My Daily Bread

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Time for another VERT prompt. Owen this time asks his bloggers to write about a book we are reading now, or, a book that helped us come home. For me, that would be My Daily Bread by Anthony J. Paone, SJ; Confraternity of the Precious Blood; Brooklyn, NY; 1954. Still in print, and I’ve seen it in the devotional racks of Catholic bookshops, where prayer books and missals are kept. Major Catholic mail-order catalogs offer it.

It’s a small book, it can be read in one sitting, but I think that it is best if you use it as a daily meditation and read one chapter a day. This would give you time to savor, meditate on, and incorporate each chapter into your spiritual development.

It is divided into 3 parts. “Book One” is “The Way of Purification”, and is subdivided into “Conversion”, “After Conversion” and “Temptation”.

Book Two is “The Way of Imitation”, and is subdivided into “Following Jesus in Daily Life”, “Virtues Leading Directly to God”, “Man’s Relationship with Neighbor and Himself”, and “The Spiritual Combat”

Book Three is “The Way of Union”, and is subdivided into “Union Through the Holy Eucharist” and “Union Throughout the Day.”

The above gives you a very good idea as to the intensity, the scope and breadth of the book. It is intimate. Not as in small, but it takes you deep inside yourself and assists you in starting or continuing your conversion process. If you’ve been Catholic for a long while, it will help you to develop your Catholicism far more seriously, and far more deeply spiritual than it was before.

You will learn about the importance of the interior spiritual life, the need to become closer to God and to be obedient to the authentic teachings and legitimate authority of the Catholic Church, and how this is liberating, and not confining.

The book is basically a boot camp on getting your soul in order. It explains how adopting the proper perspective towards God, the Bible and His Church frees you from the narrow, limiting human way of thinking, which follows the passing fancies of the World. This helps you to understand God, the Bible and the Church better. Too many people approach them from a human point of view, this book helps you to adopt a God-centric perspective (as best as any human can do that).

My Daily Bread was key in my thinking that the Catholic Faith can and should take primacy in maintaining ones’ sobriety. The universality of the Church and Her teachings, along with her primary task of safeguarding the Gospel and Apostolic Truths, are driven home. Much of the Gospel is about healing, and peaceful, proper, holy living. No better textbook.

It was the first step that led me years later to start Sober Catholic.

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!!)

"Does this Shock You?"

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Take into consideration the following passages from the Gospel according to John:

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 6: 35, 48-58, 60-66 (see John 6: 22-71 for the entire passage)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.

This first passage is from the start of John’s Gospel of Jesus. It defines just who Jesus is.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity (I’ll explain the Trinity in a later post, hmm-mmm!). John refers to Jesus as “The Word.” Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is also the Word of God. Jesus is the Bible. The Bible is Jesus.

In the beginning was Jesus, and he was with God, and was God (a glimmering of the Dogma of the Trinity) and was in the beginning with God.

All things (everything) came to be (were created) through Him, and nothing that was ever created, was created without Him. All of creation came to be through Him, including life. Especially human life.

He was the beginning, and was in the beginning, and was God, and was with God, and everything came into existence through Him.

Sounds rather confusing from a human perspective, almost as if it were a riddle, which in a way it could be. But not so much if you relax and ponder it prayerfully.

If you read this carefully, the implication is staggering. Jesus wasn’t just some itinerant First Century Palestinian Jewish preacher who claimed to be God and backed it up by performing miracles. Nor was He a just a wise man who had a lot of nice things to teach us about how to live and get along.

He was (for lack of a better word) the instrument through which the Creator – God the Father – the First Person of the Trinity- created the Universe. The single point through which all of Creation came into existence.

And then He, Himself, became a man and lived among us. Billions and billions of years after the Universe was created through Him, He did not come down to us in some majestic, overpowering Olympian way to do His teaching among us. He was born a vulnerable and innocent baby in difficult circumstances, as if He was using His own beginning as a human as a teaching lesson.

