Category Archives: Mary

100th Anniversary of the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata

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Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata, an evangelization apostolate of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Established on the evening of October 16, 1917 at the Conventual Franciscan’s College in Rome by St. Maximilian and six of his fellow students, its goal is to “win the whole world for Christ through the Immaculata, Mother of God and of the Church.”

The original aim of the MI was “To pursue the conversion to God of all people, be they sinners, or non-Catholics, or unbelievers, in particular the freemasons; and that all become saints, under the patronage and through the mediation of the Immaculate Virgin.

Kolbe was inspired to “do something” after a violent anti-Catholic demonstration by the Freemasons on Rome in early 1917, hence the original reference to the freemasons.

It has since spread throughout the world. One joins after a period of prayer and meditation on the charism of the MI. You then consecrate yourself to the Blessed Mother under the formula devised by St. Maximilian. His method is similar to the consecration of St. Louis DeMontfort. One typically selects a feast day associated with the Blessed Mother in order to join with however many others are consecrating themselves, and as a way of honoring Mary. The Act of Consecration is as follows:

“O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.”

The Daily Renewal of Total Consecration is:

“Immaculata, Queen and Mother of the Church, I renew
my consecration to you this day and for always, so that you
may use me for the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus in
the whole world. To this end I offer you all my prayers,
actions and sacrifices of this day.”

I have been a member of the MI since 2002; I recently celebrated my 15th anniversary of consecration to Mary this past October 7th, having selected the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary as my day to enroll.

Although the Militia of the Immaculata is not a recovery organization by any means, I do credit my consecration with keeping myself sober when AA was insufficient. I have always said here on “Sober Catholic” that my Catholic Faith has been primarily responsible for my sobriety, with AA and the Twelve Steps providing the focus for drinking-specific issues and root causes. But for spirituality and the growth and depth of my maturing relationship with my “Higher Power” (Jesus), the enduring basis for sobriety, I credit the Faith. And although I may not have realized it at the time, my consecration to the Blessed Mother quite possibly gave me the strength to deal with things that AA couldn’t. Putting yourself in the hands of Mary for her to use by whatever means she wishes to bring about a “Civilization of Love,” you’re pretty much guaranteed of a solid sobriety. Not that I haven’t on occasion “felt thirsty,” but the feeling withers quickly.

I do think that “Sober Catholic” is a direct result of inspiration from Mary. This is all subjective, of course. But that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Quotes and other information courtesy of Militia of the Immaculata in the USA. When you visit that site, you’ll discover plenty of information on the history and founding of the MI, including how to enroll and the preparation needed, as well as material on the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

If you’re not in the USA, go here: MI International and you can locate information for your country.

I have also blogged about St. Maximilian Kolbe numerous times: St. Maximilian Kolbe post archives on Sober Catholic.

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 Fatima Message is ongoing

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The Centennial of Our Lady’s Apparitions at Fatima concluded this past Friday, October 13th. On that day in 1917, Our Lady appeared with a promised miracle, the “Miracle of the Sun” witnessed by over 70,000 people.

Because of this and other things I had thought that “something interesting” was going to occur of the 13th, something of a supernatural event. Nothing did, which is fine as my faith is not based upon prophetic events and the like. I was a little disappointed, but I got over it and “moved on.”

And so should we. The Fatima Message is not over with the centennial. I doubt anyone seriously thought that, but with all the postings in the Catholic blogosphere concerning 2017 being the anniversaries of several events (Fatima and the founding of the Militia of the Immaculata, the Bolshevik Revolution, the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Revolt, the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Freemasonry), I have a feeling that there was an expectation of something supernatural and with that a change in the world. Anyway…

God’s timing is not ours. We cannot will prophetic events. We can, however live Gospel lives and incorporate the Fatima Message into them. Prayer, penance, reparation for our sins and especially for those of others, saying the daily Rosary… all these point to living out our vocations as Catholics and hopefully making some positive impact on the world.

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!!)

St. Michael’s Lent begins today!

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Today, August 15th, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, is also the beginning of the Franciscan devotion known as “St. Michael’s Lent.” It is a 40-day period of fasting begun by St. Francis of Assisi in the 1220’s similar to the actual Lenten season. It ends September 29th on the feast of St. Michael. It was during one of these fasts in 1224 that St. Francis received the stigmata.

