Cleanse me

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The fourth verse of Psalm 51 continues from verse 3 the penitent’s petition for a clean slate:

Psalm 51:4: “Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.”

(Via USCCB.)

It is a recognition on the part of the penitent that the sinful offense has dirtied and sullied the soul. We are made in the image and likeness of God, our soul is a reflection of that image. Only God can forgive sins and therefore only He can wash our souls clean of our offense.

The penitent clearly states their sole responsibility in the sin. Even though someone else may have been involved, the sinner says “my guilt”, “my sin”. No blame is placed upon another. The sinner bears responsibility for their wrongdoing. We alcoholics and addicts are known for shirking responsibility. It is “people, places and things”, or our weakness, our disease, or some other such matter. Although there are mitigating circumstances that can lead us into our addictive behavior, in the end we committed the sin. At what point do we stop making excuses and just say that, “Yeah, these factors came in to play in my demise. But I could have said ‘no.’ I could have reached out for help that is their, even if it is a plaintive prayer into the darkness.”

We bear responsibility for recognizing our true nature as sons and daughters of God, and in seeing that since our souls were made to reflect His goodness, we must strive to keep them clean and on the path to holiness. We allow our consciences to be formed and guided by the Gospel.

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!!)

Have mercy on me

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The first verse of Psalm 51, after the introduction, is a plaintive cry for mercy:

Psalm 51:3: “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.”

(Via USCCB.)

The repentant sinner in uttering this cry asking for nothing less than a clean slate. The penitent knows that mercy springs forth from God’s inherent and eternal goodness. Furthermore, God’s compassion for the sinner puts and end to the offense, it is as if it never happened.

God is incapable, as a human understands it, of harboring resentment. The seemingly never-ending rehashing of a grudge or psychological wound is an imperfection of our human nature.

Verse 3 of this Psalm is therefore a confident understanding by the penitent that God will blot out the offense, and start over with the sinner.

As alcoholics and addicts, we have plenty to “blot out”. But also much to learn about compassion. Are we as ready to blot out the offenses of others against us? And how long are we capable of taking to do this? And does reconciliation always result?

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 Meditations

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One of my favorite Psalms is the 51st, “The Miserere”. The first 2 verses explain it:

Psalm 51:1-2: “For the leader. A psalm of David,

when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.”

(Via USCCB)

Nathan the Prophet confronted King David with his adultery, and the Psalm is David’s repentence.

I have written up some notes that form the basis of some meditations on each verse of the Psalm. I think it is appropriate it since the Church’s liturgical year is winding down. As Advent approaches, the Church will start to remind us of the coming of Christ, and the need to repent.

(These meditations also serve as a revival of something I started in 2007, called the “The Wisdom Dose”, a series of originally daily, then occasional, then discontinued, meditations on the Wisdom Books of the Bible, including the Psalms. I will do these again, on an irregular basis.)

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!!)

Approaching the Throne of Grace

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The Second Reading for the Mass of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time speaks to us of Jesus as our helper in our weakness:

Hebrews 4:14-16:“Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”

(Via USCCB.)

Jesus is not some mighty deity who reigns distantly from Heaven and judges us for our misdeeds. Although His divinity prevented Him from sinning, He experienced the temptations and sufferings that we experience. Perhaps His divinity made Him acutely aware of the pain temptation brings. He couldn’t sin to temporarily relieve the painful desire of temptation. Not that our succumbing to temptation to relieve the pain is any excuse for us.

Therefore, knowing full well that Jesus understands what we go through, because He’s been there,we can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” Grace is all you need to heal from your addiction. The sacraments are the primary instruments of God’s grace, and the sure means of receiving it.

Go to Confession soon and the attend Mass and receive the Eucharist. Go to Confession frequently, for as addicts and alcoholics we are a tough bunch to maintain our holiness.

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!!)

Suffering Servant

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The First Reading for the Mass of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time is one that serves as a foreshadow or prophecy of Jesus as the Messiah, and of His suffering mission:

Isaiah 53:10-11:“The LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.”

(Via USCCB.)

God was “pleased” to crush Him, inasmuch as He was sent to Earth incarnate for one reason, to suffer and die for our sins. Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will, and in doing so bought for us salvation. His suffering will be the instrument by which His followers will be saved. We shall be with Him in Eternity.

I had a weird thought while I was reading this before the Saturday Vigil Mass I attend. As Christians we are called to be like Christ, to accept suffering as our part in working out our redemption. My weird thought was connected to the lament often heard by the newly sober: “Why am I an alcoholic?”

Well, I think the answer to that lies in the passage from Isaiah. If it can be rewritten from the perspective of an alcoholic being like a “suffering servant” using his addiction as a means of fulfilling God’s will, perhaps alcoholics can take some comfort, or strength, in their addiction. So, here is a paraphrase of the Suffering Servant passage from Isaiah (feel free to substitute “her” for “him”):

“God was pleased to crush him in his infirmity.

If he uses his life and offers it up for his addiction,
he shall see his fellow addicts in a long life,
and the will of God shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his addiction he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant help many to be righteous,
and their guilt he shall hear.”

(The inspired writer of Scripture is much better than I!)

