The Reading from the Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours for Friday in the 2nd week of Lent is:
Declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may find healing. The fervent petition of a holy man is powerful indeed. My brothers, the case may arise among you of someone straying from the truth, and of another bringing him back. Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins. (James 5:16, 19-20)
Lent is upon us! Many parishes have Lenten penance services scheduled so that people have easy access to a priest to confess the sins they’ve been shedding all season. Usually there’s an abundance of priests from all over. Perfect time to confess to a priest who doesn’t know you all of those embarassing peccadilloes you’re ashamed to confess to your regular confessor. PRO TIP: your regular confessor “has heard it all before” and likely isn’t surprised by anything; so, if you missed the penace service or if there isn’t one, apart from travelling to a different parish, just suck it up and go to Confession this weekend at your parish! Try to go more than you normally do outside of Lent. Pope St. John Paul II suggested long ago that Catholics who wish to progress spiritually should go to Confession at least once a month.
Another thing you can do: start a Catholic spirituality blog, podcast or YouTube Channel. Talk about hown the Catholic faith and her sacraments, the Mass, prayers and devotions can assist anyone in growing closer to God. You can even clear the way for your eventual death and enter Heaven. “Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul from death and cancel a multitude of sins.” Just make sure you know what you’re talking about and it’s Catholic teachings you’re promoting, not your own masquerading as Catholic. There’s too much masquerading going around.
Once again , we come to the annual March for Life in the USA. All human and civil rights begin in the womb; without the fundamental right to life as the foundation for all rights, justice is threatened at all stages of human life, from womb-to-tomb.
If you cannot make it to the March for Life in Washington, DC (or the West Coast version) you ca go online!
“iThirst” stands for “The Healing Initiative – Recovery, Spirituality, Twelve step.” They fulfill a dire need for an organized Church response to the problem of alcohol, drug, and behavioral addictions. From their site, “iThirst: Empowering the Church to be a Resource for those Suffering from Addictions and Their Families.”They also partner with Catholic in Recovery.
The interview is very well done (which I can personally attest to as Anne interviwed me earlier this year.) Although Keaton Douglas is not an alcoholic or addict, she has recovered from personal trauma which had embedded in her a deep resentment for which she returned to the Church to resolve. Her interview reminded me of the insidious nature of resentments and how they impede true spiritual growth and healing. (I still harbor resentments from 20 years ago; things are what they are and they dwell in the dark recesses of my mind, emerging as an accompaniment to stress and anxiety. Perhaps all of us have those “voices in our heads” that rent space there; my voices are those resentments. I keep them at bay, most of the time. I’m OK with their renting space as they provide fuel for my drive to write fiction.)
One thing I discovered from Anne’s interview with Keaton that I’m really excited about is that Shalom World TV will be hosting “Unshackled.” From iThirst’s promo page:
“Addiction is tearing families and lives apart. It’s time to act.”
What if the greatest danger to your family isn’t what you think? Beyond cyber attacks, viruses, or global crises, there’s a silent epidemic touching countless lives: addiction. Shalom World, in partnership with the iTHIRST Initiative, presents Unshackled, a groundbreaking series tackling addiction head-on with faith, hope, and healing.
You can hear “about the upcoming TV Series “UNSHACKLED” right here, and another promo here. It is scheduled to debut in the Spring of 2026. I will post updates as I learn more about the show or when it debuts.
Shalom World TV, despite the Jewish name, is a Catholic television service. You can find them on YouTube, and if you have a streaming device or a Roku or Amazon Fire TV, just look up “Shalom World TV” and you can add them to your streaming channels. To be sure you’d have the right channel, their logo is on the right side of the Unshackled banner just above this.
You can learn more about iThirst on their About Us page. PLEASE take the time and explore their site, it’s a treasure of information. They even have recovery groups in Catholic parishes, however, try as I might, I cannot find a directory of these on their site.
