St. Maximilian Kolbe Novena begins August 5th!

An annual post:

August 5th begins a novena to St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, one of my favorite saints for a myriad of reasons. One of them, and not the primary one, even, is his patronage of addicts. He was not an addict himself, but the Church in Her thinking has anointed him for that role by virtue of his death, for he was executed by a lethal injection.

His Feast Day is August 14th.

The following are links to a novena to him I wrote near the time when I began this blog:

The Novena to St. Maximilian Kolbe for Alcoholics and Addicts:

Novena Day 1 Novena Day 2 Novena Day 3 Novena Day 4 Novena Day 5 Novena Day 6 Novena Day 7 Novena Day 8 Novena Day 9

There are numerous posts on Sober Catholic about him, the archive of them is here: St. Maximilian Kolbe Post Archive

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!!)

Shhh…. This is a cheat post

I posted something regarding the annual Sober Catholic novena to St.Maximilian Kolbe and noticed in my blog editor that I didn’t post at all in July 2021. That marks the first time that has happened since I began this project in January 2007. Oftentimes I notice near the end of the month that I hadn’t yet posted during it and would cobble up something, anything, and post; I have this crazed dedication to posting at least once a month. 

So, this is a cheat post. It was actually written on August 4th, 2021, but backdated to July 31, 2021. (Just so that the Post Archives dropdown menu doesn’t show a missing month. Oh, yes, I do have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) 😉 

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!!)

Hypothetical 5th Edition of the Big Book to have major changes?

Although I do not attend AA meetings in person, I still make use of and work the Twelve Steps. I enjoy reading Twelve Step literature every day, whether it be favorite passages from the Big Book or from a few daily meditations and reflections books. I also really enjoy participating in online recovery on In the Rooms. My recovery program is hardly traditional, being primarily focused on Catholic spirituality and supplemented by Twelve Step literature and online recovery. But I still have a deep interest in AA, its future and such like.

The current Big Book of AA is in its 4th edition and was published in 2001. New editions come out every few decades (1st one in 1939, 2nd edition in 1955, the 3rd in 1976.) So, given that the current edition is coming up on being 20 years old, I was wondering if there might be plans afoot to update it with a 5th edition.

I cannot seem to find any definitive, authoritative online sources that say so; except for a few regional AA groups petitioning for such a thing, there does not seem to be any formal announcement from AA about a 5th edition, except perhaps considering discussing such a project in 2022. 

I did find one blogger who declared recently that they did vote on such a project, and that they will change the first 164 pages of the Big Book. This is the classic,  legendary and revered program of recovery section, commonly referred to as the “first 164 pages,” or simply, “the first 164.” These were written by Bill. W., the co-founder of AA and are almost regarded as a ‘sacred text’ by long time AA members. It is in these pages that the Twelve Steps are described, amongst other helps. “Anonymous Alcoholic,” in their blog of the same name, declared:

Unbelieveable. They will take out “To The Wives”, “The Family Afterward” and “To The Employers”, and they will change the pronouns to they and them and develop new stories.

Source: “And Yes…They Voted To CHANGE THE BIG BOOK!!!”

I submitted a comment, which hasn’t appeared yet asking Anonymous Alcoholic for their source; I diligently searched and like I said above, found nothing definitive.

I can understand and appreciate Anonymous Alcoholic’s concern. Change is hard, especially in something near and dear and life-saving. But still, survival means adaptation, and when people, places and human organizations do not adapt to change, they vanish. If this person’s fears are correct, and they will change the Big Book in the manner supposed, I have no problem with it (please read on before submitting hostile comments 😉 ) because in my opinion, for AA to release another edition of the Big Book and retain the current ‘first 164 pages’ sends the entire movement on the pathway to irrelevance. Other recovery programs using contemporary research on alcoholism and contemporary language will supplant AA. They even may make use of the Steps, but in the end the Twelve Steps may be all that anyone will recall of AA. The ‘fellowship’ will fade into irrelevance from blind resistance to needed change.

First, the basic facts regarding new editions of the Big Book (which, incidentally, has the formal name of “Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition”). Every new edition is published for the express purpose of reflecting the changes in the membership of Alcoholics Anonymous since the previous edition was published. So far, this has only merited changes in the “Personal Stories” sections. Old stories are deleted, some retained, and new stories reflecting ‘changes in the membership’ replace the deleted ones. These typically reflect demographic and societal changes. Some people appreciate the changes, some dislike them, others don’t much care and just want to know “how they stayed sober.”

