Category Archives: Virtue

The Immaculate Heart and the Little Way

Posted on by

For this Immaculate Heart Saturday, I’d like to post a thought-piece that’s like a companion to yesterday’s post. This time on the relationship between the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the purity of Mary’s love for her children (and we are her chidren; we became so when we were baptised and joined her Son’s Mystical Body) and our refuge from the travails of this valley of tears. Her Immaculate Heart is also the center of Christian contemplative prayer as we read in this passage from Luke 2:19, But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.

The Devotion to the Immaculate Heart is centered around the Five First Saturdays. These are intended to make reparation for offenses against the Immacuate Heart. (See this post for details.)

As I noted yesterday:

“the Little Way of St. Therese is the act of doing little things with great love. Her Little Way is described as the ‘easy’ path to Heaven. We needn’t worry about doing mighty deeds or being great evangelists and so forth. If we just focus on doing our daily tasks but doing them with love, that may go a great way toward sanctifying ourselves and others. How? By doing ‘little things’ with great love, be it sweeping the floor, picking up something a person dropped, or whatever, we conquer our pride and self-love. These are the great sources of sin.”

We can apply the Little Way to our Immaculate Heart Devotion. In adddition to the Five First Saturdays, we can dedicate specifis ‘little actions’ or ‘tasks’ to repair the offenses of others against Our Lady. Yes, this similar to the Sacred Heart reparations, but  I’ve posted a dozen times on the ‘Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,’ so actions towards one is like an action for the other.

So, working out the Little Way can augment the Immaculate Heart practices. Like I said yesterday,

“It’s like a devotional ‘two-for,’ two sanctifying or reparative practices in one!”

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!!)

October 13th: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 12

Posted on by

Today is October 13th, the day we recall the “Miracle of the Sun” event at Fatima in 1917. This was intended to be a warning. Our Lady said at Fatima, ‘War is punishment for sin.” World War I was raging at the time and among her warnings was that a worse war would take place if her warnings went unheeded. They were and it did. What were her warnings? One was that the Pope and all the bishops in union with him would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Although consecrations did take place, they were either too late or improperly done. The consecration request finally was done properly in 1984 with Pope (now Saint) John Paul II. There were other warnings, such as the increasingly offensive fashion styles (conservative and almost modest by today’s standards) and about sexual sin being the chief cause of why souls go to Hell.

Those are also being ignored. You wonder how much longer Heaven will tolerate being ignored. 

As we’ve already seen with several of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intimately united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this Sacred Heart Friday, I would like to remind readers of this duality and how it can be used to at the personal level, increase your spiritual growth, and at a larger level, help combat evil in the world.

The personal level: recall the Fatima Message of prayer, penance, and especially reparation for sins. Now, combine that with the Sacred Heart devotion which essentially calls for the same thing. We return God’s love for us with prayer and acts of sacrifice in reparation for our and others’ sins. This increases the flow of grace into our souls, helps us beat back the attacks of the Devil and its minions, and sensitizes us to the sufferings of others (a natural side effect of concern for others sinning and the Hellish consequences of that.) We begin to become more aware of the humanity of other people; even those who do us harm. We see them as sick and broken. The wounded harm others when their wounds are not dressed.

The larger level: essentially an extension of the first. We become the change we wish to see in others and in reforming our own lives we can serve as examples for others. They want what we have. There is also the transformation at the spiritual level: our acts of prayer and repentance in some manner affect change in others. It calls grace down from Heaven and Mary distributes it to whom she wills.

So, I suppose one benefit of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts is the reminder to remember the Message of Fatima and the need to live 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!!)

St. Maximilian Kolbe. August 14, 1941

Posted on by

St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe was executed in the Nazi German concentration camp at Auschwitz eighty-twoyears ago today for being a Catholic priest.

He was a Conventual Franciscan friar and Guardian (leader, administrator) of Niepokalanow, then the world’s largest friary and a major Catholic media center. It is located some distance west of Warsaw, Poland.

He was canonized a saint by the Church in October 1982.

In late July 1941 a prisoner escaped and as was Nazi policy, ten men from that cell block were randomly selected to be sentenced to a starvation bunker until the escapee was found (dead or alive.) In reality, the ten condemned wouldn’t be released at all, regardless of the escapee’s status.

Death by starvation and dehydration is a very slow and very painful way to die. The ten were stripped naked and placed in a cell that measured three meters by three meters (that’s about 9 feet on a side.)

