UPDATE on California Mystic’s Cause

Posted on February 21, 2023 by paulcoholic

Several years ago I brought to your attention the possibility of the United States getting a new saint. Her name is Cora Evans and her Cause finished the diocesan phase and was sent to Rome: California mystic’s canonization cause progresses to Rome

This cool! I hope the process picks up speed from here. I know California is claiming her as their own, but I know of a few Utah Catholics homage proud of her!

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

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

The Sacred Heart Devotion as a recovery method

Posted on February 17, 2023 by paulcoholic

The idea of using the Devotion to the Sacred Heart as a way to keep clean and sober isn’t strange to anyone familiar with the Matt Talbot Way. The Sacred Heart is central to the Way. It is essentially transferring your love for your favorite chemical onto Jesus. You ‘give’ your love for your addiction to Jesus and relapsing means you are taking it back. This is all done while being mindful of the reparative nature of the Sacred Heart.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus has special significance to sober alcoholics, especially to those who are familiar with AA. If you know your AA history, back in its early days one of the co-founders of the movement, Dr. Bob Smith, was greatly assisted in his treatment of alcoholics by a Catholic nun by the name of Sister Mary Ignatia Gavin, an administrator of St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio. After an alcoholic completed his stay at the hospital, Sister Ignatia would “award” him with a Sacred Heart Badge, sort of a “graduation” gift. This eventually developed into the practice of AA’s recieving medallions or coins representing whatever sobriety anniversary they were celebrating.

But the Devotion as a recovery method in and of itself, apart from the connection to the Matt Talbot Way? The essential part of the Devotion is Love and Mercy. Love of Jesus and acceptance of His Mercy. You love Jesus so much that you are willing to sacrifice for Him, and your love isn’t restricted to just loving Him, but also to love Him in the place of others who do not. This is reparative love. Loving Him in the place of those who do not means that your are making reparations for their sins. Sounds like a making of amends? But not just for your own sins and character defects, but for those of others, too. This is perfectly in keeping with St. Paul’s doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ; where one suffers, all suffer; there one rejoices, all rejoice. Making reparations for others is an act of mercy and this can only have beneficial results for ourselves. We obtain mercy for others and it gets lavished on us.

The Gospel of John 15:13 “No one has a greater love than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” While we are not literally ‘laying down our lives’ for others, figuratively we are when we sacrifice and make reparations for the sins of others.

So, the basic workingnout off the devotion to the Sacred Heart, if done with a mind to keeping clean and sober, is a working out of our own recovery. It turns our attention off of ourselves and limits our self-will. If doing unto others what we would have done to us, charity is strengthened and we lose the need to drink and drug.

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!!)

Let’s start a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations!

Posted on February 10, 2023 by paulcoholic

The idea: Popularizing a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations.

What’s a Triduum? A Triduum is three consecutive days on the liturgical calendar commemorating or celebrating a feast day. We used to have many back in the olden times before Vatican 2. We’re really down to just the Easter Triduum of the evening of Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. They’ve kind of gone the way of octaves. And Holy Days of Obligation, once you think of that. Did you know that the Catholic Church once had thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation?

Why? Consecration to the Blessed Virgin is important. Devotion to Mary is a sure sign of predestination (not in the Protestant sense of the word but rather that God knows in advance who will be saved and who won’t, because He is omniscient and exists outside of linear time. Foreknowledge of who will be saved doesn’t mean prior determination of the saved. And devotion to Mary has the advantage of bestowing greater receptivity to graces which flow to us through her; just like if you study hard in school you are ‘predestined’ to go to a good college. Huh? Studying hard makes you receptive to learning and knowledge; hence getting into a better college, OK? ) And souls dedicated to Mary are never lost.

Why a Triduum? Because it’s neat. It’s a cool word. Next time you go to Church and find yourself amongst other Catholics, just try and work the word ‘triduum’ into a conversation. See how people look at you. Also, it reinforces one’s dedication. Three straight days every month heightens and focuses one’s attention and devotion. Also, as far as I know, a Triduum of Marian Feast Days has never been a devotion so this could go viral and bring a lot of readers to the blog and who can maybe perhaps PayPalMe. HAHA. LOL. In all seriousness, I think it’s a pretty good idea and I wonder why nobody’s thought of it before.