In short, by adapting the Suffering Servant passage, alcoholics and addicts can see their addiction as a means of fulfilling God’s will. By combining their understanding of addiction with their personal experiences of it, they can help others. They can “hear” other people’s pain and sorrow, and begin to see the brokenness in them. The addict’s woundedness and suffering can be used to alleviate other people’s pain.

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 Spirit of Wisdom Came to Me

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There is a nice excerpt from the First Reading for Mass for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time:

Wisdom 7:7: “I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.”

(Via USCCB.)

As alcoholics and addicts we are familiar with seeking wisdom and prudence. It’s there in the short form of the Serenity Prayer said at most 12 Step meetings:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

One of the greatest gifts you can ask for is wisdom. It enables you to discern the good from the bad, to make rightly formed decisions as opposed to those based on feelings and emotion. It helps you to navigate the rough terrain and churning seas of daily life.

Pray for 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!!)

Catholic Recovery Chat

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I am just trying to get to word out that this blog’s sister site Catholic Recovery has a chat room. This is a post that serves as a “primer” on using it: Catholic Recovery Chat

I am trying to promote it for 2 reasons:

One) To help build the social network’s community. We have all been there when we needed some human contact and no one’s been around. A lonely night at the keyboard, staring at the screen…. a chat might be good.

Two) To get more people to use the network. This would significantly assist with point # one. 🙂

So, check it out if you’re a member. Or join up if you’re not!

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!!)

Our Lady of Victory

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On October 7th the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Here is a post written a few years ago on its background (it also has a great litany prayer for your use):

Our Lady of the Rosary

The old name for this feast day is Our Lady of Victory. We can beseech Our Lady of Victory to be our own special intercessor in Heaven for us alcoholics and addicts. We can ask for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s maternal help in keeping us safe from our weakness over our addictions. She can aid us in turning our weakness into a strength. She has worked miracles in my life and can be a major intercessor for you as well.

As a personal historical sidenote: this is a copy-and-paste of a post from last year:

Today was the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. That link is a post I wrote last year.

It has been quite a year for me since that post. In that year I relocated to a new city to be closer to my then-girlfriend (after commuting weekly 360 miles/580 km round-trip for nearly 2 months), took a low-paying part-time job just to be near her, got a new job a few months later – just before the actual wedding, and endured a lot of change and trials on that job these past 8 months on it. I proposed to her 10 months ago today on the Vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Rose said “Yes” but made me propose again the next day as she felt it was more proper to do so on the day of the feast instead. Women… (!!!). ) All in all, a new life, and a year that most people would have taken several years to live out. No boasting, just a lot of life development and such all packed in to one year, that others would have experienced over a longer period.

A strong faith and strong sobriety was key in my surviving this past year. There was much that could have undermined my sobriety, ask any long-term member of a 12 Step group and they would have said something about too much change too soon. Change, or big change and a lot of it, isn’t good for any recovered/recovering alcoholic. Having something worthwhile to achieve (like a great lady) helps.

From Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”

(Via 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!!)

Armor of God

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We are engaged in a battle when we are addicts and alcoholics. For all the talk of the medical, genetic or environmental causes of alcoholism and addiction, we cannot ignore the spiritual side of the affliction. I think even the founders of AA said that alcoholism is a spiritual problem. In acknowledging the spiritual side of addiction we cannot just assume that it is a problem in our relationship with God. The spiritual world has its dark forces, too. If you read the New Testament, demons were among the earliest to acknowledge the truth of Jesus. Jesus did battle with them, from His being tempted in the desert to casting them out of people they inhabited.

People who are “rational” scoff at the notion of demonic activity, yet it is a Church teaching that they exist and it is sensible to assume that they use whatever tools are available to them to destroy us and keep us from God.

If addictions fill the “hole in our soul” that should be filled by our desire for God, then possibly demons use them as the best means at their disposal to fill that hole and divert us from God. Our addictions satisfy a spiritual longing that is better taken up by devotion to God. But they are immediately satisfying instead of the longer time that spiritual conversion usually takes.

And so we are not just engaged in a battle against our desires. Our desires may be merely tools used against us. For whatever the reason, we who are alcoholics and addicts have an increased sensitivity to our desires and an inordinate need to fulfill them.

But we have weapons at our disposal. St. Paul writes:

Ephesians 6:10-17: “Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.

So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,

and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

(Via USCCB.)

The Faith is our shield. Studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church (available in most bookstores, plus there are links to online versions of it in the sidebar), which is the summary of our Faith, is one weapon. Prayers to the Holy Spirit is another. Regular reading of the Bible is another weapon. Prayerfully study the Catechism and the Bible, and your “armor of God” will be strengthened against the onslaught of the devil and his demons.

I heard in an AA meeting once (and this has been repeated in various ways by other people) that meeting attendance interrupts the thought processes that lead to a relapse. If that is so, then there can be no better way to interrupt the slide to a relapse that calling upon the graces of God that result when you build up your Faith through the reading of the Bible and the Catechism. If a mere meeting can help stave off a relapse, how much more mighty a shield is there than Scripture and the Catechism?

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!!)

Sin and concupiscence

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I have added two new labels: “sin” and “concupiscence” to identify the subjects of posts. I shall be discussing these off and on over the next few weeks or months and their relationship with addiction and alcoholism.

One reason I haven’t blogged much recently (there are many) is that I’ve been studying the Catechism and other books about these subjects.

“Grace” and the “sacraments” will be integral to these 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!!)