Category Archives: Humility

Teach me wisdom

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In 12 Step groups you hear the acronym “HOW”, which stands for “Honesty, Open-mindedness and Willingness”. The 8th verse of Psalm 51 covers this:

Psalm 51:8: “Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.”

(Via USCCB.)

Sincerity clears away the self-deception and lies that pervade our thinking. In our alcoholic and addictive fog we do not always have a clear-headed view of ourselves and others. We are still very much broken and wounded people, perhaps healing slowly or quickly, but our addiction still affects us.

The psalmist recognizes that God “insists on sincerity of heart”, meaning (to me) sincerity of belief, without “human” thinking to mess it up; raw, pure conviction. This opens the doorway for God’s wisdom to be taught to the petitioner, in their “inmost being”. Directly into their heart, mind and soul.

God’s truth illuminates your soul. You gain wisdom, the best thing one can ask of God.

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 was born guilty

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The Notes in the NAB version of this Bible state that this verse…:

Psalm 51:7: “True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.”

(Via USCCB.)

…means that in no time was the penitent without sin. This, I think, refers to the Original Sin of Adam and Eve. A sin that we inherited as their descendants, from when they turned away from God at the temptation by Satan under the pretext that they can “be like God” and discern good from evil under the guidance of their own conscience.

What guides and form your conscience? Is it God, through the ministry and teachings of the Catholic Church? Or do you “keep your own conscience” and decide “for yourself” what is moral and right, perhaps depending upon the circumstances? This pretext is a false one, as everyone’s conscience is formed by something. Some people are just honest and humble and readily admit as to what guides their conscience. Others are delusional and feel (rather that think) that they are in control of their moral decision-making.

So, who or what does your thinking for 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!!)

I have done such evil in your sight

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Psalm 51:6: “Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight. That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.”

(Via USCCB.)

So begins verse 6 of the Miserere.

Sin harms and ruptures one’s relationship with God. If it is a mortal sin, it kills it. The sin may involve others, but the thing to remember is the importance of repairing the relationship with God. The penitent’s admission of guilt and recognition of it before God initiates the process of repair. In reconciliation, you recognize God’s perfect justice.

If one’s conscience is well formed and you engage in contemplative introspection, you see the root causes of your sinning. As such, you know yourself better. You see why you sin and work towards amending your life. As God brings good out of evil, this knowledge strengthens you and your spiritual progress.

How is your relationship with God? Does it need amends?

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 know my offense

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If in verse 4 of Psalm 51 the penitent recognizes their responsibility, verse 5 is an outright declaration of it:

Psalm 51:5: “For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.”

(Via USCCB.)

The penitent fully admits and recognizes their sin. The penitent does not and cannot hide from it. No excuses, a straightforward and humble admission that the sin is theirs. Not only that it is theirs, but its commission is troubling to the conscience, “Is always before me.” And until there is reconciliation with God by asking forgiveness, the sin will be a hindrance to further progress in spiritual growth and holiness. No getting closer to God with this on the conscience.

How great is our desire for holiness. That is,how great is our desire to live as God wants us to live? How ready and willing are we to remove the obstacles that are in our path of getting closer to He who created 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!!)

Cleanse me

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The fourth verse of Psalm 51 continues from verse 3 the penitent’s petition for a clean slate:

Psalm 51:4: “Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.”

(Via USCCB.)

It is a recognition on the part of the penitent that the sinful offense has dirtied and sullied the soul. We are made in the image and likeness of God, our soul is a reflection of that image. Only God can forgive sins and therefore only He can wash our souls clean of our offense.

The penitent clearly states their sole responsibility in the sin. Even though someone else may have been involved, the sinner says “my guilt”, “my sin”. No blame is placed upon another. The sinner bears responsibility for their wrongdoing. We alcoholics and addicts are known for shirking responsibility. It is “people, places and things”, or our weakness, our disease, or some other such matter. Although there are mitigating circumstances that can lead us into our addictive behavior, in the end we committed the sin. At what point do we stop making excuses and just say that, “Yeah, these factors came in to play in my demise. But I could have said ‘no.’ I could have reached out for help that is their, even if it is a plaintive prayer into the darkness.”

We bear responsibility for recognizing our true nature as sons and daughters of God, and in seeing that since our souls were made to reflect His goodness, we must strive to keep them clean and on the path to holiness. We allow our consciences to be formed and guided by the Gospel.

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!!)

Have mercy on me

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The first verse of Psalm 51, after the introduction, is a plaintive cry for mercy:

Psalm 51:3: “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.”

(Via USCCB.)

The repentant sinner in uttering this cry asking for nothing less than a clean slate. The penitent knows that mercy springs forth from God’s inherent and eternal goodness. Furthermore, God’s compassion for the sinner puts and end to the offense, it is as if it never happened.

God is incapable, as a human understands it, of harboring resentment. The seemingly never-ending rehashing of a grudge or psychological wound is an imperfection of our human nature.

Verse 3 of this Psalm is therefore a confident understanding by the penitent that God will blot out the offense, and start over with the sinner.

As alcoholics and addicts, we have plenty to “blot out”. But also much to learn about compassion. Are we as ready to blot out the offenses of others against us? And how long are we capable of taking to do this? And does reconciliation always result?

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!!)

Suffering Servant

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The First Reading for the Mass of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time is one that serves as a foreshadow or prophecy of Jesus as the Messiah, and of His suffering mission:

Isaiah 53:10-11:“The LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.”

(Via USCCB.)

