We Are Not Saints...YET!

Time for a "Resurrection"

2012-02-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

I know, Easter is still about 8 weeks away! In this case we're talking resurrection of my blog. I've got some exciting stuff coming up in the next few weeks and missed sharing some other things in the recent past.

One of the upcoming events is the 5th annual "Men's Spirituality Conference", aka "Man up Philly", which is being held on Saturday March 3 at Archbishop Ryan High School in northeast Philadelphia. We anticipate well over 1,000 men will attend this year. I did a "pulpit talk" at all the Masses at my parish over the weekend and quite a few men said they would either sign up or consider signing up. Just being there will bring a joy to you that is hard to explain. To see this many men in one place who share a love for God and His Catholic church is both reassuring and invigorating.

Men have a very difficult time talking with other men about personal things. And nothing is more personal than a person's relationship with God. When we finally open the door just a little and begin to talk to other men about our faith we realize that we are not alone in our struggles: struggles to balance home and work-life, family and friends, and sometimes our faith and the rest of our lives. Learning that our faith is not a distinct part of our life but an integral part of every other part of our lives is something I have learned over the years. Learning how other men have started to accomplish this tells me that I can, too! Sitting at home watching TV, reading a book or hanging out with the family is not how I learned this. Stepping out and becoming a part of this conference, in addition to a few other activities in my life did!

All the details for the weekend can be found at www.manupphilly.com. Please consider joining us for what should be the best conference to date!

Feast of the Assumption

2010-08-17T08:40:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we celebrated the feat of Mary's Assumption into Heaven. The pastor at my local parish gave an insightful homily about a painting by Annibale Caracci depicting the Assumption. I am including the painting and his homily as I thought it worth sharing.

I. Many paintings of the Assumption by the great Masters like Titian and Rubens show Mary floating upward carried by angels. Her eyes rolled up to heaven, her ties to earth...and us, almost completely severed. Peoplestanding below look up longingly, reaching to touch her robe-but it’s too late. Mary has already left them behind. In these kind of paintings Mary is our mother-but remote; she seems untouched by our pain and need, unaware of our dreams. The paintings are lovely but somehow emotionally unsatisfying; glorious but a little unnerving.

II. There is a less known painting of “the Assumption” by Annibale Caracci which hangs in the church of Santa Maria del populo in Rome-which fittingly means St. Mary of the people. In this painting Mary looks different. Like a brave woman who traveled a unknown wilderness in her life. She has a clear gaze and looks straight ahead into a horizon the viewer cannot see. She has the look of a woman who has studied the map and learned every twist and turn in the emotional and spiritual path of her inner life, yet knows she will arrive safely right on time. The Virgin’s arms are outstretched like wings in flight embracing other people in the picture, carrying them along. A young man enfolded in her robe, I assume St. John, gazes at her face in awe, but her own eyes remain fixed on her destination...and ours.

III. Caracci’s Assumption carries a strong message. This is a woman we can trust; her life is a model for our won. We may never suffer her challenge or loss, but we can meet our own with her strength and courage. God may not ask of us what He asked of Mary, but our “yes” can resonate just as courageously in the face of life’s trials. May is as real as the woman Caracci painted 400 years ago. Her robes are generous enough to enfold us. Her vision is clear enough to guide us; her heart big enough to embrace us.

Never in a Million Years.......

2010-08-04T14:40:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had a moment where you just step back and say "WOW! How did I get here?"

I had this happen this week as a direct result of a great weekend in Omaha, Nebraska of all places! Omaha was the site of this year's national convention of the The International Calix Society. Approximately 40 members of the Calix Society gathered at Creighton University in Omaha for a weekend of fellowship and talks about alcoholism, addicition. spirituality and the Catholc faith. The talks and fellowship were top notch.

On Friday evening we made a trip out to Boystown, where Fr. Flanagan began a fantastic ministry for boys in need of a "little" driection. The main thought I came away with is that this was one man's dream and today there are 500 boys and girls living in "family" settings at Boystown and many of them will be successful in life as a direct result of Boystown.

On Saturday afternoon is when the Calix Society has its anual business meeting to review the goings on of the society. Every two years they hold elections for the board of directors, president and vice president. A few months ago I had been nominated for the office of president and since there were no other nominees I have been given the opportunity to serve as president of this great organization.

The WOW moment is this: Almost 19 years ago my life was a wreck. I had reached "the bottom" of my desperate situation that consisted of drinking, lying, resentment, fear, anger, you name it! There was no time for God in my life and I didn't believe that God would ever want anything to do with me again. It was through divine intervention that I managed to find sobriety and through the twelve steps I made my way back to my Catholic faith and through both that I found the Calix Society. It's only three years since some friends and I started the first Calix group in Philadelphia. Since January 2007 we have expanded to 3 groups and are slowly spreading the word about Calix. This past weekend's events served as confirmation that Calix is now alive and well in Philadelphia and we are on our way to helping many Catholic (and non-Catholic) alcoholics and addicts achieve the great spritiual experience that is required to permanently recover from a "seemingly hopeless state of mind and body".

Read more about Calix in Philadelphia at http://www.philly-calix.com/

Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary

2010-07-28T08:33:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago on Facebook I received, of all things, an invitation to consider making a Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary. Much has been written about St. Louis deMontfort and this consecration so I will not expound on it here. Except to say that on the day I received the invitation I also found the little book with the readings and prayers that are used in preparation for making the consecration. As of today I am on Day 16 of the preparation.

I also told a friend about the consecration. Little did I know that they, too, had previously made the consecration to Mary through the Militia of the Immaculata! I did that consecration back in the mid-90's but am really being drawn to do the deMontfort consecration and God knows I can use all the help I can get.

Merry Christmas to All

2009-12-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to wish anyone that drops by here a Merry Christmas!

I went to our children's Christmas event back on the 16th. The event itself was great but there were a couple people in the pew behind me discussing how great it would be to wake up tomorrow and have it be December 26th! It reminded me of that movie "Skipping Christmas". It also made me very grateful to be looking forward to Christmas this year and celebrating the birth of our Savior.

