Those who are healthy do not need a physician

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Today’s Lenten post is an excerpt from the Gospel for today’s Mass for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday.

Luke 5: 31-32

“And responding, Jesus said to them: “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who have maladies. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

I know I have blogged about this passage before, given its significance for us alcoholics. For we are truly sick and in need of a physician. Who better than the Divine Physician, Jesus, who heals all?

In fact, His healing didn’t stop with His Earthly life, it continued on ever afterward in the Church He established. The Catholic Church is the repository of His mission: to preserve intact the Gospel message, free from error and heresy, to preach it to the nations, and to continue healing the broken and wounded. The sacraments offer healing. Avail yourself of them. Go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Mass. Pray before th Blessed Sacrament.

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!!)

Prayer is the light of the spirit

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A while back I wrote: “So, this one sober Catholic “Voice crying out in the wilderness” of recovery, pointing the way to the healing power of the Church and Her resources, is going to spend a few posts writing about St. John the Baptist and how his message of prayer, fasting and repentance can be useful in recovery.”

via St. John the Baptist and Recovery.

And as this is Lent, the Baptist’s “message of prayer, fasting and repentance” is especially appropriate. Not that you will be asked to wear a tunic of camel’s hair or dine on locusts and wild honey, but some measure of self-denial is expected. 😉

This morning I got a hint to begin this ocassional series when I read the Liturgy of the Hours. There was a homily by St. John Chrysostom on prayer, and I’ll excerpt it here:

“From the Second Reading of the Office of Readings for the Friday after Ash Wednesday:

From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance, but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night.

Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God, not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, giving generously in the service of others, our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe. Throughout the whole of our lives we may enjoy the benefit that comes from prayer if we devote a great deal of time to it.

Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole world of nature. Prayer stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart.”

via DivineOffice.org.

Somewhere I read that prayer is the uplifting of the heart and mind to God. We offer up our selves, our wants and needs in humble petition and supplication, and we express gratitude and thanksgiving for the answer (even if it’s “No.”)

Lent has just begun. It is definitely not too late to begin a greater dedication to enhancing your prayer life. Reading Sacred Scripture daily, if you don’t already do so is one great way; another is to spend an hour every so often in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

And for us alcoholics, it’s Step 11!

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 broken and contrite heart

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An excerpt from the Responsorial Psalm in today’s Mass for the Friday after Ash Wednesday:

Psalm 51:19

“A crushed spirit is a sacrifice to God. A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not spurn.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

A crushed spirit is the person who is aware of their sins, is wounded by them and who has demonstrated sincere humility in desiring to repent of them.

Offer up the pain of your remorse and your dread of being separated from God by the sins. Lift up your heart and soul and pray for forgiveness. If you do a thorough (“fearless and searching”) examination of conscience you can often get through to the root of repeated and consistent sins. Go to Confession frequently throughout Lent to aid in ridding yourself of the root causes of sin.

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!!)

Take up the Cross every day

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This is an excerpt from the Gospel of today’s Mass for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday.

Luke 9: 23

“Then he said to everyone: “If anyone is willing to come after me: let him deny himself, and take up his cross every day, and follow me.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

“Take of his (or her) cross” … “every day.” Not just when you want to, but daily. The crosses that you “take up” are the daily troubles, trial and tribulations that everyone gets, and that we used to drink over to cope with (or escape from).

The deny the cross and run from it is not to be a follower of Christ. And especially nowadays when in many parts of the world to be a follower of the Jesus is to incur a humiliating death penalty.

In the Lenten season we are to be especally vigilant and dedicated in “taking up the Cross.” Are you accepting the Crosses you have to bear?

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 fasting that I wish”

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Today is Ash Wednesday, and is thus the beginning of Lent; a time of prayer, fasting, reparation and penance. Coincidentally, among the main themes of this blog. This is an excerpt from the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for today:

Isaiah 58: 5-12:

“This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:

releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke;

Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;

Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;

If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted;

Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday;

Then the Lord will guide you alway sand give you plenty even on the parched land.