I looked up this observance online, didn’t find much beyond what I stated above (there was an informative link that I referred a few years ago on Sober Catholic from a Franciscan site that is now a broken link.) But, I assume that you can just observe a fast of sorts (food or bad habit/character defect, etc.) and whatever other penitential practices you can think of.

I do believe that it is significant that this period begins and ends when it does. The Solemnity of the Assumption is observed because as Mary was preserved from Original Sin in her conception, she was bodily assumed into Heaven when her mortal period of time on Earth was over, thus preserving her from the corruption of death. St. Michael was the champion and leader of the blessed angels in their battle against Lucifer and his demons in the Fall of the Angels, and in his victory cast Satan out of Heaven. We can gain strength from theses days in our struggles against drinking and drugging, and especially against sins of impurity. If you are anxious and stressed about things (and what isn’t stressful nowadays?) you can perhaps “fast” from anxiety. Easier said than done. No wonder Satan uses impurity and addictions and fear in his ongoing war against those made in the image and likeness of God.

(Just in case anyone counts the number of days from Aug. 15 to Sept. 29, you’ll get “46.” .Don’t count the six Sundays that occur and you’ll get the forty. Sundays aren’t considered a part of any Lenten observance.)

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!!)

Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, pray for us!

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We have two new saints! Francisco and Jacinta Marto, brother and sister seers of Fatima, were canonized today in Fatima, Portugal by Pope Francis. You can read more about them by clicking on the links in the previous sentence.

I awakened extra early this morning to watch the Canonization Mass Live on EWTN. Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the day when the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, appeared to three little Portuguese shepherd children from an obscure village. See Fatima posts archive on Sober Catholic.

The Message of Fatima is the message of this blog (if I may be so bold!): “Prayer, penance, conversion, reparation.” We must pray, especially the Rosary… and daily! We must do penance, for ourselves and also for other people’s impenitence (reparation). And we must work on conversion. Our own is a lifelong process. We can never say “I’m done converting! I’m as Catholic as I’m ever gonna be!” And we must never stop praying and working for the conversion of other people.

Today’s new saints did all of that, even though their lives were short. They served as perfect models in their innocence of what we should try and achieve in our adulthood sophistication.

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!!)

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness

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In this excerpt from the Gospel reading from today’s Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time we read:

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

Source: EWTN: Catholic Mass, Daily Mass, Catholic Mass Readings, Catholic Mass Online

This is one of those “God incidences,” in that I had been dwelling on this passage from Matthew for several days last week, without realizing that it would be in the upcoming Sunday Gospel! Seriously, coming unbidden from the depths of my inner being, from which all sorts of good and… other things… occasionally spring up, bubbled up this passage. It is one of my favorites, despite my wrestling with what it actually means from time to time.

In “seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness,” I think we realize a tremendous need to TRUST in the Lord, trust in His Mercy and Providence. This isn’t easy. Quite often there is a chasm between where we are and were we should be in our relationship with Him, especially in the area of material needs and wants.

Narrowing the gap of this chasm, to where we are at that point when we can jump across without a perceived safety net is the goal of a spiritual life. Developing such an intimate, trusting relationship with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) that we know He will take care of us in our needs. Sometimes giving us just enough, but always giving us our daily bread.

How to do this? That’s a toughie. It takes time to develop this relationship and this trust. But I think there is a sort of common sense aspect, especially if we read the rest of the Gospel passage; which you can find at the end of this old but very relevant Sober Catholic post: Just Enough.

God knows what we need. Asking for things for ourselves and others is nice, especially as doing so reminds us of Who’s in charge. But still, He knows what we need before even we do. Therefore, I think that our primary task is to “Seek first the Kingdom…” and all else will be provided for.

And what does “Seek first the Kingdom…” actually mean? You men, after all these years of pondering I am finally going to come up with a definitive answer?

Maybe, maybe not. “Seeking” is a process and this may be one of those things you dwell on and over the course of time it grows in meaning for you.

But this is what I’ve got, today. In “seeking first” we yearn for Heaven, our True Home and we order our lives so that we can get there. Prayer, partaking of the Sacraments, especially Mass and Confession, spiritual development in ridding oneself of character defects (making oneself more pleasing to the Lord), learning more about the Catholic Faith and applying what you learn to your life. We build up the kingdom of God within us, become more Christ-like and Mary-like. We live by the moral and social teachings of the Church. We live by the Beatitudes and Matthew 25:31-46 (sheep and goats “Final Judgment parable.”)