May all of you find peace and joy in knowing that, indeed, our Savior has been born!

The Inexhaustible Cup

2009-12-08T15:14:00.003-05:00

I took a few minutes this afternoon to run through a couple of the blogs that I frequent (see the list/links at bottom left). Since today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception many are posting article about Our Mother (Jesus' words, not mine! cf John 19:26-27). Over at "The Way of Our Fathers", Mike Aquilina had posted short piece entitled "Immaculate" to which a poster made a comment, "I’m sure you will find the 'Akathist to the Theotokos' of value, as well.

I tried to use the link but it was a dead-end so I started poking around at Monachos.net and found the right link. Give it a read, I think you'll enjoy it, too.

Then I did a Google search on "Akathist to the Theotokos" to see what else I could learn. I am not real familiar with the icons of the Orthodox Church though I find them beautiful. Our pastor had a beautiful one painted for our parish Church. So I started looking at the Google "hits" and found the beautiful icon above, Theotocos The Inexhaustible Cup. There is a wonderful story of recovery from "drunkenness" associated with the icon you can read here. The link also has the "Akathist", or hymn, associated with the icon which I think you will find equally beautiful.

I have been collecting religious items to eventually adorn the quiet room I intend to construct in my home and this icon will definitely be a part of it. Gotta run over to eBay now and find it!

True Freedom

2009-12-07T14:56:00.006-05:00

Have you ever had one of those periods where a particular theme seems to be hammering away at you? I had that happen over the weekend and the theme was Freedom!

A couple of very close recovery friends and I travelled on Saturday to York, PA where we attended the monthly Calix Mass for the York group. We were blessed to have Bishop Kevin Rhoades, formerly of the Harrisburg Diocese and now with the Ft. Wayne/South Bend diocese of Indiana, as our celebrant.

During the two hour car ride the topic of freedom came up. Not the kind of freedom where a person is able "to do their own thing". Rather, the freedom to do what is right! Sobriety and Jesus Christ do exactly that. They give us the freedom to do the next right thing. Though we have the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want, addictions take away that freedom. When we are able to find the 12 Steps and a spirituality that works, we now have the freedom to do what God intended for us to do from the beginning of time! We must exercise that freedom wisely, praying always "for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out".

As the conversation wrapped up in the car I played a couple songs from Darrell Evan's greatest hits CD, one of which was Freedom! You can give a listen here and the lyrics are short enough that I will post them:

Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom
Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom
There is peace there is love there is joy
It is for freedom you’ve set us free
It is for freedom you’ve set us free

CHORUS:
I’m free, I’m free

We will walk in your freedom walk in your liberty
We will walk in your freedom walk in your liberty
We will dance in your freedom dance in your liberty
We will dance in your freedom dance in your liberty

Then we get to St. Patrick's in York to celebrate Mass. The Opening Prayer during the liturgy was:

"God our Father,
you loved the world so much
you gave your only Son to free us
from the ancient power of sin and death.
Help us who wait for his coming
and lead us to true liberty.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. AMEN!"

During Bishop Rhoades' wonderful homily he emphasized the freedom Jesus wants us to have. This freedom is not only gotten through the 12 Steps but, even more importantly, through the sacraments of the Catholic faith, primarily confession and the Eucharist.

I owe a debt of thanks to both the York group and Bishop Rhoades for driving home this theme for me this weekend. My prayer is that you will find His freedom, too!

iPhones.....Benefits for Catholics!

2009-11-14T08:06:00.006-05:00

At a conference over the summer I dropped my cellphone (AT&T Tilt) and the LCD screen broke. I replaced the screen on my own but the keyboard still had issues and there were some other minor issues. I was soon due for an upgrade so I started researching phones again. I really liked my Tilt but was hearing great things about the iPhone. After about a week I took the plunge for the iPhone and am really glad I did.

I can't say that I chose it because of the great applications (apps) because my original necessities were access to my email accounts and GPS software. I had that down the first day I had the phone. It's the apps that I've found since then that really make the phone a useful tool. Here's some of them:

Divine Office - visit DivineOffice.org for information about this great app. For $9.99 you get the Liturgy of the Hours daily. This is great for the car and now I can pray Morning prayer on my way to work and Evening Prayer on my way home. I use either a bluetooth headset or a cassette adapter to play it through the car stereo. I intend to get this bluetooth device that will both serve as handsfree phone in the car as well as play the iPhone apps through the car stereo.

Mass Times - visit CatholicWeb.com or do a search for "Mass Times" and you'll find a free app called "Catholic Mass Times". It is a free app. It uses the built-in GPS to locate you and then finds the nearest churches for you. Click on the churches and you get addresses and times for Masses, Confession, Adoration, etc. Also, there are buttons at the bottom of the screen, one of which links you to the Saint of the Day and Mass Readings for that day.

3 Minute Retreat - visit LoyolaPress.com or do a search in the App Store. For $0.99 you get a nice little application that gives you a mini-retreat everyday. Having a tough day at the office? Pull out your iPhone and for 3 minutes you can retreat from work and focus on what's really important.

RC Calendar - in the app store do a search for "catholic calendar" and you'll see a free app from Universalis called Catholic Calendar. This will provide the Liturgical Calendar from 1970 to 2300! Select a day and it will provide a short read about the Saint of the Day along with the Mass readings. Unfortunately they do not provide the text of the Psalm.

iConfess - a nice little app for $1.99 that is a great help when doing an Examination of Conscience in preparation for Confession. You can keep notes and then use them when you go to Confession. Also has the prayers and everything you need to make a good Confession. Have to admit, when I first came across it that maybe they actually had an app that let you go to Confession via the phone :-)

So those are the five I have so far. There are many, many others for prayers, the rosary, bibles, thoughts for the day, etc. But these 5, and especially the first three are great helps to my spiritual life

Pope Benedict XVI - "Will you also go away?"