He will renew your strength,and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.

The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;

“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you, “Restorer of ruined homesteads.”

via Divine Office.org.

It seems like the Lord is exhorting people to “do something.” Typically when we approach the Lenten season, we Catholics seek to “give up” something. A majority give up “fun” things like chocolate, extra TV, or some other sensual desire. But there is also a trend to take Lent more seriously. Rather than “give up” something that you’re going to take up again anyway once Lent is over, some seek to actually use Lent to shed sinful actions, to get rid of “character defects;” in other words, to finish Lent a better, more holier person than when you started it. This is what I’ve been suggesting ever since I started this blog.

One way to accomplish this is to “do something,” or “to take up something,” rather than “give up,” (unless you intend to “give it up” forever. Lent is a good time to abandon sinful practices). You have all the extra graces flowing about, your actions in concert with millions of other Christians who are trying to accomplish the same thing.

The Lord, in speaking to Isaiah, seem to be recommending this “do something” approach. He is suggesting forms of social action and justice. That is, to “do something” to make the world a better place. Read over the passage and examine each line and think about how you can do it. Do not necessarily interpret the line literally, a symbolic take on it might be sufficient. Although literal is OK, too, if you can actually do it!

This passage from Isaiah connects with another passage from the Gospel that is very similar:

Matthew 25: 31-40

“But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty.

And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left.

Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’

Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’

And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

Look up that passage in your Bible to read the rest of that section (verses 41-46) to see what happens to those who didn’t “do one of these for the least…”

It isn’t pretty.

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. Onesimus

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February 16th is the feast day of a somewhat obscure Saint, which is odd as he figures prominently in a Letter of St. Paul.

In St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon, the Apostle reveals that Onesimus, a slave of Philemon who escaped, possibly with stolen property of his master’s, has been with him for some time and has been of valuable service. Onesimus has also been baptized and as such is now a brother in Christ to Paul and Philemon, as the latter is also a Christian. However Paul is convinced that due to the Christian charity that Philemon has shown in the past, he will take back Onesimus and greet him as a brother, equal in dignity and will not punish Onesimus or re-enslave him.

And so Onesimus is sent back to Philemon by Paul, with this Letter as a sort of greeting and passage.

I’ve always been intrigued by this. Imagine you’re Onesimus. You’ve been a slave. There must have been a reason why you escaped. Was Philemon cruel? Or did you just have an instinctive aversion to being considered property of another? You just saw an opportunity to leave and took it? Anyway, the punishment for escaped slaves was most likely death. Probably painful and not quick if you’re also guilty of theft. And now your new friend, whom you’ve been serving and who has treated you like an equal, a person, is sending you back to your old master. With full confidence that Philemon’s Christianity is all that is standing between you and a painful termination.

Would you want to return?

I didn’t think so. Me neither.

But Onesimus did. He probably did not go willingly, but apparently his faith in the Gospel of Jesus that Paul preached was enough to convince him that it is the right thing to do. So Onesimus’ faith overcame his possible very strong natural lack of inclination to return.

I think for that reason St. Onesimus should be of interest to alcoholics and addicts. Not that he was one, but we all do not want to do the things that we have to. Our addictive personality may make this disinclination stronger in us than in most people. “Normal” people can overcome unwillingness seemingly by just going ahead and doing the thing. But we have to use our spiritual toolkit to convince ourselves to “get going” and do the thing. We have our daily meditations, slogans and other aids to get us to do things that other people just do.

St. Onesimus can be our aid in this. Although I don’t think he is the patron saint of anything, he should be the Patron Saint of People Who Really Do Not Want to Do the Things That They Really Have to Do. ( I have to find a shorter, catchier term. “Patron Saint for People Who need Courage?” Still rather long…)

Read more on Saint Onesimus at SQPN.

Onesimus

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!!)

Sober Catholic’s Facebook Page… (and a reminder about my books!)

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Facebook seems to have done something with their Search algorithms or otherwise how they distribute Pages as for the past week or so I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of “Likes” for Sober Catholic on Facebook.

