Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. I feel it is important for us to consider him as a patron and intercessor. Some thoughts along this theme came to me while praying the Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours (for today’s Solemnity.). What do we know of the …
Continue reading ‘Following Christ like St. John the Baptist’ »
Today I achieved my seventeenth year of sobriety. That’s One Day At A Time repeated 6,209 times. A certain Twelve Step movement helped a lot at first; but I credit my endurance to Our Lord and Saviour’s Church, the Holy Catholic Church and to His Most Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. I think a …
Continue reading ‘Soberversary! Seventeen years sober, today.’ »
Today marks my 14th anniversary of my last drunk. I sort of remember it, although for years I couldn’t recall the exact time (as in hour/minute) I took my last drink. I still can’t. I won’t bother with the details of my last drunk as I’ve written about them before. Question: “How’d I do it?” …
Many 12 Steppers usually scoff at “religious” solutions to addiction, and perhaps rightly so due to the low success rate (forgetting that AA has a very low success rate, too.) Maybe they also think that religious observance is pointless and is also an “easier, softer, way.” HA! I think the main reason that religious solutions …
Ever need evidence that the Holy Spirit guides people into life-changing (and sometimes saving) happenings? Bro Jer, one of my best friends, recorded and posted an audiofile about such a “God-incidence” to his blog Bro Jer’s Blog in a post entitled The Hitchhiker. He tells of a situation in which he felt strongly prompted by …
Today is Pentecost Sunday. The Church was born today, around 2,000 years ago when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and Mary. Here are some prayers I received in an email sent to me: Pentecost Prayer Spirit of Christ, stir me; Spirit of Christ, move me; Spirit of Christ, fill me; Spirit of Christ, …
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 …
We are engaged in a battle when we are addicts and alcoholics. For all the talk of the medical, genetic or environmental causes of alcoholism and addiction, we cannot ignore the spiritual side of the affliction. I think even the founders of AA said that alcoholism is a spiritual problem. In acknowledging the spiritual side …
The First Reading from the Daily Mass for Monday of the First Week of Lent has something interesting to declare about our responsibility towards our fellow sufferers: Leviticus 19:16: “nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake.” (Via USCCB.) Say what you will about the suffering alcoholic’s need to “hit …
The Second Step of 12 Step recovery movements is: “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” “Came to believe” implies a process in which you once didn’t believe, but eventually adopted a belief. This is known as conversion. “Recovery” is a distinct form of conversion, as you undergo …