God was “pleased” to crush Him, inasmuch as He was sent to Earth incarnate for one reason, to suffer and die for our sins. Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will, and in doing so bought for us salvation. His suffering will be the instrument by which His followers will be saved. We shall be with Him in Eternity.

I had a weird thought while I was reading this before the Saturday Vigil Mass I attend. As Christians we are called to be like Christ, to accept suffering as our part in working out our redemption. My weird thought was connected to the lament often heard by the newly sober: “Why am I an alcoholic?”

Well, I think the answer to that lies in the passage from Isaiah. If it can be rewritten from the perspective of an alcoholic being like a “suffering servant” using his addiction as a means of fulfilling God’s will, perhaps alcoholics can take some comfort, or strength, in their addiction. So, here is a paraphrase of the Suffering Servant passage from Isaiah (feel free to substitute “her” for “him”):

“God was pleased to crush him in his infirmity.

If he uses his life and offers it up for his addiction,
he shall see his fellow addicts in a long life,
and the will of God shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his addiction he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant help many to be righteous,
and their guilt he shall hear.”

(The inspired writer of Scripture is much better than I!)

In short, by adapting the Suffering Servant passage, alcoholics and addicts can see their addiction as a means of fulfilling God’s will. By combining their understanding of addiction with their personal experiences of it, they can help others. They can “hear” other people’s pain and sorrow, and begin to see the brokenness in them. The addict’s woundedness and suffering can be used to alleviate other people’s pain.

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!!)

Breaking the Chains of Addiction

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Johnny Garcia a member of Catholic Recovery has this excellent video on breaking addiction’s chains:

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!!)

Confessing Sins

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We are all sinners. Every one of us. There is no one who is sinless and incapable of sinning (except for Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary). But we have recourse to the Sacrament of Confession to remove our sins.

Psalm 32:5: “Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, ‘I confess my faults to the LORD,’ and you took away the guilt of my sin.”

(Via USCCB.)

We confess our sins to a priest and through him God cleanses us of our sin and its guilt. That is how the sacrament works.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1116: “Sacraments are ‘powers that comes forth’ from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are ‘the masterworks of God’ in the new and everlasting covenant.”

(Via USCCB.)

We can confess our sins to God, but in doing so there is no guarantee of absolution (the removal of the sin and guilt). Jesus after all gave His disciples the power to forgive sins or not to (so why bother if we can just go straight to God?):

John 20:22-23: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.'”

(Via USCCB.)

Even Twelve Step movements recognize the need to clear the air of the past with another person. In Step 5 people are exhorted to admit to God, to yourself and to another person the wrongs of the past. The courage needed to talk to another person helps to strengthen the “firm purpose of amendment” that we must possess and increases our personal honesty. It is a sign of humility.

The main practical here-and-now difference between confessing your sins to a priest, however, and “doing a Step 5” with another is that the priest is bound by the seal of confession to not reveal whatever is said during it. No person hearing an alcoholic’s 5th Step list of wrongs is bound by such a thing. Your Step 5 “confession” is not guaranteed to remain a secret.

So, in recognition of the fact that going to Confession is hard if you’re not used to it, confess your sins to God, as a start. As a humble prayer present your sins to God along with a petition for the courage to see a priest for the sacrament. As I said in the beginning, we are all sinners, no getting around that. Jesus established the sacrament for a reason; a direct, tangible and certain way for us to know that our sins are forgiven and removed. This is something that those going directly to God in prayer cannot ever be certain of. Non-Catholics may disagree, but simply put, going straight to God with a prayer of petition to forgive sins is nothing more than a prayer. And as everyone knows, although God does answer all of our prayers, He may not do so in the manner we want, nor in the time we need. Using Confession removes all doubt. We are using the tools that God expressly provided for us to ask Him to do something for us. He is bound by it.

Matthew 16:19: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'”

(Via USCCB.)

So, go to Confession soon. Once a month isn’t too difficult. Often enough for a good cleansing, but not too often that it is “burdensome”. After a fashion you may opt for a more frequent schedule!

Psalm 32:1: “Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven.”

(Via USCCB.)

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 roots of disturbance

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Earlier this week there appeared in the Office of Readings portion of the Liturgy of the Hours an excerpt from the teachings of St. Dorotheus, abbot.

(Via Idaho Lay Dominicans.)

Every year when I read this I am struck by how useful and relevant to alcoholics and addicts this saints writing are.

Disturbance over something is often at the core of our addictions. We are not satisfied with ourselves, with others or with the world at large. And therefore we seek to quell that disturbance by alcohol. Even when that disturbance is “positive”, such as an unusually nice day, or good companionship, we seek to heighten our appreciation by drinking. But there is usually something wrong with ourselves. We seek to take attention away from ourselves and problems and falsely satisfy them. (I had written something about this before: A Spiritual Axiom: a Disturbance of the Spirit

If you read St. Dorotheus from the link in the first paragraph, he recounts the many ways in which a person may or may not be disturbed or take offense at a rebuke. From what we may call “considering the source” of the rebuke, to being in a calm state because one is prayerful and reflective, when one is disturbed there is a reason for it. The disturbance is what is wrong, but it points to a deeper problem.

St. Dorotheus puts forth the notion that: “Yet the reason for all disturbance, if we look to its roots, is that no one finds fault with himself.”

We cease to be reflective, and stop examining our conscience. We no longer look inward to ourselves and clean up our faults and defects.

Read over the excerpt from St. Dorotheus’s writings. Reflect on them. I’ll post a few more thoughts on them over the next few days.

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!!)