Category Archives: Divine Mercy

The Celestial Choir of Virtues to the rescue!

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Yesterday, September 29th, was the feast of the Three Archangels: Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. I said the chaplet of St. Michael as a novena leading up to it. When I prayed it on the final day and as I was studying the salutations for each of the nine choirs, with their accompanying petition, the one for the Celestial Choir of Virtues hit me right between the eyes (No idea why I didn’t notice this before. Emphasis mine.)

By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation.
Amen.

It is the same petition at the end of the Our Father:

Our Father, who Art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy Will be done,

On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our Daily Bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

and deliver us from evil.

Amen.

There’s an entire celestial choir of angels who can help us with preserving us from temptations and delivering us from evil!

So, who are the Virtues?

The “Celestial Choir of Virtues” refers to one of the traditional nine choirs, or orders, of angels. They are not “virtues” like faith, hope, and charity. “Virtues” is the traditional English translation of the Latin Virtutes.

The traditional, three-tiered hierarchy, following Pseudo-Dionysius and St. Thomas Aquinas, is:

Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones in the upper tier; then:
Dominions, Virtues, and Powers in the middle; and
Principalities, Archangels, and Angels bringing up the bottom.

In the traditional angelology, the Virtues are responsible for assisting in God’s divine ordering of the created universe. St. Thomas Aquinas places them below the Dominions and above the Powers. A traditional explanation is that the Dominions receive and administer God’s commands, while the Virtues carry those commands into operation in creation. The Powers are then carrying out the commands of the Virtues to resist and restrain hostile spiritual forces that run amok in the Universe.

Hence the name Virtutes: it is related to the Latin virtus, which doesn’t only mean “moral virtue,” but also strength, power, efficacy, or capability. So, the Virtues are concerned with “the power to accomplish the right ordering of nature.” Not just human nature, but the exercising of God’s power in the natural world. Recall that Evil disrupts the divine ordering of creation. Remember Genesis 3 and the Fall of Adam and Eve. Everything was perfectly ordered until Adam and Eve misused their Free Will and succumbed to the Serpent.

Old, traditional accounts associates the Virtues with the movements of the heavens, planets, stars, the seasons, and so forth; that angels ‘guide’ the orbits of stars and planets, etc. We can ‘modernize’ that by thinking of the Virtues as the source through which the laws of science as we understand it govern the Universe. God exists, He created the universe, established its order (science!) and ordinarily governs His creation through secondary causes—including, in Catholic theology, the ministry of angels. (God always works through His creation. He doesn’t have to; He chooses to. I suppose we humans can be regarded as the tertiary creative powers in the Universe?) God 

All of this gives the fifth salutation of the Chaplet a little more impact. Since it asks:

“By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial choir of Virtues, may the Lord preserve us from evil and from falling into temptation;” we can see at work here God’s placing an entire order of angels in charge of restraining evil: at large in the Universe, or in our own particular, individual lives. Not bad, huh?

So, basically: the Virtues are traditionally understood as the angelic choir through which God’s creative and providential power is manifested and ordered in the created universe. Evil disrupts that power, and so the Virtues (and Powers) can help preserves us from that Evil when we make the petition through the Or Father prayer. (And especially when reciting the Chaplet!) The Virtues are not cute little angels who hand out “virtues” to people like Halloween candy or Christmas gifts. However, under their protection, you can grow in virtue. (Remember: virtue is the opposite of vice.)

You can read for yourself how to Say the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel courtesy of  EWTN and look at each of the salutations and what the petition is. I think all of us Sober Catholics should make a habit of reciting the St. Michael Chaplet as often as we can.

NOTE: ChatGPT assisted in the researching of this post (I wrote 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!!)

The Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette as a help in your addiction recovery

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I ran across this article on Spirit Daily about Our Lady’s apparition to two young French shepherd children in La Salette, France in 1846 (today, September 19, is the 180th anniversary of it.) 

