Category Archives: Virtue

On humbly submitting to Church authority on private revelations

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In a recent post, Plenary Indulgence for Cemetery Visits in November Extended, I mentioned something at the end about coping in these uncertain times (please note the bold italics:

“Hang tight, pray the Rosary daily and stick close to the Church. And by that I mean the Mass and Sacraments, your Catholic Bible, the Catechism (The ‘Roman Catechism’ of the Council of Trent and/or the 1994 Catechism of Pope St. John Paul II) and if you’re going the route of private revelations, educate yourself and please only place your faith in the approved ones. And have the humility to submit to Church authority in determining what is approved; your personal opinion on the private revelation should always be subject to the Church’s authority.“

I administer an unofficial Militia of the Immaculata Group on Facebook (there’s an interesting story about how I came to be in charge of it. Maybe I’ll tell it someday.) Recently I had to deal with a member of the Group who repeatedly posted links to a false and fraudulent private apparition that has become popular this past decade. I finally had to “get tough” and remove her from the Group because she refused to accept the Church’s decision that this particular revelation is false.

I am really getting tired of ostensibly ‘orthodox’ Catholics who think they are more knowledgeable than the Bishops and more pious than other faithful and defy the decisions of the Bishops on such matters. You are exhibiting pride and and are unaware that you are doing Satan’s work in undermining the Church. Sounds drastic? Yes, it is.

If a private revelation has not been approved, I strongly suggest that you do not invest much faith and emotion into it, lest the Church condemn it and you face a crisis of fidelity. Too many dissent or go schismatic when their favorite revelation is condemned; they regard the Church is ‘wrong’ and spare no few words of vitriol in being critical of the Church and how Her error is evidence of Satan’s influence. In doing so they basically have established their own magisterium (like anyone who thinks the Church is ‘wrong’ on matters of faith and morals) and go off and do their own thing.

Bad idea.

Our Lord and Saviour willingly submitted to the legal and authentic religious authorities of His day, and they condemned Him to death. He knew they were wrong, but did He use that as an excuse to rebel against their authority? No, and given that Jesus is God, He was the authority over them, but did He use that? No. He submitted and opened not His mouth.

The three little shepherd children of Fatima obeyed the Portuguese Church authorities when they were ordered to keep silent about what they were seeing in the Cova da Iria. Even though they knew the Bishop and priests were wrong, they obeyed.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina obeyed the Church authorities when they ordered him to stop public celebration of the Mass. He knew they were in error in telling him this, but he obeyed.

The Divine Mercy Message was suppressed for several decades, until there was evidence that Her initial decision was based on flawed translations of St. Faustina’s writings. The curators of the Divine Mercy message knew that Rome was wrong, nevertheless they obeyed.

There are probably other examples throughout Church history when she was wrong about some ongoing thing, but later rescinded the ban or prohibition when the truth comes out. And that is key: if something is True, it will eventually become known and the Church will acknowledge this.

If you honestly believe that whatever private revelation that you support is true, then there is no reason to defy the Church if she initially declares it to be false. Although I know of no private revelation where the Church reversed her decision on its veracity, nevertheless, in all humility if the Bishop or Rome itself declares it to be false, then accept that. Offer the pain up, if needed.

In light of the examples given above, do you think that you can defy the Church when Jesus Himself did not defy the Jewish authorities? Or the Fatima children? Or St. Padre Pio? Who are you to say that you can reserve such a right to yourself?

Such people need to be prayed for. I just walk away when I encounter them in social media forums; there rarely seems to be any point in arguing the Church’s decision. Their mind is made up and that’s that and any attempt to change their minds is met with stubborn, pride-filled resistance.

So ends this rant. You’re welcome!

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 of Novenas IX: Our Lady of Sorrows & Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero

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Today begins the Ninth of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation, and this one is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows & Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero. It runs from August 31 through September 8, 2020.

I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

Our Lady of Sorrows & Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero

General Intention: For the creation of new structures within the crumbling ruins of the old. 

Spiritual Works of Mercy: Convert the sinner. Instruct the ignorant. Counsel the doubtful. Comfort the sorrowful. bear wrongs patiently. Forgive injuries. Pray for the living and the dead.

Act of Caring for Creation: Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, make it over, made do, do without.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make has to help me.
+ Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.  Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Our Lady of Sorrows, most holy and afflicted mother,  of martyrs, you stood beneath the cross and witnessed the agony of your dying Son. In this world of violence, we ask you to pray for those who will die today because of war, economic chaos, injustice, and exploitation, especially the children.

Prepare them for the agony, despair, and terror of the violence that is upon them. Comfort them and hold them close to the bosom of thy Wounded Heart as they drink deeply of the bitter cup which is forced upon them.

Wipe their tears, calm their fears, welcome them to peace and safety. Eternal rest grant to them, and may perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.

Saint Romero, During a time of grave evil, you spoke with courage to rebuke the powerful, pleading with them to cease their violence, and repent of their murders. You called upon the rich to end their greed, to embrace just economic systems, and to relinquish their power. In solidarity you comforted the poor, gave them hope and strength, and witnessed the crimes against them, always speaking truth, justice, mercy, and love.

Teach us to understand our complicity with the sins of empire. Help us end our support for the structures of sin that bring violence and injustice into the world. Be our guide as we build structures of justice, mercy, love, and beauty.

O God, who by the preaching and teaching of Oscar Romero has given us an example of love and fortitude in the face of violence and greed, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate his fidelity to truth, justice, and peace. Soon come the promise of Mary, that all tyrants will be cast down, the proud scattered, the lowly exalted, and the hungry filled with good things. through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Novena to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the
Bishops of the United States of America 

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty; it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxyand reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

 

Thoughts for the journey.

Traditionally, we recall “seven sorrows of Mary”: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the three-day separation from Jesus, and four incidents along the Via Dolorosa (Mary meets Jesus on the way to the crucifixion, the crucifixion, the taking down of his body, the burial).  Today, the sorrows multiple beyond our ability to comprehend. The daily news is a litany of horrors. Just when you think you have heard the worst, along comes something even worse.

In the face of the steady onslaught of violence, all of us are at risk of despair.

After the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, someone paid for billboards to be put up all around the city, quoting the Apostle Paul’s advice to the Romans:  “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  That is the plan. It begins with our relationship with Jesus, continues in prayer and bears fruit in the way we live our lives.

With Christ within us, it becomes easier to understand what is important.  So we always must ask — How is my life open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves me?  Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He was with Oscar Romero as he ministered to his people as they were persecuted and murdered by their own government.  Jesus was with Romero at the moment the bullet tore into his heart even as he elevated the Chalice during the Eucharistic Prayer. Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace.

The Blessed Oscar Romero of El Salvador knew something about hope in the face of horror.  Let us listen to some of his wisdom.

