Category Archives: Concupiscence

Immaculate Heart of Mary and Purity

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Back when I was looking around for Catholic resources for addiction recovery, I was stunned to discover that almost all of them dealt with porn, lust and sex addiction.

Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an optional Feast Day on the Church’s liturgical calendar. Mary is the refuge of those seeking purity, as it was only through her immaculate conception that Our Lord was able to become Incarnate and redeem us from our sins (as He certainly could not be born through a woman enslaved by Original Sin, right?)

Today is also the 98th Anniversary of the Fatima Apparition of June 13, 1917. It is a happy coincidence that the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary falls this year on that anniversary.

One of the significant parts of the “Message of Fatima” is that the Lord is greatly offended by the increase in sexual impurity. Those are my words, Our Lady didn’t speak that way to innocent children. She basically said that various fashions are displeasing to the Lord and many people go to Hell for such offenses. Later on, I think, this was interpreted to mean the increasing secular nature of culture and the growing trends towards immodest fashions and casual sex.

If the Lord was offended by the standards of sexual culture 100 years ago, you can imagine His offense today.

Anyway, if you are troubled by lust and impurity, the Rosary is a safe refuge. Praying it slowly, meditating of the Mysteries can interrupt the thought processes leading you to impure acts. Perhaps find sacred art and place it around your residence. Fill your mind with holy things! It will take effort, some times easier than others. Lust never sleeps; like alcohol, it is “cunning, baffling and poewerful.”

Related posts: Immaculate Heart of Mary and IHM and Fatima Apparition of June 13th.

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!!)

repentance posting

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OK, I did it again! Although I didn’t formally announce it, I sort of strongly implied that I’d be blogging daily during Lent. I actually may have come out and said it, I don’t remember.

Well, no posts these past two days. {{{sigh}}}

(The “I did it again!” refers to my annual Lenten pledge to blog daily, and then failing to do so. It’s been done once, maybe twice. Probably once.)

Well, I’m not going to beat myself up over it; I will just resolve to get back up and proceed onward. And that is a lesson for all of us sinners. We repent and confess our sins; we relapse and sin again. Do we quit with the repentance and confession? After all, we’re probably just going to do it again! Of course not! Even though we will probably commit the same sins, or even new ones, we still pick our sorry selves back up and repent and confess. As long as it takes (which will probably be the rest of our lives).

This separates the saints from those who are not. Saints ALWAYS pick themselves back up and resume.

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 person who brings a sinner back

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What do you do to bring people back from sinful ways?

An excerpt from the Reading from the Evening Prayer for Friday of the Second Week of Lent is James 5: 19-20 –

“Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins.”

via Divine Office.

I hopefully use this blog to successfully do this. I may only know just how successful during my Particular Judgment. But in keeping with that idea, do you use social media like Facebook and Twitter to bring people to Christ?

You might want to think about that…

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!!)

Those who are healthy do not need a physician

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Today’s Lenten post is an excerpt from the Gospel for today’s Mass for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday.

Luke 5: 31-32

“And responding, Jesus said to them: “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who have maladies. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

I know I have blogged about this passage before, given its significance for us alcoholics. For we are truly sick and in need of a physician. Who better than the Divine Physician, Jesus, who heals all?

In fact, His healing didn’t stop with His Earthly life, it continued on ever afterward in the Church He established. The Catholic Church is the repository of His mission: to preserve intact the Gospel message, free from error and heresy, to preach it to the nations, and to continue healing the broken and wounded. The sacraments offer healing. Avail yourself of them. Go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Mass. Pray before th Blessed Sacrament.

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!!)

A broken and contrite heart

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An excerpt from the Responsorial Psalm in today’s Mass for the Friday after Ash Wednesday:

Psalm 51:19

“A crushed spirit is a sacrifice to God. A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not spurn.”

via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

A crushed spirit is the person who is aware of their sins, is wounded by them and who has demonstrated sincere humility in desiring to repent of them.