2009-08-28T14:18:00.003-04:00

At the Sunday Angelus on August 23 Pope Benedict XVI gave the following talk on the 6th chapter of John's gospel. What I ran through my mind after reading it is that the question Jesus asks, "Will you also go away?", can be a question we ask ourselves all the time. When faced with difficult issues and questions in our own minds we can use Jesus question to remind us to use our informed conscience when developing our answers.

Here is the text of his talk:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
You see my hand, it is free of the plaster cast but it is still a bit lazy: I shall have to remain for a while at the school of patience, but we are making progress!

You know that for several Sundays the Liturgy has proposed for our reflection Chapter Six of John's Gospel, in which Jesus presents himself as the "Bread of life... which came down from Heaven", and, he adds: "if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever: and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (Jn 6: 51). To the Jews who were arguing heatedly among themselves, questioning: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (v. 52) and the world still debates it Jesus replies in every age: "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (v. 53). We too should reflect on whether we have really understood this message. Today, the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, let us meditate on the last part of this chapter in which the Fourth Evangelist mentions the reaction of the people and of the disciples themselves. They were shocked by the Lord's words to the point that having followed him until then they exclaimed: "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" (v. 60). After this, "many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him" (v. 66) and the same thing has happened over and over again in various periods of history. One might expect Jesus to seek compromises to make himself better understood, but he does not mitigate what he says. On the contrary, he turns directly to the Twelve and asks them: "Will you also go away?" (v. 67).

This provocative question is not only addressed to listeners in his time, but also reaches the believers and people of every epoch. Today too, many are "shocked" by the paradox of the Christian faith. Jesus' teaching seems "hard", too difficult to accept and to put into practice. Then there are those who reject it and abandon Christ; there are those who seek to "adapt his" word to the fashions of the times, misrepresenting its meaning and value. "Will you also go away?" This disturbing provocation resounds in our hearts and expects a personal answer from each one; it is a question addressed to each one of us. Jesus is not content with superficial and formal belonging, a first and enthusiastic adherence is not enough for him; on the contrary, what is necessary is to take part for one's whole life "in his thinking and in his willing". Following him fills our hearts with joy and gives full meaning to our existence, but it entails difficulties and sacrifices because very often we must swim against the tide.

"Will you also go away?". Peter answers Jesus' question on the Apostles' behalf, and in the name of believers of every century: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (vv. 68-69).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, at this moment we too can and want to repeat Peter's answer, aware of course of our human frailty, of our problems and difficulties, but trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit which is expressed and manifested in communion with Jesus. Faith is a gift of God to man and at the same time man's free and total entrustment to God; faith is docile listening to the word of the Lord who is the "lamp" for our feet and a "light" for our path (cf. Ps 119[118]: 105). If we open our hearts to Christ with trust, if we let ourselves be won over by him, we can also experience, like, for example, the holy Curé d'Ars, that "our only happiness on this earth is to love God and to know that he loves us". Let us ask the Virgin Mary always to keep awake within us this faith imbued with love, which made her, a humble girl of Nazareth, the Mother of God and Mother and model of all believers.

God Bless!

Cardinal Justin Rigali Addresses Addiciton in New Book

2009-08-27T16:00:00.004-04:00

I recently learned that Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, has written book entitled “Let the Oppressed Go Free - Breaking the Bonds of Addiction.” An August 6 article in the Catholic Standard & Times (Philadelphia's weekly Catholic newspaper) describes the book, its background and a possible "conference based upon the book and its topic of addictions through the lens of Catholic teaching, most likely to be held in Spring 2010 in the Philadelphia Archdiocese."

I am trying to get an update on the planning for the conference and hope to get the word out about the Calix Society and the success we are having in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Stay tuned for more information........

UPDATE: I actually found a copy of the book in the local religious store today (8/28). I'll be reading and posting a review in the next few days!

Choices

2009-08-23T22:22:00.004-04:00

Have you ever had a theme seem to constantly come up over time?

Awhile back I had a friend call me out of the blue asking me if the alcoholic has a choice when it comes to the first drink.

The book "Alcoholics Anonymous", on page 24, states, "The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink". After much thought I came to the conclusion that the power lost is not so much in the "choice" but our ability to see more than once choice. As drinking alcoholics we have few choices when it comes to the drink, if we even have more than one. When things are going good we celebrate with a drink. When things are not going so good we drink for relief. When we are numb, we drink. We decide to drink because either the drink is the only choice or the choice we believe that will work for us in any given situation.

By putting down the drink and working the 12 steps of AA one of the first gifts we get is more choices. The first choice I added was ice cream! Seriously, though, I found I immediately learned there were other choices besides alcohol. As a result I began to make better decisions and better decisions helped me to not desire the drink.

Since then I have come to learn that life is nothing more than a series of decisions. I decide whether or not to get out of bed in the morning; whether or not to go to work; whether or not to go to Church; whether or not to eat and, more importantly, whether or not to eat healthy; and, greatest of all, whether or not I will take that first drink. All of these decisions determine whether or not I become happy, joyous and free! So sobriety isn't a decision, sobriety is what gives me more choices when making a decision.

Which leads to the reason for "blogging" this topic. Today's readings at Mass (Joshua and John) speak directly to choices and decisions. In today's first reading, Joshua makes the Israelites make a decision as to which god(s) they will follow and offers them a couple choices: "the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling" or the Lord. They choose the Lord.

In John's gospel we continued the Bread of Life discourse. After Jesus tells them that (v53) "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you". Now his apostles and disciples must decide whether or not they will continue to follow Jesus. In the New American Bible v66 reads "As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him". In addition, in v64 it states that "For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him". Many made the decision to no longer follow Jesus; and verse 64 may even imply that Judas made his decision to betray Jesus because he could not understand Jesus teaching.

