“St. Michael’s Lent” is upon us again

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NOTE: This post is reblogged from last year and edited with some additions. Last year’s post was also a ‘reblog’ and edited from the prior version.)

Coming up on August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady. It is also the beginning of a Franciscan devotion known as “St. Michael’s Lent.” It is a 40-day period of fasting begun by St. Francis of Assisi in the 1220’s similar in practice to the actual Lenten season. It ends September 29th on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. It was during one of these fasts in 1224 that St. Francis received the stigmata.

I looked up this observance online, didn’t find much beyond what I stated above (the following is from an informative webpage that I referred a few years ago but is now a broken link.) “‘In the writings of St. Francis, such as the Volterra text (Letter to All the Faithful) which is included in The Rule of the SFO, we are reminded again and again that Franciscans are called to be penitents, to pray and fast. For these reasons this ancient tradition is important to us. St. Michael’s Lent is a period of 40 days, honoring Mary and St. Michael the Archangel. It begins on the Feast of the Assumption and ends on The Feast of the Archangels.

“[H]e wished along with the most faithful Brothers . . . to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (August 15) and then prepare himself by a forty days’ fast for the Feast of St. Michael (September 29). In common with the rest of the people of the Middle Ages, Francis nourished a special devotion to this Archangel, signifer santus Michaelis, the standard-bearer of the Heavenly Host, and the one who with his trumpet was to wake the dead in their graves on the last day . . . .” (St. Francis of Assisi by Jorgensen)’”

(Via Our Lady of the Pearl.) Perhaps the keepers of that site can resurrect that page?

You can just observe a fast of sorts (food or bad habit/character defect, etc.) and whatever other penitential practices you can think of.

Fr. Richard Heilman of the Roman Catholic Man site has posted some very useful devotions that you can use throughout this ‘season.’ Please go here: St. Michael’s Lent Prayers and Devotions

I do believe that it is significant that this period begins and ends when it does. The Solemnity of the Assumption is observed because as Mary was preserved from Original Sin in her conception, she was bodily assumed into Heaven when her mortal period of time on Earth was over, thus preserving her from the corruption of death. St. Michael was the champion and leader of the blessed angels in their battle against Lucifer and his demons in the Fall of the Angels, and in his victory cast Satan out of Heaven. We can gain strength from this observance in our struggles against drinking and drugging, and especially against sins of impurity. Instead of fasting from food, one can “fast” our eyes from images that can trigger lust. It is summertime, and people have the habit of wearing little clothing. Fasting with your eyes means turning your gaze away from provactively dressed people. If you are anxious and stressed about material things and current events (and what isn’t stressful nowadays?) You can perhaps “fast” from anxiety. Turn the news off; avoid news websites for a few days. I vanish from the Internet for several days at a time, or at least from social networks. Easier said than done, but such actions are possible. The world will thrive or suffer just as well with or without your attention! No wonder Satan uses impurity and addictions and fear in his ongoing war against those made in the image and likeness of God.

So, go back and grab your Lenten devotional books and whatever else; read, study and meditate on the Passion narratives in the Gospels, perhaps even try and read the Daily Mass readings from the past Lent (available on the USCCB site, just use the Calendar to navigate back to Lent). If I may, there’s always Sober Catholic’s Lenten post archive Or just use Fr. Heilman’s material I linked to above.

(Just in case anyone counts the number of days from Aug. 15 to Sept. 29, you’ll get “46.” Don’t count the six Sundays that occur and you’ll get the forty. Sundays aren’t considered a part of any Lenten observance.)

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

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

Novena to St. Maximilian Kolbe for Alcoholics and Addicts

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Today 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!!)

Paulie X; or “Get your recovery where you can.”

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“Get your recovery where you can” is an odd title, but it’s a very accurate description of my methods in maintaining my sobriety these seventeen years. It basically means just that: as I am reading or watching something, I have a tendency to try and glean something useful from it to help my sobriety. (The ‘Paulie X’ part is inferred later.)

You can find something valuable almost anywhere. TV shows, for instance. Three episodes of two different TV series have been critical in helping me maintain that sobriety. NONE of them are related to recovery; they weren’t non-fiction health shows or even religious and spiritual programs on EWTN, for example.