Now, the second group of passages are from John’s 6th Chapter. This is the “Bread of Life Discourse”. In it Jesus is telling His listeners that He is the “Bread of Life”, the truest path to salvation (eternal life with God the Father). Only through Him is the way to the Father fully revealed. And He just happens to mention that it is His own flesh that is this “Bread of Life”, and by eating His flesh one can attain eternal life. Naturally this disgusts some of His listeners and they cannot accept this difficult teaching of His, and they leave.

They are disgusted because He was speaking literally, and not symbolically, and they knew this. If He was speaking symbolically, they wouldn’t have left, or if so because of a misunderstanding, He would have corrected them. He would be a shepherd, going after lost sheep. But instead, He was literally referring to His flesh as bread, that when eaten will grant eternal life. This was too difficult to accept, his listeners left, and He didn’t change His story to accommodate them.

The entire passage (John Chapter 6, verses 22-71), forms the basis for the Catholic Church’s Doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The wafer that Catholics receive during Communion is literally, and not symbolically, Jesus. Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, He’s all there, in the form of a little piece of bread. The priest utters the words at Mass which in some mysterious way humans can never completely fathom, transubstantiate (change the substance) of the bread into His Body. And yet it remains looking like bread. We cannot ever comprehend how this can be, it is a Divine mystery. But we have Jesus’ testimony in John’s Gospel that this is so.

Just as astonishing as God becoming human as a little baby, Jesus today is physically present among us as the Communion bread (the Eucharist). Humans just can’t make this stuff up. It would have been laughed at into oblivion 2,000 years ago. But they believed because they understood the symbolism of the bread, and accepted Jesus’ connecting it to His Body in a literal manner, and something about Him helped convey its truthfulness into their receptive hearts and minds. They didn’t understand it, but His followers accepted it. They knew it to be a Divine mystery and thus not to be understood completely. They trusted Jesus.

The Jesus in John 1:1-5 is the same Jesus in John 6:22-71. The instrument or point through which all of Creation was made is fully there in the form of bread.

Catholics have a devotional practice called “Eucharistic Adoration”. In thousands of Churches and Parish Halls and whatnot around the world, there are rooms or chapels in which the consecrated (transubstantiated) Eucharist is kept exposed in a receptacle known as a monstrance. It is common to spend 15-60 minutes every so often in prayer before the Eucharist. In some churches it’s done on a regular schedule.

To spend time in prayer with the Eucharistic Jesus. With Him, through Whom all things were made and through Whom all pass through to the Father, (and, as stated in the Book of Revelation, through Whom all things are made new again after the End).

OK, now
. If that idea doesn’t shake you a bit to the marrow of your bones…

NOTE: This post was edited on April 28, 2009 to reflect changes in links referenced in the original version. The URL cited previously is no longer valid and so was deleted. Since I often refer to this post, I figured an edit was needed.

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 healthy do not need a physician

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From the Gospel Reading for Saturday after Ash Wednesday:

Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

The season of Lent is the season of repentance. Lent is probably the best time of the Church’s liturgical year for people to focus on the interior life of conversion. It is that time when we seek to identify those aspects of ourselves which demand improvement or shedding.

We cannot do this on our own. As recovered alcoholics we still suffer from the disease or disorder of alcoholism regardless of how long we’ve been sober. We need a physician, as does anyone who is sick. Jesus is the Divine Physician, He comes to minister to us.

Our alcoholic past produced much pain, both in ourselves and in others. In our recovery from alcohol we needed to clean up that past and to make amends. This process resulted in the healing of our self-inflicted wounds and maybe the wounds inflicted on others. This continuing process of amending our life produces the results of our recovery. We attend to our conversion process, we continue to grow and develop.

Jesus is our healer. He heals us when we petition Him, but does so in His own time, not ours. The duration spent in healing (the waiting I feel is a part of it) helps us to grow and develop our relationship with Him. We learn from our patience and from our suffering, and we carry this education in our dealings with others. Everyone is suffering in some way. Everyone is a wounded soul. The wise know this, the fools delude themselves.

As we come to terms with our past, we move forward and learn from our experiences and the pain caused. “We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.” (from Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 2001, pg 83). We have divorced our pain from the memories associated with the past actions, but we retain the experience. The memories push us forward into wanting a better future with others and with God than our past indicated. And so we repent.