As Catholics this is a very important lesson for us on the Eucharist. If the host/bread we receive in Church is only a symbol why didn't Jesus call out to all those that left him immediately following this sermon and tell them so? He knew they would not understand it and nothing he said would convince them that we needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Fortunately, the apostles, less Judas, did believe, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, and in the Catholic Church we now have the Eucharist available every single day!

So take a few moments and think about how many decisions you made today and what the choices were when you made them. Were there choices available that you were not aware of? What did you base your decisions on? Were you happy with all of your decisions? Did you learn from any of them.

For me - I am starting to look at all the decisions that are automatic and determine what the other choices are. In doing so I can change my life in little ways, hopefully for the better!

God Bless!

Renewal and Recovery: Archbishop Charles Chaput's Address to the National Catholic Bible Conference

2009-07-06T13:07:00.005-04:00

Was catching up with the latest news out of Rome via the Zenit website and came across a keynote address given by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver to the National Catholic Bible Conference which was being held in his archdiocese. You can find that address here.

As I read this I thought about the "debate" we had in my backyard on the 4th of July regarding nationalized healthcare and the "fireworks" that took place. (NOTE: I will not debate that here!). But people are talking about the evening news, newspapers, CNN, Fox News, etc. The point being that they make time to watch these talking heads and sometimes can't give an hour each week to our Lord, let alone crack open a Bible on a daily basis (including myself some days!).

I would encourage you to read the address, especially how it so aptly refers to renewal and recovery. And in particular, renewal of ourselves first before we worry about the rest of the world. Archbishop Chaput writes, "Yet, Scripture tells us that 'while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father' (2 Chron 34:3). Here's the first lesson that I want to highlight. To renew the Church and the world we need to begin with ourselves. It's tempting to see the moral problems of the wider culture and want to begin there, outside ourselves, focused on others. But all authentic reform begins within our own hearts."

I encourage you to read the address and please submit some comments!

God Bless! Ken

St. Ignatius Thought For The Day

2009-06-03T09:24:00.002-04:00

In today's meditiation from "Take 5: On-the Job Meditiations with St. Ignatius". Ignatius points to Proverbs 13:4 and I took a quick look online (www.usccb.org has the New American Bible online) at this chapter and found it extremely relative to how we attempt to live in AA and our faith. Specifically phrases like "hang
with the winners", "do good, get good, do bad, get bad", etc. I'll
include the short chapter here for you to ponder:

A wise son loves correction, but the senseless one heeds no rebuke.
From the fruit of his words a man eats good things, but the treacherous one craves violence.
He who guards his mouth protects his life; to open wide one's lips brings downfall.
The soul of the sluggard craves in vain, but the diligent soul is amply satisfied.
Anything deceitful the just man hates, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
Virtue guards one who walks honestly, but the downfall of the wicked is sin.
One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
A man's riches serve as ransom for his life, but the poor man heeds no rebuke.
The light of the just shines gaily, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.
The stupid man sows discord by his insolence, but with those who take counsel is wisdom.
Wealth quickly gotten dwindles away, but amassed little by little, it grows.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a wish fulfilled is a tree of life.
He who despises the word must pay for it, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that a man may avoid the snares of death.
Good sense brings favor, but the way of the faithless is their ruin.
The shrewd man does everything with prudence, but the fool peddles folly.
A wicked messenger brings on disaster, but a trustworthy envoy is a healing remedy.
Poverty and shame befall the man who disregards correction, but he who heeds reproof is honored.
Lust indulged starves the soul, but fools hate to turn from evil.
Walk with wise men and you will become wise, but the companion of fools will fare badly.
Misfortune pursues sinners, but the just shall be recompensed with good.
The good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the just.
A lawsuit devours the tillage of the poor, but some men perish for lack of a law court.
He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise him.
When the just man eats, his hunger is appeased; but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

God Bless! Ken

St. Igantius Thought for the Day

2009-03-23T10:11:00.005-04:00

Always looking for information about St. Ignatius, I came across a book published in 1887, "A Thought From Saint Ignatius For Each Day Of The Year". It has a sentence or two from one of St. Ignatius' many writings that can be used as a "daily reflection". The book is out of print* but there are online versions that I have located:
Copy of actual book PDF Version Word Version

The reason I mention it today is that today's quote really struck me. It is from the Spiritual Exercises and says "I will carefully consider how, on the day of judgement, I would wish to have discharged my office or my duty; and the way that I would wish to have done it then, I shall do now."

I can't help but think how much different our world would be if this was the primary thought everyone had upon waking each day. I know on most days that I set out along these lines but often fall short - sometimes early, sometimes later - but most days I do fall short of this ideal.

If you are online daily I highly recommend bookmarking one of the the links above and using it as part of your daily "spiritual exercise".

* There is a current (2006) version of the book available from Fordham University Press on Amazon . I purchased this version but find the 1887 version much more to my liking

Great Little Meditation Book - and Prayer

2008-08-24T22:39:00.005-04:00

Before I went on vacation I got a recommendation somewhere (Amazon or another website) for a little meditation book titled "Take Five, On-The-Job Meditations With St. Ignatius". Looked and sounded good so I ordered it. Like most books, they end up on my nightstand for awhile before I get to them. This one, though, because of the "On-The-Job...." subtitle, I tossed it in my briefcase. I've been exceptionally busy at work since I got back from vacation but the other day I actually pulled it out and started using it. And am glad I did!

This little book incorporates St. Ignatius writings with the Gospel and short meditations including a a thought you can memorize and use throughout the day.

Quick warning: if you are the type of person that believes that perfection is not something to seek than it may not be for you. That doesn't mean I believe I will ever be perfect but I do believe that striving for perfection is still a worthy goal and one that Christ set for us. For example, in the second meditation they quote Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect". Does God expect me to be perfect? No. But that doesn't mean that there is no virtue in striving to be "perfect" in God's eyes.

The main reason I post tonight is the prayer found in the third meditation and it goes like this:

"Teach us, good Lord, to serve You as You deserve,
to give and not count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not seek for rest,
to labor and not ask for any reward
except that of knowing that we do Your will."