In a few hours Leo XIV will be inaugurated as the 267th successor to St. Peter. As the “Pope,” he is the Vicar of Christ, the visible Head of the Catholic Church, and he (or his own successors) will reign until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
I haven’t been this excited about a Pope since like forever. I loved Pope St. John Paul II but the Internet wasn’t available to the public back in 1978 and following the daily doings of the Holy Father wasn’t as easy as it is today. If you lived near a parish which provided for Catholic newspapars (Our Sunday Visitor, National Catholic Register, Twin Circle, and others) or lived in a large city with public and university libraries, you could follow along fairly well. Still, not like nowadays with official and unofficial websites providing almost hourly coverage. Also, as with regards to the reign of JP2, I had left the Catholic Church for most of his reign, reverting only a few years before his death. So, JP2 is, to me, mostly a figure found in books and websites; although I do have an odd personal connection to him. I also deeply appreciated Pope Benedict XVI; but he didn’t touch my heart like JP2. I also resent a little his abdication in 2013. Pope Francis did not impress me much, I never warmed to him until earlier this year when he was gravely ill. There were a few things about his papacy that I liked, namely the “Year of Mercy” and a few other things. There was quite a lot I didn’t care for (The Pachamama idol and his assault on the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite (“Traditionis Custodes” and his allowance of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to recieve Holy Communion.) Nevertheless, I fell in between the two extremes of his haters and advocates. In never thought he was as bad as his detractors (calumniators?) claimed, nor did I feel he was the awesomesauce as his fans proposed. But, he was the Pope and now he’s gone. Eternal Rest grant unto him, O Lord…
And now we have an American Pope (never thought I’d ever see the day.) I’ve been kind of obsessed with social media coverage, as well as the legitimate news channels reporting, of him. Pope Leo XIV gives me a lot of Pope St. John Paul II vibes, with a huge dose of Benedict XVI, and a fair amount of the acceptable parts of Francis. The JP2 aspects include his seeming youthful enthusiasm, missionary spirit, doctrinal clarity, and social communication skills; the B16 parts also includes doctrinal clarity and liturgical expertise. The Francis elements are his social justice advocacy; but this part of his makeup also seems to be heavily influenced by Leo’s apparent orthodox doctrinal qualities. There also seems to be a rise in prophetic discussion regarding him, but I won’t go that route, now.
I am unsure how often I will post about him. I went to Saturday Vigil Mass so that I can stay up until 3AM to watch his inauguration on EWTN and not worry about my Sunday Mass obligation (not really an issue as I always attend the Vigil Mass.) Now, to load up on coffee!
Quote: “Join Mission Revive’s hosts Anne Costa for a an informative podcast with our guest Paul Sofranko.
Paul is a sober alcoholic and revert to the Church who found continued sobriety in the Sacraments, devotions and prayer life of the Church.
He started Sober Catholic back in 2007 after he had unsuccessfully searched all over for a blog or discussion site that focused on alcoholism and sobriety/recovery from a Catholic perspective. He created what he was looking for: a site that discusses how the Catholic Church, with Her rich traditions of Saints and miracles, and especially with Her Sacraments such as the Holy Eucharist and Confession, can help you maintain your sobriety.
Today was the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. I’m a little remiss in not posting this before (the day is almost over,) but better late than never. I had intended to go to Confression followed by Mass for this holyday, but a dead car battery altered my plans and so I watched the Daily Mass for today on EWTN instead.
I enjoyed the homily by Fr. Mark Mary. I am sharing the direct link to the EWTN OnDemand service; please watch it. It sums up the Message of Fatima as regards to prayer, penance, reparation. That’s a little ‘simplistic’ summary of it, so I encourage you to watch it (even if you’re not watching it on the Fatima feast day.) It is a very good thing for Sober Catholics to take a listen to.
If you aren’t already a reader of this blog, please let me introduce myself. My name is Paul Sofranko, aka “Paulcoholic” and I’ve been doing this blog for 18 years. I found nothing much like it and so I launched it in early January 2007. You can read more about its story on this page. You can read some more about me on this page, I tell my drunkalogue right here; and here’s my reversion story and here’s a post about my miraculous Militia of the Immaculata hat.
There are 54 days beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday. The very Sunday when the floodgates of God’s unfathomable ocean of Mercy open up and spill out over every sinner who in humility begs for forgiveness is very day the completion of a Miraculous 54 day Rosary Novena ends!