“I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners,” Jesus says in John’s Gospel account. We are all sinners, but us alcoholics and addicts have perhaps been a little selfish in accepting and acting on that part of our nature. By repenting, we are truly sorrowful and contrite in our admission of our past actions. We turn to Jesus and beg forgiveness and continued healing. The graces from God are freely available in the sacrament of Confession. It is a sacrament of healing. Guilt is removed and you are restored.

Let the healing begin. Go to Confession.

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!!)

For your convenience

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I have added some tools to this blog make it more convenient to read and access.

If you scroll down the sidebar, you’ll notice that I’ve added links to enable you to add Sober Catholic to your customizable MyYahoo and Google pages. The same for a customizable MyCatholic.com page, but please bear in mind that MyCatholic.com doesn’t have a login service, so chances are you will not be using it from a public access computer. It remembers your settings by IP address and browser. Aside from that, it’s a great Catholic portal, enabling you to subscribe to up to 20 blog feeds, in addition to their own optional default feeds. You can also grab up to 20 links, great place to have all your morning daily perusal links.

You can also subscribe to sober Catholic via email, the link for that is in the Feedburner section of the sidebar. Whenever I add a post, you get an email.

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!!)

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

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We are not celebrating a chair, so to speak, but rather the authority of the Pope, who derives his authority to teach and lead the Catholic Church by virtue of being the legitimate successor to St. Peter, the first Pope.

Jesus established His Church on Earth, and appointed St. Peter to lead it in His stead. This is why the Pope holds the title “Vicar of Christ”, he is the visible head of Christ’s Church on Earth, and teaches with the same authority. This is shown in today’s Gospel reading:

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

St. Peter was the only Apostle to answer Jesus’ question correctly, and Jesus revealed that it was not through his own ability that he answered, but only through the revelation of God the Father. This is a basis for the Catholic Doctrine of Papal Infallibility, that the Pope is protected from teaching moral and doctrinal error by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is not protected from behaving immorally, as history has shown there to have been “bad popes”, but only when he exercises his authority as the successor to St. Peter in teaching matters of Faith and Morals. He cannot pick the winners of the World Series, the Super Bowl or the World Cup, or mandate that involvement in a war somewhere is wrong. Only in his role as leader and teacher of the fullness of Gospel and Apostolic Truth is he infallible.

This makes sense. You would think that Jesus’ Church would have a leader who has a guarantee of certitude in teaching. Otherwise he’s just a human, subject to human frailties and weakness. He is just a human, and subject to those flaws, but excluded are the areas I already referred to.

This is because Jesus knew that we would be easily led astray but all manner of strange teachings, as shown by all the Protestant and Evangelical denominations that all claim authority, but contradict each other, and often teach things in contradiction to Sacred Scripture. They have no singular authority with the guarantee that was conferred upon Peter and his successors.

This certitude is what attracted me to the idea of the primacy of the Catholic Church in my sobriety. AA was wonderful in helping me to establish my sobriety, but the vagueness and shallowness of its spirituality leaves it open to many personal interpretations and too many risks for falling for anything that sounds good. While this may be fine in some areas, when my immortal soul is at risk, I need a little definition.

In its 2,000 years of history, the Catholic Church has never changed its teachings on Faith and Morals to be fundamentally different than what they were. Her teachings have become more developed as the Gospel and Apostolic writings have become better understood, but the core remains the same.

This, to me, strongly implies that the Church has the guarantee of protection by the Holy Spirit. No mere human institution could have survived the Catholic Church’s turbulent history. It is a creation of God, and therefore as with all things that are of God, endures despite itself.

We, as Catholics, therefore need not have worries or questions about the why’s and what’s of Reality. The answers to everything are all in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (the body of teachings of the Church from the Apostles and their successors, rooted in and derived from Scripture, and which illuminates it as well.) All other belief systems have some elements of truth, just not the fullness of God’s Truth. The human elements shift and change with passing human fancy.

Not a bad deal to safeguard your sobriety? This is the first of probably many (and occasional) postings on “Why the Church?” as a vehicle for sobriety I mentioned I would write, sometime before.