“Huge” is of course relative.

Anyway, I would like to extend a friendly welcome to all the new “Likers,” and to let them know that I also have written two devotionals for Catholics suffering from addictions (or in long term recovery, but who still need inspiration.) You can get ordering info for them by clicking on the link (the book’s title) in the following paragraphs.

There is The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics, “…a book that is rooted in an ancient Catholic devotion. It is intended to assist Catholics and other Christians find deeper meaning in their struggles with alcoholism, by connecting the oftentimes hard road of sobriety with Jesus’ suffering road to His Crucifixion. The reader sees that their old alcoholic ‘self’ is being led to the Cross and the joy of eventual resurrection of a new sober self can follow. Whether they are still drinking and struggling, or have been sober for many years and still have difficulties coping with sobriety, this book should help readers maintain that sobriety.”

And: The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts, “…helps people to reflect on their recovery and relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks, months, or years, the reflections will lead them to meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far.

The book takes a time-honored prayer and brings it into a useful format for people to pause and reflect on their recovery, their relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks or months, or many years, the reflections for each Mystery of the Rosary will help them meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far. Over the years, their thoughts on each meditation may change, depending on “where they’re at” in their recovery journey.”

The books have their own Facebook Page, too: Sober Catholic Books, as well as one on GooglePlus: Sober Catholic Books on Google+.

Sober Catholic also has a Page on GooglePlus: Sober Catholic on Google+.

If you’re interested a little bit “About this Blog,” then there’s: About this blog: Sober Catholic.

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!!)

An Exhortation to Persevere from the Book of Sirach

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While doing my morning meditations today I read the following passage from the Old Testament “Wisdom” Book, the Book of Sirach (Chapter 2, Verses 1-13). I found it to be a very good and hopeful exhortation to persevere in keeping faith with the Lord; for those who persevere to the end will be saved (as it says elsewhere in Scripture):

“Son, when you apply yourself to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation.
Humble your heart, and persevere. Incline your ear, and accept words of understanding. And you should not hurry away in the time of distress.
Endure steadfastly for God. Join yourself to God, and persevere, so that your life may increase in the very end.
Accept everything that will happen to you, and persevere in your sorrow, and have patience in your humiliation.
For gold and silver are tested in fire, yet truly, acceptable men are tested in the furnace of humiliation.
Believe God, and he will restore you to health. And straighten your way, and hope in him. Observe his fear, and grow old in it.
You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And do not turn away from him, lest you fall.
You who fear the Lord, believe in him. And your reward will not be taken away.
You who fear the Lord, hope in him. And mercy will approach you, to your delight.
You who fear the Lord, love him. And your hearts will be illuminated.
My sons, consider the nations of men, and know that not one of them hoped in the Lord and was confounded.
For who has remained in his commandment and been abandoned? Or who has called upon him, and yet he despised him?
For God is upright and merciful, and he will forgive sins in the day of tribulation. And he is the Protector to all those who seek him in truth.”

via Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

There are countless “Daily Meditation” books available for people to use. But the very best is one you probably already have, the Bible! Particularly the so-called “Wisdom” books (Job, Psalms, Wisdom, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Sirach). All can be taken and read daily in little doses.

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!!)

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are online!

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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are online! You can find them here:

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

These are important for a host or reasons, one of which is that it has been said that the Twelve Steps are very similar to them in nature.

Having them online is useful for those who might not have the book, or who may wish to have online access to them, readily available on any device.

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!!)

My Eighth Year of Trudging this Road

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Time for my annual self-congratulatory post, announcing yet another year completed in blogging here. I started this on January 5, 2007. “Happy Bloggaversary to me!” I don’t blog as often as I should, but then again, this isn’t a full-time paying job; something else has to pay the bills. Plus, I’m married and there’s a house and stuff. 🙂 Nevertheless, I hope whomever reads this blog appreciates it, and that you find it useful as you trudge your own sober Catholic road.

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!!)