Does that impress upon you the consistency between St. Ignatius teaching and the 12 Steps or what?

For more information about this great little book you can click on the book at the lower left in "My Library".

Saint John Eudes?

2008-08-19T22:59:00.003-04:00

I had never heard of St. John Eudes before today. I must have been out of it on August 19th the past few years as today is his feast day. You can click the link to read more about him or search on Google. One of his claims to fame is preaching more than 110 missions. And based on the reading in today's Office of Readings I can understand why. I think it is worth typing out the whole of today's passage here.

From a treatise on the admirable Heart of Jesus by Saint John Eudes, priest

I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head and that you are a member of his body. He belongs to you as the head belongs to the body. All that is his is yours: breath, heart, body, soul and all his faculties. All of these you must use as if they belonged to you, so that is serving him you may give him praise, love and glory. You belong to him as a member belongs to the head. This is why h earnestly desires you to serve and glorify the Father by using all your faculties as if they were his.

He belongs to you, but more than that, he longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body. He desires that whatever is in him may live and rule in you: his breath in your breath, his heart in your heart, all the faculties of his soul in the faculties of your soul, so that these words may be fulfilled in you: Glorify God and bear him in your body, that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in you.

You belong to the Son of God, but more than that, you ought to be in him as the members are in the head. All that is in you must be incorporated into him. You must receive life from him and be ruled by him. There will be no true life for you except in him, for he is the one source of true life. Apart from him you will find only death and destruction. Let him be the only source of your moments, of the actions and the strength of your life. He must be both the source and the purpose of your life, so that you may fulfill these words: None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master. While we live, we are responsible to the Lord, and when we die, we die as his servants. Both in life and death we are the Lord's. That is why Christ died and came to life again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Romans 14:7-9)

Finally, you are one with Jesus as the body is one with the head. You must, then, have one breath with him, one soul, one will, one mind, one heart. And he must be your breath, heart, love, life, your all. These great gifts in the follower of Christ originate from baptism. They are increased and strengthened through confirmation and by making good use of other graces that are given by God. Through the holy eucharist they are brought to perfection.

I think reading this passage daily for a few days will not only the recovering Catholic but every Christian. Imagine a world, or a country, or a state or even a town where everyone thought like this. If you can do that you have just gotten a glimpse of heaven!

St. Ignatius and Bill Wilson

2008-08-01T00:11:00.003-04:00

Today (well yesterday since I posted this after midnight!) the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola .

Like most people, there have been many twists and turns my journey in recovery. Early on I had read some of the AA books like "Pass It On" and "AA Comes of Age" and learned of the initial meeting between Bill W. and Fr. Ed Dowling. It wasn't until years later that I would really learn the importance of that meeting.

It was Fr. Dowling who had read about AA and it's Twelve Steps and immediately saw the link between the steps and, being a Jesuit, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. There is a short document available on the Internet that describes this link

There is also a wonderful book that documents the relationship between Bill Wilson and Fr. Dowling, "The Soul of Sponsorship". The book contains excepts from the letters exchanged between these men over many years. Fr. Dowling became Bill Wilson's spiritual director and some believe that Bill might have converted to Catholicism if it would not have given the appearance that the AA program was ultimately a path to the Catholic Church.

I was fortunate enough to make a seven day silent retreat at a Jesuit retreat house last year. It was during that retreat that I became more familiar with the Spiritual Exercises. I have tried, inconsistently mind you, to use a great book by Fr. Jim Harbaugh called "A Twelve Step Approach to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius" . He also has a similar volume called "A Twelve Step Approach to the Sunday Readings" . I highly recommend both!

So on this feast of St. Ignatius I would encourage anyone looking to incorporate the Catholic faith into their twelve step program to investigate the Spiritual Exercises.

"The Fountain of all Holiness"

2008-07-22T21:59:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted.

The balance of the vacation was outstanding and now we're right back in the thick of things. Work, family, getting ready for retreat in a few weeks, getting our second child off to college, and the normal summer activities - friends, barbecues, swimming and baseball.

With my daily schedule I don't get to daily mass as often as I'd like. On some of those mornings I get to listen to Mass on The Catholic Channel on Sirius satellite radio (channel 159). They broadcast the daily 8:00 Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

Listening while driving can often be interrupted by, can you believe it, paying attention to the road, especially in the Pennsylvania Turnpike construction zones! Different parts of the Mass will have different effects on me on any given today. Today it was the Eucharistic Prayer. I've heard it hundreds of times but today one line really hit me. It begins "Lord, you are holy indeed; the fountain of all holiness" and BOOM! God makes me holy. I cannot make me holy! May seem obvious to some but not me.

Why was this impactful? I go through periods of my life "doing" instead of "praying". I substitute what I believe are good actions for good prayer time. For example, I am busy preparing for a number of upcoming events (retreat weekend 8/15, Calix convention 8/1, Calix meeting at my parish 7/26) plus my normal busy schedule and prayer time gets cut short.

All this to say that I think I realized today that these actions are not what makes me grow in holiness. Don't get me wrong, God needs us to act to fulfill his will. But we can only learn what that is when we "retreat" from this world to spend time with Him in prayer. It is through this prayer time that one can grow in holiness, can grow closer to God. After all He is the fountain of ALL holiness; not some holiness, not most holiness, but ALL holiness.

Thanks for reading and I promise to be be back in less than a week!

Compromises - Cypress Gardens

2008-07-06T22:13:00.004-04:00

"My way or the highway". That was the motto for most of my life before I got sober. You could either come along for the ride or hop off anytime you wanted. But don't expect me to change my mind for you. There were a couple notable exceptions, especially if you had something I wanted. But other than that it was my way.

