He is a glutton and a drunkard

Posted on by

The Gospel Reading for the Mass for Friday of the Second Week of Advent is the one in which Jesus is called a “glutton and a drunkard.”

Matthew 11:16-19: “‘To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.'”

(Via USCCB.)

I had written about this before where I approached it from the theme of people being resentful of you for the new life of sobriety that you lead. The notes section in the NAB explain that the passage may mean that (I’m paraphrasing) teachings are rejected, that expectations of others are not being fulfilled. “We do this and that, and you didn’t respond as we thought.” You are doing something that others don’t understand or desire, and therefore you are rejected, just as John the Baptist and Jesus were.

However, just like “by their fruits you shall know them,” if you hold fast, you will be vindicated (proven right).

So, please read the earlier post, right here:

A Glutton and a Drunkard.

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 9

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Day Nine Intentions: The general intentions for the alcoholic you are praying for.

Whether a loved one or yourself. Get quiet, listen to that quiet, and try and hear what God is telling you.

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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!!)

All About The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Posted on by

Tomorrow, December 8th, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The following is a link to an article on the feast day:

Immaculate Conception Feast: All About The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

(Via ChurchYear.net.)

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 8

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Day Eight Intentions: Pray for Mercy:

James 2:13: “For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

(Via USCCB.)

Pray that mercy be shown to you by those you have hurt in your addiction, and pray also that you may show others the same mercy when they hurt you.

Remember in the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples that we are to expect forgiveness from God only inasmuch as we forgive others. This is hard, at least try to embrace the concept.

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 7

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Day Seven Intentions: Pray for Faith, the conviction that there is a future without drinking and drugging, and that a life without the addiction is a far better one than a life drinking and using.

Luke 17:5: “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.'”

(Via USCCB.)

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 6

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Day Six Intentions: Pray for humility, the ability to set aside yourself and your self-willed desires and allow God’s will to work in your life so that you can achieve what He made you for.

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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!!)

Patient endurance

Posted on by

The Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for this morning had
“A treatise on the value of patience, by St Cyprian” from which I excerpt the following parts:

“What we do not see, we hope, for Patience is a precept for salvation given us by our Lord our teacher: Whoever endures to the end will be saved. And again: If you persevere in my word, you will truly be my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Dear brethren, we must endure and persevere if we are to attain the truth and freedom we have been allowed to hope for; faith and hope are the very meaning of our being Christians, but if faith and hope are to bear their fruit, patience is necessary…

… But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it in patience. Patient waiting is necessary if we are to be perfected in what we have begun to be, and if we are to receive from God what we hope for and believe…

…Paul warns us not to grow weary in good works through impatience, not to be distracted or overcome by temptations and so give up in the midst of our pilgrimage of praise and glory, and allow our past good deeds to count for nothing because what was begun falls short of completion…”

(Via Universalis.)

And so we see that patient endurance, taking things one day at a time, is a needed part of our salvation. Impatience is our attempt at defying time, wanting things now and not later. This “immediate gratification” distracts us from our ultimate destiny. We are never satisfied as things do not seem to be achieved fast enough and so we succumb to temptations of every sort.

As addicts and alcoholics temptations are particularly seductive.

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!!)

Dorothy Day

Posted on by

I missed this earlier this week, as I was probably too busy from snow removal and recovering from it. In getting caught up with a few friend’s blogposts I noticed that Dymphna’s Well had a post on Dorothy Day this past Wednesday.

“Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

An early radical, Day became a socialist, dropped out of college, married and had an abortion before converting to Catholicism as an adult. As this article by Andrew Hamilton says, Dorothy’s was ‘a gospel with teeth.’  She founded Catholic Worker Houses that helped (and still help) the poor–alcoholics, drug addicts and street people.

Her theology was all about pacifism, hospitality and human dignity. The poor who came to her were treated with dignity and non-violence–the first many had ever known.  Even when involved in political passive resistance (think, Gandhi and Martin Luther King) the innate human dignity of one’s opponent was at the forefront.

*This* is Christianity.  This is what Jesus wants us to do.”

Posted by Dymphna at 11:23 AM on December 1, 2010

(Via Dymphna’s Well.)

Catholic Worker Houses, as Dymphna says, still offer a lot of assistance to those on the fringes and margins of society, many of whom are there due to alcoholism and addictions.

Dorothy Day is not a canonized saint yet (although I tagged this post in that category), but her work is an excellent portrayal of applied Christianity.

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 5

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Day Five Intentions: Pray for those that are alone and isolated, who are disconnected from others due to their addiction and who feel that their experience with alcoholism is worse than anyone else’s. Try and reach out to them, if possible. You may be a light in their darkness.

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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 the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 4

Posted on by

Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Fourth Day Intentions: That we find it within ourselves to open up to those we have hurt in our addictions, and those that have hurt us, and love them. May the path to a possible reconciliation be opened by forgiveness.

Conclude daily: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, those who do not have recourse to you, enemies of the Holy Catholic Church, and all those recommended to you. Amen.

We ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen

Background for this post is right here.

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!!)