Category Archives: Musings

One curious phenomenon…

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I’ve taken to regular repeat readings and studies of AA’s “Big Book” and “12 and 12.” Although my Catholicism takes precedence in my recovery, Twelve Step literature – especially the main reference works, do provide major assistance in dealing with life issues and such.

I have noticed one curious phenomenon every time since I last read the books. New insights are gleaned and I’ve notice things I missed previously, or I understand them in a new way. It is like “as if” a passage has been “rewritten,” or otherwise is substantially different than it was before. This same phenomenon occurs when reading the Bible. Others have noticed this, too.

I’m told that this is because you have made substantial “spiritual progress” since previous readings. You are different than before, and it shows in your understanding of the text.

So, go back and reread, better yet study, the basic texts of your recovery program. And obviously, keep a Catholic Bible handy (and looking well-read)!

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!!)

Focus on the Message of Fatima

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This is a slight detour from the regular postings I do here. Last Saturday marked the 100th Anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s appearance to three shepherd children near Fatima, Portugal. I’ve written posts of varying degrees of competence here: Fatima postings.

The message of Fatima is basic: prayer, penance, reparation and conversion. In recent years the message has gotten obscured by various controversies that essentially are pointless. If you are unfamiliar with these, never mind. I never know the extent to which readers know about something I write; I assume many are reverting to the faith of their childhood or are others seeking Catholicism out of curiosity or a need to be more fulfilled spiritually. And perhaps many know more about the Faith than I. I will post links at the end of this so that you can learn more about the Apparitions. The link above on my Fatima postings is a good start, however.

The two major ones are whether or not the “Consecration of Russia” was done. The options seem to be 1) Yes. 2) Yes, but improperly. 3) Yes, but too late to be any good. 4) No, because the so called consecrations were done improperly. (I vote for number 3.)

For those of you who are new to the Fatima Apparitions, there’s been a decades-long debate as to whether or not Russia was properly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pope (whoever was Pope at this or that Consecration.) The links below will give you the needed information on the whole thing. It’s not important anymore, mainly because Sr. Lucia authenticated the last Consecration and the Vatican has concluded it was done. For those hoping that Pope Francis or a future Pope will “do it right,” don’t hold your breath. The fact that it probably should have been done before World War II is essentially agreed upon by all; whether the Consecrations actually done during the war and afterwards were effective or legitimate are debated heatedly, some to the point of forming schisms.

It’s beside the point, now. Carrying on the debate is getting the Message obscured, people debate certain issues rather than live the Message. Same for the other controversy:

The “Third Secret.” What was it, and what was actually revealed to be it in 2000 the “real” secret? Like the Russia Consecration, information on that will be found when you review the links below; I’m not getting into it here. And also like the debate over the Consecration, going on about the Third Secret just gets in the way of living the Message.

So, do that. Focus on living the Message of Fatima, for in doing so you are living a life of Catholic sobriety; the ‘Way’ of Matt Talbot. Penance, prayer, conversion, reparation for sins (offering up things and making sacrifices for your sins and other people’s), modesty in attire and a close study of Sacred Scripture and Catechism. All these are essential ingredients to live a sober Catholic existence.

At this moment in time, 2017, debating and arguing about these or other controversies surrounding Fatima are just stoking people’s egos (“My side is right, and I will prove it!”) and expressions of uncharitable self-will. They have nothing to do with the reason as to why Our Lady appeared to the children with the Message she gave to them for the World to hear. And they get in the way of living the Message and spreading it to other people.

Which may be Satan’s plan.

Links to sites on Fatima:

Official Shrine in Fatima, Portugal
Vatican’s Fatima Page
EWTN’s Fatima Site
EWTN’s page on the Apparitions
EWTN’s page on the Message
Living the Message by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate
EWTN’s Page on the Consecrations
EWTN’s Page on the Secrets
World Apostolate of Fatima (Int’l)
World Apostolate of Fatima (USA)
America Needs Fatima
Marians of the Immaculate Conception Fatima Page

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 alchemy II

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This is a sequel to the post Spiritual Alchemy.

There is another benefit to what I said then: I quoted from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Christians of Corinth. In “making up” for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, in accepting our sufferings we can add to the tremendous storehouse of graces available to others.

1 Corinthians 2:26 “And so, if one part suffers anything, all the parts suffer with it. Or, if one part finds glory, all the parts rejoice with it.”

Scripture quotes courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

“All the parts” of the Body get this when we offer up our sufferings or glories in prayer like this:

O Jesus, through the immaculate heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your sacred heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all the apostles of prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

That’s a traditional Catholic “Daily Offering” prayer. There are many like it, some longer, others shorter. You can make up your own; all that is needed is a sincere offering up to the Lord whatever the day brings, good or bad, for Him to use as He sees fit for the Mystical Body.

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!!)

