Category Archives: Sacred Heart

The Apparitions at Fatima

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In 1917 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three Portuguese shepherd children 5 times near the town of Aljustrel, in the parish of Fatima. It is one of the best known and documented Marian Apparitions.

Mary requested of the children that they pray much, and return to the site on the 13th of the month for the next 5 months; which they did through the last epic appearance in October. August was missed on the 13th due to the seers’ being kidnapped by the authorities. Mary did appear to them on the 19th, however. Our Lady is not to be denied.

I bring this up as I have long believed that the Fatima Apparitions are important, especially in these times. But they are also important to us alcoholics and addicts as they concern prayer, reparation and admonishments against sexual sin.

The devotion to the Rosary is an obvious major development of the Fatima Apparitions, and as readers of this blog know, I regard the Rosary as a great tool for people in recovery. I even wrote a devotional book using the Rosary for alcoholics (details on ordering are at the end of each Sober Catholic post! 🙂 )

May 13th is the first of the 5 appearances, and this year is the 97th anniversary. Try and go to Mass, or if not possible, say the Rosary.

I do not think I have blogged about the Apparitions before, if so that is an oversight that is being corrected. I will continue with this, either here or on my other blogs (In the Land of My Exile I Praise Him… and The Four Last Things ) on or before the 13th of the month through October. Which blog depends upon the subject, at any rate I will post information here when I blog about them elsewhere.) I plan on doing this annually until 2017, the centenary of the Apparitions (God-willing).

To get you started, please visit the following links, the first two are from the official Fatima site in Portugal (they’re in English, but also other languages); the latter two are from the EWTN site.

History of the Apparition.

The Message of Fatima.

FATIMA at EWTN.

FATIMA – The Apparitions (on EWTN).

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 Sacred Heart and Alcoholism

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Barefoot’s World had a piece on how Sr. Ignatia created the “Sacred Heart Badge” for those admitted to St. Thomas Hospital as an incentive to maintain their recovery and as a “merit badge” to show their progress. Number 9 wrote about it earlier, also quoting the same source: Sacred Heart Badge (the 1st white chip).

The Sacred Heart is an old Catholic devotion dating back centuries. It focuses on the human nature of Jesus (the heart long being considered the center or source of human emotion). As Jesus had become human to redeem us for our sins, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus concerns the Divine Love of God for us, and our response to that is our reparation for our sins. We sin, we repent and we make reparation.

In light of this, that the Sacred Heart was chosen as a symbol of recovery is not surprising. In our recovery, we are making reparation for the sins we had committed in our addictions. And in our recovery, we accept and respond to the love God has for us. We know we messed up and abused the gifts that God gave to us. But despite all of that, He still loves us as His prodigal children and always takes us back no matter how bad our sins. As long as we repent and try to amend our lives we are on the right path.

No sin is greater than God’s ability to forgive. Our repentance has to be sincere, and we have to make a best effort at amending. But no matter how evil, we can be forgiven. No matter how often we fall, we get right back up.

I wrote this as Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

(Via About Catholicism.)

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Via CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA.)

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!!)

Novena To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

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Today is the first day of the Sacred Heart Novena. As a courtesy, I will be posting it daily from the site “Pray More Novenas,” but not here. I will instead be posting it to the Sober Catholic Blog Page on Facebook and also on theSober Catholic Blog Page on Google+. So please go to either Page every day for the Novena Prayers. In fact, if you are on Facebook or Google+, “Like” or “Circle” the Pages, as there is activity on them that isn’t here on the blog (like inspirational quotes, pictures and other things.)

The Sacred Heart is an old and venerable Catholic devotion, particularly regarding conversion of heart and mind and in reparation for sins. It was also a very important aspect of early Alcoholics Anonymous, as “Sacred Heart Badges” were awarded to recovering alcoholics at St. Thomas’ Hospital in Akron, Ohio by Sister Ignatia (a close ally and partner to Dr. Bob, AA’s co-founder). These badges later inspired AA’s medallions and coins, awarded to alcoholics on various sobriety anniversaries.

NOVENA to the SACRED HEART of JESUS PRAYERS

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 Sacred Heart and the Sacred Heart Badge

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I wish I saw this yesterday, but I was busy with some projects impacting this site, but Spera Rose, over at Speramus- We Hope has an excellent post on the history Sacred Heart devotion, but especially some useful information on the Sacred Heart Badge:

The Broken Heart of Jesus, the Merciful Saviour—-History of the Sacred Heart Badge

The Sacred Heart Badge was used as an early “award” for people in early recovery back in the 1930’s and 1940’s. It was the inspiration for the “chips” that AA members receive nowadays. (This isn’t from her post.)

