A rather big “If”

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This excerpt from the Gospel for today’s Mass of Tuesday, the First Week of Lent has a rather troubling condition for people:

Matthew 6:14-15: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.“

This is, of course, the last part of the “Lord’s Prayer.” And it bothers people when they read it and understand the implications.

They will not be forgiven by God of their sins unless they forgive others first.

No free ride. No “God understands”, as if His understanding means accepting and agreeing with it. No, if you do not forgive others for their sins against you, then God will not forgive you of your sins against Him.

This is really hard for those people who have been grievously injured by someone else. How can forgiveness be expected for someone who has seriously harmed another?

By ourselves alone, it may not be possible.

Matthew 19:26: “‘For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.’”

In this season of Lent, let us use all the aids available to us from God through the Church in at least trying to be forgiving. It isn’t an easy process.

2 Peter 3:15: “And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation.”

Bible quotes courtesy USCCB.

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 contribution to “Catholic Media Promotion Day!”

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As I posted earlier: Today is Catholic Media Promotion Day!

Therefore, here are my picks:

For my 3 blogs:

I will place a dear, sweet, lady first:

Dymphna’s Well, described as “Celebrating beauty in art, music, poetry and scripture.”

I discovered Dymphna’s blog years ago. Long before I had my own computer I had made it a point that whenever I was online her blog would be on the list of sites to review.

Next up:

Stumbling Back Home: “A posterous to document my spiritual journey. – A spiritual seeker’s diary of returning to the Catholic church, after a long time in the desert.”

Anything about “spiritual seeking” involving Catholicism or returning to it draws my attention. Laymonk does a great job.

Then:

Roger’s posterous: “A blog, an eclectic collection of things, an experiment.”

Roger is an online friend of mine, and is helpful and supportive of some of my online doings, namely Recovery for Christ.

I picked Dymphna’s, Laymonk’s and Roger’s blogs as although I read a bunch of blogs and probably communicate on Facebook, Twitter and Plurk with other bloggers more often, these are really the only 3 that I go to without bothering to see their feed in my RSS feed reader first. No disrespecting any other bloggers, it is just how things resonate.

For my 3 podcasts:

First, the “Home Office”: Radio Vaticana. Vatican Radio has some great podcast resources, from the Pope’s weekly audiences and Angelus broadcasts, to English language news and such.

Then:

Where I learn stuff:
Catholic Roundup

Sean’s a wonderful guy, and Canadian!!!!! How kewl is that!

Last up:
Catholic Weekend — An SQPN Featured Show

For my 3 Media picks:

Rob Williams, is the Tupelo Geek: “Using Technology for Personal and Professional Growth!”

And um, Oh My God… It’s Full Of Stars. Just because Chris is cool, too.

Lastly: Catholic Web Solutions:”Bringing the Expertise and Gifts of Catholic Organizations to the Internet”

For random Catholic stuff:

My wife Rose’s site, which feature her photography and other work, including links to her online store. These store are places where you can purchase her work. Yes, as in BUYING MY WIFE’S excellent photography and other artistic endeavors (HINT-HINT-HINT)

ARTIST4GOD: Rose Santuci-Sofranko

Then, a great idea for a browser startup page: myCatholic.com : “Customizable Catholic Homepage”. It has been my home page for years. It is customizable!

Finally, the premier Catholic radio station in the world, after Vatican Radio:
Station of the Cross

For my projects:

There’s my primary blog: Sober Catholic: “Conversion, Penance, Recovery, Sobriety, Scripture, Prayer, Catholicism.” Also The Four Last Things: “Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell.”

I also run a small social network: Recovery for Christ

I’ll cheat and mention a fourth project: CatholicPreachy.com : “Preachin’ da WORD to da HERD :-)”

CP is a joint project I share with Bro Jer, one of my bestest online buddies, and to whom I owe a lot.

Well, that’s all for that. I Tweeted an idea to Sean that maybe this CMPD should be held on March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation. Just a thought!

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!!)

Today is Catholic Media Promotion Day!

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Today is Catholic Media Promotion Day! Read Sean’s blogpost for details on how you can participate: Catholic Roundup 91- Catholic Media Promotion Day

(Via Catholic Roundup.)

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!!)

Thou shalt don’t and thou shalt do

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I am posting a link to today’s complete Mass Readings as that is a bit easier that copying the text, as both the entire First Reading and the Gospel are important:

Monday of the First Week of Lent

(Via USCCB.)

The First Reading is a lot of “thou shalt don’ts”. A lot of people are turned off by organized religion because they think it is just a bunch of silly rules about what you can’t do. If you actually read the 10 Commandments, you see that they are practical rules for personal and social survival, as well as proper orientation of the individual to God.

The Gospel Reading contains a bunch of ‘thou shalt do’s”. I wonder if the people who complain about the “don’ts” ever actually bother with the ‘do’s”. Religion is a civilizing force in human society, we are bound to assist one another, it is not a private affair to be kept under wraps. Jesus is preaching in the Gospel of what He expects His followers to do.

Both the 10 Commandments and Jesus’ admonishments about helping the less fortunate force us to go beyond ourselves and focus on other. From a right relationship with God and other people, to what we are to do for those not as fortunate as we are.

As alcoholics and addicts we often tend to focus on our recovery issues, of “just not drinking” today, and coping with our daily living struggles. While this should not be a lesser concern we should also be aware of others out there.

Getting outside ourselves helps in recovery.

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!!)

Who do you Serve?

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In this excerpt from the Gospel for the Mass of the First Sunday of Lent Jesus makes two very important points:

Matthew 4:7-10: “…Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’‘Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’At this, Jesus said to him, ‘Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”“

(Via USCCB.)