We seek His righteousness and we seek to establish that on Earth (that pesky social and moral…).

In return, the positive effects of this might lead to a greater intimacy and friendship with God and the workings of Divine Providence becoming manifest in your life. But probably “Just Enough.” 😉

You don’t worry about all those other things in the Gospel reading (food, clothing…) They will be provided for, in some way. You might have to learn how to look for them, but He will provide.

Personally, I’m depending on “Seeking first…” to help unravel some very knotty problems in life that I do not see a way out of with massive Divine Intervention. But, He knows what they are, I will will trust in Him to solve them.

His Will, not mine, be done.

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 prepping for Fatima and 2017 UPDATED (AGAIN!)

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NOTE: Post updated AGAIN with a corrected link and additional items.

Calling Catholic men (and ladies, too!)

Fr. Richard Heilman of the Roman Catholic Man site has a challenge for you!

Quote: “Inspired by the excellent program, “Exodus 90,” and all of the research that reveals it takes 90 days to replace bad habits (even addictions) with good habits, I am calling upon all of us to enter into a 90 day period of humility and transformation I call “Nineveh 90,” leading up to the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, 2017.

Nineveh 90 is all about freedom. The goal is to achieve the freedom necessary to fully engage the love of God and the love of neighbor. Nineveh 90 is based on a challenging 90-day period of purification, a dying to self, which is supported by fellow soldiers in Christ for greater interior freedom and, eventually, a more purified and selfless love.”

Found here: Nineveh90 and the 100th Anniversary of Fatima

UPDATE: The plan now has its own site, see Nineveh90

The challenge begins February 13, 2017. I am considering doing this, with some personal modifications. I already do a number of the things listed. I may not bother with Items 9 and 10 (33 Days prep for Consecration and the actual Consecration) as I’ve already done that with my wife in 2008; also, I’m a member of the Militia of the Immaculata of St. Maximilian Kolbe, through which I consecrated myself to Mary on 7 Oct 2002. As an MI I renew my consecration daily, so I think that’s covered. I can perhaps substitute something else, such as studying St. Max’s writings and MI literature or Fatima books (both of which I have oodles of). I probably won’t do Item 5 (joining the Angelic Warfare Confraternity) as I may not be able to fulfill some of the requirements (logistics).

The basis for this lies in Fr. Heilman’s first paragraph: “We have now entered the 100th year since Our Lady appeared in Fatima, Portugal. The anniversary is May 13, 2017. Many people are wondering if God may do (or allow) something soon to “shake us up” (I wrote about it HERE – this is the most “shared” article I have ever written).”

Please read the article linked to with the word “HERE” in the previous paragraph. That explains more about the basis for this challenge and the need to become “Spiritual Preppers” soon. I’ve also hinted at year’s end that 2017 might be “interesting.” The roots of Western Civilization are becoming poisoned, the branches are cracking and things might becoming rougher for Christians, especially Catholics. This “Nineveh90” just might assist with your prepping…

Speaking of “prepping,” there’s this: PREPARING FOR NINEVEH 90.

Additional note, Fr. Heilman named St. Maximilian Kolbe as the patron saint of the Nineveh90! See: ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE – PATRON OF LAST DAYS BEFORE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FATIMA

There are additional posts at both the Nineveh90 and Roman Catholic Man sites
on the effort. Read them! Keep informed!

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 Three Hail Marys (UPDATED)

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Today is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God on the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar.

The dogma of her divine motherhood was proclaimed at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. That she is the “Mother of God” may seem obvious as she gave birth to Jesus, Who is God, and therefore making her His Mother; and so we get, “Mother of God.” However, as we humans tend to complicate things in strange ways a Council was called to define her in this manner, as it also settled numerous raging controversies and heresies concerning the nature of Jesus. I won’t go into them here as it’s beyond the scope of this blog to wade into such matters.

What does this have to do with Sober Catholic? Easy! Mary is also our Mother, as we are God’s adopted sons and daughters through Jesus, that makes Mary our Mom, too!

