tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71530466904829258902024-03-06T00:39:54.936-05:00 Venerable Matt Talbot Resource Center
The Venerable Matt Talbot Resource Center exists to compile writings about the life, times, conversion, and recovery from alcoholism of Matt Talbot (1856-1925) of Dublin, Ireland. Disclaimer: The placing of information on this site from external linked sources does not necessarily imply agreement with that information. This center is independent of any other center, group, organization, website, or Facebook page. Comments are welcome at: ven.matt.talbot.resource.center@gmail.comJohn R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comBlogger887125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-71559625949612180862021-05-16T14:43:00.007-04:002021-05-16T15:02:05.610-04:00South Phila. parish dedicates shrine to addiction recovery patron
<p><span class="story-top-bylinesans"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">By Gina Christian • Posted May 12, 2021</span></span></p>
<p><span class="story-top-bylinesans"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://catholicphilly.com/2021/05/news/local-news/south-phila-parish-dedicates-shrine-to-addiction-recovery-patron/">https://catholicphilly.com/2021/05/news/local-news/south-phila-parish-dedicates-shrine-to-addiction-recovery-patron/</a></span></span></p><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Faithful
pray before a statue of Venerable Matt Talbot at a newly dedicated shrine in
St. Gabriel Parish in South Philadelphia. The
parish has long been a “hub of devotion” to the saint in the making, who has
become a popular patron of addiction recovery for his renunciation of
alcoholism and his profound spirituality. (Gina Christian</span>)<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A South
Philadelphia parish has just dedicated a shrine to a former
alcoholic now on the path to sainthood.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Some 160 faithful gathered
May 2 at St. Gabriel in the city’s Grays Ferry section, where a new statue of Venerable
Matt Talbot — commissioned with the generous assistance of the DiCocco
Family’s St. Jude Shop in Havertown — was unveiled after the 10 a.m. Mass.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Irish laborer, who died
in 1925, renounced a life of addiction and went on to become “a great example
of what it means to remain in our Lord and bear much fruit,” said Norbertine
Father Carl Braschoss, celebrant and pastor.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Born in 1856, Talbot
started drinking at age 12, and for more than 16 years afterward was mired in
addiction — even “pawning his own clothing and boots” for alcohol, said Father
Braschoss.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">When friends refused to buy
him a drink one evening, a penniless 28-year-old Talbot took a three-month
sobriety pledge, eventually extending it to a lifetime commitment through the
Dublin-based Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Talbot went on to lead a
quiet, ascetic life that included daily Mass, prayer, Scripture reading and
charitable works. Fatally collapsing on a Dublin street en route to church, he was
discovered to have regularly worn chains under his garments.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The links “were not for
show,” said Father Braschoss, but rather served “as a reminder that he wanted
to be a chosen slave of Mary and our Lord, instead of a slave to drink.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Pope Paul VI declared
Talbot “venerable” in 1975, and the Irishman is now invoked as an intercessor
by a number of ministries for those suffering from addiction, including the <a href="https://catholicphilly.com/2020/09/news/local-news/catholic-recovery-group-resumes-in-person-meetings/">Calix
Society</a>, which was founded in the U.S. some 20 years after Talbot’s
death. The global Catholic recovery group, based in Glenside
and named after the Latin word for “cup,” ensures 12-step-based sobriety by
promoting sanctification through the sacraments. Meetings generally feature
Mass, Eucharistic adoration, the rosary, reflection and fellowship.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Calix Society treasurer and
<a href="https://www.ourhouseministries.org/radio-program/">“Saints and
Sinners” radio show</a> host Ken Johnston said St. Gabriel has long been a
“hub” for Matt Talbot devotion.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In addition to featuring a
local Calix chapter, the parish is home to a Third Order Secular Franciscan
fraternity named for Talbot. That group in turn emerged from <a href="https://catholicphilly.com/2017/09/news/local-news/grays-ferry-priest-fights-addiction-with-sacramental-power/">Our
House Ministries</a>, a Catholic recovery outreach founded by Father Douglas
McKay, an archdiocesan priest who grew up in St. Gabriel’s and began praying to
Talbot while a seminarian.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“When I first found out
about him, I wanted to get all the materials on him I could,” said Father
McKay, who along with Msgr. Francis Carbine concelebrated the May 2 Mass. “I always carried
a Matt Talbot prayer card.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Having witnessed
addiction’s long impact on both his own family and the Grays Ferry area, Father
McKay said he “started going into the bars and handing out the life of Matt
Talbot.” Over time, those efforts culminated in the founding of Our House
Ministries, which today operates several recovery homes adjacent to St.
Gabriel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Irishman’s unlikely
journey from self-destruction to saintliness “will enlighten the way for so
many people who are struggling in darkness,” said Msgr. Carbine.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Calix member and Our House
staffer Patrick Kennedy agreed, saying he prays to Matt Talbot “every day.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Kennedy credits that
intercession with keeping him sober – as well as alive after a 14-hour
emergency surgery for an intestinal rupture. Following his hospitalization, he
attended a Matt Talbot-themed retreat, where he was able to release many of the
resentments that had fueled his addiction.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“I literally used to get
high behind where the Calix meetings are now,” said Kennedy, speaking from the
St. Gabriel lawn after Mass.
“Matt Talbot enabled me to be a part of this, from getting high over there to
be here doing this work.”</span></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A
statue of Venerable Matt Talbot stands at the center of a new shrine in his
honor, which was dedicated May 2 at St. Gabriel Parish in Philadelphia, where the Irish laborer-turned-mystic
has long been a popular patron, particularly for those in addiction recovery.
