Category Archives: Prayer

Using the Holy Face Chaplet as a “sobriety’ or “recovery” chaplet

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In The Holy Face of Jesus Chaplet for Alcoholics and Addicts, I mentioned:

Now, I am working of a new book of prayers for Sober Catholics, and I am including material on the Holy Face Devotion. While attending to that chapter, I got the idea that we can say the chaplet ourselves with the intention of making reparation for the abuses of our senses during the time of our addictions. Each one was abused by us during our addictions; for with each we committed sins against ourselves and others. 

Take some time to reflect on they ways by which you sinfully used touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste during your active addiction. 

Instead of waiting for that book to come out (no release date planned yet, because it’s nowhere near being finished) I thought I’d write a few things that expand upon the above quote. This post could serve as a rough draft for that portion of the Holy Face Devotion chapter.

OK, like  I said in that above quoted post:

The chaplet of the Holy Face is comprised of 33 beads divided into five groups of six beads, headed by another bead, with three extra ones at the end. At the head of the Chaplet are an image of the Holy Face of Jesus and a Cross. The chaplet of the Holy Face has the purpose of honoring of the five senses of Our Lord Jesus Christ, all of which were abused during His Passion. The 33 beads represent the 33 years He spent on Earth.

When you say the chaplet, (available from EWTN here and here or at other Catholic shops selling rosaries and chaplets) just try and contemplate the sins you’ve committed with those senses. 

This aligns quite nicely with the reparative work of the chaplet. Each set of beads corresponds with that sense of Our Lord that was abused by the Romans during Passion: from the night of Holy Thursday when He was arrested and lead away to be tortured, all the way through to His Crucifixion. The Holy Face Devotion, like the Sacred Heart Devotion, is a work or reparation. We pray it to make reparation for the sins of others. When we use this to recall our sins committed by our senses during our addiction, we make reparation for them. 

The first sense prayed about is touch. Possible sins of touch are any of self-inflicted impurity (masturbation.) Also, the hands in picking up the drink, or in using drugs. 

The second sense is that of hearing. Possible sins could be in hearing the call of the drink, or the drug. Listening to sinful music. Listenng to gossip. There could be more. Dwell on that.

Next sense is sight. Pornography is an obvious one. Also, watching sinful movies and TV. Another could be letting your eyes distract you from whatever purpose you have in front of you.

Next is smell. Ever snorteed drugs or any bother substance? (Offhand, those are all I can think of regarding this sense.)

Next is taste. Drinking and drugging are the obvious ones. Also, gluttony. 

So, every time you recite the “Holy Face Chaplet (of Sobriety/of Recovery)” meditate on the senses and how you abused them. If you are a Twelve-Stepper, this could be useful in your Step Four work. This could also be an Examination of Conscience, either your daily one, or the one done just before Confession.

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!!)

“How To Break EVERY Addiction: The Catholic Way” (EDITED)

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I chanced upon a YouTube video (YT suggested it) and was immediately intrigued by the title. “How To Break EVERY Addiction: The Catholic Way.” I do not recall seeing this YouTuber before.

In summary, Riecker suggests that one recite the Seven Sorrows Rosary of Our Lady of Sorrows. Why? Because Our Lady made several promises to those who do so faithfully. One key promise is: “By the recitation of the Seven Sorrows Rosary, you shall be freed from obsessions and addiction.”

Riecker provided a link to where he found these promises: 16 Powerful Graces Our Lady Promises To Those Who Honor Her 7 Sorrows.

I must, however, remind you that this is not a thing you can assume will happen just because you do it. As with every promise, such as the promises of the Sacred Heart for those who do the Nine First Fridays, or the promises given to those who say the rosary daily; the mere act is not in itself a guarantee it will work. You must have the faith in the power of the prayer and apply the devotion to your life (like make it into a spiritual relationship with the object of the devotion) so that it transforms it. I think many people just do the requirements of the devotion and feel “that’s it.” You must do it in such a way that your faith in it plus your desire to grow closer to the object (in this case, Our Lady of Sorrows) helps accomplish the deired result; in this case, freedom from addictions. I may have to watch the video again, but I do not recall Riecker saying anything like that. 

The video is below. I highly recommend the video, even though he deleted my comment on it (probably because I linked to Sober Catholic and The Sober Catholic Way).

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 the Archangel’s connections to mental health and addictions

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Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT the following question: “In traditional Catholic spirituality, what connections does St. Michael the Archangel have to illness, mental health and addictions?”