So if you've been reading here for the last week or so you read about my first Latin Mass last week and how I was studying for and looking forward to going again this week. Well I haven't mentioned here yet that I'm married and have four children. One child (daughter) is out of college and living in Cincinnati. The second child (son) just graduated from high school and starts college in the Fall. Children three (son) and four (daughter) are on vacation with us. The choice today was my way (Latin Mass) or their way, the "regular" 11:30 Mass as a family. As much as I wanted to make the Latin Mass, I wanted to go to Mass as a family and I'm glad I did. The youngest really participated and my son, the one I hope will be my priest, always seems to like Mass.

After Mass we ran out to Cypress Gardens to check out the swamp. They are having some financial problems out there which resulted in them losing their crocodile collection. The boat ride through the swamp was cool and Charlie, our guide, was informative. The one thing I didn't know about cypress swamps was that the oil they release below water level forms a "slick" of sorts on top that prevents mosquito larvae from hatching so there were zero mosquitoes. We took a short carriage ride (available on Sundays) that Mary Kate just loved as she has always seemed to like horses.

After Cypress Gardens we came home to eat, went for a walk down the beach and stopped to visit with my in-laws. Then back up the beach to come home, played some games as a family and put the kids to bed. It just doesn't get any better than that.

If I had pressed for the 6:00 Latin Mass tonight the whole day would have been different, starting with the "discussion" this morning about what Mass I was going to. So I'll just have to find a Latin Mass back in the Philly area. Small price to pay, huh!

Mere Christianity and the 4th of July

2008-07-04T09:45:00.006-04:00

A few weeks back I heard an interview on EWTN radio of an "expert" on authors C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and G.K. Chesterton (did any of these guys use their given names???). In the course of the discussion they talked about Lewis' book "Mere Christianity". And they mentioned a part of the book which any alcoholic or addict can relate to and is what made me run out and purchase "The Complete C.S. Lewis" (see my library link below and left). One of the benefits of being on vacation is lots of time to read!

In Chapter 10 of book 3 - don't worry each chapter is only 3-5 pages! - Lewis writes:

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand , never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to the other country and to help others do the same.

How many times have we heard that people were searching for the answer in a bottle only to never be fulfilled. Here, then, is the answer. If nothing in this world satisfies our desire then we were made for another world, Heaven!

And the closing sentence sums up what we can learn in recovery, namely that we will not only satisfy that desire but help others to satisfy theirs as well. Just like we say in AA's Step 12 - "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these steps in all our affairs." Perhaps that awakening may be to the fact that we are made for another world and that we "must make it the main object of life to press on to the other country and to help others do the same".

Finally - it's only fitting that we speak of country on this 4th of July holiday. For my American friends, let us thank God this day for the blessings of this wonderful country, flaws and all, where we are able to worship God freely and pursue that other country that Lewis talks about. Come to think of it, maybe that's what is meant in our Declaration of Independence where our founding fathers guaranteed us the right to the pursuit of happiness!

Note - I highly recommend "Mere Christianity" for anyone interested in or already living the Christian faith. It's only 175 pages or so and is a great introduction to the Christian life without any real deep theological writing.

Feast of St. Thomas

2008-07-03T15:20:00.004-04:00

Well if your name is Tom today is a special day for you. Each year on July 3 the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Thomas, the apostle.

In today's Office of Readings the second reading comes from a homily on the Gospels by Saint (and pope) Gregory the Great. It reads, in part:

Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. He was the only disciple absent; on his return he heard what had happened but refused to believe it. The Lord came a second time; he offered his side for the disbelieving disciple to touch, held out his hands, and showing the scars of his wounds, healed the wound of his disbelief.

Dearly beloved, what do you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God's providence. In a marvelous way God's mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his master's body, should heal our wounds of disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So the disciple who doubted, then felt Christ's wounds, becomes a witness to the reality of the resurrection.

In all matters, it seems, God is in control. Thomas just happened to be running an errand when Jesus shows up! How many times do we find ourselves in a situation that, in hindsight, we know was a direct result of God's promptings in our life? We are placed in situations that we would not have normally been in. Or, even odder, we are not somewhere we should have been and avoided some crisis.

How fitting is it, then, that circumstances were such that one of the disciples was not present when Jesus returned, only to be used to confirm through physical proof that the resurrection had really taken place. And through this proof, some 2000 years later all Christians know the story of "doubting Thomas" and because of his disbelief, believe!

From a recovery standpoint, how many newcomers do we meet who cannot believe that a 12- step program can bring them relief? And then the miracle happens and they not only recover but become the most vocal in a group when it comes to letting the next newcomer know that it works! As Thomas came to believe and supposedly went on to preach in Asia, so our believers in recovery go on to help the newcomer that follows for he now has proof that the 12-steps work.

Watch What You Pray For

2008-07-02T10:01:00.003-04:00

We have had two gorgeous days here on Isle of Palms. Played golf yesterday with my brother-in law over at Dunes West. Great day despite the 100 score I had and the many lessons of humility I receive every time I play. Golf is so much like life but I'll save that for another day.

This morning I had the opportunity to attend daily Mass and a nice surprise after Mass was that the priest and a dozen or so others stuck around for Morning Prayer. Saying the Liturgy of the Hours with a group, I find, is much more fulfilling than praying them alone.

When I got home I had some breakfast with the kids and then took a few minutes to pray the Office of Readings for today. Today's second reading was taken from "The Way of Perfection" by Saint Teresa of Avila and as I read it I thought how many times in a meeting (or elsewhere) that we here the phrase "watch what you pray for, you may just get it!".

It opens with, "When asking a favor of some person of importance would anyone be so ill-mannered and thoughtless as not first to consider how best to address him in order to make a good impression and give no cause for offense? Surely he would think over his petition carefully and his reason for asking it, especially if it were for something specific and important as our good Jesus tells us our petitions should be."

How many times have I prayed without thinking? How many times have I asked for what I thought were immediate needs but would have long-term consequences. I think about the times where I have had to ask people for something (an employer for a raise or promotion, a parent for something "big", a child for something that they may not like, etc.) and how I play the scene through my mind many times before I approach them. On the other hand, I may not think at all about a request I am going to make of Jesus, expecting him to come through as long as it is His will.