Think about that. Are you still trapped in the miseries of alcoholism and drug addiction? Or, do you know someone who is? This may be the perfect time for deliverance from that slavery. And it may not even be for alcoholics and drug addicts. Sex and porn addicts, take comfort! Your deliverance may be at hand! You will be beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary, the very Mother of Purity, for her intercession to liberate you from lust! How can she not help you? Visit this post for more info, including hown to pray the novena: Announcing a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena for Alcoholism and Addiction Recovery (and other sins!)
Now, on to what brought you here!
Bear made me mention my book, “The Sober Catholic Way’s” title about 700 times on the show 😉
“The Sober Catholic Way” is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. This book does not guarantee anything, but doing these things have helped me stay since May 22, 2002. Will I ever drink again? Quite unlikely, but the tools to help recover from a relapse are in every chapter! The love and mercy of God is everlasting and endless!
Discover the importance of the Real Presence, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, St. Joseph, St. Therese (the “Little Flower”) and Matt Talbot. You’ll get ideas on how to apply the Beatitudes, the Divine Mercy Message, as well as learning about the Apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima and how they can guide one’s life.
The idea for the book germinated one day after I was reviewing Sober Catholic’s posts. I realized that I hadn’t thought or done much about many of the things I had written about. This culminated in the realization that I have not always practiced what I’ve been “preaching” and therefore thought it might do me some good to organize much of the material into a coherent form that would help me reduce my hypocrisy. Seconds later I decided it might make for a nice book to publish and take its place next to my earlier Catholic recovery devotionals, “The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” and “The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics.”
You can get it here (links to the Rosary and Stations book follow):
You might try this Universal link: here and click on the logo of your fave online bookshop. (Some of the logos have trackers in them and these may be blocked by browser extensions. That’s why I listed them individually right above this.)
I have two other books that might interest you!
Do you like saying the Rosary? Well, have I got a devotional for you!
“The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” helps people to reflect on their recovery and relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks, months, or years, the reflections will lead them to meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far. The book takes a time-honored prayer and brings it into a useful format for people to pause and reflect on their recovery, their relationships with others, and ultimately with Jesus Himself. Whether people are still struggling with their addictions, or have been clean and sober for a few weeks or months, or many years, the reflections for each Mystery of the Rosary will help them meditate on the spiritual growth they have achieved so far. Over the years, their thoughts on each meditation may change, depending on “where they’re at” in their recovery journey. It’s also available through Amazon and B&N and other retailers; vist the link in this paragraph’s first sentence.
And that’s not all!
Lent is coming up, and if you need some assistence with the Stations of the Cross, then The “Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics is a book that is rooted in an ancient Catholic devotion. It is intended to assist Catholics and other Christians find deeper meaning in their struggles with alcoholism, by connecting the oftentimes hard road of sobriety with Jesus’ suffering road to His Crucifixion. The reader sees that their old alcoholic ‘self’ is being led to the Cross and the joy of eventual resurrection of a new sober self can follow. Whether they are still drinking and struggling, or have been sober for many years and still have difficulties coping with sobriety, this book should help readers maintain that sobriety.
Wait! There’s more!
It is still in its nascent stages but I’m beginning to sell online products related to Sober Catholic at my Shop Sober Catholic store on Pixels———> ARTWORK BY SOBERCATHOLIC.
Imagine drinking your hot, deelish coffee (or tea or hot chocolate!) in a mug with the logo of your favorite Catholic sobriety and spirituality blog!!! Just click on the words or the image below! You can even customze the color! Blue, brown, yellow, green, whatever you prefer! It also comes in two sizes: “Small” is 11 oz, while “Large” is 15oz! (You can click on the images to buy…)
The first Scripture verse I memorized was Romans 12:2.
“And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.”
I thought it perfect for a mug as it recalls the essence of the Sober Catholic message. In our Catholic sobriety, we do not conform to the World, but in our newly sober life, we follow the will of God and do what is good and pleasing to Him.
There are other products, such as a throw pillow: Sober Catholic Throw Pillow and a weekender tote bag: Sober Catholic Tote Bag, for example, as well as the official Sober Catholic Rosary Case! At 6”x4” this is perfect to keep your Rosary and even Divine Mercy Chaplet handy! And like everything else, you can customize the color!
It also comes in a larger size, which should be big enough to store your copies of “The Sober Catholic Way,” as well as my Rosary and Stations books, or, if you prefer, a good Catholic Bible. 🙂
Click on the image (or go here) to learn about his apostolate!