(Gina Christian)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Now a daily communicant,
Kennedy led the final construction phases of the Talbot shrine at St. Gabriel,
coordinating with artisans and contractors to revamp the former baptistery into
a bright, welcoming alcove containing the statue, prayer cards, medals, and a
book of intentions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Ultimately, said Johnston, the goal is to
have the site become a national shrine – “but there are a few steps involved,”
he noted.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">On a 2014 visit to Philadelphia from Ireland,
Father Brian Lawless, vice postulator of Talbot’s cause for canonization,
suggested the church could become the someday saint’s U.S. national
shrine. Prior to being named as such, however, the shrine must first receive
archdiocesan approval, and later the endorsement of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The process starts with
faithful making regular visits to the new shrine, said Johnston, and St. Gabriel will be open on
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. until at least 6 p.m. for that purpose.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The shrine’s urban location
mirrors the chaotic environment in which Talbot paradoxically nurtured a
genuine “mysticism,” said Father McKay.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“He was a worker in Dublin, and there was all
kinds of craziness around him,” he said. “And there’s all kinds of craziness
around us … profanity, alarms going off, helicopters flying over, gunshots.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The “light in the darkness”
is Jesus, Father McKay said – something Talbot knew from his own experience.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">On trading addiction for
mystical oneness with Christ, said Father McKay, Talbot’s advice was as
plainspoken as the man himself: “If I can do it, you can do it, by the grace of
God.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">***</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">For more information on
the Matt Talbot shrine at St. Gabriel Parish in Philadelphia — as well as the
Calix Society, Our House Ministries, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association
and the Matt Talbot Secular Franciscan Fraternity — visit <a href="http://www.matttalbotshrine.org">www.matttalbotshrine.org.</a></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></p>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-83462947561214627352021-01-17T14:46:00.000-05:002021-01-17T14:46:12.548-05:00A New Matt Talbot Shrine in Ireland<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><img src="https://www.ennisparish.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Matt-Talbot-by-Noreen-Flynn-20200924.jpg" /></p></div><p> <!--[if !mso]>
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</p><h1><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.ennisparish.com/gallery/matt-talbot-shrine/">Matt Talbot
Shrine - Ennis Parish</a></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;"></span></h1>
<p><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A new Matt Talbot shrine has been
erected in the Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul, Ennis. A specially
commissioned picture telling the story of Matt’s life was created by local artist
Noreen Flynn.<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It tells of Matt’s whole
life, his struggle with alcohol, of poverty, theft as he stole to buy drink,
and destitution. It also shows a journey of conversion, and how prayer changed
Matt’s life, and how he offers hope to all struggling or sharing in the life of
addictions.<span style="color: blue;">"</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-77112186105156888382020-09-22T16:10:00.003-04:002020-09-22T16:15:28.815-04:00Novena for Those Impacted by Addiction<p><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Scott
Weeman, Founder, Catholic in Recovery, announced today (9/22/2020) the
following message at</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://catholicinrecovery.com/novena/">https://catholicinrecovery.com/novena/</a></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The novena
begins tomorrow so sign up immediately.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Our Catholic
in Recovery team is excited to share the launch of a new Catholic in Recovery
Novena! A novena is a nine-day prayer rooted in ancient tradition that invites
us to consider a specific intention and often invokes the intercession of a saint
or saints. We will be accompanied by the likes of Saint Jude, Saint Maximilian
Kolbe, Saint Augustine,
Saint Monica, and others who are related to addiction recovery as we bring our
intentions to the Lord. We hope this serves as a source of hope and healing for
anyone impacted by addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments.</span><br /></p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
<br />
Please join us in praying the Catholic in Recovery Novena by clicking the link above and signing up with your email address. With new participants signing up
each day, we will be continually praying with and for each other. Families and
communities will have the opportunity to unite in prayer together through
shared intentions. Please share this valuable resource with others who may need
the spiritual communion of prayer and hope, and be sure to sign up today to
join us in prayer beginning tomorrow!”</span></p>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-52826449240487139282020-09-19T14:43:00.011-04:002020-09-19T21:42:37.524-04:00Saints Are Ordinary People Driven By Great Love
<div>
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</span></span></div></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">This article is from a chapter
in </span></span></i></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/mother-angelicas-guide-to-practical-holiness?utm_source=CEArticle&utm_medium=Angelica091318&utm_campaign=Angelica091318&utm_term=Angelica091318&utm_content=Angelica091318" title="https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/mother-angelicas-guide-to-practical-holiness?utm_source=CEArticle&utm_medium=Angelica091318&utm_campaign=Angelica091318&utm_term=Angelica091318&utm_content=Angelica091318">Mother
Angelica’s Guide to Practical Holiness</a>,<i><i><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> which is available from <a href="https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/mother-angelicas-guide-to-practical-holiness?utm_source=CEArticle&utm_medium=Angelica091318&utm_campaign=Angelica091318&utm_term=Angelica091318&utm_content=Angelica091318" title="https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/mother-angelicas-guide-to-practical-holiness?utm_source=CEArticle&utm_medium=Angelica091318&utm_campaign=Angelica091318&utm_term=Angelica091318&utm_content=Angelica091318">Sophia
Institute Press</a></span></span></i></i></span></span><i><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. </span></i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Saints:
Ordinary People Driven By Great Love</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Mother
Angelica</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">September
11, 2020</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">https://catholicexchange.com/saints-ordinary-people-driven-by-great-love</span></p>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><p class="has-drop-cap" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The concept of the perfect,
faultless saint is unrealistic. We have only to look at the gospels to see how
imperfect the Apostles and first Christians were. There was a point in their
lives when they changed. We call that point the time of their “conversion,”
their encounter with the Sanctifying Spirit. For the Apostles it was Pentecost,
for Paul it was a blinding light on the road to Damascus, for Cornelius it was the mere
presence of Peter.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">However, most of the saints did not
have dramatic experiences. As we have seen in the life of<span style="color: blue;"> </span><a href="https://catholicexchange.com/matt-talbot-the-dublin-mystic" target="_blank">Matt Talbot</a><span style="color: blue;">, </span>was pain,
disappointment, and a feeling of emptiness that pushed him into the arms of
God. No matter what happened, the saints determined at some point to follow
Jesus. A vacuum deep in their souls began to be filled, for they found the
pearl of great price. They all changed their lives, some their state in life,
but they did not get rid of their weaknesses. They fought harder, conquered
more often and grew, like Jesus, “in grace and wisdom before God and men” (Luke
2:52).</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In the Acts we see Peter’s vacillating spirit making him and
everyone else miserable as he took so much time deciding the fate of the
Gentiles. Paul’s temper flared quickly as he argued his point before the
gathering of Apostles. John, called by Jesus a son of thunder, had little
patience with those who would not follow Jesus.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In the lives of all the saints we find the following
similarities:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
- </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">love for God and neighbor,<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: -2.4pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">determination to imitate Jesus,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: -2.4pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">an immediate rising after a fall,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: -2.4pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">a complete breakaway from grievous sin,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: -2.4pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">growth in virtue and prayer,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">
-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">and the accomplishment of God’s Will.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-left: -2.4pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">These
factors are available to every human being; they do not exclude imperfections
and faults. We must make a distinction between faults and sins. A saintly
person keeps the Commandments; however, he may possess various human qualities,
dispositions that make the imitation of Jesus a sanctifying process. These
weaknesses make him choose constantly between himself and God. It is in this
emptying of oneself and the “putting on of Jesus” that he becomes holy.</span>
</p><p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Holiness is a “growth experience” and growth consists in
advancing in knowledge, love, self-control and all those other imitable virtues
of Jesus. We must not lose sight of holiness as we grow, for holiness only
means that Jesus is more to us than anyone or anything else in the world. But
this desire to belong entirely to God does not exclude being loving to our
neighbor, compassionate, caring, patient and kind. Our desire to belong to God
enhances all these virtues in our souls, increases our love for our neighbor
and makes us more unselfish.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A housewife becomes holy by being a loving wife and mother,
filled with compassion for her family because she is filled with the
compassionate Jesus.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A husband and father becomes holy by being a good provider,
hardworking, honest and understanding because his model is the provident Jesus.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Both husband and wife become holy together as their love for
Jesus grows. Love makes them see themselves and change those frailties that are
not like their Model. In doing this, life together is less complicated and more
loving and understanding. They are bound together by love and prayer, mutual
striving and forgiving. <span style="color: blue;"></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Children
become holy by being obedient, thoughtful, joyful and loving. These qualities
are maintained by grace and prayer.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Being faithful to the duties of one’s state in life and
faithful to the grace of the moment are not as easy as they appear. Our
temperament, weaknesses, society, work and even the weather clamor for our
attention. Living a spiritual life in an unspiritual world and maintaining the
principles of Jesus over the principles of this world is hard, but within reach
of all. The paradox is that if we choose evil over good it is hell all the way
to hell and that is harder.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Christianity is a way of life, a way of thought, a way of
action that is contrary to the way of the world. This makes the Christian stand
alone and it is this aloneness that discourages him from striving for holiness.