OK, Marian Consecration is a good thing and a ‘triduum’ sounds old school Catholic and people look at you weird. But three days? You’ve got specific Marian feast days or titles in mind? Because I’m sensing that you do. I sure do! Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Fatima. Those are on the 11th, 12th and 13th of the month.

Yeah, but they’re not on the same month. Isn’t Lourdes in February, Guadalupe in December and Fatima in May? Yeah, but I heard tell that some people do a monthly conseration or dedication on the 13th of every month in honor of the Fatima Apparitions as a way to foster living out the Fatima Message. Also, I have this little Guadalupe prayer book from a monastery in Oregon (they don’t print it anymore; the one I have dates from 1959) where there’s a monthly consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe on the 12th of each month.

So I got to thinking…

Why not string them all together?

And there you have it! Readers of this blog and whomever they share this post with can consecrate themselves every month to Mary under her titles of Our Lady of Lourdes, Guadalupe and Fatima!   I also think it’s not a coincidence that those apparitions are associated with dates that are right in consecutive order. That must mean they are of considerable importance? They are! Why? And how so? Read on!

Our Lady of Lourdes is associated with healing. Spiritual healings, physical healings, all sorts of healings. Seventy of the medical ones have been declared miraculous (out of the thousands claimed.) Our Lady also told the seer, St. Bernadette Soubirous, messages concerning repentance from sin.

Our Lady of Gudalupe is associated with the pro-life movement (given that she appears pregnant in the Sacred Image on the Tilma of St. Juan Diego.) She is also associated with the largest voluntary mass conversion of people to Catholicism. Fourteen years after the Protestant Revolt in Europe which stripped millions from the One True Faith, millions of pagans in Mexico replaced them through her intercession! And if you read up on the Tilma, you’ll learn of the tremendous symbolism of the images depicted on it; symbols significant to both the Aztecs and the Spanish. Her words to St. Juan Diego practically clamored for the unity of the Americas, of all the peoples living on it. No class conflict or cultural segregation; but a unity of European and indigenous peoples.

And at Fatima, Our Lady messaged about repentance from sin, pray the Rosary, make sacrifices in reparation for sin, and that war is punishment for sin (the most grievous kinds were sins of the flesh, i.e. sexual sins and immodest attire.)

So, repentance, conversion, prayer; and if you dig just a little deeper, there’s pro-life advocacy, pacifism, chastity, cross-cultural unity rather than conflict, Catholicism as the alternative to paganism and the demonic…. See what I’m getting at?

Repentance, conversion and prayer are the antidotes to the scourge of abortion and contraception, to the endless war that is now threatening to go nuclear, sexual depravity now championed as ‘normal,’ and an increasingly pagan culture developing in the ‘post-Christian West’ that is careening towards the demonic paganism similar to that of the Aztec Empire the Spanish destroyed and the Catholic Church healed through Our Lady’s intervention.

We need Mary’s maternal intervention and her intercession in our lives and society. If we can consecrate ourselves every month under these three titles of Our Lady, then perhaps miracles will occur and the general race to the cultural and moral bottom we are descending into will stop. Or if not, then perhaps some of us will somehow escape the Chastisement certain to come (unless it’s already here and going on.)

Spread the word!

So here are the three Acts of Consecration. You can see in the one to Guadalupe the seeds of this idea. It suggests making that consecration on the 12th of each month, as well as being mindful of Our Lady’s messages at Lourdes and Fatima.

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Lourdes (to be said every month on the 11th):

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Virgin Immaculate, you appeared 18 times to Bernadette at the grotto in Lourdes to remind Christians of what the truths in the Gospel require of them. You call them to prayer, penance, the Eucharist and the life of the church. To answer your call more fully, I dedicate myself, through you, to your Son Jesus. Make me willing to accept what he said. By the fervour of my faith, by the conduct of my life in all its aspects, by my devotion to the sick, let me work with you in the comforting of those who suffer and in the reconciliation of people that the church may be one and there be peace in the world. All this I ask, confident that you, Our Lady, will fully answer my prayer. Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St. Bernadette, pray for us.

And so today, may Mary, the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for us and lead us closer to her son, Jesus.

