A realization came to me at work a few weeks ago. I transferred to a new place within my company, and I had been undergoing a somewhat painful transition. I was wondering about why we have to endure certain things. I know I’ve written a great number of times about the need to accept suffering …
Continue reading ‘Happiness from People, Places and Things’ »
Ray: “(choking back tears) Hey… Dad?…. you wanna have a catch?” Dad: “I’d like that…” Field Of Dreams: catch.mp3 (Via MovieWavs Page.) That line and scene from the “Field of Dreams” movie always gets to me. My father is dead, and I’ll never play catch with him again (unless we meet again in Heaven). Playing …
This excerpt from the Responsorial Psalm for Thursday of the First Week of Lent is a hopeful reminder for us alcoholics and addicts about where help can reliably come from: Psalm 138:3:“When I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.” (Via USCCB.) Cry out to the Lord for help when things seem dark, when …
I have probably blogged about this Scripture passage before, but it bears mentioning again. The Gospel reading for today’s Mass (Saturday of the First Week of Ordinary Time) tells us that Jesus came here for the broken and wounded of humanity: Mark 2:16-17: “Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners …
Continue reading ‘The well do not need a physician, the sick do’ »
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 …
Continue reading ‘Novena to the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 5’ »
We are all individuals. Sometimes our sense of individuality gets unhealthy and and is replaced by a feeling of aloneness. We feel isolated and no longer a part of whatever community or communities we belong to. This separation is distinctly harmful and will lead to all sorts of thoughts about our well-being that are untrue. …
Continue reading ‘Our Lady of Lourdes Novena for Alcoholics: Day 1’ »
In today’s prayer from Universalis there is a fitting passage from the Old Testament that reaches out and gives hope to anyone who is caught in the despair and seemingly endless futility of an addiction: Sirach 11:12-13: “Another goes his way a weakling and a failure, with little strength and great misery Yet the eyes …
Finally, in the 19th verse of Psalm 51, the penitent offers up themselves: Psalm 51:19: “My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.” (Via USCCB.) The penitent’s soul and very being is offered as a sacrifice. The penitent is stating that their entire self depends upon God for …
The penitent pleas with the Lord in the 13th verse to keep him close: Psalm 51:13: “Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.” (Via USCCB.) A persistent fear that the sin was so grievous that God may cause banishment as a consequence of the penitent’s action motivates the …
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 …