It is not meant to be an exhaustive resource; I write enough material to convince the typical Catholic ex-drunk (or wanna-be Catholic ex-drunk) that the Devotion to Divine Mercy is that thing they really need. It’s mostly links to resources including some of my favorite Sober Catholic posts on the devotion.
If you are reading this blog, then I am assuming you have some degree of sobriety behind you. What have you done with it? If you are doing your best to lead a normal life, being a responsible family person (husband, father, wife, mother, sibling) or citizen (gainfully employed and such like) then that is great! But you can do more. if you are specifically reading this blog because you are Catholic, then perhaps you are seeking “what to do” about your Catholcism. It’s OK to “just be responsible.” Most people aren’t. But you can do so much more. God may be calling you to be a Christ-bearer to others, just like Mary!
Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics is a call to arms, or rather, a call to pens, paintbrushes, and video cameras, for creative Catholics to take up St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe’s call to infiltrate pop culture and help alleviate the ills that pervade contemporary society. St. Maximilian saw back in the 1920s how the use of cinema, radio, and mass-market books was corrupting society. He thought that those same tools could be used as a countercultural force to overcome this corruption.
Furthermore, it explains through the example of three critical apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima how she herself suggested strategies and alternatives to the dehumanizing and increasingly pagan contemporary culture we have today.
Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics concludes by showing how the Catholic Faith can be used to provide a road map out of our current morass and a blueprint to build a more just and fair society constructed according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and other elements of traditional Catholic Social Teachings.
I should be doing this for a few more years before winding things down. I plan on releasing a few more books. I am seriously considering starting a YouTube channel/podcast. The channel already exists, I have just never uploaded anything to it as it’s only been a channel I subscribe to other useful channels. Stay tuned here for further details, or, go the Sober Catholic Youtube and subscribe (and hit the bell icon for notifications for if and when I actually do start uploading videos.) I am doing the “legwork” necessary; I’ve written a few scripts already, and I’m studying how to use the software I have for making videos, recording voice and so on. All I have to do is follow up with “content.”
You can make me happy by buying my books! See below:
I received an email a few days ago (only saw it today as it was in my Junk folder☹️) from Richard S., a homeless addict in the United Kingdom. I won’t post his entire email here out of respect for privacy (even though it lacks personal identifying info.)
Some points, however:
I’m a Catholic and I’m an addict in England, UK. I’m struggling like hell. I recently was given a copy of your book “The Sober Catholic Way” and it’s truly helping me.
If you only knew how it feels to discover your writing has made an impact!
I feel as if I’ve let my Blessed Mother, Mary down and I’m not worthy. Let alone our Lord Jesus. Anyway, many blessings and love to you and your family.
This part touched me. Who among us hasn’t felt this way? I replied:
About you letting Mama Mary and Jesus down: they perfectly understand. Mary’s love and Jesus’ mercy is greater than our deepest faults and flaws and our inability to overcome them. This is something everyone forgets from time to time, including me. Mary is a good Mother and will help lead you closer to Jesus.
And so I am asking you for prayers for Richard S.(If you’re in the UK and know of resources for homeless addicts; and Richard does have access to medical personnel, he probably knows what’s available, but just in case something is overlooked, please email me at paulcoholic at gmail dot com .)
Catholic women who are ready to create a healthier relationship with alcohol—whether they want to reduce or completely eliminate it—for any reason. My approach is centered on faith, compassion, and empowerment. Together, we’ll uncover what’s fueling your connection to alcohol and work towards a place where you can take it or leave it with true peace and freedom.
Next up is something I wish I discovered back in 2022 when I worked remotely for a narcissist. (He believed that humiliation and embarassment was a worthy way of motivating people.) If you need help with such people, then Catholic Narcissist Recovery is the place for you. Catholic Narcissist Recovery is:
an online support community for anyone who has experienced narcissistic abuse and longs to heal. We offer an online community portal, weekly meetings, and resources. While therapy and traditional healing methods help, they often miss a crucial element—the transformative power of Jesus, Scripture, the Sacraments, and authentic community. Here, you’ll find people just like you, walking the same path toward healing.
We integrate the healing power of the Jesus into the recovery process, offering true restoration. Whether you are Catholic or not, you are welcome here. Our mission is to help you reclaim your life after narcissistic abuse because God is bigger than your suffering, and He wants to bring good from your pain.
believes in the Catholic healing and recovery of the whole person-mind, body, & soul. God wants you to be happy in the moment. The time is now to see our website at Stoned on Happiness. God Bless You!