Second, it seems that every time a new edition is released, there is pressure to alter the first 164 pages. Through the 4th edition, AA has resisted the urge to alter them. Hard core traditionalists defend the efficacy of these chapters, and since Bill W. wrote them, they are untouchable. Others insist that they are archaic, sexist or outdated and have served their purpose. They need to be updated to maintain relevancy with people now entering AA.

I agree with the latter. I think the time is nigh for the “first 164” to be updated. Although the “first 164” has helped me and countless others recover from alcoholism since 1939, it is time for them to be refreshed. Now, before your head explodes with irate emotion if you’re among the legions who oppose such changes, bear with me, please, and read my arguments and counsels.

 Consider: the “first 164 pages” were written in the 1930s. They use 1930s American English complete with slang. Should people in the 2020s and 2030s and onwards be subjected to that? They reflect a 1930s understanding of alcoholism. Therein lies the need for a change; the archaic language just sounds very odd and difficult to contemporary ears. It also sounds sexist, although that merely reflects the social norms back then (over 90% of ex-drunks were male, and it was assumed the reader was a man) and thus no malicious sexism was intended. And then there has been nearly 90 years of growth in our understanding of alcoholism and the disease concept of it. AA need not abandon the “disease concept of alcoholism;” but they could update the chapters on understanding alcoholism with the near-century of development since then. 

The chapters that Anonymous Alcoholic cites, “To The Wives”, “The Family Afterward” and “To The Employers,” form the core program of what came to be the Al-Anon Family Programs. Al-Anon has been around since the 1950s, is a mature organization with its own literature, and they hardly need these chapters. Omitting them could free up room for more stories, or for more extensive recovery program chapters (or both.) 

For anyone worried that updating the language will render fundamental changes to the meanings of the classic program of recovery: AA could easily solicit recovered alcoholics and non-alcoholics who are experts in language and make certain that the essential program retains the same meanings and ideas, just rendered in contemporary English usage. Consider that the Christian Bible get translated every few decades to reflect changes in language as well as deeper understandings of the intent of the Sacred Inspired writers. The Bible gets updated while still (hopefully) retaining the same theology and doctrines, but the Big Book is sacrosanct and inviolable?

No one need to fear that the original 164 will be lost forever; if past AA actions are any indication, they could publish a separate book containing the original first 164 pages just like when in 2003 they published “Experience, Strength and Hope,” a book that contains every personal story from the first 3 editions of the Big Book that are not in the current 4th edition. With that precedent, AA seems intent on preserving their recovery heritage. Also, AA’s copyright to the first edition of the Big Book expired in the US; meaning it is now in the public domain and therefore can be published by anyone. (Nevertheless, AA has reprinted a special commemorative edition of it a few years ago.) So, the classic program will never be lost, either through AA itself publishing the ‘first 164’ on their own as a standalone text, or someone reprinting the original edition. So, I wouldn’t worry. Everyone will be free to use whatever ‘program’ they want; people can use the 5th edition with an updated text but still refer to ‘how it was done’ from 1939 thru 2020whenever. Or, people can use the 5th edition for just the newer personal stories and use any ‘first 164 pages’ heritage book/1st edition public domain reprint for the classic program of recovery. I would really be shocked if they just let the first 164 pages just pass out of memory; it has helped countless people and deserves to be preserved. So, any way you look at the issue, a revised “first 164” is hardly apocalyptic and calamitous. The classic text will always be around.

Just my 2 cents. Like this post? You can tip me using the PayPal badge in the sidebar. Thank you!

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 the Sacred Heart of Jesus and me

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is one of the most identifiably Catholic devotions, second only to the Rosary.

It is almost as old. Jesus gave St. Gertrude the Great interior locutions on the 13th Century telling her about the depths of His love for us. Earlier in that same century Our Lady gave St. Dominic the basics of what is the Rosary.

I can’t go into great detail regarding the revelations to St. Gertrude, as I am only beginning to read a classic book on that. Many of us are more familiar with His revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17 Century which established the modern devotional practices.