However, it is this same aloneness that makes him stand out in a crowd. He
becomes a beacon for those who do not enjoy the darkness, a light that
enlightens the minds of all around him, a fire that warms cold hearts.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">He struggles as all men struggle; he works, eats, sleeps,
cries and laughs, but the spirit in which he accomplishes ordinary human needs
and demands makes him holy. He does not always make the right decisions but he
learns from his mistakes. He does not correspond to every grace, but he accepts
his failures with humility and tries harder to be like the Master. He does not
condone sin, and though he is ever aware of his own sinner condition, he loves
his neighbor enough to correct him with gentleness when his soul is in danger.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">He is free to have or have not, for his real treasure is
Jesus and the invisible realities. He can possess with detachment or be
dispossessed without bitterness.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">He knows his Father well enough to entrust his past to His
mercy. The Spirit is a friend who guides his steps and straightens the crooked
paths ahead. His time and talents are spent in the imitation of Jesus in the
ever present now.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The saint is the person who loves Jesus on a personal level;
loves Him enough to want to be like Him in everyday life; loves Him enough to
take on some of His loveable characteristics. Like Jesus, he lovingly
accomplishes the Father’s Will, knowing that all things are turned to good
because he is loved personally by such a great God.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Let us not be confused by the talents and missions of other
Saints. Let us be the kind of saints we were created to be. There are no little
or great saints — only men and women who struggled and prayed to be like Jesus
— doing the Father’s Will from moment to moment wherever they are and whatever
they are doing.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Saints are ordinary people with the compassion of the Father
in their souls, the humility of Jesus in their minds and the love of the Spirit
in their hearts. When these beautiful qualities grow day by day in everyday
situations, holiness is born.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Father gave His Son so we would become His children and
heirs of His Kingdom. Jesus was born, lived and died and rose to show us the
way to the Father. The Spirit gave us His gifts so we would be clothed with the
jewels of virtue, the gold of love, the emeralds of hope and the brilliant
diamonds of faith.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Let us not be content with the scotch tape and the aluminum
foil of this world.</span></p>
<p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin-bottom: 15.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 15.6pt; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Be Holy — wherever you are!</span></p>
<br />
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-86817963370917082372020-09-13T16:30:00.000-04:002020-09-13T16:30:08.850-04:00 The Glories of Recovery <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">This author
has written articles about Venerable Matt Talbot on his blog, <a href="http://www.sobercatholic.com/">http://www.sobercatholic.com</a> that we</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"> have re-posted,
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and we appreciate his wife, Rose Santuci-Sofranko,
alerting us to the following article by Paul.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Glories
of Recovery </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">By Paul
Sofranko </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">09/10/2020 </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.liguorian.org/the-glories-of-recovery/"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">https://www.liguorian.org/the-glories-of-recovery/</span></a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="post-byline"><span class="s1"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Alcoholism may be one of humanity’s oldest addictions.</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Wine and other
intoxicating beverages—along with their potential to cause problems—have been
with us since the development of agriculture</span>.<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">In the Book of
Genesis, Noah—a good farmer—planted a vineyard. And, after harvesting grapes,
he promptly “drank some of the wine, became drunk, and lay naked inside his tent”
(Genesis 9:21). There is no scriptural record of Noah’s wine drinking becoming
problematic. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that alcohol’s use has been
accompanied by its abuse from the beginning of human civilization.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Glorification of Alcohol and the Tragedy of Addiction</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Alcohol abuse has
been glorified in popular culture for a long time. Heavy drinking has been
depicted as a sign of manhood, especially if you can “hold it.” Books, movies,
and TV shows have always been flooded with tough-guy characters who drink a
lot. And broken-down women who can or can’t hold their liquor. Drunkards are
also common comedic characters. Skits by Red Skelton and Foster Brooks
come to mind, as do the <i>Arthur</i> films.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yet for millions,
drinking is no laughing matter. For such people, boozing is tragic. Lives are
lost, home life is ripped apart, jobs and careers vanish. The variety of
horrors resulting from uncontrolled drinking is longer than all the fancy lists
you can find of cocktails, wines, and beers.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Alcoholism can strike
anyone. It ignores age, race, sex, gender, nationality, religion, or any other
label we can place on people. Origins and causes remain speculative. Compelling
evidence supports either “nature” or “nurture,” meaning genetic and hereditary
sources or familial upbringing could be the origin, or some combination. My <i>Liguorian</i>
article isn’t concerned with why addiction happens. But because I am sure you,
our reader, either is an addict or knows someone who is, this article hopes to
address the question, “Now what?” I think I can help.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Essential
Role of our Faith in Recovery</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">We are Catholics,
and as such we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We know he is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life. Thus I can assure you there is a Way, using his Truth,
to recover the Life he holds out for us.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">According to the
old <i>Baltimore Catechism</i>, we are put on this earth to love and serve God
in this life so we can be happy with him forever in the next. God is our first
beginning and our last end. Life is what happens in between. And because of
Original Sin, we suffer from concupiscence, which disturbs that life. Our
tendency toward sin has many degrees, from venial sins—which damage our
relationship with God and others—to mortal sins—which<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>cause severe harm, including destroying
a life of grace in the soul.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Somewhere in the
mix of any life, addiction can fall. For an addict, at some point the normal
use of a drink or a drug becomes abusive—crossing a line that’s different for
every soul—and becoming a disease. Addiction is when the need for the substance
becomes compulsive and causes spiritual, mental, and physical harm to the user.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Catholic spiritual
writers for centuries have referred to addiction as an “inordinate attraction.”
In a world that’s wounded by sin and fear, in which people are marginalized by
impersonal and uncaring governments and businesses, where multitudes of
messages bombard people through media venues that cause some to doubt
themselves and make them feel less than others, it is no surprise that folks seek
an escape. Drinking enables people to build a fantasy: a unique perception
about themselves that is vastly superior to a reality in which they lack the
control they desire.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Which brings us
here:</span></p>
<p class="p2"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Sin and
False Reality of Addiction</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The title of this article
is a purposeful homage to the classic text on the Blessed Virgin Mary by St.
Alphonsus Liguori, <i>The Glories of Mary</i>. While by no means equating this
work with that of the saint, it is intended to convey what our ultimate goal
should be: arriving at our true home, heaven, and basking in the glory of God
and in being glorified ourselves.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">We are made in the
image and likeness of God, and therefore our souls reflect his image.
Tragically, this image is distorted and clouded daily by sin, sometimes to the
point of completely obscuring it. Addictions in and of themselves are sinful in
that individual wills are corrupted, with the consequences that things are done
that ought not to occur.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Through addiction,
people enter a false reality, their self-esteem and ego soar on wings like
eagles, hurts are avenged, losses and missed opportunities are reimagined into
victories, grievances are settled and—in short—they feel “healed.” Of course,
the “healing” is as fake as the reality. The “healing” feeling will persist as
long as the addict can function in his or her addiction. But at some point, the
feeling will come crashing down, and life will become a wreck that the addict
created and which desperately needs salvaging.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Recovery: The
Path to a Fulfilling Life</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Works of mercy,
typically called “recovery,” are in place to assist people in addressing their
addiction. Recovery helps people overcome addiction, rebuild lives, repair
relationships with people and particularly with God so that when life comes to
its end and we meet Jesus—our Just and Merciful Judge—we can hear his
anticipated words, “Welcome my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of
your Father.”</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Recovery is
redemptive. What was lost is recovered. It may be different from what might
have been had alcohol or drugs not become destructive. Nevertheless, in
recovery, a life that is now responsible and rightly ordered can be achieved.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">To those who have
a loved one in the vice of addiction, the most important thing you can do is
pray fervently for that person until she or he reaches out in need. People
generally do not begin recovery until they want it. Those who truly want to do
the work necessary to recover will reach a point where they realize that if
they continue drinking they will die, whereas if they stop drinking they may
only want to die.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">If addicts choose
the hard work of recovery, they will eventually choose life, and you can hope
to be present when they do. That is important: be present to them. At the
moment they no longer want to live the way they are living, in their broken and
wounded spirit, they will not know what to do beyond not wanting to drink
anymore.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">If you wish to be
informed about addiction, how to respond to it, and what recovery from it looks
like, resources are available in your community and online. Your local yellow
pages book or online can point them out to you. The information you find will
help you minister to your loved one’s needs. Immerse yourself in prayer and
beseech the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you. Insight into where to go may
come from any source. Listen and be open to inspiration. Humility is also
essential, as your loved one may resist your help and seek it elsewhere,
perhaps even in recovery organizations. It is often believed—and in my opinion
it’s often true—that only another addict can help an addict. Addicts in
recovery have credibility from living through and recovering on a daily basis
from the problem.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">If you have an
addiction and are seeking help, there are numerous recovery groups available,
from Step organizations and those using other recovery methods. Make use of
them. They comprise individuals who have been where you are now, they have
suffered through it and now have a life that no longer wants the crutches of
the drink or the drug. If you fear how difficult it might be to live a life
clean and sober, they will teach you.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Recovery programs
are like the practice fields athletes use before going out onto the actual
field of play. On the recovery field you will learn the life skills you need
and how to keep from returning to the addictive drug or drink of choice to
cope.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Help from
Fellow Catholics and Other Like-minded People</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Calix Society
is a prime Catholic organization offering assistance to alcoholics. “The
society is an association of Catholic alcoholics who are maintaining their
sobriety through affiliation with and participation in the Fellowship of
Alcoholics Anonymous,” says a line from <u>calixsociety.org</u>.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">While Alcoholics
Anonymous is not a Catholic organization, its early history reveals the influence
of Catholics. AA’s Twelve Steps were developed with the assistance of a Jesuit
priest, Fr. Ed Dowling of St. Louis.