More on “Seeking first the kingdom…”

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Just before Lent I posted on Seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness… and said

“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.” 😉

I try to study Scripture daily as a part of my morning (and sometimes evening) meditations. Just after I wrote the above, I entered into Matthew 13 and all of Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of God.

In reading them, I came away with the notion that “Seeking first…” is more than what I wrote above. (See? I did say then that “this is what I got, today… 😉 ) Grab your Bible and open to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13. Carefully, prayerfully read each line, and try to get past the surface and dig into the depths of each parable.

In studying those parables is dawned on me that while what I wrote was a part of the teachings, I think the ultimate goal in “Seeking first…” is that building up the Kingdom of God within you is an all-encompassing and all-consuming endeavor. Not “merely” with just “a greater intimacy and friendship with God and the workings of Divine Providence becoming manifest” in your life but the “seeking” itself is to push away all other distractions as being detrimental to the quest.

Sort of like the journey itself is a part of the destination; the seeking establishes His Kingdom within you bringing you closer to Heaven…

Today I was skimming over parts of the Old Testament (Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) and not even thinking about “seeking” and something else related to this jumped out at me…

More later…

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 alchemy

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The word “alchemy” is defined by my dictionary software as:

“-An imaginary art which aimed to transmute the baser metals
into gold, to find the panacea, or universal remedy for
diseases, etc. It led the way to modern chemistry.
[1913 Webster]

– Miraculous power of transmuting something common into
something precious.
[1913 Webster]”

In other words, something is transformed from a lesser into a more valuable thing.

As a part of my Lenten practices, I have been meditating on the nature of suffering and what it means. Mostly, on how to cope with it. For as Christians, we are called to accept sufferings, not reject them or escape from them. By accepting them, we unite ourselves to the Cross of Christ and as St. Paul says in 1 Cor 24: “For now I rejoice in my passion on your behalf, and I complete in my flesh the things that are lacking in the Passion of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the Church.”

Not that there is anything deficient in Christ’s passion and death, but as members of His Mystical Body (The Church) our sufferings are united to His.

And so I finally get around to the word “alchemy.” In the art of transforming something that is a lesser into something that is a greater, we can see how we can transform suffering into a good. We typically consider suffering to be “bad,” but that is a worldly opinion. But we can use it anyway, here.

The key step in the spiritual alchemy process is love. Specifically, our love for Jesus. If we love Jesus, then we will accept our sufferings for the love of Him.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone is willing to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'”

If you love someone, you sacrifice for them. Our sacrifices are our daily crosses, be they little or great. We offer them up to the Lord.

This was the “Way of Matt Talbot,” he transferred his love for the drink onto Jesus. He suffered the loss of his crutch, alcohol, but used that suffering to increase his love for Christ, since it was for Jesus that he suffered. Matt knew that Jesus is the “Way, the Truth and the Life,” and thus he accepted sobriety as his path to Jesus.

The offering up of one’s suffering to Jesus is the mean by which we transform the pain of the suffering into a good. As Christ suffered for love of us, we return that by suffering for love of Him.

It is also the “Little Way” of St. Therese of Lisieux. Doing little things for the love of Jesus and others, accepting sufferings as an expression of love for Him who suffered and died for us.

I have a pain, a suffering, doesn’t matter what it is specifically. I can either bemoan it, drink over it, endure it grumpily, or say “Jesus, this pain is afflicting me; I offer it up to you so that I can join you on the Cross. For love of you I accept this pain.” The pain is then transformed by your love into some incredible spiritual benefits, namely God flooding you with graces.

Graces are the free, undeserved and unmerited blessings or spiritual assistance God gives you. They are “undeserved” or are “unmerited” because God isn’t obligated to give them to you; for when you offer something “in love,” you do so without expecting anything in return.

You may not feel better right away, you may not sense anything. It doesn’t work that way. But you might be given endurance and fortitude; the abilities to “get through” the trials better.

He may not return your gift right away, He may allow the suffering to continue for a period. This isn’t cruelty, it is the consequence of our Fallen Nature and Fallen World. Suffering is a part of life and it continues… However, faithfully enduring suffering even when you do not think that you are “getting anything in return” still increases your dependence on God, for you know, in Faith, you love Him and need Him and will do so anyway, even if there is no immediate benefit. True love knows no boundaries, you will do anything for the One that you love. While things happen in God’s time and not ours, the fortitude and endurance, if not outright cessation of the suffering, or consolations of a spiritual nature will eventually manifest themselves. For God is a loving Father who knows what is best for us and does provide for our needs (rarely our wants.)

Matthew 7:11 “Therefore, if you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your sons, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?”

In not using suffering this way, it just remains an unbearable pain that causes us to seek relief in ways not always good for us. We seek relief in alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, abortion, euthanasia, whatever it is that can “eliminate the problem.”

But in seeing it as a way of proving our love for Christ, (if not in proving it to Him, but in bearing witness to others), suddenly it has value. It is a “lesser,” (something undesired) that is transformed by a process of spiritual alchemy into something of great value.