The point of this post is simple: Since the beginning of June I’ve been really getting interested in the Sacred Heart Devotion. I’ve been ‘into it’ for years, I’ve done the Nine First Fridays and I am really devoted to visiting Him in the Blessed Sacrament. I’ve meditated using devotional books on it; and I ‘get’ the basic fundamental gist of the devotion: that is the Sacred Heart is Jesus’ intense, sacrificial love for us, and our response to that love by loving Him in return with a love that sets our own hearts and souls aflame; including loving Him on behalf of those who don’t. But for but for some reason the fundamental aspect didn’t really resonate; that may not make all that much sense but the only way I can explain it is that the ‘feeling’ of the Devotion didn’t go too deep. It didn’t move me like the Rosary does and Marian feast days do, or the Divine Mercy Devotion and Divine Mercy Sunday.

But this year is different: I saw that June was coming up and I’m like all excited, “It’s the Sacred Heart Month! It’s the Sacred Heart Month!!” I’m finally reading this book: Love, Peace And Joy: Devotion To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus According To St. Gertrude The Great which is a boon to me; it’s really opened up my heart and mind to the essence of the devotion and its spiritual impact and effects.

Jesus’ love for us is so intense that it supplies what is lacking in our prayers and desires. It ‘fixes our past,’ not by a manner of temporal engineering and changing that past, but by burying our sinful past in His Heart (“Let go, and let God.”) we can find redemption in a tangible manner. The Sacred Heart Devotion, when combined with reception of the Eucharist and visits to the Blessed Sacrament make Jesus feel less like an abstraction and more of a real live entity. No wonder that the Sacred Heart Devotion has been popular amongst those who are more ‘traditional’ and who practice true holy piety (that sense of affectionate respect and love for God and His Church.)

It’s weird, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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

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

How St. Rita can help those of us in recovery

St. Rita, whose feast day is today, May 22nd, is the patroness of ‘impossible cases,’ as well as women in abusive marriages, mothers and those with serious illnesses and especially of wounds. A lot of that is appropriate for anyone in recovery, since we’ve experienced abuse and have given it, as well as succumbing to various illnesses. But there’s some more stuff thay I gleaned from reading a biography on her. (St. Rita: Saint of the Impossible)

In the opening chapters of her life, the words “humility and patience” kept being repeated. They were her tools to deal with many things afflicting her: her parents’ refusal to allow her to enter a convent, her abusive husband (and these tools were critical in converting him into being the model of a devoted husband,) her children who were intent on fulfilling a vendetta against her husband’s murderers, and her later illnesses in religious life.

Although her children were still intent on making good on the vendetta, out of fear for their immortal soul she prayed that God would either convert them or take them from life before they committed the mortal sin of murder. They died before they accomplished their task. That is interesting: how many would implore God to take their children’s lives to prevent a mortal sin? Rita was more concerned for her son’s immortal lives that their temporal existence. That is love; sacrificial love.

Her husband was afflicted with passions. I’m talking about explosive tempers, violent behavior, and riotous living. Those of us who are alcoholics and addicts can relate: even though we may not exhibit the abuse that her husband Paolo Mancini did, we often lack what is called ’emotional sobriety.’ We are ‘dry drunks’ from time to time or we otherwise display behavior ‘not quite serene’. We can ask St. Rita for help in this regard.

Passions, and our lack of control over them, can lead to other problems, such as being governed by anxiety and fear. Although anxiety and fear may be prudent feelings nowadays, we should not allow them to control us to the point of affecting our relations with other people as well as our own duties.

So, St. Rita has a lot to offer people in recovery. Apart from her traditional clients, her spirituality is one that can be of tremendous use for addicts and alcoholics in coping with the common travails of life.

So, look into her life. See about getting the book I linked to up above. I will soon post a list of resources on her life as well as on devotions to 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!!)

St. Rita and me

Do you think it’s possible that a saint can select you to be a client of theirs, rather than the usual way of us picking someone because we were named after them or something about their life resonated with us? 

Today is the Feast of St. Rita of Cascia; it’s also my sobriety date. Nineteen years sober! Anyway, I was soooooo not the poster child for early sobriety or for working the 12 Steps, and given that Rita is the patroness of ‘impossible cases,’ I was wondering if it was possible that she was summoned by God and was told, “Hey, Rita baby, I got one for you. Real tough job. Think you can handle it, kiddo?” And that was that.

Just wondering…

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!!)