Bear interviewed me back in November. The interview was regarding my new book, “The Sober Catholic Way.” I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; it was like sitting across the table from him, just another dude at a tiki bar somewhere downing fruit juice drinks, enjoying the tropic breezes and watching the Pacific swells roll in, all the while yakking it up ‘bout stuff. Here’s what the program description on iCatholicRadio (where you can listen every 6PM ET Saturdays) says about it:
Bear’s rare adventures uniquely qualify him to be the adventure guide on this show that challenges men to deeper conversion and to servant leadership. Bear’s engaging interview style opens his guests to go deep and share their adventures, misadventures, conversion to the Lord and their walk with God.
That last line I emboldened is so true.
I told him stuff.
You should listen in.
“The Bear Woznick Adventure” airs on EWTN Radio on Saturday evenings 6PM ET/5PM CT (please refer to your local listings for any changes). It should be on your local EWTN radio affiliate, but if they do not carry it, please email them requesting that they do so for the future. But until then, you can tune in to EWTN Radio on the web, or use their app for Apple devices or their Android app, You can also download the iCatholicRadio app for Apple or Android.
His show also appears on YouTube:Bear Woznick Spirit of Adventure.Please take a look at it, it’s a good source of Catholic spirituality and his show is particularly good for men (and the women who love them.)
“The Sober Catholic Way” helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety. Drawn from nearly two decades of blogging at SoberCatholic.com, “The Sober Catholic Way” shows the importance of the sacraments, the Bible, the Catechism and other books. It continues on with the various ways one can “live” out Catholicism by nurturing devotions to the Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. All of these contribute to sobriety as well as one’s spiritual progression!
“The Sober Catholic Way” is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. This book does not guarantee anything, but doing these things has helped keep my sobriety intact since May 22, 2002.
…and you might try this Universal link: here and click on the logo of your fave online bookshop. Some of the logos have trackers in them and these may be blocked by browser extensions. That’s why I listed them individually right above this.
This has meant different things to me over the years. For the first decade or so, it was merely a pious devotional act. “I belong to Mary! Yay!” And nothing beyond that. At times, it didn’t mean much of anything and was something on the periphery of my devotional life.
However, within the past decade it has taken on a more substantive meaning. It had partly to do with the centennial anniversary of the MI in 2017. I became more interested in what it actually meant to be an MI and consecrated to Mary. The sudden availablity of Mary’s Knight,an epic biography of St. Maximilian that I long had my eye on, but had been out of print, helped with that. It is a very comprehensive biography with incredibly detailed information, presented in narrative (it reads like a novel) form. Toss in the Complete Writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and I was on fire.
In more recent times my consecration has lead me to try and implement the teachings and life of St. Maximilian Kolbe in my blog and writing as well as to figure out how to work out my consecration in a practical, concrete form. I had written a few posts on ‘Marching Orders from Mary’ which, after a fashion, became fleshed out as a book, ‘Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics.’
(This is the second version of the book, the earlier version “The Catholicpunk Manifesto,” is now unpublished and pulled from circulation; “Building…” is a revised and retitled edition. The Catholic Punk material is still present, but I’ve added several chapters on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Read on…)
I really thought that at this time in my life I should have something to show for it. “It” being my life. Or, more precisely, “it” is more like “proof” that Marian Consecration has made a significant impact and difference in my life. I wanted to show some sign that that Marian Consecration impacted my thinking and that I have something important and useful to suggest and share with others.