Unfortunately, his YouTube hasn’t been active in ten years or more, but I included it on the resources page anyway, as it’s …interesting. His website (link in the block quote above) is more recent (last post in 2022) but is in dire need of some technical work (some links to old posts do not work and he doesn’t have it use the more modern “https:” URL prefix. There is a link to his Instagram which has more recent activity.
Don:
is an artist, a BCA pool instructor, a Catholic lay evangelist, and an all out positive laid-back guy. He’s someone you’d want on your team if you were fighting the good fight. Don actually paints with his beard. You can find out more information on the story of why here. (Paulcoholic’s Note: the link in the word ‘here’ didn’t work, so we may never know.) He loves his Catholic faith and shares the reason for his sobriety with all who want to know.
I hope these are useful. Please look over the resources and if you know of any that could be there, please email me at paulcoholic at gmail dot com.
On this day in 2002, I had my last drunk. I have conflicting memories of what happened (I may have to search through old blog posts of prior soberversaries, but even in those I recall not completely recalling events.) At any rate, it’s of no consequence any more. Twenty-three years and everyone involved in my life back then is either dead or disappeared. Sorrow for the former, good riddance (mostly) for the latter. We move on and consign the past to God’s mercy, the present to His grace and the future to His Providence.
“The Sober Catholic Way” helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety. Drawn from nearly two decades of blogging at SoberCatholic.com, “The Sober Catholic Way” shows the importance of the sacraments, the Bible, the Catechism and other books. It continues on with the various ways one can “live” out Catholicism by nurturing devotions to the Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. All of these contribute to sobriety as well as one’s spiritual progression!
Discover the importance of the Real Presence, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, St. Joseph, St. Therese (the “Little Flower”) and Matt Talbot. You’ll get ideas on how to apply the Beatitudes, the Divine Mercy Message, as well as learning about the Apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima and how they can guide one’s life.
“The Sober Catholic Way” is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. This book does not guarantee anything, but doing these things have helped the author keep his sobriety intact since May 22, 2002. Will he ever drink again? Quite unlikely, but the tools to help recover from a relapse are in every chapter! The love and mercy of God is everlasting and endless!
…is a book that is rooted in an ancient Catholic devotion. It is intended to assist Catholics and other Christians finddeeper 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.
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.
It 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.
Click on those links (or the ones at the bottom of the post) to find out where you can get them.
If you have the books and would just like to contribute to help me defray the costs of this blog (hosting is not free, nor is the web address,) you can PayPal Me. (My real name IS Paul Sofranko, in case you get worried when you go to PayPal. Any amount is appreciated! My hosting and web address bill is due in a couople of weeks…
I have one last book, it isn’t intended for people in recovery, rather for Catholic creatives. However, and this thought ocurred to me, if you have been clean and sober for a while, and wonder what to do with yourself, then:
“Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!
“”Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” is a call to arms, or rather, a call to pens, paintbrushes, and video cameras, for creative Catholics to take up St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe’s call to infiltrate pop culture and help alleviate the ills that pervade contemporary society. St. Maximilian saw back in the 1920s how the use of cinema, radio, and mass-market books was corrupting society. He thought that those same tools could be used as a force to counter this corruption. “Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” tells how the teachings of the Catholic Faith can be used to provide a road map out of our current morass and a blueprint to build a more just and fair society constructed according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and other elements of traditional Catholic Social Teachings (CST).
Furthermore, it explains through the example of three critical apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima how she herself suggested strategies and alternatives to the dehumanizing and increasingly pagan contemporary culture we have today.
“Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics “concludes by showing how the Catholic Faith can be used to provide a road map out of our current morass and a blueprint to build a more just and fair society constructed according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and other elements of traditional Catholic Social Teachings.Interested? It’s available as an ebook through Amazon KDP! Don’t like ebooks? Here’s the paperback version link!
Once again you can also PayPal Me to support my work here. I really do appreciate any contribution!
Quote: “Join Mission Revive’s hosts Anne Costa for a an informative podcast with our guest Paul Sofranko.
Paul is a sober alcoholic and revert to the Church who found continued sobriety in the Sacraments, devotions and prayer life of the Church.