From the words of Romero. . .
Those who do not understand transcendence cannot understand us. When we speak of injustice here below and denounce it, they think we are playing politics. It is in the name of God’s just reign that we denounce the injustices of the earth.

Not just purgatory but hell awaits those who could have done good and did not do it. It is the reverse of the Beatitude that the Bible has for those who are saved, for the saints, “who could have done wrong and did not.” Of those who are condemned it will be said: they could have done good and did not. . .

Let us be today’s Christians. Let us not take fright at the boldness of today’s church. With Christ’s light let us illuminate even the most hideous caverns of the human person: torture, jail, plunder, want, chronic illness. The oppressed must be saved, not with a revolutionary salvation in merely human fashion, but with the holy revolution of the Son of Man, who dies on the cross to cleanse God’s image, which is soiled in today’s humanity, a humanity so enslaved, so selfish, so sinful. . .

A religion of Sunday Mass but of unjust weeks does not please the Lord. A religion of much praying but with hypocrisy in the heart is not Christian. A church that sets itself up only to be well off, to have a lot of money and comfort, but that forgets to protest injustices, would not be the true church of our divine
Redeemer. . .

Everyone who struggles for justice, everyone who makes just claims in unjust surroundings, is working for God’s reign, even though not a Christian. The church does not comprise all of God’s reign, God’s reign goes beyond the church’s boundaries. The church values everything that is in tune with its struggle to set up God’s reign. A church that tries only to keep itself pure and uncontaminated would not be a church of God’s service to people. The authentic church is one that does not mind conversing with prostitutes and publicans and sinners, as Christ did — and with Marxists and those of various political movements — in order to bring them salvation’s true message. . . .

Even when all despaired at the hour when Christ was dying on the cross, Mary, serene, awaited the hour of the resurrection. Mary is the symbol of the people who suffer oppression and injustice. Theirs is the calm suffering that awaits the resurrection. It is Christian suffering, the suffering of the church, which does not accept the present injustices but awaits without rancor the moment when the Risen One will return to give us the redemption
we await.

To be a Christian now means to have the courage to preach the true teaching of Christ and not be afraid of it, not be silent out of fear and preach something easy that won’t cause problems. To be a Christian in this hour means to have the courage that the Holy Spirit gives in the sacrament of confirmation, to be valiant soldiers of Christ the King, to make his teaching prevail, to reach hearts and proclaim to them the courage that one must have
to defend God’s law. . .

Everyone can contribute much that is good, and in that way trust is achieved. The common good will not be attained by excluding people. We can’t enrich the common good of our country by driving out those we don’t care for. We have to try to bring out all that is good in each person and try to develop and atmosphere of trust, not with physical force, as though dealing with irrational beings, but with a moral force that draws out the good that is in everyone, especially in concerned young people.

Thus, with all contributing their own interior life, their own responsibility, their own way of being, all can build the beautiful structure of the common good, the good that we construct together and that creates conditions of kindness, of trust, of freedom, of peace.

Then we can, all of us together, build the republic — the res publica, the public concern — what belongs to all of us and what we all have the duty of building. . . .

Let us not be disheartened, even when the horizon of history grows dim and closes in, as though human realities made impossible the accomplishment of God’s plans. God makes use even of human errors, even of human sins, so as to make rise over the darkness what Isaiah spoke of. One day prophets will sing not only the return from Babylon but our full liberation. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They walk in
lands of shadows, but a light has shone forth. . . :

Act of Caring for Creation: Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, make it over, made do, do without.
We should respect the goods of Creation that God gives us so abundantly.  That means that we take care of what we have. The frugality of our grandparents served them well during the Great Depression.  Our profligate attitudes that trifle with the goods of Creation lay the foundation of ecological collapse.  It is far better to learn to live with less, so that there is more for others.

 

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!!)

Queenship of Mary

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Today, August 22nd, is a special day for everyone devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Traditional Liturgical Calendar it is the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (which became a moveable memorial feast day in the New Calendar after Vatican II). In the New Calendar, it is the feast day of the Queenship of Mary.

This is one of those times when I think the New Calendar ‘gets it right,’ for just one week ago was the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven (and did I ever mess up in not writing about it; there’s always next year.) Today would mark the Octave, or eighth day of the feast. Octaves were much more popular a long time ago than in the post-Vatican II era. Octaves were celebrations of an important feast day for eight days; for example, Easter and Christmas are Octaves in the New Calendar, therefore it is ‘as if’ Christmas Day or Easter Sunday stretches out for eight days. Octaves establish that feast as being Really Important. So, the Queenship of Mary would be a perfect way to mark the Octave of the Assumption in that since Mary was Assumed into Heaven body and soul due to the divine prerogatives granted to her by virtue of her Immaculate Conception, what else could have happened on her glorious entry into Heaven than for her to be crowned Queen of the Universe and of All Creation?

Take Mary as your Queen. Consecrate yourself to her by either the method according to St. Louis de Montfort or St. Maximilian Kolbe. Entrust yourself to her motherly care and allow her to guide you in your daily actions. With her as a Mother, your sobriety is assured as your love for her and her Son Jesus will take away any need or desire for the drug or the drink.

 

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 of Novenas VII: Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Joseph

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Today begins the Seventh of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation, and this one is dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Joseph. It runs from August 13 through August 21, 2020.

I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

General Intention:  + For the creation of structures of beauty and goodness.

7th Work of Justice and Peace: Ensure fair distribution, subsidiarity, economic opportunity, justice, and food security for everyone everywhere.

Act of Caring for Creation: Get involved!  Support public and private initiatives that promote organic gardening and farming, public/community transportation, free range and pastured flocks and herds, energy conservation, urban agriculture, water conservation, local food systems, and community capacities for food and economic security.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. +  Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.  Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord.  Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, mystical rose, pray for all who create and sustain a culture of life and love that we will do so with endurance, hope, and abundance. May the candles we light glow bright with hospitality and hope, respect and love, peace and justice. Help us to turn away from war and embrace peace. Pray for us that we will reform our ways and manners of living so that the way we live calls for peace and not war.

Holy St. Joseph, Worker and Father, In faith you welcomed our Lord when He was yet within his Mother’s womb. You opened your heart in obedience to the Word of God. You protected Jesus and Mary and provided a home for them of peace, safety, and holiness. We honor you as patron of the Poor, and all who serve them, of Workers and Carpenters and Builders. Your heroic example shows us the way that we should go and we trust in you for protection in our time of need.

Holy St. Joseph, Guide and Protector, Open the minds and hearts of all who by their actions give power to structures of sin that enable oppression. Help us to understand the consequences of sins against justice, charity, and the care of Creation. Turn oppressors from ways of darkness, and help them to embrace the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Holy St. Joseph, help the helpless, comfort the dying, bring justice to the poor, and peace to all nations. Amen.