In the remote Alpine village of La Salette, France, two shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, encountered a weeping woman bathed in light, her head in her hands. They had been shepherding the cows inntheir charge during the day; however, Melanie had fallen asleep during the afternoon, and Maximin had wandered off; the cows were lost. They quickly searched and found them deeper in the valley. This is where they discovered the beautiful woman crying.

Her message combined maternal tenderness with prophetic urgency, addressing both the decline in the practice of the faith by the local villagers and material issues. The Lady revealed her profound sorrow over humanity’s sinfulness, particularly the violation of Sundays with commercial activity and the neglect of Mass; and the profanation of her Son’s name through casual blasphemy. The message prophesied agricultural failure as a consequence of sin and linked spiritual causes to the material suffering.

According to “Our Lady of La Salette: History, Message & Apparition,” the Message of La Salette involves:

  • A call to conversion and penance for personal and societal sins
  • Warning about divine punishment if humanity refused to repent
  • Emphasis on proper Sunday observance and reverence for God’s name
  • Promise of abundance if people returned to faithful practice
  • Prediction of crop failures and famine as consequences of sin

Taking these points and applying them today involves:

  • Renewed Sunday observance – Protecting the Lord’s Day from secular encroachment
  • Reverence in speech – Avoiding casual profanity and blasphemy
  • Regular sacramental confession – Embracing reconciliation as ongoing conversion
  • Authentic penance – Accepting sacrifice as expression of love and reparation
  • Active evangelization – Sharing faith urgently with those drifting from God

All of these can be applied to your Sober Catholic Way of recovery.

A call to conversion and penance for personal and societal sins;  this is basic to any recovery program, but is adds a distinctly Catholic dimension to it in the reparative work for other people’s sins. Most (if not all) recovery programs concern themselves with helping the alcoholic or addict with remoiving their own defects of character and making amends to others. None concern themselves with the person in recovery making amends for other people.

Warning about divine punishment if humanity refused to repent/Prediction of crop failures and famine as consequences of sin. You are a part of Humanity; your sins contribute to the whole. Your repentance and penance for yours (and others) mitigates this divine punishment. Apparently people hadn’t heeded the Message of La Salette and the Blessed Virgin repeated this at Fatima when she said “War is punishment for sin.” Later, Jesus told St. Faustina, His Apostle of Divine Mercy, that “Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.” (Diary, 300)

Emphasis on proper Sunday observance and reverence for God’s name/Promise of abundance if people returned to faithful practice. Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on Sunday; missing it is a mortal sin (except when you cannot attend due to extenuating circumstances like illness, weather and other unsurmountable issues.)  “Promises of abundance” should be taken in its proper context. For our purposes of recovery, it could mean material abundance, it could also mean the abundance of graces for those willingy cooperating with God’s Will.

Reverence in speech – Avoiding casual profanity and blasphemy Violating any one of the Ten Commandments is a mortal sin; apart from that, even causal profanity implies a lack of self-control and self-discipline. (I need to work on this; while I do not take the Name of the Lord in vain, I cuss a lot.)

Regular sacramental confession – Embracing reconciliation as ongoing conversion/Authentic penance – Accepting sacrifice as expression of love and reparation It goes without much saying that this is a core part of any Catholic-based recovery program.

Active evangelization – Sharing faith urgently with those drifting from God Start a recovery blog or podcast about your own Catholic-based recovery! Or, just talk about Jesus as best you can with other; or, live the Gospel (“preaching without words.) 

The article also connected the La Salette apparition to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose feast day we just celebrated this past Tuesday (September 15th.)

This sorrowful aspect connects Our Lady of La Salette to the prophecy of Simeon, who told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart. At La Salette, that sword pierces anew as she witnesses her children rejecting her Son through negligence, blasphemy, and hardened hearts. Her weeping calls Catholics to recognize sin’s gravity and embrace the reconciliation Christ offers.

That “embrace the reconciliation Christ offers” recalls Divine Mercy and how important that is to peace: both peace in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls; and peace in the world.