He started Sober Catholic back in 2007 after he had unsuccessfully searched all over for a blog or discussion site that focused on alcoholism and sobriety/recovery from a Catholic perspective. He created what he was looking for: a site that discusses how the Catholic Church, with Her rich traditions of Saints and miracles, and especially with Her Sacraments such as the Holy Eucharist and Confession, can help you maintain your sobriety.
If you aren’t already a reader of this blog, please let me introduce myself. My name is Paul Sofranko, aka “Paulcoholic” and I’ve been doing this blog for 18 years. I found nothing much like it and so I launched it in early January 2007. You can read more about its story on this page. You can read some more about me on this page, I tell my drunkalogue right here; and here’s my reversion story and here’s a post about my miraculous Militia of the Immaculata hat.
There are 54 days beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday. The very Sunday when the floodgates of God’s unfathomable ocean of Mercy open up and spill out over every sinner who in humility begs for forgiveness is very day the completion of a Miraculous 54 day Rosary Novena ends!
Think about that. Are you still trapped in the miseries of alcoholism and drug addiction? Or, do you know someone who is? This may be the perfect time for deliverance from that slavery. And it may not even be for alcoholics and drug addicts. Sex and porn addicts, take comfort! Your deliverance may be at hand! You will be beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary, the very Mother of Purity, for her intercession to liberate you from lust! How can she not help you? Visit this post for more info, including hown to pray the novena: Announcing a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery (and other sins!)
Now, on to what brought you here!
Bear made me mention my book, “The Sober Catholic Way’s” title about 700 times on the show 😉
“The Sober Catholic Way” is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. This book does not guarantee anything, but doing these things have helped me stay since May 22, 2002. Will I ever drink again? Quite unlikely, but the tools to help recover from a relapse are in every chapter! The love and mercy of God is everlasting and endless!
Discover the importance of the Real Presence, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, St. Joseph, St. Therese (the “Little Flower”) and Matt Talbot. You’ll get ideas on how to apply the Beatitudes, the Divine Mercy Message, as well as learning about the Apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima and how they can guide one’s life.
The idea for the book germinated one day after I was reviewing Sober Catholic’s posts. I realized that I hadn’t thought or done much about many of the things I had written about. This culminated in the realization that I have not always practiced what I’ve been “preaching” and therefore thought it might do me some good to organize much of the material into a coherent form that would help me reduce my hypocrisy. Seconds later I decided it might make for a nice book to publish and take its place next to my earlier Catholic recovery devotionals, “The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” and “The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics.”
You can get it here (links to the Rosary and Stations book follow):
You might try this Universal link: here and click on the logo of your fave online bookshop. (Some of the logos have trackers in them and these may be blocked by browser extensions. That’s why I listed them individually right above this.)
I have two other books that might interest you!
Do you like saying the Rosary? Well, have I got a devotional for you!
“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. It’s also available through Amazon and B&N and other retailers; vist the link in this paragraph’s first sentence.
And that’s not all!
Lent is coming up, and if you need some assistence with the Stations of the Cross, then The “Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics is 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.
Wait! There’s more!
It is still in its nascent stages but I’m beginning to sell online products related to Sober Catholic at my Shop Sober Catholic store on Pixels———> ARTWORK BY SOBERCATHOLIC.
Imagine drinking your hot, deelish coffee (or tea or hot chocolate!) in a mug with the logo of your favorite Catholic sobriety and spirituality blog!!! Just click on the words or the image below! You can even customze the color! Blue, brown, yellow, green, whatever you prefer! It also comes in two sizes: “Small” is 11 oz, while “Large” is 15oz! (You can click on the images to buy…)
The first Scripture verse I memorized was Romans 12:2.
“And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.”
I thought it perfect for a mug as it recalls the essence of the Sober Catholic message. In our Catholic sobriety, we do not conform to the World, but in our newly sober life, we follow the will of God and do what is good and pleasing to Him.
There are other products, such as a throw pillow: Sober Catholic Throw Pillow and a weekender tote bag: Sober Catholic Tote Bag, for example, as well as the official Sober Catholic Rosary Case! At 6”x4” this is perfect to keep your Rosary and even Divine Mercy Chaplet handy! And like everything else, you can customize the color!
It also comes in a larger size, which should be big enough to store your copies of “The Sober Catholic Way,” as well as my Rosary and Stations books, or, if you prefer, a good Catholic Bible. 🙂