One of the ten was a Polish Army sergeant by the name of Franciszek Gajowniczek, who, upon being selected, wailed that he was a husband and father and bemoaned the fate of his family. Upon hearing this, Fr. Kolbe stepped out of line, went forward to the commander and offered to take the sergeant’s place.

The Nazi officer was duly astounded. Perhaps taken aback and confused by this act of selfless sacrifice, he accepted Kolbe’s offer and the Gajowniczek was excused. He survived the war.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the ten died, one-by-one. Every day an attendant would go into the cell to retrieve the dead.

Prison guards and camp survivors reported that while there would typically be sounds or rage and anger, of wailing and crying and begging, during the two weeks that Fr. Kolbe was imprisoned in the cell with the others, the sounds were quite different. Hymns were sung. Rosaries said. It was as if Fr. Kolbe had turned the bunker into a chapel. On August 14th, seeing that he was still alive, the Nazis got impatient that he wasn’t dying fast enough and had him injected with carbolic acid.

When he volunteered to take the sergeant’s place, the Nazi asked Fr. Kolbe who he was. His answer?

“I am a Catholic priest.” This was his identity, it was who he was. He died for being a priest; he died being a priest, ministering to his fellow condemned

. Week48IAmACatholicPriest

(Image via MI Canada)

Being a priest was enough to have him targeted by the Nazis; however there was more to him than that. For nearly twenty years he published “Knight of the Immaculata,” a monthly magazine dedicated to being the voice of the Militia of the Immaculata movement he founded in 1917 (more on that, later.) This publishing venture, begun in 1922, gradually expanded over the 1920s and ‘30s to include other periodicals and a daily newspaper. Circulation was amongst the largest in pre-WW2 Poland (and significant amongst global circulations, too.) Fr. Kolbe had already launched a shortwave radio station, although it was limited at first to just being on the Amateur bands. He also had plans for a TV station. Expansion of the radio station to non-amateur broadcasting and the TV enterprise were halted by the Nazi and Soviet invasion of September 1939. Fr. Kolbe also had plans for a motion picture studio.

He was “New Evangelization” before anyone else thought of it. If you wish to get the gist of what he did and also what he planned, what Mother Angelica did in Alabama 50 years later is essentially that.

Here are some links:

Militia of the Immaculata in the USA The global Militia “Niepokalanow” another official Niepokalanow site

NOTE: This is reposted from earlier, older versions.

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. Maximilian Kolbe and: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 8

Posted on by

On this Sacred Heart Friday, I remind you that the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe is coming up this Monday. He is an ideal patron for those of us who are growing in their devotion to the Immaculate and Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus. His method of consecration is deeply rooted in the Two Hearts, for he wishes us to lead others through the Heart of Mary to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. By purifying ourselves in the love of Mary by adopting her virtues, we can be more effective in being ‘Christ-bearers’ to others. 

Since becoming a devotee of St. Maximilian over twenty years ago, I, like countless others have felt it most appropriate that he died of the Vigil of the Assumption. That glorious day when the Mother of God was assumed into Heaven and took up her role as Queen of Heaven and Earth is a day which should inspire us to yearn for our true home. We are but transients on the Earth; our destiny lies in Heaven. St. Maximilian’s work was done. He ran the race, kept the Faith and lived it most sincerely. He was ‘another Christ’ to the other inmates at Auschwitz. And not just in his capacity as a Catholic priest, but as one human ministering to others in a place akin to Hell. And then he was called home, welcomed as a good and faithful servant of Our Lord (and Lady.)

While we may not ever be sentenced to a death camp (but not entirely out of the question,) we should take to heart his response to being subjected to such an evil. 

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!!)

Introducing Immaculate Heart Saturdays!

Posted on by

In this post I announced that I’ll be starting a new series of posts, these to be called “Immaculate Heart Saturdays.” Just like their related series, Sacred Heart Fridays, these will focus on Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There will be a lot on the Five First Saturday Devotions (reminder, today is a First Saturday!) and other things related to the theology and devotional life of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I figured that I’ve managed to successfully not miss a single Friday for the Sacred Heart Friday posts, perhaps I can ‘kick it up a notch’ and begin this.

Given that this is a blog primarily dedicated to addiction recovery, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can play a crucial role in helping keep yourself clean and sober. Particularly for those addicted to lust and porn. I found this older post on that: Immaculate Heart of Mary and Purity.

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!!)

33 day Consecration to Mary can begin this Friday!

Posted on by

You can tell I’ve been reading St. Louis de Montfort.

