As a person who suffered from alcoholism, I can say that I have already experienced death of a sort. The old me has died. Some parts of the old corpus may still be twitching, but essentially out of the agony and expiration of the old Paulcoholic a new person has been reborn. Oblivion did not …
Catholic Culture has an excellent article regarding a very beneficial pious activity that can aid in your own spiritual progression. It also is a good reminder of where we’ll end up someday. (A grave. Morbid? True, but you should be more aware that you will die someday. Too many people are in denial.) Praying for …
In about a week I will commemorate the twelfth anniversary of my Mom’s death. One of the impacts of her dying and eventual death has been my increasing interest in Catholic teaching on the afterlife and specifically a growing devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. When I started Sober Catholic almost eleven years ago …
Continue reading ‘Slight change in direction for Sober Catholic’ »
On October 13, 1917 the final Marian Apparition at Fatima, Portugal took place. I know I’m a few weeks late with this, but upon reflection, I decided to push back writing this until today, the Feast of All Hallow’s Eve (a/k/a “Halloween”). I’ll explain at the end. Seventy thousand people attended the event, which was …
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Although it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, it should be, but that shouldn’t be any excuse for you NOT to got to Mass and get ashes anointed on your forehead (work scheduling and other situations notwithstanding). It is the beginning of the 40 day penitential period leading up to …
Pray daily: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come …
Continue reading ‘Novena to the Immaculate Conception for Alcoholics: Day 1’ »
Indulgences are among the more recognizable of Catholic Christian beliefs, like devotion to the Blessed Mother. They are often misunderstood, and have been a source of scandal to the Church in the past (a cause of the so-called Protestant “Reformation.”) This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches: 1471: ” The doctrine …
One of the things that you can do as a Catholic, and reconnect with your Catholic spirituality and heritage is to gain indulgences. Tomorrow, November 2nd, is the Solemnity of All Soul’s.One can gain indulgences by praying for them. See the link: Indulgence for the Holy Souls in Purgatory (Via Latin Mass.) I shall attempt …
Continue reading ‘Indulgences for the Holy Souls in Purgatory’ »
On November 2nd we celebrate the Solemnity of All Soul’s. It is the day that we as Catholics offer up the Mass and pray for the deceased who are suffering in Purgatory. Here are links to two posts in a blog of mine that I had discontinued. (I thought I had transferred them to this …
On this date in 1995 my father died. He and I weren’t very close, (“fathers and sons …”) generational and attitudinal differences separated us. As a result, I didn’t really grieve over his death. I mean, I was saddened and did feel the loss, but I wasn’t ripped apart by his death like I was …