Category Archives: Lent

The Presentation again of the Last Supper

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Whenever I think of the Last Supper since my reversion to the Church a quarter century ago, I recall the EWTN Daily Mass homilies which taught me so much back then I hadn’t known from my 9 years of Catholic school education and 4 more years of CCD. Chiefly: that the Mass is the “Re-presentation (or ‘presentation again,’ if you think that ‘re-presentation’ might be construed as ‘representation,’) of the Last Supper and the continuation of the sacrifice on Calvary in an unbloodied manner.” When you are at Mass, it is af if you are at the Last Supper when it was first celebrated, and it is as if you are on Calvary with Jesus and Mary (and St. John the Evangelist and the other Marys.)

I think that if this truth was beaten into the heads of seminarians studying for the priesthood, as well as the laity by proper catechesis, the Mass would be different. You would see priests holding true to the rubrics of the Mass (proper form and function matters and insisting on that does not make you a Catholic Pharisee) and the laity acting with reverence. It would be obvious that everyone present is aware of the real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist: that the Eucharist is not a symbol, but really, truly is Jesus’ Boby, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the form of bread and wine (this was the other thing that EWTN Daily Mass homilies taught me that I hadn’t known from Catholic schooling; or, to be fair, if it was taught, not really emphasized.)

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - The Last Supper (1495-1498)-2.

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!!)

Be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving

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The Reading for the Evening Prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours for Wednesday of Holy Week is from Ephesians 4:32—5:2.

“Be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God as his dear children. Follow the way of love, even as Christ loved you. He gave himself for us as an offering to God, a gift of pleasing fragrance.”

Source: DivineOffice.org

One of the many theories as to why we are alcoholics and addicts is that during our upbringing and through early adulthood we had not formed adequate interpersonal bonds with other people. We had “poor social skills” and were often “isolated.” Because of this, it was only through drinking and drugging that we were able to artificially “restore” some degree of “normal behaviour.” I say “artificially” as it was a fraud, a falsehood.

I picked this passage from today’s readings because if we had a culture like that, I firmly believe that alcoholism and addiction would fade into rarity. (This is a theme I expound on in my book, Building a Civilization of Live: A Call to Creative Catholics.)

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!!)

Do not fret because of the wicked

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The excerpt for today is from the Office of the Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for Tuesday of Holy Week and is Psalm 37:1-4:

Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.

Source: Divine Office.org

This, then, is envy and resentment. You stopped drinking and using and have received some of the promises and benefits from sobriety, but you haven’t gotten the hang of it entirely. And your ol’ drinkin’ buddies are still havin’ a grand time out there, celebrating and carousing, and maybe teasing you for being a quitter.  

Or, you’ve been clean and sober for a nice long time, and once in a while you just watch people enjoying the gentle conviviality of a few glasses of wine during a dinner or a beer while watching a game on TV. Or, have a crisis, binge all weekend, emerge all right and not touch the stuff for a year because they didn’t have to and don’t “need” it. 

While not implying that your ol’ drinkin’ buddies are wicked (it could be used as a metaphor) the idea that someone, somewhere, out there, is having a good time doing something that could kill you if you returned to doing it does burn. I mean, even I, at times, just wish that I could, you know, have just one little…

But no.

Those who continue drinking and using go on to their own reward, which could be nothing harmful at all if they employ moderation; or they could wind up in the rooms of AA next to you. I can see it now: you’re in some church basement awaiting the start of your Thursday Night 8PM Home Group and someone sits down right next to you; but you’re so engrossed in reading a post from SoberCatholic.com that you don’t notice it’s Norm/Norma with whom you used to go around town barhoppin’. They nudge you in the shoulder and you turn and see them pointing to my post on your phone and they say “Hey, Ron/Rhonda! I read that earlier today! Funny meeting you here!” A pause and then they say “Hey,” again pointing to the SoberCatholic.com page on your screen, “Do you have this? That guy wrote it.” And they pull out and well-worn copy of “The Sober Catholic Way.” You reply, “Yeah, I got that! It changed my life! I bought a boxful off of Amazon and put them in my parish’s reading room and Adoration Chapel!” And so you renew acquaintances.

Or, your reading on that same phone the obituaries and a familiar name shows up on your doomscrolling. “Died suddenly.” You know what that means. 

On the other hand, if you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live a decent life and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire (continued sobriety.)

Please by my book! Link in the image (or click on this):
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Thank 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!!)

The Lord is my light and my salvation

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The Responsorial Psalm for the Mass of the Monday of Holy Week is from Psalm 27:1-3, 13-14

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

whom should I fear?

The LORD is my life’s refuge;
 of whom should I be afraid?

When evildoers come at me
 to devour my flesh,

My foes and my enemies

themselves stumble and fall.



Though an army encamp against me,

my heart will not fear;


Though war be waged upon me,

even then will I trust. 



I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD

in the land of the living.


Wait for the LORD with courage;

be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.


Source:  USCCB

It may take a prolonged period of “spiritual progress” to reach the level of serenity and sustained courage the psalm reflects. But it is possible. In these times of global warfare, rising prices at home as well as growing political corruption (and indifference to it by the deluded,) we need to focus on the promises offered by this psalm. Read and reread it; perhaps mark it in your Catholic Bible and refer to it often “in these troubling times.”

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!!)