I discovered that the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary still exists, and still is managed by the Dominicans just like back in the days of St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche! (Should I have known that?) This association was mentioned quite often in a book by St. Louis de Monfort I read this past week. (I’ll tell you which one at the end. Which “ones” actually.)

Because of this I may start another 33 day Montfortian consecration thingy this Friday April 28th. It’s de Montfort’s feast day. It’ll end just in time for May 31st which is the Feast of the Visitation on the new calendar 1970 calendar; it’s the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on the old 1962 calendar.

My wife and I already did it once before, leading up to our wedding day. We may do it again, together, as a renewal. 

Gabi of the GabiAfterHours YouTube Channel is also doing it beginning this Friday (just found that out.)

You can look into his effort here: Gabi After Hours Community posting on 33 day consecration to Mary.

I bring Gabi up because he’s uploaded several very important videos over the past few months or so.  He posted this one quite recently on several books that are must reads:

This one: 

…and this one:

…started me on saying the entire Rosary daily. Gabi got the idea from one of the de Montfort books he recommends in the first video above. Those are the one’s that I’ve read this week (numbers 1 and 2 on Gabi’s list.) “The Secret of Mary” and “The Secret of the Rosary.” They’re wonderful, inspiring reads. De Montfort writes in a style similar to that of St. Alphonse Liguori. (His “The Glories of Mary” is number 4 on Gabi’s list.)

This is a new one:

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!!)

Today is the feast day of Servant of God Fr. Wenanty Katarzyniec, possible patron of alcoholics

Posted on by

Today is the feast day of Servant of God Fr. Wenanty Katarzyniec. He died March 31, 1921. A Franciscan friar of the same branch as St. Maximilian Kolbe, he died ‘in the odor of sanctity’ as they said back then of people who’ve lived a holy life.

Dyplomik01

I thought I had written about him before but a diligent search of this blog doesn’t turn up anything. The reason for my assumption is that I had read St. Maximilian’s Complete Writings a few years ago and came across several passages about Fr. Wenanty. In one of them, St. Maximilian had written that while at a parish Fr. Wenanty was assigned to, he worked with a Catholic organization that helped people who suffered from alcohol addiction. St. Maximilian never identified the organization. Perhaps it was an abstinence society where people took the pledge to abstain?

Some items crossed my Facebook feed today which alerted me that today was the anniversary of his passing into eternal life. So, naturally, given that he could be yet another patron of us ex-drunks, I looked around for material on him.

I found this nice website: Venanty Katarzyniec. It is in Polish and English. Some pages are yet to be translated into English but if you use a browser that has a translation function, those become readable (although some of the translations are humorous, such as a reference to a magazine they founded back then called “The Last Jedi.” I assume the translation code misinterpreted ‘knight.’)

It is a fairly comprehensive site, replete with biography and notes from St. Maximilian. It details his path to sainthood. He is still ‘only’ a Servant of God.

On April 26, 2016 Pope Francis agrees to publish a decree on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec during a meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of God. Canonization, in the presence of the postulator general Fr. Angel Paleri. Henceforth Father Wenanty Katarzyniec is entitled to the title of Venerable Servant of God.

So his cause is moving forward! While perusing the site, in a biography there was this tidbit:

On August 28, 1908, he received a religious habit in Lviv with a new name: Venanty and began a one-year novitiate there, after which he took religious vows. He loved the Franciscan Order with all his soul and tried to consistently realize its ideal in life. At the retreat, he decided to himself: “I will be guarded by the slightest sin, even if I die.” Chastity shone on his face, he loved poverty and mortification, even made a vow of abstinence from vodka, and in practice he did not drink any alcohol. 

That vow of abstinence predates his ordination to the priesthood and subsequent assignment to whatever parish he was at where he worked with alcoholics. So, there was something in his life and background which caused him to avoid alcohol and assist others in doing so. What that was, is unknown and speculation is pointless. 

Here is the Prayer for his Beatification (taken from the site above.)

Prayer for the Beatification of Fr. Venanty

338584366 783146279841425 2843581973415282825 n

(The prayer which was placed on the picture printed by St. Maximilian:)

Lord Jesus Christ, Who said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, “behold, your servant, Venanty, obedient to the evangelical councils, left everything for love of You, took up the yoke of religious life, and after your example became everything to all; Grant, we beseech you, to quickly bring about his elevation to your altar, for your greater glory, for the good of your holy Church, and for the salvation of souls.