Novena to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the
Bishops of the United States of America 

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty; it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxyand reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the Journey.

In the May 1977 edition of the Catholic Worker newspaper, Dorothy Day wrote about events in the first years of the movement. . . “When bills piled up and creditors came, we used to go to church and pray, all of us taking turns, and we called this “the picketing of St. Joseph.” Once when I asked an unemployed chambermaid if she would take a half-hour of “picketing Saint Joseph” over at Precious Blood Church, she asked me if she was to carry a sign.”  There’s been a lot of picketing of St. Joseph since those days.

St. Joseph is our protector and guide. Each time I witness a blessing of a St. Joseph’s Table, I am always moved to tears at these words of that blessing. . . “All-provident God, the good things that grace this table remind us of your many good gifts. Bless this food, and may the prayers of Saint Joseph, who provided bread for your Son and food for the poor, sustain us and all our brothers and sisters on our journey towards your heavenly kingdom.”

Peter Maurin used to say that one of the goals of the Catholic Worker movement was to create a society “where it was easier to do good.”  It is often not easy to do good in our society, because there are great structures of sin that make it easy to do evil. But the spiritual truth of this is that every act of beauty, goodness, and wisdom weakens the structures of sin that make it easy to do evil, and strengthen the structures of beauty, goodness, and love that make it easier for us to do good.

In this year of our Lord 2018  we are 17 years into a series of unjust wars in the Middle East that originally were to protect our so-called “right” to oil and now have devolved into something we do, you know, because this is what we do. One thing has led to another thing and each new evolution of the situation is met with more violence, more war, more death and suffering. We wage war on poor people and kill them. Violence rules the day. The US Empire is presently at the top of the world heap, held up by structures of sin created by wealth and demonic evil, but like all empires, we have no place to go but down. Ash heap of history here we come! Our national bloodlust for war drives us toward that abyss.  Discerning eyes can see the coalition that is coming together that will challenge us for world hegemony. Sooner or later the rest of the world is going to gang up on us and do to us what we did to the Germans during World War II: totally destroy our nation. “Sow not in furrows of injustice, lest you reap a seven-fold harvest,” says the Bible and the prophet Sirach was surely talking to us.  That’s what structures of evil always do — collapse, crash, and burn.

Where is the Catholic Church in all this?  It is a tragedy of epic proportions faced with unjust war, the U.S. Catholic bishops did not take a stand for the Gospel of Life but instead opted for a position of moral relativism towards the unjust wars of the United States government. This gravely harms the Church’s witness to the protection of life from the moment of conception to the time of natural death. We obviously don’t believe that that’s true for the people of Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, or Iraq. If the Catholic Church in the US actually believed in their non-negotiable right to life, our bishops would have forbidden participation in those unjust wars.  The right to life is supposed to be a “non-negotiable” tenet of the Faith, but if you live in Afghanistan or Iraq, or are a soldier of the United States or one of our allies, the U.S. bishops have abandoned you to the not-so-tender mercies of unjust war.  Your right to life is apparently trumped by the American Nationalist demand for war, slaughter, death, and destruction.

Peace is the fruit of justice, as Pope Paul VI reminded us. All people are connected, rich and poor. The Gospel and these times call us therefore to the work of justice, to the celebration of life, goodness, beauty, virtue, responsibility, and joy. As we practice peace, non-violence, servant leadership, harmony, community, voluntary cooperation, and the proper stewardship of God’s creation, we may eventually get good at it, especially if we pray without ceasing.

With Christ within us, it becomes easier to understand what is important.  So we always must ask — How is my life open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves me?  Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression.  Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace.

Act of Caring for Creation: Get involved!  Support public and private initiatives that promote organic gardening and farming, public/community transportation, free range and pastured flocks and herds, energy conservation, urban agriculture, water conservation, local food systems, and community capacities for food and economic security.

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 of Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation VI: Our Lady of the Assumption and Saints Isidore & Maria

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Today begins the Sixth of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation, and this one is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and Saints Isidore & Maria. It runs from August 4 through August 12, 2020.

I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

Our Lady of the Assumption and Saints Isidore & Maria

General Intention: For the conversion of the rich and powerful. 

Corporal Works of Mercy.  Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless.  Visit the sick, Visit those in prison, Bury the dead. 

Act of Caring for Creation: Place matters! Work with your neighbors to heal and regenerate the natural environment, & to increase the safety, security, health, and well-being of your neighborhood.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
+ Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.  Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, your Assumption into heaven is a sign of the triumph of good over evil and the coming renewal of all Creation. Help us to be visible signs of hope and comfort for all we meet and give us strength and inspiration to do the works of healing and renewal.

Saints Isidore and Maria, Teach us that creation is good and bears the imprint of Christ from beginning to end. Reveal to us the full expression of God’s generosity and blessings that are found through oneness in the Mystical Body of Christ. Instruct us regarding the dignity of work, the necessity of charity, and our vocational call to care for people, care for Creation, and to have a care for the future. Amen.

Novena to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the Bishops of the United States of America 

 Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;             
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey.

God loves everybody and so should we.  That in fact includes everybody, and “everybody” includes the rich.  So we must love and pray for them and be in solidarity with them too.  But because our love is motivated by our personal relationship with Christ Jesus, we should endeavor to help the wealthy understand the role they play in maintaining structures of sin and injustice that enable poverty and prevent people from full participation in their own lives.  Our prayer and work to bring all people into a relationship with Christ Jesus is for the rich as well as the poor.

This is a much better solution to modern justice issues such as the widening gap between rich and poor, the on-going centralization of wealth, and the corruption of our political system by wealthy campaign donors.  Historically, what happens is that eventually the rich become so oppressive that a violent revolution breaks out, which is typically a rather hard ending for the wealthy.  Alas, also historically, the old boss is replaced by a new boss but its all the same system so those who are poor and oppressed remain poor and oppressed.  So we work for the salvation of the rich, as well as the poor and all points in between, because that can drive the decentralization of wealth, universal health care, full participation on the part of everyone in their own lives and the lives and stories of their communities and many other blessings.

Earlier in this series of novenas, we learned about the importance of growing our own food.   For centuries, the Church has blessed the fruits of the soil on the Feast of the Assumption.

Here are the traditional blessings for this purpose.