The answer is actually rather good, and continues below interspersed with my commentary or observations. ChatGPT’s answer

is contained within the block quotes and any boldface text is mine…

…while my words are in regular body paragraphs.

ChatGPT began with:

In traditional Catholic spirituality, St. Michael the Archangel is primarily known as the protector against evil, the leader of God’s armies in the battle against Satan, and the guardian of souls at the moment of death. His role as a defender from spiritual harm has made him a popular intercessor for those battling not just physical enemies but also internal struggles, including illness, mental health issues, and addictions.

Again, the boldface parts were mine and reflect precisely why I felt drawn to him in the early days of my reversion and sobriety. My early sobriety was not easy, replete with “internal struggles” of recovery and family relationships and mortality. 

I recall after my reversion to the Church I explored as many aspects of Catholic spirituality and devotions I could find online; and I discovered chaplets. I found the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel. I was hooked and since then I developed the practice of reciting the chaplet during periods of intense spiritual duress. 

1. Protector Against Evil

St. Michael is often invoked by those facing challenges that they attribute to spiritual warfare, which includes mental and emotional struggles. Addictions, particularly, are often seen through a spiritual lens in Catholic theology as forms of enslavement to vice. St. Michael is invoked to defend against the temptations and attacks of the devil, which can manifest in various forms, including addiction and mental health difficulties.

Given that Satan will exploit any means to trap souls, it is not surprising that addiction would be a vector through which he’d gain access. I discerned that St. Michael would be a powerful ally given that he is Satan’s chief adversary.

2. Liberation from Oppression

The connection to addiction and mental health lies in the belief that St. Michael can provide strength and deliverance from the oppression of harmful habits or destructive spiritual influences. In Catholic thought, addiction is often seen as a form of spiritual bondage, and St. Michael’s role as a liberator makes him an important figure in prayers for freedom from these afflictions.

Continuing along the theme of St. Micahel being Satan’s chief adversary, it is natural to associate St. Michael with being a liberator from oppression. Addictions are bondage; given that St. Michael is the commander of God’s angelic armies, you can assume that a warrior and his troops must be summoned to liberate the conquered! Dwell on this if you may have some reservations about becoming a devotee of St. Michael. Who says that he works alone? Just like he lead the angels of light against those of darkness in that mysterious time when God subjected the angels to a test and a third rebelled under Satan’s leadership: St. Michael can lead a cohort of angels to your aid when you are in really dire straits.

3. Prayer for Strength

People battling addiction or illness often seek St. Michael’s intercession for courage, fortitude, and strength. The famous Prayer to St. Michael asks for his protection against “the wickedness and snares of the devil.” This is relevant for those struggling with conditions like addiction, where the individual may feel trapped or powerless.

The prayer referenced here goes: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. 

You can read about it here: The popular St. Michael Prayer (short and long version)

4. Mental Health

While St. Dymphna is the primary patron saint of those with mental health issues, St. Michael is still invoked as a powerful protector and guide for people battling psychological or emotional turmoil. The overarching theme of St. Michael’s role as a defender against all forms of evil extends to emotional and psychological battles that people may face, including those related to mental health.

In the broader tradition of Catholic addiction recovery, such as the programs promoted by organizations like sobercatholic.com, St. Michael may be seen as a patron for those seeking spiritual aid and strength to overcome the grip of addiction.

This integration of spiritual protection with the pursuit of mental and emotional healing aligns with the Church’s holistic understanding of human suffering and the need for both divine grace and human cooperation in the healing process.

And there is a nice summary of the battle. Evil extends to emotional and psychological battles. While mental illness usually has a medical (clinical) origin, it is foolish to assume that Satan has nothing to do with psychological illnesses. Therefore it is reasonable, as well and encouraged, for you to develop a relationship with St. Michael. That being said, if you think you suffer from mental illness, it is stongly advisable to seek out a qualified mental health professional.

I’m glad ChatGPT referenced me. Of course, I had something to do with that. 😉

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 popular St. Michael Prayer (short and long version)

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The popular prayer to St. Michael the Archangel originated with Pope Leo XIII in the 1880s after he had witnessed a vision of Satan in converaation with God in which the Devil said that he woud need “about 100 years” to destroy the Catholic Church. (It is open to debate as to when the 100 years began; I personally think it began in 1917, with the time up to then spent by Satan preparing for his work. Also, knowledge of this and the spiritual countermeasures wrought by prayer may have interfered with Satan’s timeline.)

St. Michael slaying Satan!