You can obtain one for yourself by clicking on a link near the end of her post. 🙂

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

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

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is about the Divine Love of God for humanity and the Divine Mercy He has showed upon us because:

John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

(Via USCCB.)

The Sacred Heart of Jesus devotion is an old one for Catholics. It is about love and mercy and reparation for sins and forgiveness.

More information can be found in this post.

It also has a connection to AA history.

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!!)

"What to do kit for addictions"

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John W. Garcia, a member of Catholics in Recovery offers this video on basic Catholic tools to aid in your recovery from addictions.

It does answer one common objection that comes up when people state that you cannot rely solely on religion, and that you need the support of a group, the “slogans” and other tools that you develop in recovery meeting rooms. Those are nice, but not needed.

The “What to do kit for addictions” offers all sorts of things the Catholic Faith has that can help you recover, and maintain that recovery. In addition, and this is key, it offers the tools needed to retrain yourself in how you react to things. This seems a central point in any addict’slife.We need to relearn how to react to things in a non-addictive way.

John is also the person behind the excellent Sober for Christ resource.

Watch the video and visit his site.

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!!)

Suffering as foreshadowing destiny

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A recent article in Spirit Daily: entitled “OPEN TO GOD, CLEANSE, AND FIND THAT BIG PROBLEMS OFTEN MEAN A GREATER DESTINY” says what I’ve suspected in that sufferings, trials and problems in general in life may be indicative of greater and better things later on.

Read and ponder!

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

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

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is usually in June, but due to the scheduling of Lent/Easter it is earlier this year.

This feast is an old Catholic devotion, having been around since the Middle Ages. Proponents state that it is based on the Gospel account of St. John the Evangelist laying his head on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper. The Devotion started during an apparition of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Information on this can be found here and additional prayers and such also here .

Devotion to the Sacred Heart also has roots in early AA history. Last year I wrote about the Feast and its influence on AA tradition. That post also contains the Litany to the Sacred Heart, and a careful study of that Litany reveals how useful the devotion can be to individuals in recovery.

The following two prayers also reveal the relevance to people in recovery this Catholic devotion:

THE BLESSING OF THE SACRED HEART

May the grace and blessing of the Sacred Heart be with you, the peace of the Sacred Heart encompass you! May the merits of the Sacred Heart plead for you, the love of the Sacred Heart inflame you! May the sorrows of the Sacred Heart console you, the zeal of the Sacred Heart animate you, the virtues of the Sacred Heart shine forth in your every word and work! And may the joys of the Beatific Vision be your eternal recompense!

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, “Heart of Jesus, help me.”

The heart is the human symbol of love. Jesus’ Sacred Heart is the ultimate symbol of love, the love He has for us and the mercy that is available to us if we avail ourselves of it. One image of the Sacred Heart that I enjoy is the immersion of ourselves in His Precious Blood, shed for us because of our sins. What better image for us alcoholics to meditate upon when we are troubled by our addictive past.

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!!)

Sacred Heart

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Various months of the year have different themes or devotions. June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (May, incidentally, is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I blew it in not talking about it. I’ll make up for it over time. This blog is still new and wobbly.)

The Sacred Heart of Jesus has special significance to sober alcoholics, especially to those who are familiar with AA. If you know your AA history, back in its early days one of the co-founders of the movement, Dr. Bob Smith, was greatly assisted in his treatment of alcoholics by a Catholic nun by the name of Sister Mary Ignatia Gavin, an administrator of St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio. After an alcoholic completed his stay at the hospital, Sister Ignatia would “award” him with a Sacred Heart Badge, sort of a “graduation” gift, I suppose. This eventually developed into the practice of AA’s recieving medallions or coins representing whatever sobriety anniversary they were celebrating. This is detailed in the book Sister Ignatia: Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd Ed., by Mary C. Darrah; Hazelden Pittman Archives Press; 2001 (ISBN 1-56838-746-6. Probably available through Amazon, or Hazelden)

Anyway, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the oldest and most Catholic of devotions, next to the rosary. Quite simply it is a devotion concerning a person’s healing and also reparation for sins committed against Jesus.

The “Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” illustrates the nature and meaning of the devotion. A litany is a Catholic prayer in which an individual prayerfully repeats various titles or invocations of God, Mary, or a Saint. The idea is that it will “tune” your heart and mind to the virtues of the prayer.

Litany of the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in the Father was well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of everlasting life, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke you, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation for those who trust in you, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in you, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
R. Make our own heats like yours,

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, look upon the heart of Your most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which he offers You in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Your mercy, in Your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with Your forever and ever. Amen.

(Thanks to the Sacred Heart website.)

Say the prayer slowly and meditatively. Think about each of the invocations (the parts immediately before “have mercy on us”) and ponder their meaning to you. Allow them to help you grow spiritually.

The Sacred Heart is about Love.

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!!)