Category Archives: St. Faustina

Divine Mercy Sunday

Posted on by

(NOTE: Portions of this post were cobbled together from earlier ones.)

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a new celebration established by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000 when he canonized a Polish nun who had received messages (or “interior locutions”) from Jesus in the 1930’s. (These are an accepted part of Catholicism, although not binding upon the faithful. Apparitions like those at Lourdes and Fatima and messages such as those received by Sr. Faustina (now Saint Faustina) do not add anything new to God’s Revelation to humanity. They are merely signs that the Good Shepherd is doing His work and is reminding us of certain necessary things. Quite often apparitions and locutions occur during critical moments in human history, indicating that the Lord’s “sheep” are going astray and He is coming after them.)

Jesus’ messages to St. Faustina concern God’s immense love for people and His boundless “ocean of Mercy” to which we are all entitled. No matter how dirtied we are by the sins of our past, when we dip into the ocean of Mercy we are scrubbed clean. God’s mercy is available to us for the asking, and is the source of immeasurable graces.

The devotion and practice of Divine Mercy is critical, I think, to anyone in recovery. It fixes our brokenness and mends our wounded souls. It teaches us that God is a loving Father, that Jesus is our brother and the Holy Spirit our infallible guide.

It was important to me, and critical in my recovery and how my Catholic Faith became more important than the Twelve Steps in maintaining my sobriety.

I had drifted away from the Catholic Church in 1987 thinking that religion was just human nonsense designed by the powerful to control people. I never doubted or disbelieved in God’s existence, as I’ve always regarded atheism as a supremely irrational and stupid human notion. I did feel nevertheless that religion was pointless. Anyway, to make a long story short, I drank to excess, abused it, and ended up returning to live with my Mom for 10 years. Originally I was to be her caregiver (my alcoholism was manageable), but for a while I was the person being cared for. (See also Drunkalogue.) My Mom watched EWTN a lot. Aside from the Daily Mass, from which I got a daily injection of Truth and sensibility from the sermons, she also watched the “Chaplet of Divine Mercy” each morning. She eventually taught it to me, particularly around Divine Mercy Sunday.

I think it was her daily praying of the Chaplet that brought me back into the Church. It also was, and continues through this day, to be a source of healing and mercy.

This is important to us Catholic alcoholics and addicts. We are so broken and wounded from our past. For many the past is just too much and they never fully escape from its haunting.

The all-encompassing nature of Divine Mercy heals our souls and enables us to draw upon the endless reservoir of God’s Mercy. It is a tremendous aid in our spiritual growth and progress. It led me back into the Catholic Church, with Her fullness of the Gospel Truth and the sacramental life and graces. It helps you to achieve a more fuller life.

The key elements of the Divine Mercy Devotion are:

Please click on each of those links to learn more! You can also click on this: Divine Mercy to explore anything else I wrote on it.

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!!)

Blessed Michael Sopocko: A Divine Mercy intercessor for alcoholics

Posted on by

In my study of the Divine Mercy devotion, particularly focused in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, I ran across in one of the biographies of St. Faustina information concerning her spiritual director, Blessed Michael Sopocko (in Polish: Michał Sopoćko.) It is pronounced “Soh-potch-ko.”

I won’t get into a biography of him here (there’s a link later on that is a biography) but Blessed Sopocko was instrumental in guiding and advising Sr. Faustina during her life, especially in getting her to write down the messages she received from Jesus as well as other observations on her life (a spiritual journal, or diary.)

The information in particular that attracted my attention, apart from his assistance to Sr. Faustina and the Divine Mercy Message, was that in postwar Poland Fr. Sopocko was involved in a sobriety movement. I found nothing in particular as to what he did except for “In October 1947, the new academic year started at the seminary in Białystok. Father Sopoćko taught the same subjects that he had taught in Vilnius: catechetics, pedagogy, psychology, and the history of philosophy. His work at the seminary was not limited solely to teaching. He was also a confessor of the seminarians and conducted for them numerous retreats. At the same time, he also pursued pastoral, religious, social and educational activities. An important part of his activities were his educational programmes promoting sobriety in a society.“ From: Biography of Bl. Sopocko

I feel that since we sober (and sobering up) Catholics deeply need Divine Mercy to assist us in achieving and maintaining our sobriety, we should avail ourselves of yet another intercessor. Especially one who is closely acquainted with Divine Mercy and its Apostle. When you read his biography and do additional research on him in the Divine Mercy links in the sidebar, you can appreciate what a powerful intercessor he can be. He lived a difficult life, especially after St. Faustina died in 1938. From the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland, to the later Soviet sequel, to the banning of the Divine Mercy Message as taught by St. Faustina for over a 20 year period, Bl. Sopocko suffered persecution. A lesson many of us can draw strength from. Although we may not suffer persecution in our work, we can ask Bl. Sopocko for the strength to persevere.