  • Let us pray. Almighty everlasting God, who by your word alone brought into being the heavens, earth, sea, things seen and things unseen, and garnished the earth with plants and trees for the use of man and beast; who appointed each species to bring forth fruit in its kind, not only for the food of living creatures, but for the healing of sick bodies as well; with mind and word we urgently call on you in your great kindness to bless + these various herbs and fruits, thus increasing their natural powers with the newly given grace of your blessing. May they keep away disease and adversity from men and beasts who use them in your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
  • Let us pray. God, who through Moses, your servant, directed the children of Israel to carry their sheaves of new grain to the priests for a blessing, to pluck the finest fruits of the orchard, and to make merry before you, the Lord their God; hear our supplications, and shower blessings + in abundance upon us and upon these bundles of new grain, new herbs, and this assortment of produce which we gratefully present to you on this festival, blessing + them in your name. Grant that men, cattle, flocks, and beasts of burden find in them a remedy against sickness, pestilence, sores, injuries, spells, against the fangs of serpents or poisonous creatures. May these blessed objects be a protection against diabolical mockery, cunning, and deception wherever they are kept, carried, or otherwise used. Lastly, through the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, whose Assumption we are celebrating, may we all, laden with the sheaves of good works, deserve to be taken up to heaven; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

With Christ within us, it becomes easier to understand what is important.  So we always must ask — How is my life open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves me?  Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He was with Isidore and Maria in their lives as farm workers. Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace.

Act of Caring for Creation: Place matters! Work with your neighbors to heal and regenerate the natural environment, & to increase the safety, security, health, and well-being of your neighborhood.

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 of Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation V: Our Lady Mother of Mercy and Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise Marillac

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Today begins the Fifth of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation, and this one is dedicated to the Our Lady Mother of Mercy & Saints Vincent de Paul & Louise Marillac. It runs from July 26 — August 3, 2020. I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

“Getting Started:

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life.”

Our Lady Mother of Mercy & Saints Vincent de Paul & Louise Marillac

General Intention:  Justice in the distribution of the Earth’s goods.

Fifth Work of Justice and Peace: Work for reconciliation with truth, evangelism, catechesis, orthopraxis.

Act of Caring for Creation: Walk, ride a bicycle, car pool, and take public transportation more; drive less.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
+ Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.  Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send our signs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and afterthis, our exile, showunto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,  you are the refuge and hope of all who are excluded from sharing in the goodness and bounty of Creation. Help me, for the love of your son Jesus Christ, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. Help me then to ask why so many people are hungry, naked, and homeless so that we know what we must do to ensure justice and peace for all people. Pray for me that I will, my mind being enlightened by the signs of these times, work without ceasing for the reign of justice and peace and the care of God’s holy Creation. I bless and thank Almighty God, who in His mercy has given me this confidence in You, which I hold to be a pledge of my eternal salvation. Mary, my spiritual Mother, help me.  Do not abandon me in my hour of need. Mother of Mercy, never allow me to lose my faith, hope, and love. Amen.

Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, we reverence your lives of heroic justice, compassion, and mercy in defense of the poor. Today we ask you to pray for all who are excluded from participation in the bounty of Creation. Teach us to use the gifts of Creation with moderation, to live simply, that others may simply live. Bless our efforts to ensure just distribution of the goods of the earth with discernment and prudence. Help us to do what needs to be done to replace the structures of greed and gluttony with the reign of justice and peace, Amen.

Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops:

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;             
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption,  grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “2402. In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits. The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men.”

“2403. The right to private property, acquired by work or received from others by inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.”

Now is the time to open our eyes to see the sins against just community that occur daily. Merciless and corrupt governments and international agencies encourage the exploitation of the powerless for unjust gain. Globalization, enforced by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the WTO, is making the poorest of the poor even more miserable and wretched and hopeless. Millions die every day from the consequences of chronic poverty —  many of them in countries where large corporate farms grow food that can’t be eaten by the locals because it is exported.  In the 19th century, people are often shocked by the fact that every year of the great Irish famine, Ireland exported food.  But the poor had no money to buy that food, so when their subsistence plots of potatoes failed due to a blight, they starved or emigrated by the millions while their food was sold to those with money in other lands.  Why are we shocked by that when this happens every day and people say, “Well, that’s just the way the market works.”

War destroys resources and creates poverty and misery. Billions are at risk. A just community respects both property rights and the social mortgage on the property. Yet, too often the property rights of the poor are accorded scant protection. Traditional lands are appropriated for the enrichment of others, making the original owners tenants on their ancestral farms. (Think about this when you buy a banana from Chiquita or Dole banana corporations.) Sometimes the poor are killed for their land. In the past 30 years, millions of units of low income housing have been destroyed in the US by politicized eminent domain pogroms against which the poor neighborhoods have no defense. When a powerful government agency wants a cross-town freeway, or a new upscale mall or condo development, the nearest poor neighborhood will do just fine.

Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise Marillac are two of the patron saints of justice in the distribution of earthly goods. They lived 350 years ago, and were part of a generation of saints that transformed France after a century of war. Their influence continues today in the many lay and consecrated religious movements that grow from their ministry. The Vincentian apostolates fulfill the Gospel’s call to justice in the distribution of the bounty of creation. They show us that the path towards reconciliation is illuminated by justice.

When property becomes more important than people, that is a sign of disordered priorities.  That’s what happens when we don’t have a relationship with Jesus. With Christ within us, it becomes easier to understand what is important.  So we always must ask — How is my life open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves me?  Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He was with the Vincent and Louise as they struggled through obstacles to serve the poor in justice. Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace.

Act of Caring for Creation:  Walk, ride a bicycle, carpool, take public transportation more, drive less.

Fossil fuels are a primary driver of ecological calamity on this planet. Anything we can do to reduce our use of private cars will benefit the planet, make it safer, more beautiful, and less hazardous.  We Americans believe we are entitled to any amount of travel, irrespective of the consequences to the planet.  We think we have a grand American Exception to the moral demand to care for Creation. Sure, “care for Creation” is a nice pious statement, but God Forbid that I actually do something real to care for the planet, like giving up my personal car one day a week.

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 of Novenas for Justice, Peace and Creation III: Our Lady of the Precious Blood and St. Franz Jagerstatter and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

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Today begins the Third of our Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation, and this one is dedicated to Our Lady of the Precious Blood and St. Franz Jagerstatter and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. It runs from July 8 to July 16, 2020.

I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

To: Our Lady of the Precious Blood and St. Franz Jagerstatter and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

“Getting Started:

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life.”

General Intention: The reconciliation of persons and peoples.

Third Work of Justice and Peace: Make injustice visible — witness, remember, teach, proclaim, tell. Light candles, do not curse the darkness. 

Act of Caring for Creation: Fast & Abstinence. Refrain from eating meat or fish one day each week. If you are able, fast that day, eating only one full meal. Donate the money saved as a fast offering to a charity working for food security.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. + Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.  Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl  about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by  injustice and violence.

Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most pure Offering: Procure for us every grace! Precious Blood, Hope and Refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of holy souls: Draw us! Precious Blood, Font of Peace: Reconcile enemies and end all wars.