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michael4.jpg

The following are the prayers written by Pope Leo XIII in response to the vision. The short version used to be said after every Low Mass, but was discontinued after Vatican II (although it is making a comeback as a post-Mass devotion.) My wife and I recite the short version often throughout the day. I strongly advise every Sober Catholic to memorize and recite it at least once, daily, if you haven’t started doing so by now. Perhaps you can say the long version during the times you feel called to do so.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (short version)

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (long version)

“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.

“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.

“Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.

R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David.

V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.

R. As we have hoped in Thee.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.”

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Holy Face of Jesus Chaplet for Alcoholics and Addicts

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In this post: “Books on the Holy Face Devotion. And a chaplet,” I introduced to you the Holy Face Chaplet. 

The chaplet of the Holy Face is comprised of 33 beads divided into five groups of six beads, headed by another bead, with three extra ones at the end. At the head of the Chaplet are an image of the Holy Face of Jesus and a Cross. The chaplet of the Holy Face has the purpose of honoring of the five senses of Our Lord Jesus Christ, all of which were abused during His Passion. The 33 beads represent the 33 years He spent on Earth.

I’ve become a little addicted to reciting it, it is quite comforting. On the cross you recite the prayer: “God, come to my assistance; Lord, Make haste to help me,” and then the “Glory be…” Then on the each first large beads announce the sense of our Lord (for the first section, “Touch”) and say “My Jesus, Mercy,” followed by the “Glory Be.” Then on each of the six smaller beads say, “Arise, O God, let thy enemies be scattered and let those who hate thee flee before Thy Face.” Then repeat this for each of the next four sections, each one representing the senses of hearing, sight, smell and finally taste. After “Taste,” say “My Jesus, Mercy,” followed by the “Glory Be” on the next large bead. After follows three small beads which you would probably be curious about what to do about them, if you had the chaplet already. You recite on each bead, “Arise, O God, let thy enemies be scattered and let those who hate thee flee before Thy Face.” Then on the image of His Face dangling from near the cross you say, “O God, Our Protector, please look upon us and cast your gaze upon the Face of Thy Christ.” And that’s it! It doesn’t take long to say.

I say it every morning, right after my Chaplet of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

Now, I am working of a new book of prayers for Sober Catholics, and I am including material on the Holy Face Devotion. While attending to that chapter, I got the idea that we can say the chaplet ourselves with the intention of making reparation for the abuses of our senses during the time of our addictions. Each one was abused by us during our addictions; for with each we committed sins against ourselves and others. 

Take some time to reflect on they ways by which you sinfully used touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste during your active addiction. You can find the Hoy Face Chaplet available at most vendors who sell Catholic goods and books. I bought mine through EWTN Religious Catalog.

NOTE: there is a sequel to this post at “Using the Holy Face Chaplet as a “sobriety’ or “recovery” chaplet.”

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 Prayer to the Holy Face from EWTN

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I ran across this prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus from EWTN on my Facebook feed a few minutes ago. I had been planning on writing a post on the Holy Face Chaplet as it can be used by alcoholics, so I took this as a reminder to get around to it (which will be the next post in a little while after this.)

The Holy Face | EWTN

I included a screenshot in case the link vanishes (as does happen quite a lot with EWTN links after several years pass.)

If you read the prayer, it invokes the Sorrowful Mother (“piercing sorrow of Our Lady as she beheld You in Your cruel Passion”) and that line served as yet ANOTHER reminder to ME to remind YOU that today kicks off the month of September, which is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Her Feast Day is September 15, which is a Sunday this year which means there will be no Mass honoring Our Lady under that title this year. 

Nevertheless, I will post a few things about the Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows over the next two weeks. 

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!!)

Devotion to St. Dismas

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A little while ago I wrote about St. Dismas, the “Good Thief.”  This is another post on him, as part of my promise to him to help spread his devotion. 

So I took a look around the Internet and found this bit of history of him, along with a “Good Thief Prayer.”

There is even more information on St. Dismas over at Pray More Novenas: Novena to St. Dismas. 

While looking up stuff, I found that I had written about him way back in the early days of this blog. Take a look at “Remember Me…”

As I find more stuff on the Good Thief, I’ll post more; if he interests you, bookmark the St. Dismas Post Archives.