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe (to be said every month on the 12th):

O most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I (Name,) although most unworthy of being thy servant, yet moved by thy wonderful mercy and by my desire to serve thee, consecrate myself to thy Immaculate Heart, and choose thee today, in the presence of my Guardian Angel and the whole heavenly court, for my especial Lady, Advocate and Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the name given to the heavenly image left us as pledge of they motherly kindness. I firmly resolve that I will love and serve thee always, and do whatever I can to induce others to love and serve thee. I pray thee, Mother of God, and my most kind and amiable Mother, that thou wilt receive me into the number of thy servants for thy child and servant forever. Assist me in all my thoughts, words, and actions at every moment of my life, that every step and breath be directed to the greater glory of God; and through thy most powerful intercession obtain for me that I may never more offend my beloved Jesus, that I may glorify Him in this life, and that I may also love thee, and enjoy thee, in the company of the Blessed Trinity through eternity in holy Paradise.

In order to live this consecration as another St. Juan Diego, I promise to renew it frequently, especially on the twelfth day of each month; and mindful of thy messages to us at Lourdes and Fatima, I will strive to lead a life of prayer and sacrifice, of fidelity to thy Rosary and of reparation to thy Immaculate Heart. Amen.

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Fatima (to be said every month on the 13th):

O MOST Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, in accordance with thy wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to thine Immaculate Heart. To thee I entrust all that I have, all that I am, to thy blessed charge and special keeping and into thine Immaculate Heart. For this day, for every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body.

To thee do I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through thy most holy intercession and thy merits all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will, and that of thy Divine Son.

Reign over me dearest Mother, that I may be thine in prosperity, in adversity, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. Grant that I may have no other spirit but thy spirit, to know Jesus Christ and His Divine and Holy Will; that I may have no other soul but thy soul, to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thy heart, to love God with a pure and burning love like thine.

My beloved Mother, my glorious Queen, I am all thine and all that I have is thine. Amen.

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!!)

Acts of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Posted on February 10, 2023 by paulcoholic

Can’t have a Sacred Heart Friday without a post on consecration to the Sacred Heart!!!

There are several. These are the important ones:

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.

I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

######

Final Act of Consecration by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

O Jesus, Infinite love, I wish to consecrate myself to Thee with all the fever of my soul. I offer Thee all my being on the alter of Thy Heart where Thou dost sacrifice Thyself for love of me. I offer Thee my body which I will respect because it is the temple in which Thou dwells; my soul, which I will cultivate as a garden where Thou mayest come to take Thy rest; my senses, which I will guard because they are the door which the tempter comes in; the powers of my soul, which I will open to the inspirations of grace; my thoughts, which will no longer fasten themselves on worldly illusions, my desires , which will reach towards the happiness of Heaven; my virtues, with will flourish under the shadow of Thy protection; my passions, which I will submit to the yoke of Thy commandments; may very sins, and which I will detest as long as my heart is capable of hatred and which I will unceasingly weep over as long as I have tears to weep. From today on my heart wishes to be all Thine, forever, without fault or lukewarmness as Thou, divine Heart, willed to be all mine. I will serve Thee for sacrifice myself for all those who blaspheme Thee. Thou know the sincerity of my desires, according me the grace which in the battles of life, and place on my brow, one day , an immortal crown in the dwellings of Thy glory. Thou wilt be my reward, and the Wound in Thy most lovable Heart will be my eternal Paradise. Thy Kingdom come!

######

From Pope Leo XII in his Encyclical Letter “Annum Sacrum,” published May 25, 1899:

Act of Consecrating the Human Race to the Sacred Heart:

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most sacred heart. Many, indeed, have never known you, many too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your sacred heart. Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be you king of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be you king also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not you to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever.

The book, “The Devotion to the Sacred Heart,” by Fr. John Croiset contains many, many, more.

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!!)

First Fridays and the Sacred Heart

Posted on February 3, 2023 by paulcoholic

Today is the First Friday of February. It is also “Sacred Heart Friday” That means it’ll be a basic primer on the First Friday Devotion, one of the ‘pillars’ of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Jesus made the following 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary in favor of those who consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart and who attend Mass and receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of each month for nine consecutive months. This to be done in a spirit of reparation for sins committed against the Sacred Heart (basically, any sin committed against the love of Jesus, such as blasphemy and sacrilege against His Name, the Sacraments and the Church.) Although, as is written in The Devotion to the Sacred Heart, by Fr. John Croiset, these 12 promises are but an abbreviation of a much longer list of promises. To find out those, either purchase the book (link in that post) or you can download a public domain version here: Devotion To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. By Father John Croiset Of The Society Of Jesus

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their homes.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.