What greater value can there be by becoming more like unto Christ? The possibility of this helping us gain Heaven?

Perhaps…

Scripture quotes courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

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!!)

Sober Catholic’s TENTH Bloggaversary!

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It was ten years ago today that I published my first post on Sober Catholic, “Hi, I’m Paul, and I’m and Alcoholic!”

Nothing much else to say except I never really thought I’d still be doing this. My hopes and dreams regarding this were to hopefully reach out to those who were searching for some online alcoholism recovery work with a Catholic touch. Perhaps they were en route to leaving the Faith and were grasping for anything that might interest them in staying. Or maybe they left for any on a host of reasons, but read in Twelve Step literature advice about exploring the religion of their youth. Perhaps a community of “sober Catholics” or some such name might grow up around it. That hasn’t really happened, but that failure hasn’t convinced me to stop blogging here.

Ten years. Nearly 100 posts a year (which seems like a lot.)

I have no plans to stop: I’ll continue this until the Lord convinces me it’s time to logoff for good.

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!!)

got email?

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I had received an email notification earlier today about someone requesting membership in the old Matt Talbot Way of Sobriety Yahoo email Group. Unfortunately, that Group is largely defunct as there’s been no activity for a few years.

This brought to mind an idea I had about starting an informal email list. Nothing like a Yahoo or Google email Group, just a bunch of us sober (or aspiring to be sober) Catholics who will email each other when we need to in order to keep in touch, offer support, report on “where we’re at” and pray for one another.

It will be just this: If you’ve emailed me recently (like within the past year or so) or I otherwise know you from way back, you might be getting an email from me regarding this idea. This initial email will be a blind copy “bcc:” to everyone to preserve anonymity and inquire about interest; after that, the emails will be the standard “To:” any interested. Those who take part will then be introduced to each other through the subsequent emails. The extent to which you’d like to share personal info is up to you. It might be advisable to not use an email address that contains your real name.

It isn’t complicated; after receiving the bcc’s email, let me know if you’re interested. After that you’d just use the email option “reply to all” (or however your email program or app has it) and participate. Or just read everyone’s emails if you’re not that talkative. Remember to add all recipients to your Address Book or “approved recipients” or whatever it says so someone’s email won’t end up in a spam folder.

It is a cozy, very anonymous way for each of us to offer mutual support and fellowship.

To that end, I think I’ll go through my email accounts that readers use to write to me and look up people.

If you who are reading this might be interested, look up my email address in the “About Me” page and let me know!

Another option is to revive the Talbot Yahoo email Group. I’m not sure I want to do that as people might not feel it’s anonymous enough.

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!!)

Happy New Year!

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Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year. Just like that secular New year when everyone makes resolutions or otherwise sees it as a time to “turn over a new leaf” or “start over,” we can also use the new Church year to start anew.

Become a better Catholic! Take advantage of the Sacraments! Go to Daily Mass (if you can), start going to Confession more often (like maybe once a month! Or more!) Know of Eucharistic Adoration at a parish somewhere near you? Then go and have a Holy Hour! Read the Cathechism of the Catholic Church and grow in your knowledge of the Faith! Read your Catholic Bible! According to St. Jerome, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!”

There’s LOTS of things that you can do to grow spiritually! Tough times are possibly ahead for Catholics – deepening your knowledge of the Faith and strengthening your relationship with the Lord are ways to deal with whatever is coming down the road…

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!!)

From sudden and unprovided death, deliver us, O Lord

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I learned today that an online friend died when she was hit by a truck while crossing a street. She passed away later at the hospital. She received Last Rites before she died.

The suddenness of any death typically provokes a reaction of shock and dismay. Someone is there, and then suddenly gone. The quickness is a reminder that we, too, can suddenly be “called home.” We know not the day nor the hour of our passing. We must always be prepared as if today will be our last. But who really does this?

The suddenness of someone’s death also provokes another reaction: that of a desire to quickly think about the living and how we never really appreciate them while they are still with us. I suppose that this is essentially taking people for granted, but I also think that it is a symptom that we do not have death always in mind. It is always a distant, abstract thing. We know it will happen, we prefer not to think about it.

So, death is a distant thing from our minds and the permanence of people in our lives is assumed.

I think if we reverse this on both notions then culture and civilization will be far more peaceful and compassionate.

Incidentally, the lady who died was in recovery, she had purchased both of my Catholic devotional books and enjoyed them, bringing them frequently to Adoration to meditate with. So, her death was a little sensitive for me. I am truly saddened by her loss.

NOTE: This is a “retropost,” a post from an old blog I wrote on “The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven (& Purgatory) and Hell” that I shuttered a few years ago. Individual posts are being transferred to either In Exile or Sober Catholic, whichever seems appropriate. Some are backdated, others postdated, some edited, in case you’re confused as to why you never saw a particular post if you’re a diligent reader. The process should be completed by early 2022.

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!!)