Unlike our Earthly mothers (biological or adoptive), Mary is perfect in her maternal attitude towards us. She loves us in spite of ourselves. While obviously not condoning our sinning, she accepts our attempts to rise up again after our falls and offers us her hand to help us up. That is, if we seek her assistance. And this we can do in the following manner:

There is an ancient pious practice in the Church of saying three Hail Marys every morning and evening to preserve us from mortal sin. We have to faithfully cooperate with the graces God gives us to make this work; you cannot indulge in this practice and then go off and commit sins that cry out to Heaven for vengeance. A firm purpose of amendment and a willingness to detach from sin helps.

Popularly known as “Heaven Opened by the Practice of the Three Hail Marys,” you can find complete information here: Three Hail Marys

In short, you say three Hail Marys every morning and evening followed by a prayer that she preserve you this day (or night) from mortal sin. The three Hail Marys are in honor of her privileges of being the Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son and Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. The instructions in the link in the previous paragraph indicates an Act of Consecration need be said also (it’s on the site linked to); I have other literature not requiring that daily. It’s up to you. It might be nice to say the Act the first day and then perhaps renew it periodically (Saturdays are good as they’re dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.) And some don’t mention the Act.

Try the practice of praying the Three Hail Marys morning and night!

EDIT: Here’s another link to do this (and it ties in nicely with Fatima): America Needs Fatima ‘Three Hail Marys Pledge’

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 fortnight of years in sobriety

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Today marks my 14th anniversary of my last drunk. I sort of remember it, although for years I couldn’t recall the exact time (as in hour/minute) I took my last drink. I still can’t. I won’t bother with the details of my last drunk as I’ve written about them before.

Question: “How’d I do it?” Answer: “One day at a time!!” Well, there’s more to it than that, but in essence the twelve step practice of taking each day as it comes does help.

Sometimes I have to take each hour as it comes.

Speaking of the Twelve Steps, yes, they are useful. A wonderful lifeline when other things are absent or insufficient. (Absent or insufficient because they have not been developed enough as a response to external factors that may create a desire to drink.)

My Catholic Faith was and is more useful. I do know that if I had to rely solely upon the spirituality of the Twelve Steps and meeting attendance, I’d be one of those poster children for relapses; “those people” you see who enter the program, “get it” for a while, and then go back out.

Once in a while there are stressors. Anxiety, isolation, economic concerns and so forth well up and I think, “Just one drink to take the edge off.” But no, I don’t. I get through it (“One hour at a time, one minute at a time…”) and move on.

At times like those I also grab my AA literature (the Big Book or 12 & 12) and get help that way. Sometimes I feel the need for a meeting, but don’t bother (I seriously am NOT a meeting person. Never was, never will be. Online recovery works for me. I visit In the Rooms a lot.)

Sometimes when I feel that way, that my Faith and other personal means to maintain sobriety aren’t working, and I feel the need to fall back on traditional fixes like “going to a meeting” or “calling a sponsor” then I assess the state of my Faith. Sincerely, the Faith is all one should need.

Jesus came to heal the broken and wounded. The sick. We are all that and so His Church and the sacraments and devotions should work. They have, for me and for others that I’ve run across over the years. But at times they seem to be “not enough.”

But that isn’t an indictment of the Faith, or possibly not even my practice of it. There’s a list of saints very long who have gone through frequent periods of spiritual dryness, times when the Faith “wasn’t there.” They persevered and discerned that it was God’s way of drawing them closer. It is a path of spiritual growth and development (see St. Teresa of Jesus, a/k/a St. Teresa of Avila.) We feel distant and therefore we persevere and strive on, or we abandon the path.

I stay on the path. (This must be why images and symbols of “the path,” “the road,” “the way,” “the journey” resonate with me.)

I have come to feel that in those times when I feel the urge to drink is strong, and I need to respond in a traditional twelve step way, that I need to work on my Faith. I need to make a Spiritual Communion, or meditate on the Holy Spirit and His indwelling in me, or talk to the Blessed Mother. If this sounds selfish to you who are avid and devoted Twelve-Steppers, so be it. For the most part, my experience with AA has been at variance with the common conception of a “fellowship.” It’s just one more organization where I am a misfit, despite trying.

To me, AA and meeting attendance are training wheels or a crib. Eventually you outgrow them. You learn to ride on your own without the help of training wheels, and you move out of the crib. Useful to understand alcoholism and get the basics of Twelve Step spirituality and how to change your way of thinking and responding to situations, but after a fashion, one should learn what the Faith has to offer.