Remember, O most gracious Lady of the Precious Blood, that never was it known that any of your children, redeemed by the Blood of your Son, sought your intercession and was left unaided. Trusting in the power of the Precious Blood, O Handmaid of the Redeemer, I come before you my Queen and my Mother, and in the bitterness of my sorrow, I place myself at your feet. O Mother of Jesus Crucified, unite my prayers with yours, obtain for me the merciful bounty of the Divine Blood. As I kneel beneath the Cross, O Mother of sorrows, hear and answer me. Amen

St. Franz Jagerstatter, in a time of great injustice and violence, you bore heroic witness to peace, beauty, and holiness. Your devotion to truth shows us the way to reconciliation. Your example of fortitude brings us courage. Your life of beauty in the face of appalling evil fills us with hope. May your heart of love inspire us so that we will witness, remember, teach, and proclaim the Gospel of life and love for all peoples, everywhere, and not count the cost. In Jesus holy name, Amen.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, child of Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, and Mary mother of our Lord, you who were taken to crucifixion by the Nazis, help us, in our own time, and in the ways and opportunities that come our way, to witness and work for justice, peace, and the care of Creation. Help us to always stand firm against every form of racism and persecution. Teach us to understand, and seek forgiveness for, our own complicity in the sins of racism and persecution. Enlighten our minds that we will see clearly the wrongs and evidences of racism in our societies. Help us to speak with clarity, justice, and truth of beauty, wisdom, peace, and racial harmony, denouncing all injustices and social evils in the name of Christ. These prayers we ask, remembering all who have been murdered, lynched, gassed, and tortured to death,  Amen.

Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops:

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;             
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war, and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption, grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary…. Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey. His lifeless body was taken from the Cross and laid in her blessed arms. How the tears must have flowed as she cradled Him in her arms, He who once had been a little baby, bouncing on her lap, a young man who followed in Joseph’s footsteps as a carpenter and who taught in the Temple confounding the wise, a fearless prophet who healed and taught and brought hope.

How His life must have passed before her eyes, as her tears mingled with His most precious Blood. “A sword shall also pierce your heart.”  At the first Eucharist, she received the Cup from His hands — did she understand even then what was to come? “She kept all these things  and pondered them in her heart.” What did she tell the servants at the wedding at Cana? “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”

“For in Christ all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him. (Colossians 1:19-20).

“And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the  ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

How great is the need for reconciliation in this world! But reconciliation is NOT an oppressor who says — “I’m sorry” — but then goes and continues a lifestyle of oppression, with eyes closed to the consequences of his or her lifestyle of injustice.

Reconciliation is not the denial of injustice, it is the correction of the objective disorders that cause the harm. The call to reconciliation is not the Voice of the Oppressor saying “Cooperate with our violence against you.” No, it is the witness of the Precious Blood of Christ that reconciliation is orthopraxis — it is right action rooted in our interior personal relationship with Christ, a relationship that changes everything and makes the miracle of reconciliation possible. It is always a life faith that bears fruit, for we know that faith without works is dead.

When Christ is not the center of our lives, when our actions do not flow from our personal interior and devotional relationship with Jesus, reconciliation among peoples is not a comfortable process; it is typically easier to just blame the victims. Many close their eyes to structures of injustice and exploitation and greed, processes that make people poor and keep them “in their place.” The poor become a fearful Alien, the Other, to be mastered, confined,  counted, regulated, and exploited for the good of the ruling political and economic elites.

Our Lady of the Precious Blood without fear and full of love stands against all oppression and injustice, she comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comforted and calls us to the same journey. She directs us to her son and says, “Do whatever he tells you to do.

St. Franz Jagerstatter

St. Franz Jagerstatter was an Austrian farmer who was murdered by the Nazis during World War II because of his refusal to bear arms and serve in the German military. They chopped his head off with a guillotine!  His example of fortitude in the face of the most appalling evil is a reminder that reconciliation begins with truth — and grows from a personal commitment to live the Gospel , even at great personal risk that in turn derives from our personal relationship with Jesus.  Can anyone doubt that Franz Jagerstatter was in love with Jesus? From what other source could a young man stand against everyone — including his bishop — who told him to “just go along and do what the Nazis say.”

His example is of great importance in our day, as the United States wages unjust wars and our government demands support for its crusades of death and slaughter.

Meanwhile, our own Catholic bishops do not defend the right to life of all people in the face of the State’s demand for war but hide behind ecclesiastical rhetoric and preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding the unjust wars of the United States.

In the face of so much blood and death, we must remember the victims of imperial tyranny. Because we live in Christ we can live in true solidarity with them and dedicate our works of life as reparations for our nation’s unjust wars and its many other sins against life.

Our prayer is that through the reconciliation of the Blood of Christ, all people will learn to be one in solidarity with each other, so that all persons and peoples acknowledge the human personhood and dignity of each other, and live together in peace upon the earth. And as the song says, let this begin with me. Our praxis is a prayer, and this is the prayer that is most pleasing to God.

How is my life — how is your life —  open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves each and every one of us?  Jesus gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He was with the Franz Jagerstatter at the moment the guillotine sliced through his neck. He comforted him in life and in death and Christ is as real to us as he was to Franz. Jesus lives today and is at our side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free us.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, of our journeys of justice and peace. How does your relationship with Christ impact your life? What is the orthopraxis that you live that reflects Christ in you?

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Edith Stein was a German Jewish philosopher. Surprised by joy, after reading the works of Teresa of Avila, she was called by Christ into relationship with Him, and became a Discaled Carmelite nun taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  She made notable contributions to what has become known as the personalist school of philosophy, which was later influential in the writings and theology of Saint Pope John Paul II.  As early as 1933, she was speaking out against Nazis, and wrote Pope Pius XI asking him to publicly denounce the Nazi regime. Her letter may have been influential in his decision to eventually write the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (With Burning Sorrow) condemning Nazism and anti-semitism.  For her safety, her religious superiors transferred her to a convent in the Netherlands. After the German invasion, the Dutch bishops had a public statement read in all the Catholic churches condemning racism. in response, the Nazis rounded all the Jewish Catholic converts and sent them to concentration camps. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was sent to Auschwitz, where she died in a gas chamber on or about August 9, 1942, about a week after her arrest. She refused an opportunity to escape, insisting on her right to share in the sufferings of her people.

Act of Caring for Creation:  Fast & Abstinence! Refrain from eating meat or fish one day a week. If you are able, fast on that day, eating only one full meal. Give the money you save to a charity that works in food security.

We live in an ocean of plenty while the poor of this world go without. The least we can do is to feel the pangs of hunger and deny ourselves the full bounty that is available to us, not as a matter of ecclesiastical mandate as in days of yore, but as an act of love we take less so that others may have more.