The steps are closely related to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of
Loyola in their exposition of faults, the amendment of life, and growing closer
to God.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sr. Ignatia, who
worked with AA co-founder “Dr. Bob” in his hospital, awarded Sacred Heart
badges to alcoholics who successfully left treatment. This initiated the
tradition in AA groups of giving monthly and annual chips or medallions to
people after periods of self-proclaimed sobriety.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">My blog,
“Sober Catholic” (found on <u>sobercatholic.com</u>) contains links to many useful
resources for anyone who is looking to apply their Catholic faith in seeking assistance
for addictions. It has been online since January 2007, and I have endeavored to
maintain links to useful resources on it. I believe Jesus, the Divine
Physician, established the Catholic Church and its resources, including<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the liturgical and sacramental life,
ministries, and lay apostolates. Our Church, in my view, therefore can be an
effective partner for the alcoholic and addict in staying clean and sober. I am
not a certified recovery specialist, just a sober guy with a blog. But my
application of my Catholic faith has been primarily responsible for keeping me
sober for many years. I have published two devotional booklets, <i>The Recovery
Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts</i>, and <i>The Stations of the
Cross for Alcoholics </i>(for information and to order, see<i> </i>sobercatholic.com).
The former carries the reader through all twenty mysteries of the rosary with
reflections on each one and how they relate to the alcoholic. The latter does
the same with the Stations of the Cross. The reader goes on a healing journey
as the old person is cast off and the new person emerges. </span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Catholic
faith, with its rich traditions of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and
reconciliation, can assist with sobriety. Perhaps not completely on its own.
Sometimes the sick need resources that deal specifically with an illness. In
that regard, you or your loved ones should make responsible use of qualified
professionals, from clinical recovery specialists to treatment centers or
therapists. But there is an inexhaustible fount of graces and healing flowing
from our Church. With those, the glories of sobriety—for your loved one or you
if you suffer with addiction—are within reach.</span></p>
<p> </p>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-26401619687273740972020-07-31T18:38:00.071-04:002020-07-31T21:07:59.838-04:00Dealing with Drug and Alcohol Addiction During a Pandemic<div>After reading some postings on our Venerable Matt Talbot Resource Center site, a
reader and his team offered us the opportunity of re-posting the following
article:
<u>https://detoxofsouthflorida.com/drug-and-alcohol-addiction-during-a-pandemic/.</u> <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>INTRODUCTION</div><div><br /></div><div> Drug and Alcohol Addiction During a Pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic has
hit differently compared to many other epidemics that have occurred before. It
will get marked in history as an era of pain, anxiety, panic, and depression. In
case we survive this pandemic as we pray and hope for the very best, the world
will be all changed. This pandemic has impacted the restriction of social
gatherings, thus no attending the churches, schools got closed, businesses are
dissolving every day. And each new day there is an introduction to more and more
restrictions which are stricter than the previous ones. This pandemic has even
turned the economy upside down. Social distancing means sometimes we do not have
to be close to our loved ones like before, It also means people are not even
attending their jobs hence financially disabled. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Research says many people may
turn into abusing drugs, also let’s only consider the rates of people who have
lost their jobs in the United States currently. After the pandemic, we may face
addiction more than even the economic crisis. Just like the coronavirus has
affected the world both socially and financially also, it has changed the domain
of recovery and addiction. The wave of anxiety and fear that is wafting during
this pandemic has contributed to a lot of individuals holding back from
continuing or seeking addiction treatment and therapies.</div><div><br /></div><div>EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON
THE ADDICT BODY</div><div><br /></div><div> Generally. addiction affects the body of the user in various
means, it weakens the immune system and also alters the functioning of the inner
organs. For example, the long term and frequent use of alcohol cause
inflammation, pancreatitis, liver cirrhosis, fibrosis, alcohol hepatitis and
it’s known for causing various types of cancer and brain damage. These health
conditions which are brought by alcohol causes the user to be more vulnerable to
the COVID -19 symptoms.</div><div><br /></div><div> Prolonged abuse of opioids such as heroin, fentanyl,
codeine, and hydrocodone causes pulmonary and respiratory complications. Smoking
of drugs such as marijuana or tobacco drastically weakens the lungs thus putting
long term smokers into a risk of being profoundly affected by the coronavirus.
According to the research from the national institute on drug abuse, they
reported individuals with substance use disorder and smoker’s coronavirus is a
significant threat to them. When COVID-19 infects an individual. It begins with
weakening the cells on the lining of the lungs. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Thus the pre-symptoms of
coronavirus are fever, headache, fatigue, and dry cough, shortness of breath and
muscle pain. The symptoms get more severe after the infection reaches the lower
respiratory tract. An individual who has a healthy immune system may be able to
recover from the virus when it’s in the upper respiratory tract. However,
coronavirus may cause severe impacts in the body such as pneumonia, and
bronchitis, in more severe instances which is rare COVID-19 may cause acute
respiratory distress syndrome. A healthy individual can fully recover from
COVID-19 however if an individual has health complications such as chronic
diseases, pulmonary abnormalities then they are at a high risk of not improving
or more vulnerable to get severe illness. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>CORONA VIRUS IMPACTS TO INDIVIDUALS
WITH MENTAL HEALTH COMPLICATIONS.</div><div> <br /></div><div>Before I even jump into the effects of COVID-19 to mental health patients, let me point out that mental health and substance
abuse are closely linked. Thus approximately fifty percent of individuals with
mental disorders are as a result of prolonged use abuse of substances. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>When an
individual has substance abuse disorder and mental health issues. the condition
is referred to as dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder. Basing this
conclusion on research, most individual’s abuse drugs to calm down and cope with
their mental health. Some individuals confess that after using alcohol. smoking
or other drugs, they get temporary relief from anxiety and stress, and they go
in the state of nirvana ‘as they say. Fifty-three percent of substance abusers
are said to have severe mental disorders, however, thanks to the rehabilitation
centers, which offer services of treating the co-occurring condition. Actually,
with the increased tensions and stress on the coronavirus, it’s the best time to
seek treatment.</div><div> <br /></div><div>The increase of COVID 19 pressure may lead to worry and fear of
loved one’s health and individual’s health Changes in eating and sleeping
patterns more use of tobacco. alcohol and other drugs. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Therefore individuals
with mental disorders, should continue receiving treatment and pay attention to
worsening or new symptoms. WHO has requested people to limit news about
coronavirus, which may cause more anxiety and instead get information from the
trusted sources. WHO recommends the caregivers, media experts, doctors and first
responders to the COVID 19 patients that in the process they may experience
emotional toll and develop secondary traumatic stress. Thus in case, they
experience fear, social withdrawal, illness, fatigue or guilt they should pull
away from the media and allow themselves time for self-care to unwind.</div><div><br /></div><div> ACCESSING
TO ABUSE TREATMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. With the environment surrounding
this pandemic such as the social distance, risk of substance use may increase,
due to stress, isolation, and anxiety caused by COVID19. Therefore the addiction
treatment should remain accessible. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>OUTPATIENT TREATMENT <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This program is for
individuals with a mild addiction, they attend rehab during the day, but they go
home. Upon arrival, they are screened for Covid-19 symptoms, in case they test
positive they are isolated, and a telehealth treatment plan gets initiated. The
patients who don’t have Covid-19 symptoms continue or begin addiction treatment
while observing physical distance and sanitation. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>VIRTUAL 12-STEP MEETINGS <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This
is a crucial stage for individuals who are in the recovery stage of drug abuse
disorder such as the narcotics anonymous and alcoholics anonymous. These
meetings currently have stipulated measures such as physical distancing, and
sanitary precautions, thus individuals no longer shake or hold hands and
hugging. The 12 step meetings are still available through most individuals are
afraid of attending them.