Other resources on the Apparition:

The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of La Salette at Catholic Tradition

Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of La Salette at Roman-Catholic-Saints

Our Lady of La Salette at Simply Catholic

La Salette: Sorting Fact From Fiction

“Our Lady of La Salette “ is one of Our Lady’s apparitions that I’ve not paid too much attention to since the message of it has been corrupted by the repeated false claims that the statements and prophecies of one of the seers (Melanie Calvat) were approved and are a part of the ‘message,’ despite her making them decades after the apparition. (See the last link I added on “Sorting Fact from Fiction.”) Because Calvat is a seer of an approved apparition, many things she has said decades later have been mislabelled as being a part of the approved apparition. This is incorrect. Approval of an apparition does not extend to things the seers have said or done after the apparition is over.  

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!!)

Divine Mercy for Alcoholics Page is up!

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I published a new page for Sober Catholic, featuring resources for Divine Mercy for Alcoholics.

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.

See: Divine Mercy for Alcoholics.

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!!)

Summary of the Divine Mercy Sunday requirements to receive the Special Graces

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In this post, Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence!, I go on about how, well, Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence. (It was easy to come up with the title.) All of this is based on the teachings of Fr. Chris Alar of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. He has videos all over their YouTube Channel, many on Divine Mercy and on Divine Mercy Sunday. 

In his videos he describes how Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence (I’m being repetitive to impress upon you that point.) To summarize what he says (and this is all derived from what Jesus told St. Faustina, nothing at all is his innovation):

1) Go to Confession before Divine Mercy Sunday (could be a few days or so, as long as you remain in a state of grace, i.e. no mortal sins.)
2) Go to Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday (Saturday Vigil Mass counts, as that covers Sunday.)
3) Recieve Holy Communion
4) He added this prayer (this is his own composition, not found in the Diary or St. Faustina’s writings, but there’s nothing wrong with it):

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner: Jesus, you promised St. Faustina that the soul who has been to confession [l have] and the soul that receives Holy Communion [I just did], will receive the complete forgiveness of all sin and punishment.
Please give me this grace.”

Here it is as a JPEG, you can right-click and save it to your device to use to pray after Communion.

Jesus told St. Faustina, which she recorded in her diary:

300 +Ask of my faithful servant [Father Sopocko] that, on this day, he tell the whole world of My great mercy; that whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment.

+Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.

+Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness. My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy.

Furthermore:

699 On one occasion, I heard these words: 

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and
 shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very 
depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon
 those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to 
Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of
sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which
 graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its
 sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel,
will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come
forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to
Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy
emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be
solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have
 peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

And:

1109 …

Immediately upon my awakening, God‟s presence enveloped me, and I felt I was a child of God. Divine love was poured into my soul, and God gave me to see how everything depended on His will. He spoke these words to me: I want to grant a complete pardon
to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. Then he said to me, My daughter, fear nothing. I am always with you, even if it seems to you that I am not. Your humility draws Me down from My lofty throne, and I unite Myself closely with you.

Source for the excerpts from the Diary: Divine Mercy in my Soul: Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (Link is to a purchase page; I do not get any revenue from purchases; if you want other editions of the book, like a compact edition, a nice deluxe leather edition, or Spanish versions, go here: Divine Mercy Diary.)

For your benefit, this is the Plenary Indulgence requirements, if you prefer that route (but why would you? Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence!):

A plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”);

A partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation.

From:

Indulgences attached to Divine Mercy Devotion.

More on the Plenary Indulgences – General Conditions. It is good to note No. 7:

Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.

That may be a good reason to try and satisfy the “formal” method for obtaining the plenary indulgence; you can apply it to a holy Soul in Purgatory. As to a question of whether you can receive the Special Graces promised by Jesus for yourself, but transfer the graces of the plenary indulgence to a Holy Soul in Purgatory? I honestly do not know. I just emailed the Divine Mercy people and asked it and UPDATE!!!!—> I received a reply today, April 10th, the very next day! 

This is what I asked: 

Can someone receive the special graces of Divine Mercy Sunday as promised by Jesus to St. Faustina for oneself, BUT also satisfy the requirements for the plenary indulgence and apply that to a Holy Soul in Purgatory?