They are two Star Trek series and Babylon 5. Yes, science-fiction TV dramas.

I have had this blog post in mind for quite a while, but something happened the other day while watching a Star Trek episode that finally caused me to write it now.

I am a Trekkie (an avid fan of the whole Star Trek franchise.) I’ve watched it from the early 1970’s, so for about 45 years. Not too much in the past decade or so for reasons unimportant, but last week I ordered and recieved the “Complete Series” DVD collection for the Original Star Trek series; the “Classic” one, featuring the interstellar adventures of Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and others on the Starship USS Enterprise, (“NCC-1701. No bloody A, B, C, or D”.) And so I started watching the episodes in the order presented in the collection. I hadn’t see these in perhaps fifteen years. It was like getting reacquanted with old friends, absent from your life since forever. (I had seen these episodes probably dozens of times over previous decades. Down to quoting whole parts and winning Star Trek trivia contests.)

I got to the episode entitled “Charlie X.” In that episode, “the Enterprise takes seventeen-year-old Charles Evans aboard for transport after he spent fourteen years alone on a deserted planet, but his inability to reintegrate with his fellow Humans is compounded by his very un-Human powers.” (Information courtesy Memory Alpha.)

Many of us who are alcoholics and addicts have poor social skills. Even after a period of sobriety, we may be a little odd. But Charles Evans had never been socialized, at all. He only had computer tapes and non-human incorporeal beings to talk to. No real information on how to properly interact with others of his own species.

This causes problems, exacerbated by the “super” powers the aliens had given him to survive.

In short, Charlie is a self-centered, egotistical jerk who thinks that needs and wants are identical, and his immediate gratification needs are paramount.

There are numerous scenes which illustrate this, and the growing conflict with the crew a consequence. One such scene is a chess game between Charlie and Mr. Spock, the logical-by-culture science officer and Enterprise second-in-command.

Charlie wanders in the rec room just when Captain Kirk defeats Spock in a game; Charlie asks to play and Kirk leaves him to Spock. Play begins and Spock defeats Charlie in two moves. Charlie initially denies having been checkmated, but the result is obvious and Spock leaves. Charlie studies the game boards and realizes that, indeed, he has lost. In anger he uses his powers to melt the pieces he played with.

This reached right inside me where it matters most and I saw myself melting those chess pieces.

What?

You see, one of my character defects (and I still have very many) is that inanimate objects really yank my scapulars when they don’t do what I want them to do. This has been for quite a while; back in the day when I was an AA meeting-goer I mentioned it; people thought it quaint. (I usually referred to the defect in humorous terms.) I also personalize it, as if the inanimate object is ticking me off intentionally, like it has a will of its own. (Electronic and mechanical devices are particular offenders. Don’t get me going about touch screens.)

Stupid, huh?

At times I do get seriously irritated when this happens (the inanimate objects’ refusal to cooperate, not my reaction). Once in a while I give the object a murderous look, as if I wanted to melt the thing with the sheer force of my anger.

That’s when I saw myself as Charlie X, in the chess piece melting scene. “Oh, my, gosh…”  I thought. I can relate to that.

The ego, immaturity, selfishness, the stupidity…

The silliness, too. I mean, really. Stuff just doesn’t work right sometimes. Or you’re using it wrong. Or gremlins…

Anyway, this whole experience had the impact of me witnessing something from an objective point of view. You see someone else exhibit bad behaviour that you’re guilty of and you see how ridiculous or wrong it is.

And so for the past few days whenever I feel like I want to melt something with my eyeballs, I grab hold of myself and mutter “Charlie X, remember Charlie X…”

Silly, yes, and it’s only been a few days; but so far, so good. Mostly. Realization-and-reaction-times are off once in a while. (By “realization-and-reaction-times” I mean the times when you realize you’re doing something wrong and your reaction – i.e. “self-control” – kicks in.)

So that’s that. Paulie X.

Oh, I mentioned that there are three episodes of two series. The others are “Emmisary,” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and “Passing Through Gethsemane,” from Babylon 5. You’ll have to wait a little, maybe later this 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!!)