5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart.

12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

The Church grants a Plenary indulgence to those who attend Mass and receive Communion in honor of The Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday of each month for nine consecutive months.

I’ve done this numerous times; although once is probably enough. However it is recommended that if you can do so, keep on doing it multiple times. It can’t hurt!

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!!)

Our Lady of Lourdes Novena Begins Today

Posted on February 2, 2023 by paulcoholic

EMERGENCY NOVENA REMINDER! I ALMOST FORGOT! I was reminded by a post in a Facebook Group I admin that the Novena to our lady of Lourdes begins today. If you’re somewhere and didn’t realize this until the 3rd of February, that’s OK; the novena will just end on the 11th of February.

Here are some good sites with novenas for you to pick from if you don’t have one in a prayerbook of your own:

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes | EWTN

Our Lady of Lourdes NOVENA PRAYERS – Pray More Novenas – Novena Prayers & Catholic Devotion

Most Powerful Our Lady of Lourdes Novena and Prayer Catholicnovenaprayer.com

Prayers & Novenas | Lourdes

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is important to me for a number of reasons. Among them, it is a key day for those devoted to Our Lady as the Immaculate Conception. For it was at Lourdes in 1858 that the Virgin confirmed Pope Pius IX’s infallible declaration in 1854 that Our Lady was conceived without original sin. Also, Lourdes is about healing. I’ve been sickly most of my life, especially as a youngster and then with alcoholism in my 30s. And now I am beset with afflictions of joints and muscle and all sorts of things. And lastly, it was St. Maximilian Kolbe’s favorite Marian apparition. He was dedicated and focused on Mary’s self-declaration as “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

And if you’re reading this and are a Sober Catholic, then it must be an important feast for you, too! Our healing and recovery from addictions is never really over. Place yourself within Mary’s mantle.

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!!)

Through Nothing to the Infinite: How an Atheist Lead me to God

Posted on January 27, 2023 by paulcoholic

An atheist leads me towards belief in God during a tumultuous time in my life through his use of vivid storytelling within a deeply imaginative universe.

It begs the question of, “How can a non-believer help someone to believe?”

Saints and spiritual writers often say that God can bring good out of evil. Evil is not just found in such actions as abortion, genocide, or slavery, but when any personal will opposes the Divine, however minor the act is. Atheism is that kind, ranging from mere unthinking disbelief to the more militant. God wills us to know and love him; atheists reject that will. I am not sure where in that range J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the 1990s sci-fi TV show, “Babylon 5,” falls. He had a Catholic background but strayed from belief somewhere along the way. One episode of his “Babylon 5” drilled me to the floor with its consideration of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Passing Through Gethsemane” (S3E4) made me look at Christ’s Agony in the Garden from a perspective that treated it not as some pious event memorialized in the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, but a reality to enter into so as to ponder how your actions might manifest themselves.

Straczynski is an atheist, yet he treated religious belief with a respect at variance with today’s atheists. He regarded religion as being part of the human condition serving as an excellent vehicle to explore it.

In “Passing Through Gethsemane,” a guest character, Brother Edward, (played by Brad Dourif,) is a monk dwelling on Babylon 5 with other members of his order. He has a past, which I won’t reveal for fear of spoiling the show. (Although the episode aired in 1995, streaming services enable new fans to discover the series regularly. If you already know Babylon 5, then you know about this episode.) In it, he is asked by Ambassador Delenn (played by Mira Furlan,) “What is the defining moment of your belief….the emotional core…?” Edward replies with the background on Gethsemane, and specifically that Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. In a moment of weakness, he prayed for the cup to pass from him, so he would be spared the pain of what was to come, including death. But of course, he wouldn’t be spared and he’d be arrested. Edward continues with an emphasis that Jesus didn’t have to be there when the soldiers arrived to arrest him, that he could have left and postponed the inevitable for a few hours or even days. But Jesus knew what would happen and stayed anyway. Brother Edward concludes that he honestly doesn’t know if he would have had the courage to stay.

