Understanding

The second of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is “Understanding.”

According to Catholic Answers::

Understanding is penetrating insight into the very heart of things, especially those higher truths that are necessary for our eternal salvation—in effect, the ability to “see” God.

By “seeing” God I think they are referring to understanding Him through His revelations. There are two revelations of God: The personal self-revelation of His by means of the Prophets, Patriarchs and so on until His Son’s Incarnation, Death and Resurrection; and afterwards with the Apostles and their direct descendents: the Popes and Bishops of the Church in union the Pope. The other revelation is knowing God through His works, that it, Creation. The means for understanding Creation is the methodology and disciplines of Science. Therefore, Religion and Science are the twin paths of Divine Revelation. I think that St. Augutine of Hippo came up with this first and was echoed by Pope St. John Paul II.

If we are endowed with the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Understanding, we will have greater insight into the Truths of the Faith, and, properly guided by Faith and with humble intention, the workings of Nature. Who knows what we can accomplish? (I have a personal convition that since scientists are typically agnostic or outright atheists, their ability to make deep discoveries in Science is limited. If you do not acknowledge the Creator, how can you fully understand His creations? It’s like trying to understand what an author ‘was getting at’ in their novel, but refusing to learn anything about the author. Of course, it’s possible to enjoy the novel anyway, but if you have a knowledge of the author’s life, you come to have a greater grasp of particular scene  if it’s autobiographical or representative of the author’s belief system.)

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!!)

Wisdom: the teachable heart

The first of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is “Wisdom.” We are somewhat familiar with this gift inasmuch as we appeal for it in the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

According to Catholic Answers:

Wisdom is both the knowledge of and judgment about “divine things” and the ability to judge and direct human affairs according to divine truth.

“Wisdom” is knowing the difference between things. We do not rest in our own minds, but reach out and consider an object (an act or a thing) in light of its moral dimension. The things we can have and shouldn’t have, should do and shouldn’t.

Wisdom is allowing God’s Will into our lives, essentially the working out of Steps 2 and 3 of Alcoholics Anonymous. We face a path ahead of us, this “Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny,” and we know not where to go, what path to take. Wisdom helps us. So, how do we get this ‘wisdom?’

By asking for it. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon asked for wisdom… 

1 Kings 3:9  “…Therefore, give to your servant a teachable heart, so that he may be able to judge your people, and to discern between good and evil. For who will be able to judge this people, your people, who are so many?”

…and it pleased God that he did this:

1 Kings 3:10-12 “And the word was pleasing before the Lord, that Solomon had requested this kind of thing. And the Lord said to Solomon: “Since you have requested this word, and you have not asked for many days or for wealth for yourself, nor for the lives of your enemies, but instead you have requested for yourself wisdom in order to discern judgment:behold, I have done for you according to your words, and I have given you a wise and understanding heart…”

Scripture quotes courtesy of Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

God is always willing to grant you the things He wants to give you. All you have to do is ask. In today’s political and social climate, it is obvious that Wisdom is lacking on all sides. Perhaps it is ‘wise’ to adopt AA’s maxim regarding ‘outside issues’ (things extraneous to the job of keeping sober and clean) and just focus on ‘cleaming up our own side of the street’ (tending to the things that belong in our own personal lives: our sobriety, family, work, whatever. And as Catholics: our soul.)

Go to Confession as soon as possible. Make a ‘fearless and searching’ thorough examination of conscience. Go through the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and a list of the Seven Corporal and Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy. Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance as you fearlessly search through your conscience and soul as to how you stand with regard to each. Then, once the cruft and glop of sin has been removed from your soul, ask for Wisdom.

Ten Commandments

  1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before Me.
  2. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.

  3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day.

  4. Honor your father and your mother.

  5. You shall not kill.

  6. You shall not commit adultery.

  7. You shall not steal.

  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

  9. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.

  10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.

 

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. 

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for My sake.

 

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy:

To feed the hungry;

To give drink to the thirsty;

To clothe the naked;

To shelter the homeless;

To care for the sick;

To ransom the captive/visit the imprisoned

To bury the dead.

 

The Spiritual Works of Mercy:

To instruct the ignorant;

To counsel the doubtful;

To admonish sinners;

To bear wrongs patiently;

To forgive offenses willingly;

To comfort the afflicted;

To pray for the living and the dead.

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!!)

Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Since Pentecost Sunday is fast approaching, I thought I’d blog about each of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they relate to recovery. The Seven Gifts are:

Wisdom

Understanding

Knowledge

Counsel

Fortitude

Piety

Fear of the Lord (Or, my preferred term, “Holy Fear.”)

There will be one post on each over the next few days. Enjoy!

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!!)

My 23rd Soberversary

NOTE: This is adapted from earlier posts.

On this day in 2002, I had my last drunk. I have conflicting memories of what happened (I may have to search through old blog posts of prior soberversaries, but even in those I recall not completely recalling events.) At any rate, it’s of no consequence any more. Twenty-three years and everyone involved in my life back then is either dead or disappeared. Sorrow for the former, good riddance (mostly) for the latter. We move on and consign the past to God’s mercy, the present to His grace and the future to His Providence.

Today is also the Feast day of St. Rita of Cascia, who I think picked me to be her client, talked to me once, and can be a great aid to those of us in recovery, and those who are lost. She and many other of my saintly friends have become increasingly important as I trudge my way to my (hopefully) happy destiny. I wrote about them in my book The Sober Catholic Way, which I discussed quite a lot in recent interviews with Anne Costa and Bear Woznick.

If you would like to help me celebrate, you can buy it. It has a page which I keep updated as to its availabiity.

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!

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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 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 the author keep his sobriety intact since May 22, 2002. Will he 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!

It is currently available through Amazon on Amazon Kindle, as well as a paperback: click here to buy as a paperback.

It is also now available at numerous other ebook retailers like Apple Books and Barnes and Noble. For others, just go here and click on the logo of your fave online bookshop.

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And there are my two classic Sober Catholic Books: 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 finddeeper 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.

and “The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts” which:

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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.

It 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.

Click on those links (or the ones at the bottom of the post) to find out where you can get them.

If you have the books and would  just like to contribute to help me defray the costs of this blog (hosting is not free, nor is the web address,) you can PayPal Me. (My real name IS Paul Sofranko, in case you get worried when you go to PayPal. Any amount is appreciated! My hosting and web address bill is due in a couople of weeks…

I have one last book, it isn’t intended for people in recovery, rather for Catholic creatives. However, and this thought ocurred to me, if you have been clean and sober for a while, and wonder what to do with yourself, then:

Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics may be the book for you! You’ve ‘fixed’ yourself, maybe you can help fix the culture!

BuildingaCivilizationofLoveCover81224-4.1 copy.

“Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

“”Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” 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. “Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” 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).

Furthermore, it explains through the example of three critical apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima how she herself suggested strategies and alternatives to the dehumanizing and increasingly pagan contemporary culture we have today.

“Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics “concludes by showing how 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.Interested? It’s available as an ebook through Amazon KDP! Don’t like ebooks? Here’s the paperback version link!

Once again you can also PayPal Me to support my work here. I really do appreciate any contribution!

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!!)

May the Lord bless and keep safe Pope Leo XIV

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.

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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!

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!!)

WATCH ME on the new Mission Revive podcast!

WATCH ME on the new Mission Revive podcast! Anne Costa is rebooting her podcast for her Revive-Hope and Healing Ministries

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.

He has also written several devotional books for sober (or sobering) Catholics. “The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts,” and “Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics” and more recently “The Sober Catholic 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!!)

St. Matthias, Apostle: Patron of Alcoholics

Today is the feast day of the Apostle, St. Matthias, whose election to replace Judas Iscariot established “apostolic succession” as a doctrine of the Church. St. Matthias is a patron of alcoholics by virtue of certain writings attributed to him while he was preaching in Egypt and Ethiopia.

While preaching the Gospel message, Matthias emphasized the importance of self-control. In order to experience the peace and joy that God intends, Matthias said, people must subordinate their physical desires to their spiritual desires.

The physical body is only temporary and subject to many temptations to sin and illnesses, while the spiritual soul is permanent and able to discipline the body for good purposes. Matthias preached that the Holy Spirit will empower people to exercise self-control over their unhealthy physical desires so they can experience good health in both body and soul.

Source: Hopler, Whitney. “St. Matthias the Apostle, Patron Saint of Alcoholics.” Learn Religions, Mar. 4, 2021, learnreligions.com/st-matthias-the-apostle-124663.