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 Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation I: to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin

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And so begins the First of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation, and this one is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Servant of God Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. It runs from June 20 — June 28, 2020. I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation I: to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin (June 20 — June 28, 2020)

“Getting Started:

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life.”

General Intentions: For the redemption of structures of violence, oppression, exploitation, and despair with beauty, goodness, mercy, and peace. Reparation for sins against life.

The First Work of Justice and Peace: Live simply and justly in solidarity with the poor and marginalized and be a good neighbor. Make no war on them, rather, be one with them in spirit, truth, and love.

Act of Caring for Creation: Pick up trash in a public place.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. + Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples. Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for those who serve the poor and who accompany them in their journeys; may we who keep this sacred commemoration experience the joy and love of the grace of your Son; may His most Sacred Heart, together with yours, pierced with sorrow for the evils of the world, be a sure refuge of hope in a time of trouble for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

The Magnificat of Mary. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day all generations shall call me blessed.

The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation.

He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.

Dorothy Day: Dorothy Day, friend and partner of the poor, guiding spirit for the Catholic Worker, home always open to the unwanted, early, often lonely, witness in the cause of peace and conscience, eloquent pattern of gospel simplicity, Dorothy Day, disciple of the Lord, may we continue your gift of self to the needy and your untiring work for justice and peace. Help us to follow your example and dedicate our lives to the creation of structures of beauty and goodness, wisdom and mercy. Amen.

Peter Maurin: Peter Maurin, Holy Fool, teach us to give and not to take, to serve and not to rule, to help and not to crush, to nourish and not to devour. As we create a new society within the shell of the old, remind us that ideals and not deals, creed and not greed, are what makes humanity humane. Amen.

Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war,
and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption,
grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey. Today many swords pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Injustice, oppression, violence, war, murder, the rape of Creation — all these and more are sins and structures of sin against justice and peace. We know that within our hearts are the seeds of the problems the world faces.

This redemption begins in my heart and your heart. It all starts, as they say, with the man — or the woman — in the mirror.

If we want to see a better relationship of Christ and the world, we must ask first about our own personal relationship with Jesus. Is he the Easter Bunny? Someone who makes us feel good, but who is remote and not really involved? A cultural construct? A topic in a religious education course?

Or is Christ a living reality in my life?

We are in this for the long haul, and it will be a long haul. We will not wake up on the 82nd day after 81 days of nine novenas and discover that we have prayed and worked ourselves into a new world of justice and peace that cares for Creation as God intended for all of us. There is much more work and prayer to come.

If we think we can do this in our own strength, we are wrong.

If we are going forward in the work of justice and peace, the place to start is with an examination of our own lives. How do my sins of omission and commission create and support structures of injustice and oppression? How do I participate in and profit from the social sins and unjust wars of this age? What must be redeemed in my life so that I live in solidarity with those our society has pushed to the edge and further, into the abyss? How can I change my life so that I promote peace, rather than demanding war? Can I end (or minimize) the ecological harm I cause to Creation by my lifestyle?

Have I abandoned Christ for secular saviors? Do I bury myself in the busy-ness of life and ignore God’s call?

As you pray these novenas for the next 81 days, let this be a time when your personal relationship with Christ blooms and flowers. Our prayer for everyone who takes up these novenas is that their hearts will be open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves each and every one of us. He gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He lives today and is at your side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you. OK, I am paraphrasing Pope Francis here, but I think the point is clear: the journey of justice and peace is a journey with Christ.

If we are to change the world, each of us must begin with himself or herself as we ourselves become the change we wish to see in the world. That change is the fruit of the Spirit that grows from our personal relationship with Christ.

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin:

Dorothy Day was an early advocate of women’s rights who wrote for radical leftist newspapers in the early years of this century. She was a bohemian as they said in those days — but when she looked in her heart of hearts, she found it empty. By the grace and providence of God, she found our Lord and was baptized into the Catholic Church. Thus began a journey which led to the founding of the Catholic Worker movement, together with Peter Maurin and the other first Workers.

It’s clear from their writings that both Dorothy and Peter experienced a tender and intimate relationship with Christ. This relationship was the source of all that they were able to do for the cause of justice and peace. Dorothy was not a stranger to activism; for years she had struggled in the streets as part of the great social battles of the first years of the 20th century — women’s suffrage, the 40 hour week, the right to join a union, justice for workers.

Peter Maurin, a French peasant who came to the United States via Canada, taught that it was a great blessing to assist the rich in coming to the assistance of the poor. Too often, “never the twain shall meet,” and certainly, in this day and age, communication between the poor and the rich is as bad as it has ever been. Communication requires that each person who wants to be heard and understood must see and hear the “Other” as a human person. It’s not easy, and it takes practice.

The program that Peter and Dorothy offered to the world was direct, personal involvement with other human beings. They called us to open houses of hospitality, to engage in clarification of thought so we would understand what needs to be done, and to found agricultural communities as the seeds of new villages. They believed in the importance of the Eucharist, the Rosary, and many traditional devotions — because their work responded to their lively interior relationship with Christ. They were suspicious of the imperial State. They wanted the Catholic Worker movement to be an organism, not an organization, that drew its strength from the Eucharist and the real presence of Christ in the lives of the workers.

As the United States empire entered a time of great triumph, they called for establishing the seeds of a new society within the “collapsing ruins of the old. ” They taught that the poor should be fed by Christians, not by large government bureaucracies. Peter wrote many “Easy Essays” — short little works, almost poetry in their simplicity, each one packed with intense theological concepts about the human person and how we relate to one another in community. He also reminded us of the nobility — and the necessity — of manual labor (something we’d often like to forget in this day of convenience and instant gratification).

Dorothy and Peter worked to create and live structures of beauty and goodness. In the midst of the slums of New York, they provided hospitality to the poor while working for social justice. They learned that the works of mercy and the works of justice and peace are one and the same, different aspects of the same journey, all going the same direction.

Long before it was a theological mantra, the “preferential option for the poor” was a living reality in the life and work of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. They were informed critics of current events, prophetically looking for the truth in the signs of their times, and finding Jesus in the poor, rejected, and marginalized.

Their example inspires us today to consider how we can ensure fair distribution, subsidiarity, economic opportunity, justice, and food security for everyone everywhere. As we open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to the Spirit’s guidance, we can discern our response to the signs of these times. We then can see the structures of sin that bind us in poverty and war, and name the demons which oppress us.

We can buy farms and dedicate them for the purpose of raising food for the hungry. We can organize microenterprise co-operatives in every city to provide opportunity for the poor. We can look at our own individual situations, and adopt lifestyles of simplicity and frugality, rejecting the culture of materialistic conspicuous consumption in favor of a life of living simply, that others may simply live. We can minimize our use of fossil fuels and thus remove one of the major causes of war. We can buy our food directly from farmers, and stop funding the destruction of the family farm community. We can discern the cry of the widow and orphan in our own neighborhoods, and be the hands and feet of God in relieving distress and creating justice. We can open our own hearts to the reality of life in Christ, and embrace him as savior and friend.