Sacred Heart Solemnity

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I almost didn’t make it, writing about the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. I figured that if you’re a sober Catholic, or still trying to become one, then you’ve probably already learned of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart and have incorporated it into your Catholic ‘spiritual toolkit’. The day is almost over where I live and I searched old blog posts from the past on the Sacreed Heart, and decided to write a quickie post. I selected four of these to bring to your attention. In no particular order, they can help you in getting the basics of the Devotion:

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart

I intend to “kick it up a notch” or two in writing about this Devotion; in part because of the Spiritual Warfare going on all around us, but I also want to write more about Divine Mercy Devotion, and that recent devotion is essentially a refresh of the more ancient Sacred Heart. Linking the two might be useful in these times of trial and suffering. It’ll get worse before it gets better.

Anyway, in my reversion to the Church over 2001-02, I fell in love with the Divine Mercy Devotion and have over the next decade-and-a-half only slowly grown to appreciate and include the Sacred Heart Devotion. This book has help immeasurably:

The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: How to Practice the Sacred Heart Devotion by the Rev. Fr. Jean Croiset

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It is an excellent book, a classic on the Devotion and it far exceeds any other book I know of on the history, practice, means and reasons to do it. Numerous prayers and meditations are in it, including some written by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (the mystic who recieved the Devotion from Our Lord Himself.) It in you’ll find everything you need to know to practice the Devotion. It’s a wonderful book to take to Eucharistic Adoration. This should be on every sober Catholic’s bookshelf. All of the Promises that Our Lord made to St. Margaret Mary to those who practice the Devotion are included, and detailed. And there are more than the Twelve usually listed in prayer books.

(In short, the Devotion to the Sacred Heart is about the love Jesus has for us, from the Incarnation through His Death and Resurrection, through to today in the gift of the Blessed Sacrament; and our response to that love, which includes prayer and acts of sacrifice and reparation for those who disdain Jesus and His Church.)

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!!)

New Matt Talbot blog!

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There is a new blog up and running dedicated to Venerable Matt Talbot. It is run by the man in charge of his Facebook Page: Matt Talbot Facebook Page

He describes it as “This is a site about Venerable Matt Talbot.
It is a copy of a facebook site about Venerable Matt for everyone who don`t use facebook and want to know about life of Matt Talbot.”

The link to it is right there in the first sentence; kindly support the effort!

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 great and easy way to “get outside” yourself and help others

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Last December I posted about Hozana.

“It is an online gathering space for Catholics and other Christians to come together in prayer and mutual encouragement. It isn’t a social network on the order of a Facebook, MeWe or whatever else is out there, but you can follow others and communicate with them. Activity is centered around prayer communities which are ordered towards novenas and other liturgical seasons, as well as ongoing prayer necessities. There is also a “prayer intentions” feed where members can post prayer requests which remain available for 48 hours (you can always repost, if needed). Members click on a prayer intention which opens up in a little window. A virtual candle lights up underneath the intention and it changes color slowly from bottom to “flame.” Then you click “Amen” and if you wish, continue on to another intention that interests you. The person is notified that you prayed for them. The same for when you post an intention; you’ll get notified when people pray for you! It’s way cool.

It lacks the noise and obnoxiousness of other social media sites.”

In recent months my activity over there has slackened, but I am making a renewed effort to dedicate more time to it, especially as I had been invited to join expressly for the purpose of running a prayer group for alcoholics and addicts. And so I had created the Matt Talbot Prayer Group, and it has gotten much interest from people. There was a need! The fact that tomorrow, June 7th is the 94th anniversary of his death is what caused me to think about Hozana, and how much I liked it.

I am saddened that I drifted away as I really enjoyed reading the numerous prayer requests and praying for others, and exploring other prayer communities. As I had mentioned in an email to the wonderful lady who invited me, I think that Hozana is kind of like a preview of our intercessory work once we get to Heaven. One of the things we may be doing is receiving intercessory prayers as members of the Church Triumphant, the “great Cloud of Witnesses.” We won’t be just floating around up there, worshipping the Lord and interacting with one another; we will be interceding for those still in Time.

But really, I do find it useful. In reading all of the prayer requests I find that I am thinking about myself less, and worrying about others more. There are other people hurting; in pain over this or that, worrying over many things. You have the opportunity to “get outside” yourself and consider other people and their situations.

Getting involved with Hozana is a Work of Mercy.