And their reply:

Yes, someone can receive the graces of Divine Mercy Sunday for oneself if they intend to receive the Extraordinary Promise of Divine Mercy Sunday.

If they wish to apply the plenary indulgence (a different grace on this day) to a soul in purgatory, they can also do that as well as long as they know there are more requirements for an indulgence (prayer for the Pope’s intentions, doing an indulgent act like venerating the image or participating in Divine Mercy devotions, complete and total detachment for sin, and confession).

For more information, please see these articles:

https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/mercy-sundays-special-graces-plenary-indulgence-are-they-same

So, we can reserve the Special Graces for ourselves, but if we also satisfy the Church’s requirements for the plenary indulgence, apply those to a holy soul in purgatory! Wow. God is good.

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!!)

Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence!

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Today is Easter, which means the Easter Octave begins today. Octaves are feasts that last for 8 days. Nowadays there are only two: Christmas and Easter. Long ago when we took things far more seriously than we do today there were more. The Octave of Easter ends next Sunday, which is: Divine Mercy Sunday!!! You should start preparing because as Father Chris Alar says repeatedly in the videos I link to below, “Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence!” (May not be an exact quote, but the point is the same.)

Why is Divine Mercy Sunday is better than a plenary indulgence? That’s because a plenary indulgence includes a requirement that you must have no attachment to sin in order to get the full remission of sins as well as the complete remission of temporal punishment due to sin. This is hard. If we have any attachment to sin, we only recieve a partial indulgence (complete remission of sins, but only a partial remission of the temporal punishment.) Divine Mercy Sunday is better, because you get the whole plenary remission of sins and temporal punishment WITHOUT ANY CONDITIONS! This is based on the promises Jesus made to St. Faustina as recorded in her Diary and made official when Divine Mercy Sunday and the promises were “canonized” by the Church when it was instituted and added to the liturgical calendar by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000. 

I’m repeating the following resources I posted last week:

The following are resources you can dive into so that you can learn about (or refresh your memory) Divine Mercy Sunday. I strongly recommend that you watch the YouTube videos; like, really, really set aside the time and watch them! (I think Fr. Chris Alar is the “Apostle of Divine Mercy Sunday!”)

I will quite likely remind you all again before the day. (See? I told you!)

Videos:

Divine Mercy Sunday is BETTER Than an Indulgence (Fr. Chris Alar)

Divine Mercy Sunday: Easiest Way to Get to Heaven

Divine Mercy Sunday Explained: How to Receive the Graces – Ask a Marian

Divine Mercy Sunday: Explained – Explaining the Faith

The Top 10 Questions about Divine Mercy Sunday Answered by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC

Websites:

Divine Mercy Sunday FAQs

Divine Mercy Sunday basics

Divine Mercy Sunday (hasn’t been updated in several years, but still a good resource.)

Some of my past posts on Divine Mercy Sunday:

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday: A great day for those who’ve really messed things up

Divine Mercy Sunday and Me

Divine Mercy Sunday 2025 (which is a compilation of prior posts on the Feast and will likely resemble my “Divine Mercy Sunday 2026” post!)

Divine Mercy Sunday in a Time of Pandemic (although we are not in a pandemic, this has links to sites with info on how to get the plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday if you cannot get to a Church for Mass.)

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 Divine Mercy Novena REMINDER!!

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Although it doesn’t start until Good Friday, I want to make sure that you all are aware that the Divine Mercy Novena is coming up!

Here is a link to the Novena, straight to the Shrine in Massachusetts: The Divine Mercy Novena of Chaplets

Source:| The Divine Mercy

To make it easy, here are links to each day’s prayers:

First Day

Second Day

Third Day

Fourth Day

Fifth Day

Sixth Day

Seventh Day

Eighth Day

Ninth Day

If you don’t have it, I strongly urge you to buy the Devotional Booklet. It has all the basics plus the prayers. Here is the Large Print version. 

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!!)

Divine Mercy Sunday is coming up in two weeks!