On the other hand, how much greater would that prayer and petition be if we take the time to think it through. What do I really need? What is God's will for me? Today? Tomorrow? St. Teresa goes on, "O Eternal Wisdom, between you and your Father that was enough; that was how you prayed in the garden. You expressed your desire and fear but surrendered yourself to his will. But as for us, Lord, you know that we are less submissive to the will of your Father and need to mention each thing separately in order to stop and think whether it would be good for us, and otherwise not ask for it. You see, the gift our Lord intends for us may be by far the best, but if it is not what we wanted we are quite capable of flinging it back in his face. That is the kind of people we are; ready cash is the only wealth we understand". I can relate. Can you?

Recently a fellow Calix member shared about how she would pray for patience. Rather than receiving the gift of patience she would get a series of "opportunities" to be patient in order to learn patience. None of us have experienced that, right? But we curse those "opportunities" until we come to realize, sometimes many years later, that we have become patient. So it begs the question, do we ever really know what's good for us? Or, should we focus more on what God's will is for us and surrender to Him who knows what's best for us?

And, as a side note, my Latin-English Missal booklets arrived today. Time to start studying for Mass this coming Sunday!

Holy Martyrs

2008-06-30T22:08:00.008-04:00

Being on vacation has given me time for some of my favorite things: Daily Mass and Liturgy of the Hours.

Many nights I go to bed with the intention of making 6:30 AM Mass before work. With the price of gas I am back to carpooling which makes that difficult. It also doesn't help that I am terrible at getting out of bed in the morning!

This morning I woke up before the alarm - yea, I set the alarm on vacation - and was able to get to Church about 30 minutes before Mass. This gave me ample time to pray Morning Prayer and prepare for Mass. Both (Mass and today's Office) were celebrating the feast of the "First Martyrs of the Church of Rome". You may recall that yesterday was the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul who were also martyrs. Today we celebrate all those martyrs that died as a result of Nero's persecution of the Christians in 64 AD.

I had a couple of thoughts as Mass went on and as I prayed the the Office throughout the day. The first is that from age 3 to 22 I lived in a parish named Holy Martyrs. I even went to the parish grade school. And today I am pretty certain that the parish was named for the martyrs whose feast we celebrated today but I can't ever recall anyone telling us that when I was there. The feast day didn't fall during the school year so that "teaching" opportunity wasn't available. In Father's homily this morning he stated that today's feast was instituted in the universal church in 1969 but was always celebrated in Rome. Certainly I should have heard at least once between 1969 and 1983 when I moved out of my parent's home the story behind our parish name. Maybe I did and just wasn't paying attention!

The other thought was a comparison between myself and both the martyrs whose deaths we celebrate today and the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul that we celebrated yesterday. What kept going through my mind was how selfish and self-centered I was - and can still be from time to time - before I got sober. And how in sobriety the twelve steps are used to rein in that "self" to the point where I can and must be of service to my fellow man. And what better role models than the two saints and the martyrs that the Church brought to our attention the last couple of days. Today I thank God again for for my sobriety and the AA program that brought me back to the Catholic faith. I will watch what I pray for because to be a saint you must be dead and to be a martyr you must die for the faith, usually a horrible death. Instead I ask our Lord and Savior to continue to work in and through me to help bring me closer to Him and put me in situations where I can continue to be of service to Him and my fellow man, following the example of the saints and martyrs.

TLM (Traditional Latin Mass)

2008-06-30T21:51:00.005-04:00

Thank you, Lord, for vacations!

Not only am I getting to spend more time with my family but more time with the Lord!

Yesterday I made that TLM Mass that I was so looking forward to. It was definitely different than anything I have experienced before. I was born in 1961 so I made my First Holy Communion at the altar rail but the Mass was in English and the priest was facing me. Yesterday I again received Holy Communion kneeling at the altar rail. The whole experience was just plain different. It seemed more holy, more mysterious, more like I'm a sinner and really in need of God. I also felt that I was being led in the Mass and that as the priest offered prayers they were actually to God instead of him staring out into space. On the other hand there was very little participation on the part of the people, no interaction (Kiss of Peace), not even an Amen! when receiving Holy Communion.

So for now I don't think it better or worse, just different. Since I haven't experienced it before, I spent (too much) time using the Latin-English booklet which was a great help. So much so that I went to one of my favorite Catholic booksellers, Mark over at allcatholicbooks.com ,and ordered a few copies. Paid the expedited shipping and I should have them in plenty of time to study before next Sunday and be able to follow better. Click here to see the Latin-English Booklet Missal they use).

One of the real highlights, though, was the precision with which the Altar Servers assisted at Mass. Their reverence, attention, etc. all reminded me of how much I enjoyed and how seriously I took my role as an Altar Boy many moons ago!

I'll post another update on the TLM experience next week.

Tired......and another blog to check out

2008-06-28T22:34:00.003-04:00

Well it took us a little longer than expected to get to our "vacation destination" today. For the first time ever I had the wonderful experience to get out of the car in the middle of I-95 just south of Selma, NC for an hour or so. Unfortunately there was a terrible wreck - we saw the car on the back of a flatbed heading north while we were parked in the soutbound lanes. If the folks who were in that car survived it is a miracle.

Anyway - we took our time and spent about 7 hours on the road today so I am wiped out but wanted to check email, etc. Down the left side of this blog you'll see the blogs I check out and now I am adding to them because those blogs lead to other blogs and, well, you get the picture.

So over on Sober Catholic, Paul put up a link to Adrienne's blog. If you are a Catholic in recovery I think you might want to check out her blog here. She did a 15 part series entitled "12 Steps for Catholics". I only just started to read it myself and already think it's work passing on to others.

Looking forward to hitting the beach for a little while tomorrow before making that TLM Mass at 5:30 tomorrow evening. Michael (our 9-year-old) says he wants to go with me, too!

And now, "Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace". (Antiphon from Night Prayer in the The Liturgy of the Hours".