Why should I write about him? Like I said in the post linked to in the first sentence:

I think St. Dismas would be a great saint for us alcoholics and addicts to know. He left behind no writings and nothing for certain is known about him apart from the Gospel accounts. But, he was a ‘last minute,’ ‘deathbed’ conversion. And he led a life of sin, some say he was a robber, others a revolutionary. These do not contradict each other; revolutionaries often commit crimes to serve the rebel cause. But the point I am trying to make is that at the very end, when he was facing eternity, he grasped salvation from the lips of the Saviour. There is hope for everyone. Maybe pray to St. Dismas for the conversion of another whom you feel may have too ‘hard a heart’ to convert? Many prisoners in jail are alcoholics and addicts. Conversion is difficult in that environment; perhaps St. Dismas can do what others cannot. 

His feast day is March 25, the traditional date for the Crucifixion. 

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 Hour Of Grace from Mary, Mystical Rose

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This is a post on “The Hour of Grace” announced during a recently approved apparition of Our Lady to Pierina Gilli in 1947.

The Hour Of Grace is on December 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From 12 Noon To 1 PM, (your local time, so this should cover the Earth with graces for a 24 hour period.)

THE REQUEST OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER FOR THE HOUR OF GRACE:

1. The Hour of Grace is to be one full hour of prayer, beginning at 12:00 Noon and continuing until 1:00 PM, on December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

2. During this hour, the person making the “Hour of Grace” either at home, church, the grotto, must put away all distractions (do not answer the phones or answer any doors or do anything but totally concentrate on your union with God during this special Hour of Grace).

3. Begin the Hour of Grace by praying Psalm 51 three times with out-stretched arms.

4. The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, Precious Blood Chaplet, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Chaplet of St. Michael, Sorrowful Mother Chaplet, etc.

The Blessed Virgin has requested that Her important message be sent throughout the entire world. Please help Her Mission: “that all souls be drawn to God and that Jesus will be loved in every heart.” (My note on this: If you have a Catholic-centric blog or podcast, or routinely post Catholic stuff on your social media accounts, please share this post and/or at least the links I gave in this postand this one. Obviously, prior to the Hour of Grace!)

If the children cannot recite Psalm 51 between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m., because they may be in school, say it in the evening as a family.  

The Blessed Virgin Mary promised that whatever a person asked Her for during this Hour of Grace (even in impossible cases) would be granted to them, in accordance with the Will of the Eternal Father.

Since December 8th is still five months off, I will reblog this just before that day. I’m posting this today just to get you thinking about it and perhaps prepare.

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 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena begins today

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The Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena begins today. I had almost forgotten. Her feast day is June 27th. Here are some novenas you can say:

Here’s one from EWTN: Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help | EWTN 

Here’s another from Pray More Novenas.

Here’s another nice one.

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!!)

Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena to save my parish from closure

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ATTENTION: THIS IS REALLY LONG BUT IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME IF YOU’D READ THE WHOLE POST. I’M NOT ASKING FOR MONEY, JUST ATTENTION FOR SOMETHING PLEEEEEAAASSSE?????

This upcoming Saturday the 22nd of June my wife and I (and numerous others) will be starting a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena to save our parish from closure.

We live in the Diocese of Buffalo and about six dozen parishes are recommended for closure due to the aging priesthood and an insufficient number of men coming into the priesthood. There is also an additional factor: the diocese had to declare bankruptcy to protect its assets from the numerous lawsuits stemming from the sex abuse scandal. The past 2, perhaps 3, Bishops of Buffalo failed to adequately protect young boys and girls from sexual predators in the priesthood. And so now these parishes will also be sold to pay the victims who sued the diocese.

I hope the fires of Hell burn a lot hotter for those unrepentant Catholic priests who couldn’t keep their hands off of boys and girls. Please note that I am NOT wishing Hell on anyone, this is why I said “unrepentant.” Unrepented and unconfessed mortal sins earn the guilty eternal hellfire. God’s mercy will indeed cover those priests who were sincere in repenting and confessing their sins, which I believe to be mortal. Perhaps a few could claim mitigating factors such as mental health problems or addictions, but given the deliberate nature of their actions and their duration, plus the lack of accountability by the Bishops, I think only a small few can be excused in that manner. 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph1857:

For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

I find it difficult to believe that priests guilty of sexual crimes against others, especially children, are not covered by all three. 

So anyway, a  hundred thousand or so Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo will be losing their parishes because vocations were rarely nurtured and priests who were sexual predators. 