</div>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-19357021230764052692020-06-19T18:44:00.000-04:002020-06-19T18:44:13.696-04:00Remembering Venerable Matt Talbot
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Venerable
Matt Talbot has been and is being remembered and celebrated as “Saint
of the Day,” “Feast Day of Matt Talbot,” “Remembrance Day”
or other similar heading on June 7, June 18 or June 19 depending
on the source.<br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rather than select one specific date, each
of us may choose to be inspired and learn from Matt Talbot
each and every day and to share his life with those who are addicted.</span></div>
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<![endif]-->John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-29840468849619301692020-06-08T21:21:00.000-04:002020-06-08T21:25:16.740-04:00The Transformation of Venerable Matt TalbotWe sincerely appreciate this article written by K. V. Turley and published by the National Catholic Register. (We have changed the title above.)<br />
<br />
The Mystery of Venerable Matt Talbot <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Posted by K.V.
Turley on Sunday Jun 7th, 2020</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Matt
Talbot walked the streets of Dublin
as a mystic soul and an ambassador for Christ.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/kturley/the-mystery-of-venerable-matt-talbot">https://www.ncregister.com/blog/kturley/the-mystery-of-venerable-matt-talbot</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">On June 7, 1925, an elderly
poorly dressed man collapsed in Granby
Lane, Dublin.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Subsequently, he was taken to Jervis Street
Hospital where he was
found to be dead. Although his identity was as yet unknown, a curious discovery
was made: He was wearing heavy chains, some wrapped around his legs, others
around his body. Mortuary staff puzzled over not just who he was but also the
meaning of the chains.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">The man was eventually
identified as Matt Talbot.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";"> </span>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Born in 1856 into a large
Catholic family living in semi-poverty in Dublin,
Talbot left school, barely literate, aged just 11 years old, going to work
full-time as an unskilled laborer. By his teenage years he was hopelessly
addicted to alcohol. Although he had the reputation of being a hard worker, his
work ethic was simply the means by which to finance his "hard-drinking."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">
It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that the next phase of his life began outside
a pub. That summer’s day in 1884, he had no money. He hoped that one of his
fellow drinkers would stand him a drink. As each acquaintance filed past him
into the pub, no one offered to buy him anything. Something then occurred that
was to change Matt Talbot forever. Humiliated by the indifference of his
erstwhile friends, he turned and walked straight home. His mother was surprised
to see him at that early hour, and even more surprised to see him sober. He
proceeded to clean himself up before announcing he was going to a nearby
seminary to ‘take the pledge’ – a promise to abstain from all alcohol. His
mother was mystified by this – and fearful. She knew that pledges made to God were
not something to be taken lightly. She counseled him against doing any such
thing unless he was intent on persevering. He listened and left.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Talbot did take the pledge
that day. He also went to Confession. These actions were to prove the hallmarks
of a genuine conversion, one as sincere as it was needed. Nevertheless, the
first step of conversion takes but a moment, the work of sanctification a
lifetime: after years of drunkenness, still besetting him was a weakness of
character and a working world centered on alcohol.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">After his conversion, not much
changed, outwardly at least: Talbot continued with his employment in the Dublin docks. He
continued to work hard, now respected more than ever by his fellow workers and
employers who noticed that he had started to give his wages to his mother
rather than straight to a publican. Previously, when not working, he had spent
his time in public houses, but now he turned his back on all that. He had been
‘born anew’, but like a newborn was vulnerable to the world he inhabited. With
little to cling to, he turned inward, to the Spirit that seeks to dwell within
each baptized soul. And, as he did so, he commenced upon an interior journey
that few could have imagined possible.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">From then on, along the Dublin streets there
began to move a mystic soul. Each morning, at 5 a.m., Talbot knelt upon the
stone pavement outside a city church waiting for the doors to open and for the
first Mass to begin. After the Holy Sacrifice, he would pray for a time before
going to one of the timber yards near the docks. There he labored all day just
like the rest of his fellow workers; but there were periods in the day when
lulls and breaks would occur. Whilst the other workers gossiped or smoked,
Talbot chose to be alone, kneeling in prayer in a hidden part of a workshop
until the call came to return to his labors.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Each evening, when work was
finished, Talbot walked home with his fellow workers. They all knew their
companion’s free time was spent praying in a city church before the Blessed Sacrament.
Often he asked them to join him in making a visit to Our Blessed Lord. Some
did. After a short while, however, they would leave, while Matt still knelt in
the gathering twilight. Eventually, when at night he did return home, it was to
yet more prayer – and mortification. His bed was a plank of wood, as was his
pillow. Although respected by those among whom he lived and worked, and
although he was not unfriendly, he had few visitors. Those who did encounter
him felt he was not quite of this world. They were right; he was traveling ever
inwards on a journey to freedom he could never have envisaged when trapped in
a never-ending alcoholic stupor.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">When his belongings were found
after his death, what surprised many was the number of books he owned. Inquires
soon revealed that he had slowly, but determinedly, taught himself to read and,
as he did so, effectively begun a course of study that included the spiritual
classics, the lives of saints, doctrinal books, and works of mystical and
ascetical theology. When asked by a friend how he, a poor workman, could read
the works of St. Augustine,
John Henry Newman and others, his reply was as straightforward as it was
telling. He said he asked the Holy Spirit to enlighten him. And so he grew in
an intellectual understanding of his faith that, in turn, deepened the prayer
and penance he undertook.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">His life ran alongside
momentous events in Irish history. It was a time of cultural renaissance and
nationalist fervor, of a Great Strike in 1913 and of open revolution in 1916,
of the Great War and a war for independence, yet throughout it all Talbot’s
life remained largely unchanged. He knew all too well that kingdoms rise and
kingdoms fall, but that he had set his face to serve a different Kingdom, one
shown him in 1884 when he confessed all and cast himself into the hands of the
Living God.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Talbot never married; held no
position of note, was unknown outside his small circle of family and friends —
only one blurred photograph has survived him — and, yet, this was a rare man:
one who had taken the Gospel at its word and lived it<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">.</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">By 1925, Talbot was 69. He had
been in poor health for some time. Out of necessity, he tried to continue
working as there was only limited relief for the poor and elderly, but his
strength was failing. However, even then, he persisted in his prayer and penance.