Divine Mercy Sunday 2021

Divine Mercy Sunday is upon us. This is one of my favorite Sundays since the Divine Mercy devotion was instrumental in my reversion to the Church, but also due to the promises of Our Lord towards those who approach Him with sincere repentance and contrition in wiping away their sins.

I have always viewed Divine Mercy Sunday as a metaphorical ocean of the Precious Blood of Jesus, bottomless, with the shore off an infinite distance. And I dive into it, covering myself in His Blood and seeing my sins washed away.

I’ve blogged about this day before, so please read this post: Divine Mercy Sunday, and also this one: Divine Mercy Sunday: a Great Day for those who’ve really messed things up.

Here is another great resource on the holiday from the Marians: Divine Mercy FAQs

I do hope that you can avail yourself of this incredible example of the Divine Love for each one of us.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!!)

Help a Babcia in need: A Work of Mercy

I first learned about Markie Works in the introduction to the Mother Angelica book that Raymond Arroyo edited entitled “Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality.” I’m retelling from memory but Markie was in despair in a hotel room in Chicago in the early 1990s when she chanced upon the “Mother Angelica Live” show on EWTN. She was about to change the channel as a nun show was not on her TV watching agenda, not with her life.  Someone had called in with issues concerning their mother (the mother in question had rejected and mistreated the caller all her life.) Mother Angelica looked directly into the camera and told the caller that “I’ll be your mother, now.” That was all Markie needed. Her own mother was murdered in cold blood by an uncle when Markie was about two; afterwards her life became one of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Always living on the margins, Markie found some solace in drugs and alcohol. But that night in Chicago, watching Mother Angelica, she hit bottom and began to crawl back up. Becoming  a faithful viewer of  Mother Angelica, her life turned around.

It has not always remained so. Given the start she had, it would never really be butterflies and sunshine. Markie now lives in Florida and has reached a point where she needs assistance. Multiple things have happened that when combined, have become overwhelming and financially unsustainable. Markie need help and has established a GoFundMe drive. You can read her complete story here: The Help Heal #BabciasBraindown Emergency Fund.

Quote: “My name is Markiemarie aka ( Babcia )

I’m here to ask for help , not something I’m used to but this is a situation in which I find that I must. 

 My life has never been easy due to circumstances I had no control over.

 In 1963 when I was only 2 years old, my drunken uncle, a Chicago Cop shot my mom in the head dead. That same man robbed me of my mother and my innocence.

( So did other men in my family ) I was routinely sexually abused and beaten for years by countless predators.

 I  carried that pain and shame with me my entire life.I prayed and cried and wondered why no one came to rescue me.I learned early that not many care to get involved and I had to fend for myself.”

 Furthermore, quote: “I recently moved from Ill. to Florida .

Last year and I started to experience panic attacks, debilitating anxiety and suicidal depression and agoraphobia. I attributed it all to lack of hormones from a Total Hysterectomy that was required from my uterine Cancer.

That wasn’t it.

 It was from being a trauma survivor , all that buried pain came to the surface and it parlayed me emotionally….

 …In addition to that, Several years ago I broke my foot when I slipped on some ice. MRSA  infections prevented it from healing right. I had to live in a non walking cast for 3 Years! Now it feels like I’m stepping on glass.  

 It kills me not to be able to function like I used to because I’ve always had a strong work ethic. I always tried to put on a happy face and positive attitude despite what I’ve lived through.

 I have been diagnosed with PTSD, Bipolar disorder and Severe Anxiety and Major Depressive disorder. I have to see a psychiatrist and take 4 different psychotropic medications to thwart the suicidal thoughts that keep intruding in my head….

...I’m a 59 year old woman that lives alone in a  trailer park who has no family to turn to and no income to pay for basic necessities. My estranged husband helps when he can but he has his own life ,bills & challenges to deal with.

(Anger Management)

 My prayer is that my GoFundMe campaign #BabciasBraindown 

inspires you to help me to be able to heal my soul and circumstances.

 I hope to be able to get some school and training to get a computer job but that’s not an option now , I can’t afford to pay living expenses let alone a computer or internet.The threat of homelessness is very real. I’m asking for a hand up not a hand out.”

 There’s more amongst the excerpts I quoted. But the story is there.