Theology of the Body

2008-06-28T00:05:00.006-04:00

I frequent and support a great Catholic website called Catholic Exchange.

Today I got an email from them about a new "channel" they started with all kinds of inormation and insight into Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body". From the email:

Catholic Theologians have just begun to study and fully understand this rich body of work left for us by John Paul the Great, but it is already bearing fruit in thousands of lives touched by the Divine "One Flesh" vision for men and women. Here is the loving answer of the Church to a society that devalues the human person and tries to pit male and female against each other.

Leading us in this exploration are over a dozen writers and teachers who will be regularly contributing to this channel as well as talented and thoughtful guest columnists.

A list of these outstanding authors can be seen by putting your cursor over the "Columnists" link on the on the white navigation bar at the top of the TOB channel. Coordinating the contributors to this new channel is Steve Pokorny. Steve has an MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, received training from Christopher West, and will be completing his studies at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies in 2009.

I highly recommend checking it out. Here's the link again in case you missed it above: TOB Channel

Vacation..............

2008-06-27T08:05:00.003-04:00

Counting down the minutes until we start our family vacation. My mother-in-law was born and raised in and around Charleston, SC and we often spend our vacations on nearby Isle of Palms. In addition to getting caught up with family members we'll be spending two weeks on the beach, fishing, golfing and just plain relaxing.

One of the things I'm hoping to do this year is make the 5:30 Mass at Stella Maris Church on neighboring Sullivans Island. It's a TLM (Tridentine Latin Mass) which I have never attended. I was born around the start of Vatican II and am old enough to remember making my First Holy Communion kneeling at the altar rail but the Mass was already in English and the priest was facing me. So I am really looking forward to attending a Latin Mass.

I'll have the laptop with me (for pleasure only!) so will continue to post. One of the troubling things now is how dependent we have become on these computers for things like directions, movie listings, looking up telephone numbers. But one of the other benefits are websites like masstimes.org that let you get Mass times (as well as Eucharist adoration, confess, etc.) for just about anywhere you travel. That's exactly how I learned about the Mass at Stella Maris.

And one of the other things I hope to do is to read a couple new books that just arrived, in particular a book that contains writings by Tertullian, Origen and St. Cyprian on the Lord's Prayer. Two weeks ago the Office of Readings had excerpts from St. Cyprian's treatise on the Lord's Prayer. The little research I did revealed that St. Cyprian used the Lord's Prayer as a teaching tool in the 4th century when evangelizing non-Christians so I am looking forward to reading it in its entirety along with what Origen and Tertullian have written. Before getting into it though I'll be finishing up "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis which is great reading!

I should also mention that I found a great website to catalog your library (librarything.com) and then link to it from a blog. Down near the bottom left you'll see some book covers and a link. I'll be keeping this up to date with what I'm currently reading so feel free to drop me a line if you have an interest in or have read what I'm currently reading.

Thanks for reading and the next post will be from Isle of Palms, SC!

So what became of the project?

2008-06-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

Just to bring my previous post to conclusion -

In my attempt to find that article about Catholics and twelve steps program I did various searches. I never found that article and I am 100% certain it was out there! But what I did find was The Calix Soxiety. Here, there were a few laymen and a priest back in 1957 who had the same idea, i.e finding a way to combine the AA twelve-step program with the Catholic faith. Here was an organization that had already gone through the pains whenever an endeavor such as this is undertaken. They had materials, suggestions and some wonderful folks that were ready to help me get started.

We held our first meeting in January of 2007 and 18 months later we have almost 20 confirmed members. We meet on the last Saturday of each month at my parish (St. Luke the Evangelist in Glenside, PA) for Mass at 8:30 AM and then gather for a meeting that usually goes until 10:30 AM. Click here for our unit's website and please send an email or comment if you have any interest in starting a Calix unit in your area!

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

2008-06-24T22:17:00.000-04:00

I've thought about starting my own blog for some time now and reading a couple others I thought I just might have something to offer. Maybe....Maybe not. But I'm going to give it a shot.

I am a recovering alcoholic and am active in my Catholic faith, AA and The Calix Society (see http://www.calixsociety.org for details). After being sober a short time I returned to my Catholic roots and I have somehow been able to mingle the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous with the Catholic faith in order to live a happy and sober life. I thank God every day for the Catholic upbringing I had and for every drink I had to drink in order to find AA. It was through AA that I learned about spirituality and the adage, "religion is for people afraid of going to hell; spirituality is for people who have already been there!" And I've been there (and dragged a few others with me)! I have now come to learn and love Catholic spirituality!

So I'm sure you are asking, "Where did you come up with the title for this blog?" Well it's a long story that I'll post later because (at least I think) it is rather interesting. But the short version is that after becoming active in a few ministries in my parish - lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, leading faith sharing groups and a bible study - I wanted to study the Catholic faith. I tried on my own for a few years when a co-worker introduced me to The Church Ministry Institute, a 3-year program offered by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for lay Catholic ministers.

Part of the program was to start or get involved in a ministry in your parish with the approval of your pastor. I was constantly getting messages to do something for Catholics in recovery, to the point where I knew I had to do something!

I started attending more Big Book meetings and studying the steps while reading more about Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises. My goal was to come up with a "program" of sorts for these Catholics in recovery. And the name of the program was to be "We Are Not Saints...YET!"

When it came time to get approval from my pastor he let me know that he had other plans for me. I was disappointed to say the least but truly believed that God must have had something else in mind for me. Well the Monsignor's plans also faded and I was given permission to continue what I had started.

Early on in my research I came across an article on the Internet - which I have not been able to locate again - that basically stated that Catholics should not participate in Alcoholics Anonymous primarily because of a line in "How It Works" that states "We are not saints." As Catholics each and every one of us are called to be saints and believe that when we enter heaven we are indeed saints. So it only follows that Catholics in recovery are on a spiritual journey that will hopefully culminate in our spending eternity with God, and thus a saint!

Welcome to my blog and I hope you come back soon! Ken J