OK, so who do YOU serve? Do you serve the Lord and seek to accomplish His will here on Earth and in your life? Or do you subject Him to a test? Is there a battle of wills, yours versus His? Who do you think will win?

Humility is a major part of recovery, it is written into the Twelve Steps and is an essential part of any good Christian’s being.

What or Who is first in your life?

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!!)

In need of a physician?

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Are you in need of a physician? How about a Divine Physician? The Gospel Reading for the Mass for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday:

Luke 5:27-32: “After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.’“

(Via USCCB.)

If you are reading this blog, chances are that you are not healthy. You are or were suffering from an addiction, be it alcohol or drugs or something else. As this is the season of Lent, a time of repentance and returning to a closer relationship with God, now is your chance to seek out the healing nature of the Sacraments. Especially Confession! See about talking to a priest about it. It’ll do you an eternity of good.

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!!)

Psalm 51

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The Responsorial Psalm for the Mass for the Friday after Ash Wednesday is Psalm 51. Rather that revisit it I shall just mention that it is pretty much the perfect prayer (after the Lord’s Prayer) for penance and conversion.

I had earlier written a series of meditations on Psalm 51, they can be found here (they appear in reverse order, so you will have to scroll way down to get to the beginning, then scroll up. Perhaps they can form a Lenten Friday meditation?

Psalm 51 posts

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!!)

If you wish to follow Jesus…

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Jesus makes it clear in today’s Gospel Reading for the Mass for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday what you have to do to be His follower:

Luke 9:22-25: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.’ Then he said to all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?’”

(Via USCCB.)

Do you “take up your cross daily?” Meaning, do you accept and offer up as a sacrifice whatever troubles, trials and tribulations that come into your life as a sign that you are a follower of Christ, or do you avoid or reject them? It is a human thing to try to avoid them at times. We are not always “on the beam” and focused on what we are supposed to do. And so we repent and return to accepting the daily crosses that we bear.

Accepting and taking up the daily crosses are “little deaths” that we endure as signs that we “lose our life” for Christ’s sake. And in so doing, we save 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!!)

Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation

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The Second Reading for the Mass for Ash Wednesday announces a particularly good news:

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2: “Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

(Via USCCB.)

Lent is now. It is our time to return to the Lord. No matter what our religious and spiritual life has been, no matter how great our sacramental and prayer life has been, we are still “too far” from God. Now is the season of repentance, of turning our backs on sin and striving to become closer to the Lord.

There is a special reason for this. As the Apostle Paul write in the beginning of this Reading, we are emissaries of God, and His work in the world is accomplished through us. We have a special mission to carry out His will on Earth, we can only do that if we repent and reconcile our lives to the Lord.

We alcoholics and addicts understand conversion. But we can go beyond what is taught in 12 Step Meetings and merely “do not drink” or use and make spiritual progress in that regard.

We can take up our call to be ambassadors for Christ.

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!!)

40 Days of Catholic Media Lent

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Sean, over at Catholic Roundup, a blog and website that is a directory and one stop shop for all things Catholic New Media (blogs, podcasts and such) has a new project for the Lenten season. It is the 40 Days of Catholic Media 2011.

Sean’s purpose is three-fold: to use the 40 Days of Lent as a means for Catholic bloggers, podcasters and other community media creators to build community, increase their faith formation, and to get or offer whatever technical assistance that is needed for Catholic media people to improve their projects.

A lot of us who do this are isolated from one another. We blog or podcast from our own little offices or wherever and get little feedback from each other. “Is anybody out there? Is this thing on??? Hello?” So, there is an element of community support and creation in this project.

While many of us know our Catholic Faith pretty well, we are also not Pope Benedict XVI, individually or collectively. And so we always seek to increase our knowledge of the Faith. We have to know it in order to effectively transmit it though our online projects. In this manner we can help each other.

Many of us don’t necessarily have a good grasp as to how to go about all of this (I was clueless about getting domain names, and in using a paid host and not a free account on Blogger- and why it is better. I am still clueless about transferring files from my hard drive to the host -this is called “FTP”-, I still have to use scripts supplied by the host to accomplish things. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then maybe head over to Catholic Roundup this Lent. FTP tutorials are what I’m looking for!). So, there will be technical discussions for anyone in need of learning. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only unanswered ones.

In “More Details about 40 Days of Catholic Media” Sean outlines a weekly plan to cover these three areas. And in “Pardon Me, you seem to have a spot on your forehead” he starts the seasonal project off with something related to what a lot of Catholics are fearful of doing, walking around outside with dirt on their forehead during Ash Wednesday.

Why am I posting this? Well, as I’ve said many times in the past here, and most recently in my interview, I started this blog because there wasn’t anything else out there like it for recovering Catholic alcoholics an addicts. And there basically still isn’t. For some reason, Catholics who get clean and sober do not turn to interactive media like blogs and community sites to spread their Faith and how it impacts their recovery. There is the occasional blog, but their Catholicism seems peripheral to their recovery. They are 12 Steppers who happen to be Catholic, and they might mention their Faith now and then. Several have started, but have gone silent. Not too helpful to other recovering Catholics seeking online community.

So I am announcing Sean’s project and am participating in it so maybe I can see who else is out there. Maybe someone will get inspired and start another Catholic-focused recovery project. I think Sean’s intent is directed to existing members of the Catholic online blogosphere and podcasting community. Mine, too, but I’m also looking to see who else might be interested in jumping in. If they see that there is a vibrant, online community willing to band and bond together and help out with affirmation, Faith formation and technical information, then who knows…

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!!)