Countering Adam and Eve’s pride

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The excerpt from Second Reading of the Mass of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is from Phillippians 2: 6-8.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,

coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,

he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Courtesy USCCB

I’ll take my inspiration for this post from my pastor’s homily (we attend the Vigil Mass.) He pointed out the Christ’s humility as mentioned in this passage, undid the pride of Adam and Eve. Whereas Jesus did not regard His divinity as “something to be grasped,” unlike Adam and Eve, who grasped the apple in an attempt to grasp something more: the false promises of Satan to become like God. 

Jesus’ humilty rendered His godhood as unimportant to His mission of redemption (althoiugh it was key) in dorect opposition to Adam and Eve’s belief that they’ll become like God.

Something to ponder as we think about our own pride.

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!!)

Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak

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The excerpt from the Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours for Friday in the 5th week of Lent from Psalm 41:1-3

Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak.
The Lord will save him in the day of evil,
will guard him, give him life, make him happy in the land
and will not give him up to the will of his foes.
The Lord will help him on his bed of pain,
he will bring him back from sickness to health.

Courtesy: Divine Office.org

Let’s say you’ve been clean and sober for a while now. What have you done with it? I know I’ve asked that question at least once before during these daily Lenten bloggings. It’s important. Maybe you should now consider “giving back” which could mean any one (or more!) of a number of things. If a recovery movement really helped you, keep on attending meetings and help out the newcomers who remind yu of what you were like when you first stumbled into the rooms. Or, take a more active role in your parish. Parishes live on volunteer work as it saves them from hiring people. Plus, if you need it, you can add your volunteer jobs to your resume. Employers LOVE volunteer stuff on resumes. Check out your parish bulletin and see if therea re any requests for help of some kind; otherwise, you can email the parish office and see if they have the inside scoop of stuff that needs doin’ but doesn’t get in the bulletin. Visit a nursing home or hospice. You can sit with the dying and pray with them. We all will eventually cross the veil separating us from eternity, you may want to begin familiarizing yourself with the possibility. 

Or, think of something else you can do to “give back.” Recall the words of Pslam 41:1-3!

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!!)

Lenten Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Lenten Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows (Friday after Passion Sunday*)

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Like I said in this post:

There is an old, pre-1969 Catholic devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. Prior to the revision of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the Friday after Passion Sunday was known as the Feast of the Seven Dolors/Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows…Since this Feast of Our Lady essentially duplicated the September 15th Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, it was deleted from the calendar in 1970.

But it’s perfectly acceptable to continue honoring this day as a feast in honor of Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows, hence the Novena I cobbled together which concluded yesterday.

This post from a few years ago has a meditation for each of the Seven Sorrows, I encourage you to read it for today’s meditation: Our Lady of Sorrows.

This post has some general information of the Devotion: Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows

ChurchPop has a few  great articles to learn more about the devotion:

The Seven Sorrows of Mary & The Promises to Those Who Meditate Upon Them Daily

and:

16 Powerful Graces Our Lady Promises to Those Who Honor Her 7 Sorrows

and also:

How to Pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary & Our Lady’s Powerful Promises to Those Who Pray It (that version differs slightly from how I say it; I don’t use the Introductory Prayer mentioned, I just say an Act of Contrition. No worries, there are slightly varying methods of reciting the Seven Sorrows chaplet.) Speaking of which, here is another variant from Immaculee’s website: 7 Sorrows Rosary Prayer.

I hope you enjoy these resources! Please cultivate a devotion to Our Sorrowful Mother!

Our Lady of Sorrows 1.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defence,
Be Thy Cross my victory;
While my body here decays,
May my soul thy goodness praise,
Safe in Paradise with Thee.
(Stabat Mater)

*On the contemporary Liturgical Calendar, this is now the Fifth Sunday of Lent.

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!!)

Lenten Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows: Day 9

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Day 9 (Thursday)

Vigil of the Feast

The King has descended to the Dead, preaching the Gospel to the righteous Just of the Old Testament. Adam and Eve, Abel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Kind David, and all the other Patriarchs and Prophets up until His own foster father Joseph and John the Baptist are nown hearing the Good News (although Joseph and the Baptist already knew it.)

Mary, meanwhile, has remained in the Upper Room, bereft with grief over her Son’s death. Yes, she knows that He will rise again; but this does not lessen her grief. The deeper your love, the deeper your grief, and His promised rising again doesn’t overcome the pain of her loss.

We can perhaps use this time during Lent to increase our empathy for other’s pain. Rather than make excuses or some other way to ignore or account for it, perhapswe can try to see through other’s eyes and feel through other’s hearts the pain they are going through. I need to do this. It’s scary.

The harrowing of hell 13247.

Wounded with his every wound,
Steep my soul till it hath swoon’d,
In His very blood away;
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In his awful Judgment day.
(Stabat Mater)

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!!)

Look to God…

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The excerpt from today’s Mass for the Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent is from Psalm 105:4-5.

Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.

Courtesy: USCCB

God is your rock, your stronghold, the one thing you can count on when all others have failed you. He is unchanging. Therefore, it is right and fitting that you should seek out and do His will. (What’s God’s will? Read the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Gospels, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and you can sort it all out and discern how that all applies to you and your state in life, you personality and predilections.)

Just remember all the things He has ever done for you in the past, the times He has come throiugh for you when the going was iffy, and how He has offered “corrections” to keep you on the Way. 

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!!)