On June 7, 1925, whilst struggling down a Dublin
alleyway on his way to Mass, he fell. A small crowd gathered around him. A
Dominican priest was called from the nearby church, the one to which Talbot had
been hurrying. The priest came and knelt over the fallen man. Realizing what
had happened, the priest raised his hand in a last blessing for a final
journey.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Talbot died on Trinity Sunday;
he was buried on the feast of Corpus
Christi.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">In 1975, Pope Paul VI bestowed
a new title upon this humble workman: Venerable. Now Talbot is a heavenly
patron for all those with addictions, alcohol or otherwise.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Still to this day there is a
large trunk in the safekeeping of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It contains the
books owned by the now Venerable Matt Talbot. A veritable treasury of spiritual
theology, one of the books contained therein is <i><span style="font-family: "arial";">True Devotion to Mary</span></i> by St. Louis de Montfort. In its
pages, de Montfort reflects on the choice of being a slave to this world or of
the Blessed Virgin. For those that choose the latter path, it recommends, after
due recourse to a spiritual director and suitable enrolment, that a chain be
worn to symbolize that that soul no longer belongs to the powers of darkness
but is instead now a child of the light. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
On that June day in 1925 when Matt Talbot fell upon a Dublin street, his
chains were those denoting nothing less than a slave to Mary and an
ambassador for Christ.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<![endif]-->John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-50389708700312907912020-06-07T11:06:00.001-04:002020-06-07T11:26:47.308-04:0095th Anniversary of Venerable Matt Talbot's Death<span style="font-size: small; size: 4;">Today is the 95th anniversary of the death of Matt Talbot.</span><span style="font-size: small; size: 4;"> Matt was on his way to Mass in St. Saviour’s on Trinity Sunday, June 7, 1925, when he collapsed and died on Granby Lane, Dublin.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fifty years later, Pope Paul VI (now Saint Paul Vl) <span style="color: blue;"> </span>gave him
the title "Venerable." He is known as a patron of alcoholics and workers. </span></span><br />
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<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Prayer for the Canonisation of Venerable Matt Talbot</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Lord, in your
servant, Matt Talbot</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">you have given us a wonderful example</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">of triumph over addiction, of devotion to
duty,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">and of lifelong reverence for the Most Holy
Sacrament.</span></i></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">May
his life of prayer and penance</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">give us courage to take up our crosses</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">and follow in the footsteps</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.</span></i></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";"> Father,</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">if it be your will that your beloved
servant</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">should be glorified by your Church,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">make known by your heavenly favours</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">the power he enjoys in your sight.</span></i></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">We
ask this through the same</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Jesus Christ Our Lord.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Amen.</span></i></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Venerable Matt Talbot's Shrine is located in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Dublin.</span><br />
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<![endif]-->John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-14856941134649920442020-02-22T14:47:00.001-05:002020-10-05T12:01:49.518-04:00Praying with Matt Talbot<div class="sqs-layout sqs-grid-12 columns-12" data-layout-label="Post Body" data-type="item" data-updated-on="1579697669215" id="item-5e283faa570a624d1ed8428e" style="-webkit-box-ordinal-group: 5; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: rgba(5, 5, 5, 0.88); font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0.17px; margin-bottom: 30px; order: 5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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We are very grateful to Father Don, CP, for writing and posting this homily on January 22, 2020 at <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com/homilies-reflections/praying-with-matt-talbot">https://www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com/homilies-reflections/praying-with-matt-talbot</a></span><br />
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Someone once said to me, “<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">We are all addicts</i>”. I have worked for a long time with people in AA. I know some people in NA and OA, and even SA.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Addictions… Plentiful</b></div>
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In an article by Richard Rohr, a modern spiritual writer, he describes how we are all addicts. He describes two of our generalized addictions… One he names ‘stinking thinking’. Do we <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">always</span> have to be right? Are our opinions set in concrete? Are we <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">addicted</span> to our habitual way of thinking and doing?</div>
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Rohr also points out another general addiction… All societies are addicted to themselves, to what they consider valuable and worthwhile. We Americans like to buy new <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">stuff</span>, money back guarantee, to make our lives easier or happier. How much of that <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">stuff</span> ends up in our garage? Are we addicted to ‘consumption? </div>
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Rohr believes that only a life lived with a spiritual depth can get us beyond these generalized addictions. A developing prayer life plugs us into something deeper and richer than our social environs, commercials and the internet. Rohr calls this ‘divine therapy’. (See R. Rohr, <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Daily Meditations</span>, Sunday, December 8, 2019)</div>
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There are also individual addictions we can suffer from. Some become addicted to alcohol and pills, others to shopping, others to the internet and porn. Some millennials become addicted to their smart phones… a recent study found that millennials check their smart phones on an average of 87 times a day. So much information… so little meaning. Many suffer from FOMO – a new dis-ease – Fear Of Missing Out. Would that we would lift our minds and hearts to God 87 times a day. Would that we suffered from FOMG – Fear Of Missing God.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> Are you aware of any addictions in your life? How long have you had them? How do you deal with them?</b></div>
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Many people deny their addictions. ‘I can stop internet shopping any time I want to’. Can you? Try it for two weeks. ‘I can stop porn any time I want to’. Can you? Try stopping for two weeks.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> Remember, you can’t heal what you do not acknowledge.</b></div>
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The first step in dealing with our addiction… own up to it. We need to honestly recognize our activity as an addiction. Shortly I will be describing the life of Matt Talbot. At age 28 he had a ‘moment of clarity’ when he recognized how important booze was to him… he couldn’t stop drinking. He was in bondage to booze.</div>
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As I tell Matt’s story I will at times compare his experiences with those of people in AA. In AA, for example, this ‘moment of clarity’ leads to the First of the Twelve Steps. </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> ‘<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">We admitted we were powerless over alcohol… that our lives had become unmanageable.’</i> </b></div>
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That’s what Matt Talbot experienced.</div>
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What about us? Instead of alcohol we might put drugs, food, sex, shopping, porn, or the way that our society believes that ‘stuff’ will make us happy. </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"> Remember, you cannot heal what you do not acknowledge.</b></div>
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How can we rise above our addiction (s)? What happened to Matt Talbot that began to change his life? As we go thru the life of Matt Talbot notice both the physical and the spiritual parts of his dealing with his alcoholism. Matt dealt with his alcoholism toward the end of the 1800’s, well before the publishing of AA’s <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Big Book</span> in the 1939, which introduced the world to AA.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Heroes and Saints</b></div>
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Before looking at the life of Matt Talbot I would like to look at the topic of heroes and saints. This might help us understand why we’re even considering Matt Talbot and <i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Praying with Matt Talbot.<br style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" /> </i></div>
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<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Heroes… 19th Century</i></div>
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In an interesting book entitled <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">A Call to Heroism</span> by Harvard History Professor Peter Gibbon, he notes that in the 19th century our country paid homage to many heroes who it looked up to: George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Lewis and Clark. Such heroes were larger than life. They inspired and challenged people. Heroes were distinguished by their achievements, by a certain largesse of soul. They participated in heroic events with courage and bravery. Heroes enhanced life, they inspired and stretched our imagination. They showed nobleness and moral bravery, calling us to search for our better selves. They challenge us to “<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">surmount adversity and fight despair. Human beings become heroic when, against all odds, they persist; when despite their flaws, they achieve.” (p. 183)</i></div>
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Heroes show us that we humans can overcome our frailties and flaws and follies, our ignorance and illnesses… that courage and patience can create something great.</div>
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As we examine the life of Matt Talbot, we see a hero who struggled with his alcoholism with courage and patience and certainly with God’s help.</div>
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Heroes show us that life is more than being a happy consumer, deluged in entertainment and in bondage to the constant need to consume more "stuff". Heroes challenge us to move beyond ‘my life is all about me’.</div>
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What happened to "heroes" in the 20th century?</div>