You want to weather adversity, and the storms that ordinary life tosses at you, no better refuge that the Rock: Peter, his successors and the fundamental certitude of their teachings, solidly rooted in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.

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!!)

Rending your hearts

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From the First Reading from the Mass for Ash Wednesday, 2007:

Joel 2:12-14

Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God.

The Israelites practiced circumcision on males to show fidelity and obedience to the Law of Moses, and by this, to God. Jesus did away with that as he completed and fulfilled the ancient Hebrew prophecies and established a new covenant with us. The passage I took from today’s Mass I liken to a “circumcision of the heart”, a way to show our fidelity and obedience today.

We strayed, and must return to the Lord with our whole heart. We repent from our misdeeds of the past. In this season of Lent we fast and abstain, and regarding our sins, weep and mourn.

God’s mercy triumphs over His judgment (James 2:13). Repent and be sorrowful for your sins. Offer up your sorrow to the Lord as a prayer.

Lent is a great time also to prepare for Confession, especially if you haven’t been in years.

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!!)

Ash Wednesday-Lent begins

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Today marks the beginning of Lent. For the next 40 days (Sundays excluded) we prepare for the Passion of Christ (the trial, sentencing, Crucifixion and Death of Jesus , the Son of God).

Forty is a significant number in the Bible. It usually marks a time or period of trial or a passage through some thing to somewhere (symbolizing conversion). It rained on Noah and company for 40 days and nights. The Israelites wandered about the Sinai desert for 40 years. Elijah spent 40 days traveling to Mount Horeb from a spot in the desert outside Beersheba. Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and was tempted by Satan.

Fasting and abstinence marks the period of Lent. Catholics are bound by certain obligations regarding such. You can check with a priest to learn what they are (usually listed in the parish bulletin) or you can go to the EWTN website in the sidebar, click on “Lenten Reflections” and then click on “Fast and Abstinence”. Trying to link to it in yesterday’s post caused me much trouble and made me lose the post.

Anyway, fasting involves not eating. There’s more to it that just that. When a Christian fasts, they are linking the act to prayer. Their sufferings of the fast are being offered up to God as a sacrifice. This transcends ordinary prayer, which is powerful, but as you are linking a physical act to the prayer, it is more poignant. God hears all prayers, but the prayer of fasting rings through more clearly and is an acceptable offering pleasing to Him.

Abstinence involves not eating meat. Again, like fasting, abstinence involves much more than the Lenten regulations. The forsaking of something and offering it up as a prayer assists you in detaching yourself from worldly concerns and desires. It liberates your mind to dwell more deeply in God’s Truths, eschewing merely human concerns. Abstinence is the “What are you giving up for Lent?” question. But you do not have to just “give up” something. You can take on additional tasks. Increased prayer and meditation, especially on the Lord’s Passion are fruitful, as well as doing things for others. By doing things for others, it can be said that you are abstaining from the self.

Lent is also and excellent time to start work (or continue) on ridding yourself of character defects and personality problems. What better time to focus on and accelerate your conversion than the season of Lent? It’s perfect, because you are not alone on the journey. Other Catholics are along as well.

Have a productive Lent.

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!!)

Lent 2007

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I had a post marking the beginning of Lent, which starts tomorrow, but lost the whole thing during an edit. I took it calmly. Really. I shall attempt to re-write it tomorrow.

So instead, a small plea: If you are Catholic, please go to Mass tomorrow and receive the mark of ashes on your forehead. It is a wonderful sign of public witness to your Faith. It is a reminder to others that there are considerations besides the purely secular.

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!!)

Patience and Endurance

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The First Reading from today’s Mass

Sirach 2:1-11


My son, when you come to serve the LORD,
stand in justice and fear,
prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
incline your ear and receive the word of understanding,
undisturbed in time of adversity.
Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not;
thus will you be wise in all your ways.
Accept whatever befalls you,
when sorrowful, be steadfast,
and in crushing misfortune be patient;
and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust God and God will help you; trust in him, and he will direct your way;
keep his fear and grow old therein.

