“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!!)

Catholic, Alcoholic, Addict

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I went and did it again. I created another online community for Catholics who are alcoholics and addicts. I know, I know, you’re asking me, “Why, Paulcoholic, have you done this thing which has proved so fruitless in the past? Don’t you remember your past attempts, all doomed by various financial, technical, and human follies? Why do you persist?” I don’t know. Maybe if I try it often enough it’ll eventually work out, some combination of time, talent, and place where finally people will come and take part and there will be a thriving online community of Catholics sharing their own experience, strength and hope with each other, in a safe Catholic setting.

I created it on the Awestruck Catholic Social Network. Please go here—–> Catholic, Alcoholic, Addict on Awestruck.tv.

I describe it as: “A Group for those Awestruckers who have suffered or still are suffering from alcoholism and other addictions. This is the place that while you’re here on Awestruck you can come to to talk about things important to you: your addiction, your story, struggles, and what gives you strength and hope. Whether you consider yourself “recovered” or “in recovery” is not important, nor is whatever recovery program that you belong to (or even if you belong to one). This is not a Twelve Step Group, but Step discussion is just fine. NO CRITICISM of anyone’s recovery program (or lack of) will be tolerated. Fidelity to the Church is required (same basic requirements for Awestruck membership). Feel free to discuss anything relevent to the Faith and addiction. If you get strength and hope from certain things like the lives of the Saints, post about it! If you wish to discuss Apparitions or locutions, THEY HAVE TO HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE CHURCH. No unapproved Apparitions, etc.”

Also, if you’re worried about privacy and anonymity, there’s this:

“The Group’s settings are “Private,” rather than “Public,” just in case anyone has problems re: anonymity.

‘This is a private group:

-Only users who request membership and are accepted can join the group.
-This group will be listed in the groups directory and in search results.
-Group content and activity will only be visible to members of the group.'”

So, join up and start sharing! I thoroughly love Awestruck, and now spend most of my social networking either there or on Facebook. As the “Catholic, Alcoholic, Addict Group” is hosted on someone else’s dime, and as I do spend considerable time there, I can almost guarantee that I will never terminate it, even should it prove unpopular or unproductive. In case you missed my recent “promotions” of Awestruck, here’s a link to my posts about it—–> Awestruck.tv posts on Sober Catholic.

I also made a change (maybe temporary, we’ll see how all eighteen mebers feel about it) to the “Matt Talbot Way of Recovery” Community on Google+, I renamed it “Catholic, Alcoholic, Addict” Why? To quote from my post in there: “Absolutely no disrespect intended to Matt Talbot, but calling it the “Matt Talbot Way of Recovery” presumes a particular approach to addiction recovery. What would be the “basic text” of this Way (the Philip Maynard book) is out-of-print and the publisher has no intention of bringing it back into print.

We can always add a category entitled “Matt Talbot,” for anyone wishing to post specific things re: him.” And I did create the latter thing, a forum category entitled “Matt Talbot,” where people can discuss him. You can find the Community here———> Catholic, Alcoholic, Addict Community on Google+.

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 2015 Resolutions

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I don’t make resolutions, namely because I’ll never keep them. Except for some fundamental basic convictions, I do not “resolve” to do anything just to start off the year. I also think that making resolutions on January 1st elevates the secular year above the Church’s Liturgical year, which began a month ago with Advent.

If I were to make any, I’d resolve to clean up “unresolved” projects I wanted to do for this blog. In no particular order: blog my way throught Paslm 119, blog my way through the Wisdom Books (a tall order, at least maybe I can make a beginning), finish up the Works of Mercy posts I started in (I think) 2012. If I remember correctly, I mentioned way back in 2007 when I began this blog that I’d write about connecting the Twelve Steps to the Liturgical year. I have notes on that somewhere. Also, some major posts on Confession as encompassing the Twelve Steps. Maybe, just maybe, one post a month on each of the Steps, perhaps “Catholicizing” each. Oh, and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatious of Loyola. I started something on those a few years ago, but like the rest, never finished as the Exercise are difficult to do on one’s own. I am going to try them again, solo, but based on how my life is currently organized, I may be able to complete them. It has been said that the Twelve Steps are rooted in the Exercises, if so, and if I can complete them, I can focus on them for the future rather than the actual Steps.

But all that is only if I did resolutions. 😉

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!!)

Matt Talbot may be closer to sainthood!

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Good news for devotees of the Venerable Matt Talbot! According to this article in the Irish Catholic, a new miracle may put him on road to sainthood.

Special thanks to the curator of the Matt Talbot Facebook Page for posting about this.

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. John the Baptist and Recovery

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I’ve just read a book on St. John the Baptist: (John the Baptist: Prophet and Disciple) and now is an appropriate time to have done that since it’s Advent. As John is the Precursor of Christ, foretelling of His first Coming, this book helped me to better prepare for Christmas.

One thing about my reading it is that I should have given St. John the Baptist a much larger role in this blog. I don’t think I’ve mentioned him too often. This is odd as I’ve kind of felt this blog to be in the spirit of his mission. He pointed the way to Christ, he was not the light, but merely reflected the light of Christ. He decreased, so that Christ would increase. Likewise, I’ve used this blog to not especially promote a plan of recovery (save for possibly a “Matt Talbot Way”), but rather to point the way to what resources the Church offers to alcoholics and addicts. Rather than illuminate a “Catholic Recovery Program” invented by me, I’ve sought to reflect the light of the Church with regard to the possible efficacy of the Mass and the Sacraments, prayers and devotions, the Saints and others, to those who might be searching for it, but do not see it. Don’t come looking to me, take a look at what I’m pointing out. I’ll get out-of-the-way, you spend more time in Church. 😉

And so, I’ve had some attachment and self-identification with the “Voice crying out in the wilderness” tagline that St. John the Baptist used. In fact, if I recall back when I started this blog in January 2007, I considered that for a title for this blog. I probably rejected it as being too wordy and not properly descriptive.

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.

A brief review of the book linked to above: It’s a very good work, it should be in every Christian’s library. It very much helped me to better appreciate the role of John in salvation history and his place within Christianity. My only problem with it is I think it could have gone through one or two more rewrites. The author frequently brought up points as if it were the first time he mentioned them. A minor cosmetic or stylistic problem, but I got annoyed every time he brought up, for example, the issue of scholars regarding John as merely being a product of “Second Temple Judaism.” The multiple times he mentioned this is fine, it’s just that the way he brought it up was as if each time was the first. But don’t let that get in the way of getting the book, ordering information is in that link up above.

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!!)