments. Grace alone should suffice but we improperly seek it. We are misdirected in our gropings in the dark for Truth and Life. We don’t find them in the right places. We stray from the path marked out for us.

Jesus is ever-present in the Blessed Sacrament and ever-waiting for us to come to Him. We prepare our way to Him through prayer, meditation and examining our consciences. We offer up a contrite heart as a sacrifice to Him, so that we will be pleasing in His sight.

And then Jesus, upon being asked, enters our lives and fills our very being with the stuff we seek: healing, direction, life. Things we sought elsewhere and failed miserably because we were deceived.

Christmas is coming, with Jesus in the Manger. Are we prepared to welcome and receive Him?

(Blogger’s Note: This post is a part of the 2010 Catholic New Media Advent Calendar on Catholic Roundup For those new to Sober Catholic my usual source for inspiration is either the Sunday and Daily Mass Readings, or some commentary on the liturgical season. I then try to make it applicable to those recovering from alcoholism and other addictions. But, if you are in a conversion or a development of the interior life mindset, (or just love the Sacrament of Confession), you might find my ramblings useful. 🙂

My other blog, with it’s own post for the Calendar, is: The Four Last Things a blog on Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Its first post explains it: The Four Last Things.

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!!)

All About The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

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Tomorrow, December 8th, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The following is a link to an article on the feast day:

Immaculate Conception Feast: All About The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

(Via ChurchYear.net.)

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 is the King

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Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King, in which we acknowledge Jesus as our King, the centerpiece of Creation and of our lives. The following excerpt from the Gospel for the Mass for today announces His Kingship over the Jews, albeit in perhaps a mocking way:

Luke 23:38: “Above him there was an inscription that read, ‘This is the King of the Jews.'”

(Via USCCB.)

Is Jesus your King? Is He your “Higher Power” inasmuch as He is your Divine Physician and the Healer of all that afflicts you? Or have you held on to whatever false or temporary “Higher Power” under the guise of “Well, it got me sober?” Whatever methods you used that helped you achieve sobriety, are they enduring? Only Jesus is “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” and only in Him will we find true and lasting peace and healing.

Do you truly follow Him and obey Him, along with the teachings of His Church? Only in His Church will you find the healing power of His grace through the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession. Grace is available to all who seek it, but as members of His Church we have the special avenues of His grace, directly flowing to us through Her sacraments.

Advent is one week away, it is the season in which we prepare for the coming of the Lord, our King. Although it is in memory of His first arrival, it calls to mind the fact of His future coming, as well as our need to welcome Him into our lives.

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 Christ the Higher Power

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The following is the Second Reading from the Mass for the Solemnity of Christ the King:

Col 1:12-20: “Brothers and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.“

(Via USCCB.)

This is a reminder to members of 12 Step movements as to what truly should constitute a “Higher Power.” Other derivatives for a Higher Power, such as anything other that Our Savior Jesus Christ may be fine as a temporary measure, to ease oneself back into the practices of Christianity. But the only real and true Higher Power is Jesus.

“For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

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!!)