Mary, our Immaculate Mother, it has never been heard of the that anyone fleeing to you, has ever been left unaided; We trust You in humble intercession, intercede and now to the Most Holy Trinity, so that your servant Venanty, may as soon as possible be counted among the blessed of the Lord, as a sign for us of God’s intercession, grant us this grace which we humbly ask of you… (here place or think of your intention).

Through Christ our Lord. Amen

There is even a Novena for the Intercession of Servant of God Fr. Venanty Katarzyniec!

So we may have another patron for 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!!)

Contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord

Posted on by

This excerpt from the Second Reading of the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours for today is “From the Mirror of Love by Saint Aelred, abbot.” It is quite suitable for Sacred Heart Friday and as a daily Lenten meditation!

…If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savor the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love.

But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Savior.

The first line of the excerpted passage is the essence of conversion during Lent (or anytime) combined with the Sacred Heart. The gentle humanity of the Lord is His profound and deep love for us, as expressed through His Sacred Heart. You just go beyond yourself and your self will and try to love as He loves. Be merciful to yourself and your weaknesses and consign them to the mercy of God; and love others as He does. Furthermore, you must love your enemies (quite a Gospel truth!) and in keeping with the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, make reparations for those who have sinned against you and the Lord.

The last line should be studied and carried with us in our hearts: ‘keep the eyes of your soul always fixed on the serene patience of your beloved Lord and Savior.’

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!!)

What is good and pleasing and perfect

Posted on by

The Evening Prayer for today (Monday, First Week of Lent) has one of my favorite passages from Scripture and the first one I ever attempted to memorize.

To me, it is at the heart of being a person in recovery: Romans 12:2 “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In recovery, we are essentially becoming transformed. We live by the principles of our recovery program (be it Twelve Step or something else) and if we are Christian, we seek out what the Church has to offer people struggling with their addictions. And one key thing, and this is something I’ve stressed from time to time: you don’t conform to this age, you do not seek value in the so-called “morals” of the World. They do not offer anything of substance and certainly they do not offer anything good for your salvation. In this “transformation” and our “renewal” we gain the capacity to discern what is the will of God, “what is good and pleasing and perfect.” How to discern the Will of God? Reading Sacred Scripture is one way. In another Gospel passage Jesus tells His disciples: Matthew 16:24-27 “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” Again, “taking up the Cross” is essential to our recovery. We do not seek to run away from our troubles, all of the problems, big or small, that life throws at us daily. That is what we did while drinking. Everyone has troubles, it is a fact of human existence. We now have to tools to effectively deal with them, and perhaps even people around us who can assist us. But it’s more than that. It’s building a new life in recovery, and becoming a better follower of Jesus Christ! Our lives today are better than when drinking. And even better than before we first picked up a drink due to our “renewal” and “transformation.”

Mass Readings via USCCB.

So, “renewing your mind” is a recovery theme. We drop our old ways of thinking, acting, reacting and feeling and so on, and adopt new ones assisted by God’s grace. “Taking up the cross” is what all Christians are supposed to do, we cannot be followers of Christ unless we willingly embrace the Cross.

NOTE: This post is an edited version of two older posts. 

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!!)

Sheep and Goats

Posted on by

A passage from the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew, from today’s Mass for the Monday of the First Week of Lent:

Matthew 25: 31-46

“But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’

Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

Then he shall also say, to those who will be on his left: ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not cover me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’

Then they will also answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he shall respond to them by saying: ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.’
And these shall go into eternal punishment, but the just shall go into eternal life.””

You’re still living, and thus can still choose. Sheep or goats? Eternity: Smoking or non-smoking? Lent is that time of the year where you can be focused on “self-improvement,” if by that abused term you mean casting off the character defects that dominates your life and “put on Christ,” to become more like Him. Will you succeed? Maybe not as well as you hope to, but no matter how well you try, you’ll be that much closer to the Lord in how you live.

Today’s Gospel provides a list of tings one can do to attain Heaven. It is quite clear, no ambiguities. Do certain things and it will be as if you did them for Christ. Don’t do them, and…

And as the passage from Matthew’s Gospel says, there are things that you can do to ensure your salvation.

For as Jesus said in another part of Matthew’s Gospel:

Matthew 7: 21-23

“Not all who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many powerful deeds in your name?’ And then will I disclose to them: ‘I have never known you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.’”

So, faith alone does not save. Even the demons believe. Your faith has to distinguish you from those without faith in Jesus. You have to do something, something that tell the World “I am a Christian, and by these works you know this!”

And in doing these works, you are doing the work of God.

Scripture passages via:
via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible.

NOTE: This is an edited version of a post published a few years ago.

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!!)