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Here are some novenas to St.Matthias. I know I’m late, as these should be prayed from May 5th-13th. Just keep them in mind for next year. However, you needn’t pray a novena during the liturgical period for it; you can always pray them any time you feel compelled to. Given that he is an Apostle, I doubt he’d mind. If you stiill prefer to keep to a schedule and can’t wait for next May, in the Catholic Church’s pre-1970 Calendar his feast day was  February 24th (February 25th in leap years.) The Eastern Orthodox honor him on August 9th. 

St Matthias Apostle Novena from Intercede: a Catholic Novena app.

St. Matthias Novena from Pray More Novenas

Here is a video novena that you can use to pray to him 

St. Matthias post archive.

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!!)

Paolo Mancini and the eternal implications of being misunderstood

Paolo Mancini was the husband of St. Rita of Cascia, who is the patron saint for my alcoholism recovery because she picked me to be her client and my sobriety date is her feast day. St. Rita is known for many things, among them she is the patroness of those in abusive marriages. This was because Paolo was reputed to be a violent, hot-tempered man.

But Paolo is slowly being rehabilitated. Why? Soot from candle smoke. The following block quotes are from The Catholic Travel Guide.

Very often Saint Rita is portrayed as a long- suffering and even abused wife, whose husband was a violent drunkard, and an unfaithful spouse. The tradition behind this story dates far into history and has been repeated almost without variation down to our own time. The fact is that the story is rooted in a tradition now known to be erroneously based, as well as inconsistent with other details of Rita’s story.

After Rita died her:

casket was decorated inside and out with images depicting Rita, Jesus and Mary Magdalene, as well as with symbols illustrating the spiritual influences on her life. There was also engraved upon its outer cover a poem which spoke of Rita, her suffering and her love. Pilgrims would come to pray before this casket, which was never buried in the ground but remained in a small room within the convent, exposed to the view of visitors. Here they would place devotional candles as signs of their affection and reminders of their prayers. Over many decades the smoke from these candles darkened the casket, eventually making it difficult to read clearly the poetic inscription. In time someone noticed that the poem spoke of a maritu feroce or violent husband.

It was not until the 20th century, when the nuns of Cascia had the monumental casket cleaned and restored, that the maritu feroce vanished. It was discovered that the actual wording was tantu feroce (so violent) and the context clearly referred to the fierce wound of Rita’s thorn, a suffering of quite a different kind.

Source: The Catholic Travel Guide.

Everyone is misunderstood to varying degrees. Perhaps people who are recovering from alcoholism and addictions are more often misuderstood than others. We have experienced our fair share, (and then some!) of misunderstandings. Unless we are famous, or infamous, these vanish after our deaths as we pass from the memories of the people we knew. Sometimes after death, the bad memories that people hold of the dead fade, and mostly good memories remain. Perhaps this is an indication of the person’s eternal fate? 

Everyone today who is familiar with St. Rita of Cascia is also aware of Paolo’s reputation. Which might suck for him given that he’s been dead for around 600 or so years. But does it suck? 

If you’ve read biographies of St. Rita, you learned that her husband died a violent death. He was ambushed and murdered by rivals of some sort. To me, this indicates that while his reputation for being a violent and abusive husband is likely false, it does not necessarily follow that he lead a life of heroic virtue and was a living saint. The circumstances about his death clearly imply that right or wrong, he had enemies who took his life. So, he wasn’t a bad husband, but he may have, in years past, been involved in shady dealings. 

I say “in years past” because it can be taken from St. Rita’s biographers that she did pray intensely for Paolo’s conversion for many years after they were married. So, piece together the clues, and it is reasonable to conclude that for the first bunch of years after they were married, Paolo may have been a loving husband as regards to Rita and was a good provider; however, he may not have been an erstwhile churchgoer, and had incurred a few enemies along the way who wanted him dead, years after Rita brought him back into the Church.

After Paolo’s murder, Rita was distraught over his murder. He had died a sudden death with no preparations for it; as in he didn’t confess his sins beforehand or had viaticum. She grieved over the fate of his soul and prayed hard for his salvation. St. Rita’s biographers indicate that she had recieved a signal grace from Heaven that her prayers for her dead husband’s soul moved God to mercy and Paolo was received into the loving arms of Jesus.

But does this matter now to Paolo? The title of this post is “Paolo Mancini and the eternal implications of being misunderstood.” If Paolo is in Heaven as the story suggests, would he care that he is still regarded as an abusive husband? 

For that matter, does St. Mary Magdalene care that she is known by many as the prostitute that Jesus saved from being stoned? There is some doubt amongst scholars as to which of the numerous “Marys” is the prostitute. 