He was beatified on September 28, 2008. His feast day is February 15th.

More on Fr. Sopocko.

On the Year of Mercy and us sober Catholics: The Year of Mercy and what it means for us sober Catholics and St. Faustina and Divine Mercy.

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!!)

St. Faustina and Divine Mercy

Posted on by

October 5th is the Feast of St. Faustina Kowalska. She is the “Apostle of Divine Mercy” and for several years prior to her death in 1938 had received interior locutions from Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lord commanded her to write her experiences. The resulting book, “Divine Mercy in My Soul” is a modern day classic of Catholic spirituality and mysticism. As with all such Church-approved things, there is nothing in her Diary that adds anything “new” to divine revelation. Like similar matters, it serves to exhort us to do things we already should be doing but have strayed from. It is a spiritual autobiography detailing her life from her youth through to just before her death, a wonderful description of a life lived according to the Will of God.

The Diary also serves as the primary means by which the devotion to “Divine Mercy” spreads. The devotion consists mainly of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy prayers and Novena, the Diary, Divine Mercy Sunday (which is the Second Sunday of Easter), Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Jesus desired that this devotion be established and made known to prepare humankind for His Second Coming, as well as to encourage humanity to repent and return to God.

The Diary beautifully describes the love and mercy of God. I feel it is a text that every sober Catholic should have. It often serves to lift my spirits in ways other books do not (save for the Gospels.) When I read it I feel like it is a long, soothing letter of comfort, consoling me when times are difficult.

St. Faustina is a classic case how how the Lord selects the poor and marginalized of society, the uneducated and lowly, to carry out His work.

1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God has chosen the foolish of the world, so that he may confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak of the world, so that he may confound the strong.

And God has chosen the ignoble and contemptible of the world, those who are nothing, so that he may reduce to nothing those who are something.”
via: The Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

Here is a quick biography of her: St. Faustina bio.

You can buy the Diary at this link, as well as other related items. I get NO commission on any sale, this is just a service of mine. If think you’ll benefit, then here’s where you can get it! This is a link to an “official” gift shop.

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 Year of Mercy and what it means for us sober Catholics

Posted on by

Some time earlier this year Pope Francis declared a Jubilee “Year of Mercy”. To quote an article
from the Houston Catholic Worker: “In the ancient tradition of a Year of Jubilee, slaves and prisoners were to be freed, debts would be forgiven, land and possessions would be returned to their owners, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. (Lev. 25:8-13). (BOLD emphasis is mine.)

As Catholics, I feel it is our duty to fully explore the opportunities to participate in this “Year of Mercy.” Whether it is attending Mass and going to Confession more frequently to taking up the Divine Mercy Chaplet and perhaps studying St. Faustina’s Diary, to performing the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy more often, perhaps taking up Eucharistic Adoration in a nearby parish; I feel that in doing so we just might wield a very powerful weapon in the spiritual warfare that is going on. And as us sober Catholics know all too well, there is a spiritual battle going on everywhere and quite often we and other alcoholics and addicts are targets and victims.

With all the talk of shemitahs, Blood Moons, and the centenary of Fatima is just less than two years off, an increase of “mercy,” flowing from Heaven through the offices of the Church and our personal participation in the Year, just may be the thing we need right now. (Don’t ask me what a “Shemitah” is, please look it up. Same for “Blood Moons.” Be careful, many of the sources are non-Catholic. But, I have been writing about Fatima!)

Who saw this “Year of Mercy” thing coming, anyway? The world is rapidly deteriorating, Christians are being targeted by terrorists, crazed gunmen and “civilized” governments, and hope seems to be withering away. And out of the blue the Holy Father calls for a Jubilee Year of Mercy.

I say we make the most of it. The torrents of Divine Mercy gushing forth from the Lord can only be good for us and our recovery, and more importantly for our countries and the world.

For other ideas on how to participate, there is the Calendar of Events during the year: Year of Mercy Calendar. One can take a look at each event and figure out how to incorporate it into our spiritual life. Otherwise, reread this post and read up on the Year of Mercy. I highly recommend getting the Diary of St. Faustina “Divine Mercy in My Soul, and read it, as well as study it! (You can buy it at this link, I get NO commission. This is a link to an “official” gift shop.)

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!!)