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With the wealth of information about past heroes now available, biography gave way to pathography. Biography used to celebrate talents and achievements, virtue and inspiring character traits. In the 20th century biographies of heroes began to highlight their quirks and their "dark sides." Heroes were debunked as their character defects and their foibles were intimately described. The "clay feet" of heroes became all too visible. Today there is much cynicism and skepticism regarding so-called "heroes". We live in a society that tends to look upon our leaders with skeptical eyes. We tend to be suspicious of anyone who might be considered as great or heroic. </div>
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I find it interesting that Matt Talbot and many people in AA today own up to their addiction and their character defects. They witness to the action of God in their lives. Their lives are now spent in service to others. Prayer becomes important in Matt Talbot’s life and in the lives of AA people today. AA’s Step 11 points to the importance of prayer in our life.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Step 11… 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. (Big Book, P. 59)</i></b></div>
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Our modern society seldom if ever recognizes or encourages this.</div>
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As we present Matt Talbot’s life, we will see the heart of this Step 11 in his life as he developed his spiritual life. </div>
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For us Catholics we look to our family of saints for examples of heroism. Saints are members of God's family who have passed from this life to the banquet of life in the presence of God. They are still an important part of <span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">our</span> faith journey thru this life. We believe that even now they care for us by interceding for us before God. But the saints do more. They are examples and challenges.</div>
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The saints show us how <i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">God's grace can transform peoples' lives</i>. Matt Talbot’s life shows us how God's grace can enter a person's life and transform that life. Saints help us to glimpse God's glory present among us. </div>
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The saints also exemplify for us <i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">the human response to God's grace</i>. Matt Talbot shows us how to respond to God's gracious call and live as God’s people in our world. Matt Talbot gives us encouragement and even guidance in facing the challenges of addiction in our own time and culture as we ponder the story of his life and how he met its challenges. </div>
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<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Matt Talbot… A Modern Saint</i></div>
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Now we come to the main topic of our reflections<i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">… Praying with Matt Talbot.</i></div>
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First let me say that Matt Talbot is not a saint – yet. He is a Venerable… on the path to being declared a saint by our Church. Let’s look at the life of Matt Talbot… why he is a Venerable and why he is the patron of those addicted to alcohol. Indeed, his life can help us deal with all of our addictive behaviors. That’s why we want to ‘Pray with Matt Talbot’.</div>
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Matt Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 2nd, 1856. His family was large… 11 siblings, 7 boys and 4 girls. All but one of the boys died young. Matt survived. His father was a heavy drinker. His family was poor. The family moved often. </div>
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At age 10 Matt went to school. He left two years later, still unable to read and write. At age 12 he got a job at Porter and Stout Bottling Co. His drinking career began. By age 14 he was drinking whiskey. By age 16 he regularly came home from work drunk. </div>
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As he developed his drinking career, every evening after work he trekked to his ‘watering hole’, O’Meara’s Pub. Drink was his only interest. When his wages were spent, he borrowed, pawned his clothes and did extra work at small jobs for more money to drink. Matt was an alcoholic.</div>
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By age 28 he was well on his way to destruction. One Saturday morning in 1884 Matt waited outside of O’Meara’s without a penny to his name. He had been unemployed that week. When he had money, he would share it generously with his drinking friends. Now he thought his ‘friends’ would help him out. Surprise… they passed him by, one by one… basically ignoring him. He was just a drunk.</div>
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Matt was stunned and hurt and angry. But it was a ‘moment of grace’. People today in AA call it ‘a moment of clarity’. Matt thought about his predicament and realized he was totally enslaved to booze. He was powerless. He decided to ‘take the Pledge’ for three months… no booze for three months – period. He went home and told his mother, ‘Ma, I’m going to take the Pledge’. He was 28 years old. (The Pledge was a promise common in Ireland to avoid drinking – no drink - for a certain period of time.)</div>
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The next three months were sheer hell for Matt. He stopped drinking ‘cold turkey’, as folks in AA describe it today. The withdrawal symptoms from his addiction - hallucination, depression and nausea - were extremely painful for Matt, but he stuck to it. Here began the physical part of Matt’s recovery. It was tough. In his day and age there was no detox or rehab centers. </div>
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To fill in the time he’d spend at O’Meara’s, Matt went for a walk every evening after work. He was tempted to stop into the old watering hole… Once he stopped into another bar… but was not served immediately as the barman was busy serving regulars. Matt stormed out and went into a Jesuit Church. Here begins the spiritual part of Matt’s recovery.</div>
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Dropping into a Church during his evening walks became a habit. Gradually he began to pray, to ask God for help. This would be considered Step Two of AA’s Twelve Steps:</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.</i></b></div>
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This was something new for Matt… he was not a man of prayer. He had been raised Catholic but had not practiced. To find the strength to remain sober he decided to attend Mass every morning before work and to receive Communion. Daily Communion was not common practice in those days. Catholics went to Mass on Sunday only and waited til Easter and Christmas to receive Communion.</div>
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Matt broke the mold. His life began to change. His spiritual life began to grow. This would be comparable to Step Three of AA:</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God as we understood Him</i></b><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">.</i></div>
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Matt Talbot never married. After he took the Pledge he lived in a number of tenement flats. Matt’s mother died. Matt decided to live as an Irish monk lived in the 6th century… A simple life. His flat was like a Monastery room in the 6th century… Modest and spartan. His meals were simple and small. He slept only 5 hours a night. He rose at 5 AM to go to Mass. </div>
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Matt worked in the lumber yard of T & C Martin where he was employed as a laborer. He was a hard worker. Matt became concerned about the rights of workers in an age when workers’ rights were not a major concern.</div>
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Matt joined several religious associations, from the Third Order of St. Francis to the Workingman’s Sodality. He attended a meeting almost every evening. These organizations centered around prayer devotions and doing charitable works. AA also stresses service, especially to other alcoholics.</div>
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Matt learned to read and write. He came home every evening between 9 and 10 PM and would begin his spiritual reading for several hours until he went to bed. Matt developed the habit of reading Sacred Scripture. His reading was guided for most of his life by Dr. Michael Hickey, Professor of Philosophy in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonliffe_College" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); color: #3d88bd; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-bottom: 0.05em; text-decoration: none; transition-delay: 0s, 0s; transition-duration: 0.15s, 0.15s; transition-property: border-color, color; transition-timing-function: ease-out, ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s, color 0.15s ease-out 0s;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Clonliffe College</span></a>. Under Dr. Hickey's guidance Talbot's reading became wider. He laboriously read the Bible and the lives of saints, <i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Confessions of St. Augustine</i>, the writings of St. Francis de Sales and others. When he found a part difficult to understand, he asked Professor Hickey or a priest he knew to help him understand. He had a lively devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He loved St. Therese of Lisieux and her simple way of doing ordinary things extraordinarily well for the love of God. Matt was immersed in God.</div>
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Matt was known as a happy man, quiet and with a good sense of humor. He was generous and would help fellow workers who needed some money to buy clothes or shoes for their kids. He never insisted on getting his money back.</div>
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At age 67 Matt had his first serious illness. He was under a Doctor’s care for the next two years. At age 69 Matt died of a serious heart attack on the way to Mass on Sunday, June 7, 1925. </div>
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As word of Matt Talbot spread he rapidly became an icon for Ireland's temperance movement, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Total_Abstinence_Association" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); color: #3d88bd; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-bottom: 0.05em; text-decoration: none; transition-delay: 0s, 0s; transition-duration: 0.15s, 0.15s; transition-property: border-color, color; transition-timing-function: ease-out, ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s, color 0.15s ease-out 0s;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Pioneer Total Abstinence Association</span></a>. His story soon became known to the large Irish emigrant communities. Many addiction clinics, youth hostels and statues have been named after him throughout the world from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); color: #3d88bd; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-bottom: 0.05em; text-decoration: none; transition-delay: 0s, 0s; transition-duration: 0.15s, 0.15s; transition-property: border-color, color; transition-timing-function: ease-out, ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s, color 0.15s ease-out 0s;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Nebraska</span></a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); color: #3d88bd; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-bottom: 0.05em; text-decoration: none; transition-delay: 0s, 0s; transition-duration: 0.15s, 0.15s; transition-property: border-color, color; transition-timing-function: ease-out, ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s, color 0.15s ease-out 0s;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Warsaw</span></a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(61, 136, 189, 0.3); color: #3d88bd; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-bottom: 0.05em; text-decoration: none; transition-delay: 0s, 0s; transition-duration: 0.15s, 0.15s; transition-property: border-color, color; transition-timing-function: ease-out, ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s, color 0.15s ease-out 0s;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">Sydney</span></a><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: underline;">.</span></div>