Offer up the pain of your remorse and your dread of being separated from God by the sins. Lift up your heart and soul and pray for forgiveness. If you do a thorough (“fearless and searching”) examination of conscience you can often get through to the root of repeated and consistent sins. Go to Confession frequently throughout Lent to aid in ridding yourself of the root causes of sin.

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!!)

God, you will not spurn

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The Responsorial Psalm from today’s Mass for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent is Psalm 51, a favorite of mine. It is also a favorite of the Church’s, as it appears often on Fridays in the Divine Office, and today is the second time since Lent began that it is used as the Responsorial. I also blogged about it last week: A heart contrite and humbled.

As it is a good prayer to use when you are truly contrite and wish to be reconciled to the Lord, it is not altogether strange that the Church emphasizes it at appropriate times. Perhaps the Church is reminding us of the need for repentannce, as well as frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession.

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!!)

Death entered the world

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I’ve fallen behind in my daily Lenten blogging, not that I said I was going to but every year I at least make the attempt and this year is no different. Some years I succeed, others, no. You can read prior year’s Lenten posts here: Lent Archives on Sober Catholic

Anyway, this excerpt is from the Second Reading for this past Sunday, the Mass of the First Sunday of Lent:

Romans 5:12: “Through one man sin entered the world,and through sin, death.”

via USCCB.

The Fall of Adam was the Original Sin that we inherited. By succumbing to the temptation St. Paul write that “death entered the world.” To me, this doesn’t mean just the physical death of the body, it also means the corruption of our relationship with God, which subsequently needs regular reconciliation, and all sorts of things which hinder life. Namely, physical and mental disabilities, illnesses and diseases, things like cancer, as well as addictions.

THis ultimately may be the racial root cause of our addictive maladies. All the more then, the need for a spiritual response to alcoholism and addiction.

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!!)

A heart contrite and humbled

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The response for the Psalm (Psalm 51:9) for today’s Mass is: “a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.”

As this is Lent, chances are that if you are taking it seriously as a means of spiritual progression in the rejecting of sin and self-will, as well as in the casting off of character defects, then you might be taking advantage of the Sacrament of Confession more so than during the rest of the year.

The Responsorial Psalm today is from Psalm 51. It is an excellent Psalm to pray and meditate upon before going to Confession. I have written a series of meditations before on it, found here: Psalm 51.

Pray for the humility to be truly contrite, and make a good Confession.

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!!)

Temptation and the Cross

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Often it has been suggested that we “offer it up” and unite our sufferings to that of Christ.

You know those temptations that you get? The ones about drinking or drugging again, or viewing online porn, or engaging in some impure act? The urge in general to do something sinful?

Those are Crosses. The feelings associated with them, such as enduring the urges and maintaining resistance to them, are painful. That is the weight of the Cross. As Christians we are called to “take up the Cross” if we are to be His disciples. Don’t succumb to relieve the weight. The Crosses are the badges that signify you are a disciple of Christ.

Bear the Cross, you aren’t alone in your suffering. Offer it up. Pray to Jesus for strength, ask Him to take the pain you are going through in resisting the temptation and enduring it and apply it as a intercessory prayer for your salvation or for others’.

Offer it up for all those who are still suffering from alcoholism, for those caught in sexual sin. For anyone in pain.

I think I’ve blogged about this relatively recently, but I felt the need to cover it again.

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!!)

A Walk With the Novena of Mary Undoer of Knots, Day 9

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Today is Day 9 and thus the final one in our Novena of Mary Undoer of Knots. We ask Mary’s intercession for “this knot in my life…You know very well the suffering it has caused me…”

So, what knot is it? Is it the same one you may have prayed about daily, or one of the more knotty ones from a particular day? (A rhetorical question, don’t post the knot in the comments!)

Ponder, meditate and offer up this knot for Mary to undo. Offer up all the pain, trauma and suffering it has brought into your life. Let Mary’s maternal love work its healing into you…

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!!)