 I’ve donated to her fund. I do not know Markie personally and cannot guarantee anything; she is a Facebook friend after I discovered her name on a list of “People you may know” and I recognized it from the Arroyo book. I messaged her asking if she was that Markie Works and she said ‘Yes” and went on to tell me more of her life story.

 I thought about it, meditated and prayed about it and decided that I should donate. I took a leap of faith that it is the right thing to do. I am suggesting that you do likewise. Go to the GoFundMe link I posted above, read Markie’s story and pray about it. The spiritual life is always active, but this is the Easter Triduum and prayers are scorching the hotlines to Heaven. Graces are pouring down from Heaven as we participate in the liturgies concerning Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. Now is a good time to ask for intercessory prayers. And now is a good time to pray about offering help to another soul in need.

God rewards those who help others. We are all in need of help from time to time. I, myself, was the beneficiary from the charity and kindness of others five years ago when I was laid up at home recovering from hospitalization. My pride was humbled at the response to my wife’s pleas. We are not isolated, rugged individuals existing by our own efforts; although it seems that many people, including Catholics, think we should be. We are actually members of the Mystical Body of Christ; where one suffers, all of us suffer. When one rejoices, all rejoice. In giving to others, we help ourselves. The poor and needy are God’s representatives. Remember Matthew 25: 31-46

 So, consider helping Babcia. I consider her to be one of my ‘tribe,’ she’s a Polish-American, in recovery and a devotee of Mother Angelica. Donate what you can! Thank you! (Although I donated, I don’t remember if there was a place to write a note to the beneficiary of the fund. If there is, and you’d like to, kindly mention that you heard about the fund on SoberCatholic. If you can’t or don’t want to, that’s OK. I’m just curious as to how many readers of mine do donate.)

Screen Shot 2021-04-02 at 6.08.19 PM

 

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!!)

Holy Saturday and the Harrowing of Hell

Today is Holy Saturday and I hope that your Lent has been a fine and fruitful one. I didn’t blog except for a few times (I was ‘around’ but taken up with things.) The seasons come and they go; we as Catholics learn to live with the Liturgical Year as it helps us with the rhythms of the spiritual life. Many people decide to vanish from being online during Lent; while I don’t do that I did spend it in a somewhat reflective mood. I had my daily routine: awaken and grab a cuppa coffee, do my morning prayers and devotions and then watch a Daily Latin Mass on YouTube. Then on to the days’ activities: garden prepping, or miscellaneous household duties. Sometimes exploring income opportunities (which I do have to expand upon.) See this post: Bathtub Blogging, on my other blog.

But the days passed, I pondered Lent, and took things one day at a time. And now we have all arrived at the end. Today is Holy Saturday, a day which I always viewed, even as a child, as a day to spend in meditative prayer or pondering. Despite the Easter Vigil Mass in the evening, it always seemed to be a day to ‘pause,’ sandwiched in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the two ‘big’ liturgical days. While the Good Friday services are not obligatory (they should be) it still feels ‘odd’ to consider not attending. And the Easter Vigil Mass is also not an obligation (if you do not go, then you must attend an Easter Sunday Mass.) So, there are things one can definitely do on Friday and Sunday, but Holy Saturday? Where was Jesus, even? “He descended to the Dead” the Creed informs us.

Called the Harrowing of Hell, it is referred to in 1 Peter 4:6 “For because of this, the Gospel was also preached to the dead, so that they might be judged, certainly, just like men in the flesh, yet also, so that they might live according to God, in the Spirit.” and in Ephesians 4:9 “…what is left except for him also to descend, first to the lower parts of the earth?’

Courtesy Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

What did he do there? He preached to all the Righteous who had died since the times of Adam and Eve. All of the Just who died before Heaven was reopened at His Ascension were gathered and received the Gospel. From Adam and Eve, to St. John the Baptist and his own foster father, St. Joseph, as well as countless others who died in God’s friendship but were banned from Heaven due to Adam’s sin.

He appeared to them, fresh from His Passion on the streets of Jerusalem and Calvary. He showed them His wounds, all the stripes He had suffered for the sins of all…. and they knew that the time of the banishment was over.