Now we come to my parish, St. Bernadette’s. “St. Bernies” is strong, vibrant and growing. Almost every month the bulletin lists dozens and dozens of new parishioners. There are active ministries. There is Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. The collection pulls in in excess of $20,000 every week. It is not in debt and pays all its bills. Every weekend over 1,000 people attend the three Masses (1 Saturday Vigil and 2 Sunday morning.) This is not common amongst parishes diocese-wide. There is no reason to close it. It is 2 miles from one other parish and about 5 from another, but those are in good condition, too, and hardly need the addition of our parish’s members. Besides, if St. Bernadette’s were to close it would add thousands of people to those two churches and there would still need to be three priests to serve those two, so the point in closing St. Bernadette’s is lost: there wouldn’t be a saving in priestly postings.

Our priest did mention that the diocese might be in error, that the data attributed to our parish might actually belong to a failing parish, but who knows? My brilliant wife is looking over some publicly available data in the Diocesan Directory and she’s found additional numbers that cast serious doubt on the sanity of the decision to recommend closure.

Note that the diocese is only recommending these parishes for closure; the affected parishes can offer a counterproposal to the plan. If accepted, they’re saved, if rejected, they’re not. Our priest and parish staff will be working overtime to work out a counterproposal.

(Incidentally, we love our priest. He looks like Jesus, plus in every homily he fondly mentions his Mom and Rome (or Italy. I’ve never heard so much stuff about Rome in homilies. He puts the ROMAN in Roman Catholic.))

So I thought of (or the Blessed Mother put it in my brain, or perhaps St. Bernadette) saying a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena. I wrote the following and our priest approved it for distribution in the church:

ATTENTION ALL PARISHIONERS

OF ST. BERNADETTE’S:

PLEASE JOIN IN A

“Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena to Save St. Bernadette’s.”

***June 22-August 14***

 

We all love St. Bernadette’s and will be distraught over her closing, should that happen. To help prevent this, we are calling upon the powers of Heaven and Our Lady to help keep our parish open, if that be God’s will. Let’s all join together in reciting a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena! We can pray as individuals in ‘spiritual communion’ with each other, or together in groups in the church, our homes or over Zoom/Google Meet, etc.

The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena originated in the late 19th century in Naples, Italy, when a young girl suffering from an illness thought to be incurable prayed to Our Lady for help. Mary appeared to her and promised her healing if she prayed three novenas. The girl did so, and was miraculously healed. In a later apparition, Mary specified that the full prayer should have 3 novenas in petition, and 3 novenas in thanksgiving.

OUR NOVENA TO SAVE OUR PARISH WILL BEGIN ON SATURDAY JUNE 22nd SO AS TO END ON AUGUST 14th, the day before they begin to announce the final decisions on closings. August 14th is important because it’s the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, WHO HAD A GREAT DEVOTION TO ST. BERNADETTE AND OUR LADY OF LOURDES!!!

How to pray the Novena:

The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven consecutive days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven consecutive days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet.

The first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena starts all over with the Joyful, etc. and continues on in that sequence (Joyful-Sorrowful-Glorious) throughout the 54 days of the novena. The Luminous Mysteries aren’t included only because they did not exist when Our Lady taught this novena to the girl.

There are special additional prayers to begin and conclude it during all the days of petition and thanksgiving, as well as at the end of each decade. Here are two links with the instructions and prayers:

The Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena and How to Pray the 54 Day Rosary Novena (NOTE TO MY READERS: on the sheet, the URLs were spelled out. Obviously a link wouldn’t work and I didn’t know how to convert one to a QR code (the instructions are on my phone somewhere but I lacked the time to figure it out. Hence the next sentence:)

OR JUST DO A WEB SEARCH FOR “HOW TO PRAY THE 54 DAY ROSARY NOVENA” it’s essentially the same at any source
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BACK TO MY READERS: My wife and I already know of several of our online friends who say they’ll join us in saying this Novena, which is awesome as they’ve never even been to western New York much less our parish!

WILL YOU JOIN IN, ALSO? I get  A LOT OF BLOG INSPIRATION while at my Holy Hours in the parish’s Perpetual Adoration Chapel, so you’ll kind of be helping Sober Catholic!

Yes, I know the Diocese of Buffalo isn’t alone in this. There are quite a lot of other diocese in the same position. So, if you refrain from helping out because of that, I’d understand. But still, I’d really appreciate it if you’d rise above rejecting help just because you’re not in this Diocese. I don’t think it would be inappropriate at all for you to add an additional, personal intention to the “Save Paulcoholic’s St. Bernadette Parish” petition! So there could be something in it for you! OH!!!!! If you want, you can email me or post in the comments the personal intentions that you might add; I’ll copy and paste them onto a doc and keep them on my phone and pray about them in front of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Bernie’s Adoration Chapel and before or after Mass.

Thanks!

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!!)