Dorothy Day used to quote St. Catherine of Sienna — “All the way to heaven is heaven.” May this be our prayer, in Jesus’ holy name.

Caring for Creation

Our act of reparation during this 9 day novena, and going forward, is to pick up trash in a public place. You won’t have to look far, but I think there are extra blessings for picking up trash in low income neighborhoods. Trash is endemic everywhere. It is a sign of our careless attitude towards the gifts of this Earth that God has so freely given us. Much trash is useful — many items can be recycled or repurposed, but often we think only of our selfishness and do not take the time or the care to do the right thing by Creation and reduce our impact on the planet by recycling. Examine your conscience! Do you sin against God’s Creation by your casual attitude towards waste? Now is the time for actual works of penance, which is why we pick up trash in public places.

Courtesy: Bob Waldrop, St. Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House

…

(Paulcoholic, back. Thank you for reading and praying. Just a few thoughts of my own, here, on some of the language Bob used, particularly referring to the US as an “empire,” within a pejorative context. Well, it is painful, but the United States IS an Empire. While an Empire in and of itself is not a bad thing, ours is costly. Excessive tax dollars are spent on maintaining a military presence overseas we can hardly afford; money that could be spent domestically on infrastructure, healthcare, education and other things. In my thinking, there is little reason why we should still be maintaining military bases in Europe. They can potentially defend themselves. NATO served its purpose as the defense of the West against any potential Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion; after the fall of the Communist alliance NATO should have been mothballed and the European nations taken upon themselves some form of collective defense, if needed. While engaging in military action against terrorists might have seemed a good idea in the early 00s, in reality continued action in the Middle East has only served to create more terrorists. I’m uncertain as to the solution, but the way things are going there and domestically, I think we should cut our losses and our troops recalled. )

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!!)

On Bob Waldrop and introducing the Novena of Novenas

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Today begins a special period of prayer, the “Novena of Novenas.” This was started several years ago by Bob Waldrop, the late founder of the St. Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House in Oklahoma City. Bob died on August 30, 2019.

I never met Bob in person although we had been friends on Facebook for around ten years. I first discovered him online in the early 00s. I was exploring my Catholic faith and seeing what was online (I am revert) and in the course of looking into various theories of Catholic living ran across his site on “Champagne Living on a Beer Budget.” This intrigued me, given my recent sobriety. I quickly learned that it had nothing to do with the drinking, brewing or fermenting of alcoholic beverages, but rather was an omnibus guide to frugal, simple living. I believe that it was from Bob’s numerous sites that I started learning that Catholicism wasn’t just about the sacramental and liturgical life. There is an entire system of thought rooted in Scripture, interpreted and implemented by saints, popes and laity, that brings into the political and economic sphere the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Soon afterwards I discovered Distributism, Subsidiarity and Solidarity; Personalism and Communitarianism. I’m lousy at applying many of them, but I try. Much later, monarchism and Tradition. (Bob was by no stretch of the imagination a monarchist. I think he was Traditional Latin Mass-friendly, but he was a Liturgical Music Director at a parish that only offered the Mass in the Ordinary Form. But his YouTube Channel does offer videos of chant and other pre-1962 hymns.)

I became entranced by Bob’s sites. I bookmarked them all including subpages in a browser folder entitled “Bobternet,” as his sites were massive (albeit disorganized, which he admitted) and contained copious amounts of information about a plethora of subjects, I figured he was a subset of the Internet and hence gave it that name. (He thought it hilarious when I told him years later on Facebook.)

Bob was a Catholic Worker, with “‘‘hair on fire’ rants on politics, economics, food, permaculture, sustainability, peak oil, climate instability, cooperatives, local foods, and etc.,” that afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted. He lived the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. He was truly a disciple of Servant of God Dorothy Day and her colleague Peter Maurin (co-founders of the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933). He believed in Jesus with a passion and adhered to the Church’s orthodox teachings. One might think that with his stance on social issues he would be a “cafeteria Catholic” and pick and choose what he preferred amongst the teachings, but his sites on the Church’s social justice teachings, from politics and economics, to war, the pro-life movement, poverty and human suffering, migrants and such, exuded orthodoxy with supporting documentation from Scripture, the Saints, Popes and the Catechism. This makes people uncomfortable, particularly those who prefer a quiet and tidy Christianity of Sunday Mass or ‘worship service’ followed by secular activities. “Just let me worship and pray once in a while, and please don’t remind me of my obligations to serve others.” Bob’s faith was an active Catholic Christianity.

Well, one of the things that he introduced was this thing called the “Novena of Novenas.” Nine consecutive individual Novenas, thus stretching across 81 days. He began them annually on the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the Saturday immediately after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.) This year it begins today, and ends on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in September. (I don’t think they always end on another important liturgical event, but I think it is way cool when they do as to me, it signifies a God-incidence.)

I will borrow (copy/paste) from Bob’s work on the Novena’s particulars, but I have included links directly to his sites so you can access the complete information (just be aware that when you do go there, dates are incorrect as he died during the last one, and no one is in charge of maintaining or updating his sites. All of the links are to the Internet Archive’s version of his sites. I will address that issue at the end of this post, so do not be concerned about the links.) One thing: I have never prayed this before, and so I do not know if the intentions change every year. I am going with the last one from 2019, as that was Bob’s last and he died during it.

OK, here we go (Bob’s writing is italicized. When I interrupt, it’ll be back to non-italicized font.)

“A Novena of Novenas
for Justice, Peace, & Creation

This “novena of novenas” is 81 days of intercessory prayer, reflection, and orthopraxis (“right action”) for peace among nations, justice for all people, and the care of Creation. We start on the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, — June 20, 2020 and end on September 8, 2020. Our novena dates wander around from year to year, since we always begin on the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a movable feast, the date of which is dependent upon the date of Easter. (It’s the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which is the Friday after the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.)“

“A novena is 9 days of prayer, and recalls the 9 days that the Apostles spent praying in the “Upper Room” between the Ascension and Pentecost. This call to prayer consists of nine consecutive novenas -81 days!