“So, here is YOUR personal invitation to join Hozana and become a part of the Matt Talbot Prayer Group! Here’s the link for Hozana (in English, the site also has Spanish, French and Portuguese versions): Hozana. And here is the link for the prayer group: Matt Talbot Prayer Group. My profile: Me

From the description I wrote: “Welcome to the Matt Talbot Prayer Group! Join us in prayer and fellowship as we encourage one another in our sobriety and recovery from addictions!

Hebrews 3:13 “…exhort one another every day, while it is still called ‘today’…”

Romans 12:2 “And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.” (Both from the Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayers, linked articles, images, quotes from Scripture, the Catechism and the writings of Saints and others that can be useful in your recovery journey will be occasionally posted here. PLEASE make use of the comments section of the posts to reach out to one another!

Our patron is the Venerable Matt Talbot, an Irishman who lived from 1856-1925. A drunkard, he “took the pledge” to quit drinking after his friends one day refused to loan him money to buy liquor. This worked for a while, but it wasn’t until he decided to transfer his love for the drink onto Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary that his sobriety took hold. He was a daily Mass goer and had a profound prayer life. Matt exemplified the recovery values of acknowledging your weakness over addiction and the need for God to come in and restore your life and help you to amend and rebuild it, years before any modern recovery movements were founded.”

I do hope to see you there.

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!!)

Soberversary! Seventeen years sober, today.

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Today I achieved my seventeenth year of sobriety. That’s One Day At A Time repeated 6,209 times.

A certain Twelve Step movement helped a lot at first; but I credit my endurance to Our Lord and Saviour’s Church, the Holy Catholic Church and to His Most Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. I think a few saints assisted along the way, too.

That’s all. No major revelations. “If I can manage to become sober, so can anyone.”

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!!)

Enrollment in the “Knights at the Foot of the Cross

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Tomorrow, May 13th I will be officially enrolled in the “Knights at the Foot of the Cross.” What is that, you ask? Well…

“THE KNIGHTS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS (KFC) is an outreach within the MI movement, comprised of Catholics afflicted by the cross of suffering – physical, spiritual or emotional. As MI members, KFCs consecrate themselves to Mary. As did Mary at the Cross of her Son, they also participate in “redemptive suffering” (also called sacrificial or reparational suffering). This means they offer some of their daily prayers and trials to Jesus and Mary, who apply these gifts where grace is needed most, such as to convert hearts and save souls, to make amends for the sins of others, and ultimately to bring about the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

I have long been considering enrolling; having been a member of the M.I. since 7 Oct 2002, I’ve long had “a feeling” that with age will come eventual enrollment in the KFC. Most times I didn’t consider myself sufficiently “suffering” enough to enroll, but I’ve changed my mind. I am 56, and have considerable ailements that will only get worse as the years progress. Why not make the most of it and use those “aches and pains” (arthritis, bursitis, bone spurs/calcified deposits in my feet, onset of degenerative osteoarthritis in my left knee – makes nice snappy noises when I bend it, respiratory issues – asthma and I’m on overnight 02 – and as soon as my pulmonologist gets the insurance approval, I’ll be going for an overnight sleep study to see if I need a CPAP, and may as well include alcoholism. Yes, I’ve been sober for almost 17 years, but it’s still an emotional suffering) in redemptive and reparational suffering.

When you enroll in either the M.I. or KFC, you select a Marian feast day for the consecration. I picked May 13th as it’s the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima. One prayer Our Lady taught the seers is:

Oh my Jesus,
it is for love of Thee,
in reparation for the offenses committed
against the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
and for the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen.

You say that prayer whenever you have to “offer up” something: be it a physical or mental pain, or anything that others are doing to you and so forth. In essence, all the daily trials and tribulations that go into forming the crosses we have to bear as Christians.

One of the unique aspects of Catholic Christianity is that it values suffering and finds meaning in it. Rather than something to shun and run away from or to “medicate” with drugs and alcohol, suffering has a value that is immense in the spiritual world. When we offer up our sufferings we participate in Christ’s salvific act on Calvary. To quote St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians:

Col 1:24 “For now I rejoice in my passion on your behalf, and I complete in my flesh the things that are lacking in the Passion of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the Church.”

Courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

So, I’ll be going to Mass tomorrow morning followed by an hour before the Blessed Sacrament (I’m picking up and Hour for someone who can’t be there.) and I’ll say my moring prayers there, including the Consecration Prayer of the KFC.

Knights at the Foot of the Cross Consecration Prayer
O IMMACULATA, queen of heaven and earth, health of the sick, and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. You stood at the foot of the Cross, uniting your self with the sufferings of Jesus, and so you became for all the Church a model of compassion.

I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my daily sufferings and crosses, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head, and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Through my prayers and sufferings, let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help, to extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, 0 Sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.

Prayer of KFC Consecration Daily Renewal Prayer
IMMACULATA, Mother of the Church, I renew my self-consecration to you as a “Knight at the Foot of the Cross.” I desire to magnify the Lord with you this day in a special way by offering you my sufferings. Joined with you in faith at the foot of Christ’s Cross, may I ever be an unselfish instrument for the spread of the Militia of the Immaculata movement and the growth of the Church. Amen.

0 MARY conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.

All Knight at the Foot of the Cross and Militia of the Immaculata information, including the KFC prayers are courtesy: Mititia of the Immaculata It takes you to the KFC page in the M.I. site; you can go off exploring from there. I also have a lot of links on the M.I. and St. Maximilian Kolbe along the sidebar.

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!!)

Multitudes of souls, crucified…

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Several months ago in this (rather popluar) post: A word on Suffering and Providence I had written: “All Christians are supposed to “take up our cross and follow Him.” Some people do this and grip their cross firmly, almost as if they were crucified to it. Others grip it but just hold onto it and cope. And still others drag it along resentfully behind them.”

And I said that “This is actually an image described by a saint in his or her writings; I’m wracking my brain but I can’t think of who it is. Perhaps the “Imitation of Christ?” “Divine Intimacy?” If I discover the source I’ll update the post. If any reader recognizes it, email me or post the info in a comment.”

Turns out it was neither the “Imitation of Christ” or  “Divine Intimacy.” Rather, it was in St. Faustina Kowalska’s diary, “Divine Mercy in My Soul.” I rediscovered it during a recent rereading of that text. (Buy it if you don’t already have it. Don’t just read it; study it.)

Found in paragraph 446, it goes (words in bold are Jesus’):

“Then I saw the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross. When He had hung on it for a while, I saw a multitude of souls crucified like Him. Then I saw a second multitude of souls, and a third. The second multitude were not nailed to [their] crosses, but were holding them firmly in their hands. The third were neither nailed to [their] crosses nor holding them firmly in their hands, but were dragging [their] crosses behind them and were discontent. Jesus then said to me, Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory. And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblance to Me in glory.

Among the crucified souls, the most numerous were those of the clergy. I also saw some crucified souls whom I knew, and this gave me great joy. Then Jesus said to me, In your meditation tomorrow, you shall think about what you have seen today. And immediately Jesus disappeared on me.”

So, there it is. I thought the rediscovery deserves a separate mention, although I will go and update the original.

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!!)

Signal grace from St. Rita of Cascia

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A “signal grace” is a free gift from God (grace) that is extraordinary in nature and evident in some manner (signal). It may be a visible sign or deep interior feeling that a prayer has been answered or a direction you’ve been seeking has been given. Another name for signal grace is “God-incidence,” a play on “coincidence” as with God there are none, because God actually works in that mysterious intersection where seemingly unrelated events in space and time meet up.

Well, I received one of those signal graces today.

Almost every day I stop off at my territorial parish and pray for a few minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I’m blessed that He is Really, Truly, Present: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity just a couple of miles away. Anyway, this morning I wander in and see this by the side entrance:
59806902_10219286038645216_2738968303279013888_n

…a painting of St. Rita of Cascia. She is important to me in that her feast day, May 22nd, is also my sobriety date. This year will mark my 17th year sober. Just have to make it another thirteen days. 😉 I’ve written about her before: St. Rita of Cascia, Patroness of Lost Causes

Near this side entrance is a table where people can leave things for others to have. Usually the items are books, sometimes statues or prayer cards and other Catholicy things. Today, however, were a few paintings and posters. I saw St. Rita and went “Wow. MINE!” Although just to be sure that I could take it I hunted down someone with reasonably appropriate authority to give and found the nun who runs the social justice ministries. I figured she was official enough, so I asked her and she said “Yeah, take it. All that stuff out there is free.” I already knew that but this, to me, was a major haul and I had to check.