You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy,
turn not away lest you fall.
You who fear the LORD, trust him,
and your reward will not be lost.
You who fear the LORD, hope for good things,
for lasting joy and mercy.
You who fear the LORD, love him,
and your hearts will be enlightened.
Study the generations long past and understand;
has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed?
Has anyone persevered in his commandments and been forsaken?
has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?
Compassionate and merciful is the LORD;
he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble
and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth.

There are many actions and promises listed in the passage from Sirach. It is important to read and re-read the above quotation, for it addresses numerous issues familiar to people in recovery.

“Prepare yourself for trials.” We are acquainted with this. In our ill-preparation for trials, we were unable to meet them. Defeated by them, we drank for solace.

“…receive the word of understanding,
undisturbed in time of adversity.”

Listen with a receptive spirit and you will receive God’s word, you will receive comfort, and be undisturbed in time of adversity. People of deep faith are routinely shown to have fewer problems with anxiety and fear. The experience those things, but they are not controlled by them. They handle adversity with apparent calmness.

The next two sentences, from “Wait on God… through …grow old therein.“ show how important this steadfast faith is, and how we need to be patient with God’s benevolence and guidance. Things happen in God’s time, not ours. Adversity is to be accepted as part of the deal, but God is supporting you throughout. (We accept His Cross, and He will help us carry it. Read this.) In time we will be shown through our troubles, and be marked as people worthy of His love. Bemoaning adversity solves nothing.

In the next paragraph, “Fear the Lord…” means respect. It doesn’t mean cringe in terror. Study the promises of what happens when you respect God, and “wait”, “hope” “trust” and “love” Him.

You will be saved and protected. And reap much enlightenment along the way. Faith and perseverance on the long road to Heaven brings that reward.

In our drinking days and also in the early times of our recovery, we were impatient. We wanted what we wanted, and we wanted it NOW. This is not the way. We learn nothing from immediate gratification. In our recovery, we do learn that the journey itself is part of the destination. Take that to heart.

Now go read Sirach.

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!!)

Accepting the Cross

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From the Gospel reading for Friday, February 16:

Mark 8:34-38

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“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
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

The life of the Christian is not intended to be easy. No special material or other worldly favors are granted those who are followers of Jesus. As the above Scriptural passage indicates Christians are expected to accept the cross of Jesus and and all the contradictions that go with it. “Lose life to save it…” and so on. Christ died on the Cross and saved us from damnation, we must “die on the cross” to free ourselves from our worldly orientation which says “Suffering is bad. Flee from it any way you can.”

We can see the parallels in our suffering from alcoholism. We turned away from the troubles of life, to ease our pain from them, by seeking medication in alcohol. This did not make our troubles any easier, or make them go away. It appeared so at first, because like normal drinkers who can use alcohol to “take the edge off”, we also found things soothing at first. But not for long.

To be a Christian means to accept suffering. One cannot avoid it, it is a natural part of human existence because of Original Sin. To avoid it only makes it worse. We need to recognize this and make a turnaround in our approach to suffering.

By accepting the cross, that is, to accept suffering as a part of our lives means to allow Jesus to assist us. By resisting suffering, we refuse Jesus’ help. We become one with Him, when we take up His cross. He becomes to us what Simon of Cyrene was to Him, a person pressed into service to bear the weight of suffering.

By turning into it, instead of fleeing, the trials and tribulations of life seem lesser. They aren’t, but by fleeing from them our perception of them makes them seem scarier. By turning into them and acccepting them, they are cut down to size.

This is not easy. We are like an ocean liner or oil tanker which takes miles of travel before turning. But eventually, and with persistence, it will work.

There will be backsliding. Times when things seem too much and we scream “ENOUGH!” But if we have the fortitude, we’ll recognize these for what they are and orient ourselves properly.

All this does not mean that we seek out suffering. We do not become masochists and take pleasure in it. We simply humbly accept whatever burdens come our way, acknowledge them and work through them. We roll up our sleeves and say “This pretty much sucks, but complaining about isn’t gonna help.”

In a way, we become martyrs, but without all the blood. That part of ourselves which yells “Run away! Run away!!” becomes quieter, and we become stronger, more able to overcome.

Face the monster of suffering. Make it shrink.

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!!)