If you are in Heaven, would you give a shredded scapular over what people back on Earth think of you? You’re in the Beatific Vision, that blessed realm of Heaven where you enjoy God’s Holy Presence and you see Him as He is. What difference does it make what those still trudging their road of destiny think of you? If and when they arrive, they’ll learn the truth about Paolo and the Magdalene, and THAT will remain with them as opposed to the transitory reputation wrongfully attributed to them. (And if they end up in the Other Place, who cares what they thought?)

What’s the lesson in all this as it applies to Sober Catholics? Keep fighting the good fight, “keep your side of the street clean” as they say in AA, work on your soul, keep trudging onward towards Heaven and fret not about what others think of you. Easier said than done, but after no one is saying or doing anything on Earth and in Time, Truth reigns forever in Heaven and people will get to know the Real You. (I’d LOVE to meet Paolo. His wife is my patroness, and his first name is similar to mine! PS: I will have to edit some of the posts I’ve written about St. Rita as they still allude to Paolo’s old reputation. )

Incidentally The Catholic Travel Guide references The Precious Pearl: The Story of Saint Rita, written by Fr. Michael DiGregorio, OSA as the source for the information on Paolo. I have this book, and I highly recommend it, as well as anything else from Virtual Gift Shop at the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia.

HEADS UP: Thank you for reading this far. As a reward, you get to know that the annual Novena to St. Rita begins!!!! Here are two good ones:

NOVENA PRAYERS to St. Rita of Cascia from the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

St. Rita Novena from Pray More Novenas

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!!)

EWTN Homily for Our Lady of Fatima, 2025

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.

Readings and homily: Fr. Mark for Our Lady of Fatima (Optional Memorial)

If you are interested in everything I’ve posted on Fatima, please vist the Fatima Post Archive. 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!!)

Get the Divine Mercy Plus streaming service!!!

Given that this past weekend was Divine Mercy weekend, I spent a lot of time watching the “Divine Mercy Plus” streaming service. I’ve had it on my phone and laptop for a while, but haven’t really explored its content until I installed it on my Amazon TV FireStick. 

Oh, my! If you are a Catholic interested in developing your spirituality further, enjoy programming that’s quite well-done, and love Divine Mercy, then this service is for you! It complements EWTN (much of their programming also is – or was- available on EWTN.) 

There are four programs that I watched a lot of over the weekend and yesterday:

“100 years of Fatima” Came out in 2017 during the centenary of the Apparitions. Despite that, it isn’t ‘dated,’ if you want a great review of the Fatima Message, then this will provide that. Each of the 22 episodes is only a few minutes long (it will take about an hour to go through them all in one sitting.)

“Discovering the Diary” I have only watched a few of these; each episode is also only a few minutes long and it takes a topic from a selected Diary paragraph. This show is a MUST WATCH for Sober Catholics. There are quite a few topics of interest to anyone in recovery. Marc Massery, the host, is engaging and entertianing as he handles topics like struggling to pray, reparation, fear and worry, overcoming sin… all topics that anyone struggles with, especially if you are coming from alcohoilismm and addictions. (I don’t think he has covered addiction specifically.)

“France: A Pilgrimmage with Mary” Fr. Joe Roesch takes you on a pligrimage through France by visiting the sites of various Marian apparitions and shrines. I also highly recommend this: by covering the Miraculous Medal and Lourdes apparitions, you get a very good review of those and how to apply them to your growing Catholic faith. Even if you are familiar with these, they are helpful just in seeing the sites. Each episode is also just a few minutes long and if you sit through them all, it might take 90 minutes? I also learned of an apparition I never heard of before: Our Lady of Sunday. (You can watch Have You Ever Heard of Our Lady of Sunday? and What did Our Lady of Sunday Have to Say? This will be a blogpost topic, but wacth them anyway.)

“Ask a Marian”  is a great program on a wide variety of topics on Catholicism. 

Take a look at this list of all of their Series and Playlists.

The following list of links takes you to where you can find the service:

DivineMercyPlus on the web

DivineMercyPlus on the Mac App Store

DivineMercyPlus on the iPhone/iPad App Store

DivineMercyPlus on GooglePlay for Android

DivineMercyPlus is also available on AmazonFireTV, and probably on other streaming devices. Just search on your TV thingy for “Divine Mercy Plus.”

Most of the programming is free, there is a small amount of premium shows.

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!!)