Who knows how much longer we have. We could die at any moment. Heaven is no longer barred to us, but Purgatory is a possibility for those who died in God’s graces but are not sufficiently cleansed from the impurities of sin. (NOTE: I do not wish to debate the doctrine of Purgatory. I have found that debating is quite pointless in these times and I lack the temperament required. I rarely do it and then only when I am moved to. But Purgatory is logical, and fits in with God’s mercy. The idea that a person could live a life of sinful depravity, and convert on their deathbed and go straight to Heaven just like a person who has died after living a life of heroic virtue, piety and sacrifice, is ridiculous. Both die in God’s graces, and upon death see God during their individual judgment, and yearn to be united to Him. Both burn with the desire for God and the latter (the holy person) enters into Heaven whereas the former (the sinner) still retaining the sins of their life, is prevented from admission because ‘nothing impure can enter the Kingdom  of Heaven.’ (Rev 21:27)  Their burning desire for God becomes like unto a fire of purgation, burning away the impurities  of their soul for as long as they are attached to the sins. This is an imprecise and simplistic recounting of what could occur, but it gets the idea across. Purgatory is the ‘entrance’ into Heaven. Some pass into Heaven without feeling the purgation because they offered their sufferings here in Earth; they essentially did their Purgatory already. Others need cleaning up.

So, Holy Saturday could be a day to ponder your afterlife. Where do you think you’ll be heading to? Lent was all about growing closer to the Lord by embracing His Passion and Death, by learning to accept the crosses that come into our life in hopes of becoming a better disciple. We suffered enough as alcoholics and addicts. And we caused enough suffering to others. Have you atoned and repented of these? Made amends? Get going while there’s still time. For we know not the day or the hour when the time allotted to us is over and we are summoned to our destiny.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 Probably Not Gonna Be Happening Sober Catholic Podcast

If you are a subscriber to either the Sober Catholic Facebook Page, the Sober Catholic SP3RN Page, or even the Sober Catholic Telegram Channel, then you know that I was exploring the possibility of starting a Sober Catholic Podcast. This is something I’ve thought and prayed about ever since I began this blog in 2007. “All the cool Catholics” have podcasts and so I should too, even though I’m not cool.

I had seen in my WordPress subscriptions a post regarding “Turning your WordPress blog into a podcast with Anchor.” It seemed interesting: you connect your blog to Anchor.fm, your blogpost archive gets uploaded and you can then use these as scripts to record a podcast, with either your own voice or a text-to-speech robovoice (which actually didn’t sound bad.) They provide incidental music and sound that can be used as background effects, and there you go: a podcast which they even distribute to numerous podcasting services.

So I signed up. Unfortunately, not all of the posts got uploaded. I submitted a Help Ticket and they replied a day later stating that they can only upload the most recent 250 posts. Nice, but I have nearly 1,200 posts and my intent was to resurrect the oldest ones and gradually continue forward. I even thought of a schedule, every Friday I’d release a podcast of a “Classic” Sober Catholic post, with current posts that I thought are podcast worthy would be done on other days.

But the 250 post limit wipes out the advantage. So I figured that I can just manually upload classic posts as scripts (to perhaps take advantage of the text-to-speech,) but today I found that I can’t do that. So, that eliminates another advantage to using Anchor as a podcast service.

Therefore, as a result, I am leaning strongly against podcasting. Like I said, I had thought about it for years, never did it, and quite probably if I was ever going to I would have done it by now. Anchor.fm provided a relatively easy way to overcome my reticence, but their tech limitations of upload limit/no upload of text to be used as scripts essentially brings me back to the proverbial ‘Square one’ of podcasting: Do most everything myself. Anchor promised a virtually ‘pain-‘ and ‘hassle-free’ approach to podcasting; utilize already existing work with the rest being fairly automated (I know laying additional audio tracks requires some effort, but if most everything else is done for me, I can manage that.) But the above cited tech limitations or lack of functions pull me way out of my comfort zone.

I can still use old posts and record them on my MacBookAir. I can upload them to Anchor.fm and use some of their stock audio to spruce up the episode. So why am I disinclined to podcast, when it’s just a little more work for me to do?

If you are reading this and answering that it’s because I’m a lazy bum for seeing all these issues as obstacles, then you aren’t aware of two things: I HATE THE SOUND OF MY VOICE almost as much as I HATE SPEAKING!!! This is why I prefer the printed word of blogging over podcasting and why I always shied away from the latter. Anchor.fm’s easy-peasy system had the virtue of helping me to overcome my inherent personal issues to podcasting; but not enough, for now.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!!)