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Divine Mercy Sunday is coming up in two weeks (April 12th). I am giving you advance notice so that you can prepare. The following are resources you can dive into so that you can learn about (or refresh your memory) Divine Mercy Sunday. I strongly recommend that you watch the YouTube videos; like, really, really set aside the time and watch them! (I think Fr. Chris Alar is the “Apostle of Divine Mercy Sunday!”)

I will quite likely remind you all again before the day. 

Videos:

Divine Mercy Sunday is BETTER Than an Indulgence (Fr. Chris Alar)

Divine Mercy Sunday: Easiest Way to Get to Heaven

Divine Mercy Sunday Explained: How to Receive the Graces – Ask a Marian

Divine Mercy Sunday: Explained – Explaining the Faith

The Top 10 Questions about Divine Mercy Sunday Answered by Fr. Chris Alar, MIC

Websites:

Divine Mercy Sunday FAQs

Divine Mercy Sunday basics

Divine Mercy Sunday (hasn’t been updated in several years, but still a good resource.)

Some of my past posts on Divine Mercy Sunday:

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday: A great day for those who’ve really messed things up

Divine Mercy Sunday and Me

Divine Mercy Sunday 2025 (which is a compilation of prior posts on the Feast and will likely resemble my “Divine Mercy Sunday 2026” post!)

Divine Mercy Sunday in a Time of Pandemic (although we are not in a pandemic, this has links to sites with info on how to get the plenary indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday if you cannot get to a Church for Mass.)

AND ALSO DON’T FORGET THAT THE DIVINE MERCY NOVENA BEGINS THIS UPCOMING FRIDAY, APRIL 3rd (Good Friday.) 

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!!)

If you are a Simon of Cyrene…

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The Second Reading from the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for the Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent is from a homily by Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishop:

If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself.

Courtesy: Divine Office.org

We are all Simon of Cyrene. We all are called to take up our Cross and follow Christ (Matt 16:24) Or, help Him carry His. (Colossians 1:24)

We have been crucified because of the sins of our addictions and through the process of recovery. This passage from St. Gregory Nazianzen is a call for us to acknowledge who is the source of our recovery and the new life in Christ we now have. And then what? We show Him gratitude: we worship Him and pay Him homage. Our sins don’t excuse us.

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!!)

From hidden faults acquit me

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The excerpt from the Daytime Prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours for Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent comes from Psalm 19:13.

But who can detect all his errors? From hidden faults acquit me.

Courtesy: Divine Office.org

This passage gives me comfort for when I go to Confession. I typically say at the end of the recitation of my sins and their number: “…for these and all my sins, I am truly sorry.” To me, this includes any that I have forgotten. I am tempted to say the Psalm passage during my next Confession. 

We all sin, and despite our best efforts during our examination of conscience to recall all of our transgressions, we may miss a few. But we should avoid becoming scruplulous. If we honestly missed a few due to faulty memory and have not deliberately withheld any, we can just honestly say during Confession something like the above; either “…for these and all my sins, I am truly sorry;” or “But who can detect all his/her errors? From hidden faults acquit me.”

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!!)

I will open your graves

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The excerpt from the First Reading for the Fifth Sunday of Lent is taken from Ezekiel 37:12  (I bet you thought I was gonna do the Gospel ‘cos it was on the rising of Lazarus. Gotcha!)

Thus says the Lord GOD: 
O my people, I will open your graves 
and have you rise from them, 
and bring you back to the land of Israel.

Courtesy: USCCB

“Graves” is a synonym for “being dead in your addction.” Your true self was dead; the person you were supposed to be was dead. God, however, by whatever means He used to bring you back from the dead and into your new life of sobriety, opened that grave and bid you to rise up from out of it. And furthermore, if you are a sober Catholic who returned to the Church/or converted because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit within you was to seek out the Church, then you have been brought back to the ‘land of Israel,’ that is, the Mystical Body of Christ as the new Israel (the old one having rejected Christ as the Messiah.)

Now that you are dwelling in the Land of Israel, that is, the Catholic Church, make use of milk and honey of the sacraments: especially the Eucharist and Confession. And bring others to that Land.

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!!)