Marian Consecration via St. Maximilan’s method contains and outward evangelican dimension. That’s the fundamental difference between it and DeMontfort’s. With St. Maximilian’s, you become a tool of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a “pen” or “paintbrush” in her hands. You take your consecration and do something with it to change the world. And in writing that book, “Bulding a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics,” I had thought to provide some inspiration and motivation to other Catholic creatives. The book is NOT a ‘how to write,’ or ‘how to do a podcast,’ or anything else like that. It is directed at people who are creatives, have done something about it, but may need encouragement and inspiration to ‘get them through’ tough times when they might doubt their efficacy or purpose. It is also directed at people who aren’t ‘working creatives’ but who have the dream of writing or filming and so forth, but like established creatives, might need a ‘manifesto’ to help them ‘get going.’ (Not to mention page after page at the end of “creative prompts” derived from litanies to St. Max Kolbe. The prompts aren’t just for writers…)
One reason why I unpublished the original version is that it was made known to me that calling it “Catholicpunk Manifesto” may be offputting. But that also inspired me in another way: I had gotten some ideas on expanding it. Hence, the first half is now on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Because in studying their messages and lessons I detected some themes that serve as blueprints for a ‘new world order’ (oh, my!) but based upon Catholic social and moral teachings. Mary, in those apparitions, has the answer to today’s slide towards cultural and social moral decadence and decline, plus the antidote to the negative and demeaning identity politics that are rampant today. I used those chapters to exhort Catholic creatives and creative “wannabes” to apply the lessons the Blessed Mother taught us in Mexico, France and Portugal.
Again, the book is not a how-to on writing, filming or painting. It assumes you know your craft and how to perfect it. What it hopes to accomplish is to inspire you to more effectively connect your Catholic faith to your creativity and change the world.
I hinted at being busy with a new project that interfered a bit with posting to this blog. Well, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! I have written a new book. It isn’t recovery related, but it can be useful to you if you’ve sobered and cleaned up and now want to know what to do with the rest of your life. It was inspired by some thinking done over the past few years, and was the subject of two recent blogposts, which this book combines and greatly expands upon.
“The Catholicpunk Manifesto is a call to arms, or rather, a call to pens, paintbrushes, and video cameras, for creative Catholics to take up St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe’s call to infiltrate pop culture and help alleviate the ills that pervade contemporary society. St. Maximilian saw back in the 1920s how the use of cinema, radio, and mass-market books was corrupting society. He thought that those same tools could be used as a force to counter this corruption. The Catholicpunk Manifesto tells how the teachings of the Catholic Faith can be used to provide a road map out of our current morass and a blueprint to build a more just and fair society constructed according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and other elements of traditional Catholic Social Teachings (CST).
A Catholicpunker is someone who Catholicpunks. Catholicpunk is, to borrow from the Manifesto:
“…a literary and artistic form that seeks to mak
e use of Catholic Social Teachings to lead the world away from the cliff of self-destruction it is heading towards…
The ‘-punk’ suffix as typically used in literary and artistic forms suggests a countercultural, anti-establishment, and anti-authoritarian ethic.
Think of ‘cyberpunk,’ ‘steampunk,’ ‘solarpunk,’ and so forth.
Therefore, ‘Catholicpunk’ utilizes countercultural values in opposition to secularist and modernist mores and values. It is anti-establishment inasmuch as it defies the increasingly centralized authority of modern governments and the intrusive reach of corporations and is anti-authoritarian based on Catholicism’s traditional opposition to dictatorships.
Catholicpunk addresses how the future might look if humanity survives the contemporary social and moral collapse plaguing the Western world and the poverty and oppression prevalent in the Global South and the East. Catholicpunk illustrates how applying CST solves major contemporary challenges made by globalism, militarism, and the anti-life and sexual libertine agendas. When Catholicpunk emphasizes sustainability, it will be with an eye towards responsible management of resources so that there will be plenty for future generations, and not through restrictions on population such as aggressive birth control and abortion agendas. People from womb to tomb will be viewed as resources to be cherished and valued, not as parasites or polluters.
Catholicism is the purest form of counter-cultural expression there is today. Catholicpunkers capitalize on this… and inspire people and give them a way out.”
Are you a creatively inclined Catholic? Are you an aspiring writer or musician, do you write poetry in secret, do you want to go to Hollywood and sell a spec script for millions, or did you draw on walls when you were little and never could color within the lines but loved drawing and coloring anyway, despite the critical opinions of others?”
Then you need to be a Catholicpunker, find other Catholicpunkers and mutually support one another in Catholicpunking! Buy and read one another’s works, listen to Catholicpunk music, watch Catholicpunk videos, support Catholicpunk painters, and so forth.”
This book can hopefully inspire you to get going and start creating and applying your Catholic faith to your works! Become a Catholicpunker!”
It’s available for $5.99 through this link: The Catholicpunk Manifesto. It will be available as a paperback within a few weeks (updates on that as I get them) and also through other online vendors. When those are completed, I’ll post updates.
