Coming to Christ to cure Alcoholism..

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jmoneyideas

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So this is my 2nd post to the forum.
I have only recently come to know Christ through a non-denominational church, which was really cool because it was small and i had a ton of questions. My wife finally dragged me to church because she knows how bad i am trying to rid myself from this spirit of addiction. I have been drinking since i was 15 and now i am 32. We have 4 great kids and i need to grow up and stop this destructive habit. Most of the time i drink because stress from work. I know its the usual excuse but i cant get my mind of work unless i seem to have a few. I also am having slight health issues, my liver is fatty and i need to cut back now , well actually stop now!

I recently started going to a local Catholic Church by my house and have been really moved by the whole experiance. I start RCIA in January. I was wondering if any of you know of any good Catholic books or Catholic Groups dealing with Alcohol.

Thanks again…Love the Forum
 
I don’t have any insight on alcoholism… but just wanted to offer my prayers and support. I know the stress of work and trying to maintain sanity for the family. I’ll keep you in my prayers. 🙂
 
Thanks for the kind thoughts and words… It is a daily struggle for me but i am going to beat this with the help of our lord…
One day at a time.
 
Great question and prayers for your continued success over this compulsive behavior.

Check in your area to see if AA meetings are being held at any Catholic Church. In our area, the meetings are at a local Community Center (AA, OA, NA etc.)

If you are in a 12 Step Program, I’d suggest that you work the Steps in conjunction with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Alcoholism has chained you, let the receiving of Jesus, be your release from that compulsive behavior.

The bolded areas below are Catholic concepts in which a person acknowledges their sins to another individual (the priest) for Jesus’ absolution.

1.We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become
unmanageable.
  1. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
    sanity.
  2. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
    understood Him.
**4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  1. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
    of our wrongs.
  2. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  3. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  4. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
    amends to them all.
  5. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do
    so would injure them or others.
  6. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
    admitted it.**
  7. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
    God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
    and the power to carry that out.
  8. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to
    carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
    affairs.
 
jmoneyideas said:
Thanks for the kind thoughts and words… It is a daily struggle for me but i am going to beat this with the help of our lord…
One day at a time.
Click to expand...
Since you already are using one of the AA slogans, I’m going to assume that you’ve already made contact with an AA group. You know Bill W. prayed to God for relief from his own alcoholism and was granted that relief, but it was his 4th or 5th trip through what was then the sanitarium, I guess we’d call it “rehab” now. And then he started AA to help other drunks, and look at where we are now!!!

Since AA is not a religious program but a spiritual one, you won’t find exclusively Catholic AA groups, but you can do AA as a Catholic. The God of your understanding can be experienced through the Mass, through praying, through the rosary, Adoration, etc. In fact AA is built upon the Bible and I find it to be quite Catholic in its struture; i.e. the 5th step is a lot like confession and some people do turn to a priest to do their 5th step.

If you don’t have a sponsor, get one! And maybe if you can, find another Catholic man to sponsor you, so that you will get some of your other questions answered too.

Pray for God to give you the strength to stay sober. He’s the only One who can grant it to you.
 
12-step-review.org

Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P

I have seen Fr Vogt on several occasions at Our Sorrowful Mother’s Ministry. He’s awesome.

The website is very informative and I receive a newsletter every month regarding the Steps. I’m in AlAnon and NarAnon and it not only helps the addict, it helps the family

God Bless You
 
Thanks for the kind words…i have gone to AA a few times. Never enough to let it sink in. I am looking for a few meetings close to home and one by work. I appreciate the words of wisdom that i have scene here. Thanks again and Godbless
 
cradlecatholic5 said:
12-step-review.org

Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P

I have seen Fr Vogt on several occasions at Our Sorrowful Mother’s Ministry. He’s awesome.

The website is very informative and I receive a newsletter every month regarding the Steps. I’m in AlAnon and NarAnon and it not only helps the addict, it helps the family

God Bless You
Click to expand...
Forgot to recommend that the OP’s wife attend Al-Anon! Thanks for the reminder!

**Highly recommend **Al-Anon for all spouses of alcoholics or ANYONE who is bothered by someone else’s drinking.
 
jmoneyideas:

Hello and welcome.

My cousin was an alcoholic for 40+years–hard core. Actually, he will tell you he still is an alcoholic even though he has not had a drink in well over 15 yrs. He is so into AA and absolutely loves that orgainization and actually is a sponsor. He will run to help someone even at 3 am. This is really his life–helping others to rid themselves of alcoholisim. He gave me the AA coin to give to a friend of mine that took a very bad downturn after her divorce but unfortunately, she feels so hopeless that she will not even consider AA. I worry for her.

