July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Christ. This should be a devotion of particular interest to Catholics recovering from addiction to alcohol given that at Mass, wine is transubstantiated into His Blood. We cannot drink wine, but although because of its transubstantiation it is now essentially His Blood and not wine, it still retains the accidental properties of alcohol. 

Just the kind of devotion that we alcoholics should get into

(if you haven’t done so by now!)

The devotion highlights the significance of Christ’s Blood, shed for our redemption, and its presence in the sacraments. Devotion to the Precious Blood emphasizes the gravity of sin and the love demonstrated through Christ’s sacrifice. As recovered/recovering alcoholics, we have come face to face with the sins of our past (in AA’s Steps 4 and 5 if you are a Twelve Stepper; and the Sacrament of Confession whether you are or not) and we struggle with overcoming them in sobriety. Therefore, recovering from addictions and maintaining sobriety is participation in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. 

Colossians 1:24 “I complete in my flesh the things that are lacking in the Passion of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the Church.”

Courtesy: Sacred Bible-Catholic Public Domain Version

 July, Month of the Precious Blood, an article courtesy of Catholic Culture, serves as a great introduction to the devotion and its antiquity.

I plan on blogging more about this over the next few weeks; the health issues that kept me from blogging about the Sacred Heart in June have diminished.

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!!)