Each novena has a general intention, the prayers, thoughts for the Journey, and an act of caring for Creation.“

All right, Paulcoholic here, and you might be wondering what this all has to do with the typical focus of Sober Cat, which is sobriety. Quite some time ago I changed the subtitle of this blog to “Catholicism, Recovery, Sobriety, Conversion, Prayer, Fasting, Repentance, Penance.” Mainly because I wanted to gradually expand beyond writing about “how to maintain sobriety and recovery by means of Catholic spirituality etc., etc., etc.,” And Bob’s stuff is within the realm of the subtitle. Also, and this is important: if you are reading this blog, then there’s a good chance you are or were an alcoholic or addict, or you know and love one. Recovery, to me, isn’t just about staying clean and sober. I firmly believe that once we establish our sobriety from booze and drugs, we continue that work, only extending outward from ourselves and to our neighbors. It does mean in part that we reach out to others we know or suspect are trapped by addictions, but it also means that we recognize the inherent sickness of the world around us and the fact that human society today, everywhere, is addicted to something. Just look around. There are power struggles everywhere leading to violence, intolerance and injustice. People make demands rather than appeals. We are addicted to materialism and the acquisition of more goods. Many people, including myself at times and perhaps you, root our identity in what we do for a living, how much money we earn and what we spend it on. Too many secular distractions abound that take us away from God. The Church is under attack from without and within. Face up to it: humanity today is sick and in dire need of a massive makeover that can only come from embracing the Gospel. “Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.” (Words of Jesus in the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, “Divine Mercy in My Soul,” paragraph 300.) Peace is not found in perpetuating injustices, in acquiring more material goods, using up the natural resources of our planet with little regard for future generations. Peace is not found in aborting future generations! Peace will not happen unless justice is established and in Catholic social teachings, justice means that everyone receives what is their due based upon the individual’s intrinsic dignity of being made in the images and likeness of God and in being His adopted children through Christ. All human life is sacred and unique, from womb to tomb, and was not put on this Earth to be exploited, enslaved, or oppressed for narrow political and economic goals. A Mercy-based culture.

And so we have the essential themes of the Novena of Novenas. Each one focuses on separate issues. But, back to Bob:

“Each novena is dedicated to one of the titles of Mary and one or more of the saints of justice and peace, whose prayers of intercession we invoke for our various intentions. It’s like calling up a friend and saying, “Please pray for me.” The “Works of Justice and Peace” of the first seven Novenas are from the statement of mission of the…Saint Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House.

Each of the 81 days we will also pray the Novena to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the conversion of the United States Catholic Bishops, so that they will come to a better understanding of the necessity of authenticity in leadership. We think the orthodoxy (“right teaching”) of the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to a certain way of living. That’s known as “orthopraxis” — or right action..”

Me, again. Yes, the Bishops of the United States (and perhaps in your country, as well) are in need of conversion. Too many lack the courage and fortitude to be true shepherds of the Church in these times of Spiritual Warfare. The bishops should lead us towards a ‘certain way of living,’ but when they don’t the Holy Spirit raises up the laity to compensate for when the Bishops lack. The Spirit did that when He brought Dorothy Day into the Catholic Church, just in time for her to meet Peter Maurin and establish the Catholic Worker. The work of the Movement was seen by some to have been a major reason for the failure of Communism to gain traction in the United States in the 1930s. It seems we have come full circle. In the 2020s we are back to battling the forces of Marxism; forces we thought were defeated when the USSR collapsed. It wasn’t, it just metastasized. Oh, Bob wants to speak again:

“The spirit of this novena may be found in these words of Saint Oscar Romero. . . “It is very easy to be servants of the word without disturbing the world: a very spiritualized word, a word without any commitment to history, a word that can sound in any part of the world because it belongs to no part of the world. A word like that creates no problems, starts no conflicts.”

“What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks the genuine church, is the word that, burning like the word of the prophets, proclaims and accuses; proclaims to the people God’s wonders to be believed and venerated, and accuses of sin those who oppose God’s reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out of their societies, out of their laws – out of the structures that oppress, that imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity. This is the hard service of the word.”

“But God’s Spirit goes with the prophet, with the preacher, for he is Christ, who keeps on proclaiming his reign to the people of all times.”

At this point you may be asking, “OK, Paulcoholic. Enough already. Where’s the actual, you know, NOVENA? Helllooooo?”

Bob’s got you covered. Here he goes:

“Getting Started.

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life. 

All right. That’s it. You know about Bob Waldrop, you’ve been introduced to a whole muncha buncha things to think about; I am not now going to load you down with the actual First Novena itself. “What?!?!?!” you scream in horror. “After all this…”

“Hang on.” I interrupt. “That will be in the next post, almost immediately after this one. This blogpost is long enough, dontcha think?. But if you can’t wait a few minutes or so before I post the intentions and prayers of the First of the Nine, here’s a link to the whole kitten kaboodle:” The Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace and Creation

(Update! The First Novena is now up: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation I: to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin

NOTE: all of the links that I gave for Bob’s sites are to their last versions that have been scooped up by the Internet’s “Wayback Machine,” also known as Internet Archive. This is because his domains are going dark or becoming security risks from lack of updates, or are being coopted by squatters. So the only reliable place to get what Bob taught and shared is in the Wayback Machine. Thankfully, all links are self-contained, so that if you click on something in one site that links to another page of his, it remains within the Archive even if the link is to a different site of Bob’s.

Since his death, his work in helping the poor, the marginalized, and all those considered “expendable” by society is being carried out by other groups since, as far as I can find out, the Romero House has since shut down. (I was informed last Autumn by someone who knew him very well that the House’s operations were transferred to the Dorothy Day Center in Oklahoma City. The Romero House itself was on the verge of being condemned. My information may be dated, but the Romero website’s domain name has been abandoned and subsequently taken over by a website squatter hawking goods. This person, who is as unique an individual as Bob was, and who is a dedicated Catholic Worker, wrote a nice obituary on her blog. Please go here: GOD’s Garden Gnome Gone Home.) Perhaps if she reads this she can post an update on the Romero House and legacy, in the comments.

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!!)

Psalms for sanity

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I am blogging this in an Adoration Chapel; I’ve added a Holy Hour in addition to my usual one later in the week. I’m not boasting, I simply like Adoration and the Chapel isn’t too far from home.

While here I chose to read the Gradual Psalms. They are Psalms 120-135 (or 119-134 in Catholic Bibles translated ftom the Latin Vulgate, such as the Douay-Rheims or Knox.)

While reading them, I am finding them to be quite applicable in these pandemic times. They express hope and trust in God’s providence, protection and mercy; joy in His help and gladness in coming to His temple.

I suggest that you read them in order; there is a certain sequence to them. They are called “Gradual” or “Songs of Ascent” because pilgrims recited them as they ascended the old Temple in Jerusalem.

Take out your Catholic Bible and turn to the Psalms. Try reading the Graduals. Pethaps afterwards, especially if you are not too familiar with the Book of Psalms, look through them. They form the prayer books of the Church, and countless saints found peace, joy and comfort in them.

There are psalms for virtially every emotional state you could possibly have.

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!!)