Do please continue to seek out a sponsor to help you though this and also go to Mass and ask to speak with the Priest to help you along too. There are plenty of success stories out there and you need to surround yourself with those that understand and that can help you along.

I’m hoping for the very best for you and will keep you in prayers.
 
What about AA?

I’m sure God is happy about the group. You can be, too. 😉
 
jmoneyideas,

Others have already commented on AA and Al-Anon; I’m going to comment on the spiritual side of things. Venerable Matt Talbot is the Patron Saint of Alcoholics/Addicts. Here’s a link to information about and intercessory prayers to Matt Talbot:

circleofprayer.com/matt-talbot.html

You’ll be in my prayers.

MadameButterfly
 
MadameButterfly said:
jmoneyideas,

Others have already commented on AA and Al-Anon; I’m going to comment on the spiritual side of things. Venerable Matt Talbot is the Patron Saint of Alcoholics/Addicts. Here’s a link to information about and intercessory prayers to Matt Talbot:

circleofprayer.com/matt-talbot.html

You’ll be in my prayers.

MadameButterfly
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AA and AlAnon are the spiritual side of things. AA is not the only path to lasting sobriety but it enjoys a very positive reputation for having helped millions of alcoholics and problem drinkers to move away from their reliance on alcohol in their efforts to navigate the difficulties of life. It is not related to any sect, denomination or religion. And it’s not necessary to attend meetings “close to home”. The man or woman who is serious about recovery will go to any lengths to get sober, and will hardly find it adequate to simply pop in at the neighborhood meeting every now and again.

gen
 
Thanks for the info on Matt Talbot, I didn’t know it and I’ve bookmarked the site.

I’ve printed out the prayers and will prayer them for all addicts.
 
Hi! I’m Joe and I am, by the grace of God, a recovering addict and alcoholic; almost 6 years clean and sober now. (Hi Joe!)

I’m a little tight on time at the moment, so let’s jump right in;

Here is a link to really good blog:

sobercatholic.com/

The guy who writes it (Paul) has a lot of good sobriety and is very willing to correspond with people.

Here are a couple of Christian recovery groups that are worth checking out;

Overcomers Outreach (my fav):

overcomersoutreach.org/

and Celebrate Recovery:

celebraterecovery.com/

Both of those sites have a meeting list so you can check if there is one near you.

Remember–isolation is bad for me. Fellowship is good for me. GO TO MEETINGS!

That’s all I’ve got for now, so I’ll pass. (Thanks Joe!)
 
dd964vet said:
Hi! I’m Joe and I am, by the grace of God, a recovering addict and alcoholic; almost 6 years clean and sober now. (Hi Joe!)

I’m a little tight on time at the moment, so let’s jump right in;

Here is a link to really good blog:

sobercatholic.com/

The guy who writes it (Paul) has a lot of good sobriety and is very willing to correspond with people.

Here are a couple of Christian recovery groups that are worth checking out;

Overcomers Outreach (my fav):

overcomersoutreach.org/

and Celebrate Recovery:

celebraterecovery.com/

Both of those sites have a meeting list so you can check if there is one near you.

Remember–isolation is bad for me. Fellowship is good for me. GO TO MEETINGS!

That’s all I’ve got for now, so I’ll pass. (Thanks Joe!)
Click to expand...
Thanks Joe…
Good links. I am checking them out. God Bless 👍
 
Well not this its much but its something. Been 8 days since my last drink…😃 one day at a time… Todays readings of Psalms touched me…HOPE
 
jmoneyideas said:
So this is my 2nd post to the forum.
I have only recently come to know Christ through a non-denominational church, which was really cool because it was small and i had a ton of questions. My wife finally dragged me to church because she knows how bad i am trying to rid myself from this spirit of addiction. I have been drinking since i was 15 and now i am 32. We have 4 great kids and i need to grow up and stop this destructive habit. Most of the time i drink because stress from work. I know its the usual excuse but i cant get my mind of work unless i seem to have a few. I also am having slight health issues, my liver is fatty and i need to cut back now , well actually stop now!

I recently started going to a local Catholic Church by my house and have been really moved by the whole experiance. I start RCIA in January. I was wondering if any of you know of any good Catholic books or Catholic Groups dealing with Alcohol.

Thanks again…Love the Forum
Click to expand...
Christ led me to AA -my last drink was 25 years ago. AA IS the spiritual path to sobriety.
 
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