OK, so by now you’re asking, “That’s wonderful, Paulcoholic, but how is a beautiful painting of St. Rita of Cascia a signal grace? And could you get to a point?” Well, yes I am. Please read on…

I have been wondering a lot recently about life; (actually, my life has been consumed by this “wondering about life”) and where mine is going. I spent part of last night tossing about in bed wondering… I like to write or blog or whatever it is when you put words on paper or screen for others to read. Thing is, I don’t do it as often as you’d think I would. So, it got me to thinking, “Was it all just ego? Pride? Oh, look at me and read my thoughts?” I have been working on fiction off and on over the past 5 years, somewhat steadily (by my terms 😉 ) compared to prior eras but the novel is nowhere near being finished. I like working on it though; I love the characters and sometimes they go for rides in the car with me and we talk (Um, all righty…..) but seriously, the odds of it getting completed are somewhat low. But I might surprise myself. Or maybe not. Could it have all been a deception by Satan to keep me from doing better things? Or is it me with a discipline issue? Or, maybe the discipline issue was God’s way of keeping me from writing and publishing junk that I’d disown now since my reversion to the Catholic Church in 2002? Because the stuff I was working on back in the ’80s and ’90s was crap, no evidence of Faith (when I even had it) or a decent moral conviction. But mostly crap. So it might not have been a bad thing to be a slacker then as the stuff went unpublished or unfinished. Besides, I got material from slackerdom for writing when I did it later. BUT, since my reversion in ’02, and my desire to become a Catholic writer, one needs to know more about the Faith in order to be a good Catholic writer, and that takes time and maturation. So, my slowness in getting the novel written is actually all about me spending time learning more about the Faith, in order to write a better Catholic novel. Because I do read a lot. Or maybe that’s all hogwash and I’m just a lazy slacker, no matter how you slice it and reading is just an reputable way to be a slacker. But, see, I couldn’t be…. And then there’s…

See? This is what goes on in my brain. You would never want to take a stroll in there.

So, while tossing and turning in bed last night I was going over all this. All the reasons why I shouldn’t give up the whole fiction thing, (’cause I’ve been working on that most years since high school, I can’t give up now. Except for when I was drinking; then I stopped. You see, the stereotype is that writers drink a lot, as it’s a lonely profession or you get inspiration. But not me, I didn’t drink when I was writing and when I started drinking I gave up writing. I can’t even do that right.) Where was I? Oh, …Why I should try and do both it and blogging, or maybe just blunder along and be dissatisfied with both and give credence to the voices in my head.

And then I saw St. Rita this morning. And I thought, (right after going “Wow. MINE!) “OK, so I should focus on the blogging, after all St. Rita’s feast day is also my sobriety date, and she is the patroness of lost causes, and boy-oh-boy am I one. She ties it all together. After all, perhaps God gave me way back when the whole ‘like to write or blog or whatever it is when you put words on paper or screen for others to read’ so that after I stop drinking years later and sober up, I’d have sufficient skills to write a moderately enjoyable and reasonable blog on how the Catholic Faith can help maintain sobriety. The fiction could be just a hobby, or therapy. Maybe if that’s God’s will, too, it’ll get done somehow.” (yeah, like if I get a chunk load of money and can retire and scribble full time, yeah…)

I’ll have to mull this over (NO!!! IT’S A SIGNAL GRACE, YOU MORON; THERE’S NOTHING TO MULL OVER!). So, OK, now there’s certitude about things. I’m supposed to do this thing at SoberCatholic. “Blogging” is how my “writing” career will come to fruition. It’s not like all plans work out the way you intended. And sometimes write fiction, whenever, but not stress over it; if stuff gets finished, stuff’ll get finished. And from this some degree of confidence infuses other things in life. And I can still read a lot.

Perhaps this is a part of all that Divine Mercy stuff about “Jesus, I Trust in You,” and confidence in Divine Providence. TRUST, and He’ll let you in in things when you ask…

Here’s a close up:

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!!)