We were created by God. We exist to love Him and serve Him in this life and to be united and happy with Him forever in the next life (Heaven.) To get through this life He has established a Church to guide us.

We are obligated and we owe Him the duty to fully explore that Church and the Faith that springs up around Her. This does not mean leaving AA, if that suits your sobriety and you really enjoy it, then fine. It can be considered a work of mercy. Perhaps even a source for friendships.

But working within a Twelve Step program shouldn’t come at the expense of your Catholic Faith; that is like continuing to eat pureed baby food when the bread of life is readily available.

That’s all I have to say! I’ve just been very reflective on my fourteen years, where I’ve been, am now and where I’m going, along with the means for the way.

Just trudgin’ my road of happy destiny.

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 am the Lady of the Rosary, I am your Mother

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70,000 people witnessed the last public Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Cova da Iria, near Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917.

Why am I blogging about this now? To fulfill a commitment I made when I started blogging about Fatima last year, that up through 2017 I would blog on the Fatima Apparitions on or about their anniversary because I think the Fatima message is very important for Catholics, including those in whatever stages of addiction recovery they are in. (NOTE: even though the publication date should read “October 13, 2015,” the post was actually written in late November 2015.). Due to a variety of circumstances, including sloth and this and that and the other thing, I’m late with this piece.)

Why did this Apparition take place? The “Miracle of the Sun” happened, as promised, to prove the Apparition’s authenticity. The sun started dancing in the sky, defying all known laws of physics, and was seen many miles away (so it wasn’t a localized event.)

Perhaps it is fortuitous that I am late with this post. Why? “Aren’t you just grasping at straws, Paulcoholic, so it would seem as if you can fall down and still come up smelling like roses?” It seems I did the same thing last year: Last year’s late post on the Solar Miracle. Well, maybe. BUT, think about some of the events that have happened in the world these past few weeks, after this post should originally have come out. The terror attacks in Paris, Lebanon and Nigeria. World War III probably getting warmed up in the Middle East. An increasingly insane US Presidential election campaign season. These are all frightening and worrisome things.

What happens when you are scared, at least when you were a child? You’d go running to your Mom!

Mary is our Mother. She cares for us and since we are the adopted children of God, we are Christ’s brothers and sisters, and thus we are her children, too.

Pope St. John Paul II greeted the world upon his appearance to the world as Pope with the words, “Be not afraid.” It is said that those words in various forms appear 365 times in the Bible, thus letting us know that we are not to fear whatever is going on.

The Miracle of the Sun was frightening. Imagine if you were there, you see the sun dance and whirl about, seemingly plummeting to the Earth. But no one was hurt. No humans were harmed in the occurrence of this apparition. The fact that it happened was a reassurance to all of the reality of the apparition and of Mary. (Satan would NOT ahave had the power to do this.)

And so some words to all: “Be not afraid.” It is hard. But having Faith is. No matter what is going to be happening in the upcoming years, have Faith. Hold fast to the Church, grab your rosaries and USE THEM! pray the Rosary daily. Get the Diary of St. Faustina (see: St. Faustina and Divine Mercy. Make use of the upcoming “Year of Mercy”.

Easy? No, especially if we rely on our own resources. This is why we also need God’s graces, which are there for the asking. Pray. Go to Mass. Go to Confession. Read Scripture (a good CATHOLIC Bible.) Pray some more.

Be not afraid…

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!!)

Fatima Apparition of 13 September 1917

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By the time of the fifth Apparition in September, the popularity (or notoriety) of the event was growing. On the 13th of September, 30,000 people had gathered in the Cova de Iria to witness whatever was to happen. The secular, anti-clerical atheistic press ramped up their ridicule.

After the usual question posed to Mary about what she wants, the seers were exhorted to continue to pray the Rosary. Otherwise, it seemed that all that happened was the seers asked questions about certain individuals and whether intercessions for them will be answered. (Some will, some won’t. An important consideration to be aware of when you pray, never assume your prayer will be answered in the manner you wish.)

After a final reminder to return for the final apparition on October 13th, Mary disappeared back to Heaven.

You can keep up with Sober Catholic’s blogging on Fatima, as well as why I’m posting about it, by visiting this link: All the Fatima Posts.

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!!)