BroEdward01

Brother Edward.

Courtesy: Babylon Project Fandom Wiki

When I first saw that episode, that latter part blew my mind. “Seriously,” I thought, “does anyone actually look at a Biblical event and personally connect it to their life? As in, what they might do if they were there and then build their faith life from that? Everyone thinks that if they were back in Jesus’ days they’d of course follow him unhesitatingly and would never be in the crowd screaming ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ But, to seriously meditate upon a specific event, dwell on it, and make it the ‘defining moment’ and the ‘emotional core’ of their faith life?”

Perhaps a digression into what my ‘emotional core’ was like at the time. I was ‘raised Catholic’ but left the Faith nearly ten years earlier. My prayers about some complicated desperate situations weren’t answered. I also coincidentally fell prey to some atheistic and libertarian science fiction novels that convinced me organized religion was a sham and a means of exercising mass control over the populace. So I left, and life immediately got better. So much for religion. (But I never became an atheist. I did flirt with libertarianism, though.) Flash forward to how I was when “Passing Through Gethsemane” aired and you’ll read a different story. Life had gotten progressively worse. I had relocated from across the country to escape some more complicated desperate situations (these had the habit of following me) and my ‘emotional core’ meant that drinking was defining my moments. Capt. Morgan and Jose Cuervo were my saviors; here I am being mind-struck by some monk wondering if he would have had the courage to stay in Gethsemane and await the soldiers to take him to his execution. Me, who defined courage by how skillfully I can smuggle bottles into the house.

You’re probably thinking that this TV episode changed my life right then and I found a priest, went to confession, and resumed participating in the life of the Church. No. Reversion was still a few years off. But seeds were planted that started growing, eventually bearing fruit later on.

The crux of this is that faith powers a spiritual life. What I learned from that episode, ironically written by an atheist, is that for faith to have meaning it has to grip you by the scruff of your neck, shake you up and down, and demand that it be lived and taken seriously. The kind of faith that inspires people to willingly sacrifice their lives, not the faux faith that attends Mass whenever they feel like it, or sets it aside when it proves inconvenient to their political or business choices. The latter kind is mental pablum designed to make you excuse your sins and feel good about yourself.

That was in marked contrast to the faith that I had. In the years before I left the Church, my Catholicism was broad but not deep. It couldn’t have done what Brother Edward did; intimately apply some event to my own life to create an emotional core that defined it.

A faith that defines your emotional core such as what drove Brother Edward to contemplate his place in Gethsemane fosters the willingness to firmly plant your feet and say, “This is what I am about, regardless of the passing fancies of society or what the neighbor’s think. This is me, my self-defined ‘I AM.’” It confronts the crucial significance of belief and its consequences. This is the willingness to face down death; literal death or just those things which challenge you or can kill your soul. But perhaps more importantly, that drawing from this power and courage means you have the willingness to be a transformative force in the society around you in a manner best suited to your unique talents.

That may have been what Brother Edward was wondering. Not only the literal, “If I was in Gethsemane, would I have…,” but in drawing from that would he have had the courage to face everything challenging him, both personal and external.

These are challenges everyone faces, and an atheist started me on the way.

NOTE: This post was intended for publication ‘professionally,’ as in for pay, but it kept getting rejected. I just posted it to my other blog, renamed Paul Sofranko Space. I thought that since it concerns conversion and spiritual growth, it should go here, too.

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

The Surrender Novena

Posted on January 27, 2023 by paulcoholic

On Wednesday Morning I was rummaging through a box containing incense packets and I found a prayer card for something called the The Surrender Novena: Let Jesus Take Care of Everything.

It is a Sacred Heart Devotion and hence qualifies for Sacred Heart Friday. Why is is a Sacred Heart Devotion? Because of this image that is on the cover of the novena:

The Surrender Novena grande

The link in the first sentence takes you to an article where you can read all about it and say the prayers. It’s quite easy and given the source, Servant of God, Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo, the confessor of St. Padre Pio, no less) it is powerful and is a must to be added to your spiritual toolkit. Here is the novena in full (read the article anyway; oh, and don’t forget to say the prayer to Mary everyday which is listed at the end):

The Surrender Novena

Day 1

Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.