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Let’s look at the various aspects of Matt’s spiritual life. Here we can talk about ‘Praying with Matt Talbot’. What are the spiritual parts of Matt’s life?</div>
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Matt began to spend time in prayer… stopping in a Church every evening and asking God for help. He realized he could not resist alcohol under his own power. </div>
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He began to attend daily Mass and Communion… he ‘practiced his religion’. This was a beautiful way to develop his spiritual life. He uses what is at hand to deepen his journey with his God.</div>
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Matt led an austere life. His life was no longer about taking care of Matt first. His life was not about ‘stuff’. </div>
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He began to read SS and the lives of the saints to feed his spiritual life. He was challenged by the lives of the saints… The saints show us that we humans can overcome our frailties and flaws and follies, our ignorance and illnesses… with the help of God’s grace our courage and patience can create something great.</div>
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Matt joined spiritual organizations which he attended most evenings a week. Here he was embedded with spiritual people – people not perfect, but certainly trying to lead good and faithful lives. </div>
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These spiritual organizations centered around devotional prayer and doing works of charity… reaching out to be of service to others in need.</div>
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Summary of the spiritual life of Matt Talbot…</div>
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Time for prayer everyday</div>
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Practice your religion if you have one</div>
</li>
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Keep your life as simple as possible</div>
</li>
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Feed your spiritual life with Sacred Scripture and the lives of the saints or the lives of other good people… </div>
</li>
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Find a mentor to help you… (in AA this could be a sponsor)</div>
</li>
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Don’t do it alone… plug into others who are spiritual people… (in AA this could be other folks in the AA Program who exhibit a spiritual life and who lead lives of service)</div>
</li>
</ul>
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Addictions are part of our society’s sickness and darkness. 70,000 opioid ODs in 2018 is a chilling statistic.</div>
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I have tried to address two general addictions we all encounter, then specific addictions prevalent today. How might we deal with addictions? </div>
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I briefly described Richard Rohr’s ‘divine therapy’ approach to generalized addictions. Then I turned to specific addictions. I briefly dealt with heroes and saints as people who can help us. I believe we need heroes and saints today to whom we can look for encouragement and some answers.</div>
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Matt Talbot is a wonderful example of a life of a heroic and saintly individual who struggled with his alcoholism. When we look at his life and how he dealt with his alcoholism we see a number of the principles of today’s AA Program which helps so many alcoholics today. </div>
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Their 12 Steps have been successfully applied to other addictions which burden our society. I believe Matt Talbot’s spirituality parallels in a number of ways the spirituality of the AA Program. Then we examined elements of Matt Talbot’s spirituality which can help those in bondage to addictions today… a ‘divine therapy’ in the words of Richard Rohr, a modern spiritual writer and teacher.</div>
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Read the final paragraph of the Big Book of AA, P. 164</div>
<div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<b style="font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">“Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.”</i></b></div>
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May God bless you and keep you – until then.</div>
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Father Don, CP</div>
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<time class="Blog-meta-item Blog-meta-item--date" datetime="2020-01-22" style="-webkit-box-ordinal-group: 1; display: inline; order: 1;">Januar</time></div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-71216933134422616082020-02-22T14:10:00.000-05:002020-02-22T14:40:43.777-05:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--> Praying with Matt Talbot<br />
"By Father Don, CP
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January
22, 2020</div>
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<a href="https://www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com/homilies-reflections/praying-with-matt-talbot">https://www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com/homilies-reflections/praying-with-matt-talbot</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Someone
once said to me, “<i>We are all addicts</i>”. I have worked for a long time
with people in AA. I know some people in NA and OA, and even SA.In an article by Richard Rohr, a modern spiritual writer, he describes how we are all addicts. He describes two of our generalized addictions… One he names ‘stinking thinking’. Do we <u>always</u> have to be right? Are our opinions set in concrete? Are we <u>addicted</u> to our habitual way of thinking and doing?</div>
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Rohr also points out another general addiction… All societies are addicted to themselves, to what they consider valuable and worthwhile. We Americans like to buy new <u>stuff</u>, money back guarantee, to make our lives easier or happier. How much of that <u>stuff</u> ends up in our garage? Are we addicted to ‘consumption? </div>
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<br />
Rohr believes that only a life lived with a spiritual depth can get us beyond these generalized addictions. A developing prayer life plugs us into something deeper and richer than our social environs, commercials and the internet. Rohr calls this ‘divine therapy’. (See R. Rohr, <u>Daily Meditations</u>, Sunday, December 8, 2019)</div>
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There are also individual addictions we can suffer from. Some become addicted to alcohol and pills, others to shopping, others to the internet and porn. Some millennials become addicted to their smart phones… a recent study found that millennials check their smart phones on an average of 87 times a day. So much information… so little meaning. Many suffer from FOMO –a new dis-ease – Fear Of Missing Out. Would that we would lift our minds and hearts to God 87 times a day. Would that we suffered from FOMG – Fear Of Missing God.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Are you aware of any addictions in your life? How long have you had them? How do you deal with them?</b></div>
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Many people deny their addictions. ‘I can stop internet shopping any time I want to’. Can you? Try it for two weeks. ‘I can stop porn any time I want to’. Can you? Try stopping for two weeks.</div>
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<b>Remember, you can’t heal
what you do not acknowledge.</b></div>
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The first step in dealing with our addiction… own up to it. We need to honestly recognize our activity as an addiction. Shortly I will be describing the life of Matt Talbot. At age 28 he had a ‘moment of clarity’ when he recognized how important booze was to him… he couldn’t stop drinking.He was in bondage to booze.</div>
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As I tell Matt’s story I will at times compare his experiences with those of people in AA. In AA, for example, this ‘moment of clarity’ leads to the First of the Twelve Steps.<br />
<br />
<b>‘</b><i><b>We admitted we were powerless over alcohol… that our lives had become
unmanageable.’</b></i><b> </b></div>
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That’s what Matt Talbot experienced. What about us? Instead of alcohol we might put drugs, food, sex, shopping, porn, or the way that our society believes that ‘stuff’ will make us happy.</div>
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<b>Remember, you cannot heal what you do not acknowledge.</b></div>
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How can we rise above our addiction (s)? What happened to
Matt Talbot that began to change his life? As we go thru the life of Matt
Talbot notice both the physical and the spiritual parts of his dealing with his
alcoholism. Matt dealt with his alcoholism toward the end of the 1800’s, well
before the publishing of AA’s <u>Big Book</u> in the 1939, which introduced the
world to AA.</div>
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<b>Heroes and Saints</b></div>
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Before looking at the life of Matt Talbot I would like to
look at the topic of heroes and saints. This might help us understand why we’re
even considering Matt Talbot and <i>Praying with Matt Talbot.</i></div>
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<i>Heroes… 19th Century</i></div>
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In an interesting book entitled <u>A Call to Heroism</u>
by Harvard History Professor Peter Gibbon, he notes that in the 19th century
our country paid homage to many heroes who it looked up to: George Washington,
Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Lewis and Clark. Such heroes
were larger than life. They inspired and challenged people. Heroes were
distinguished by their achievements, by a certain largesse of soul. They
participated in heroic events with courage and bravery. Heroes enhanced
life, they inspired and stretched our imagination. They showed nobleness and
moral bravery, calling us to search for our better selves. They challenge us to
“<i>surmount adversity and fight despair. Human beings become heroic
when, against all odds, they persist; when despite their flaws, they
achieve.” (p. 183)</i></div>
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Heroes show us that we humans can overcome our frailties
and flaws and follies, our ignorance and illnesses… that courage and patience
can create something great.</div>
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As we examine the life of Matt Talbot, we see a hero who
struggled with his alcoholism with courage and patience and certainly with
God’s help.</div>
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Heroes show us that life is more than being a happy
consumer, deluged in entertainment and in bondage to the constant need to
consume more "stuff". Heroes challenge us to move beyond ‘my life is
all about me’.</div>
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What happened to "heroes" in the 20th century?</div>
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With the wealth of information about past heroes now
available, biography gave way to pathography. Biography used to celebrate
talents and achievements, virtue and inspiring character traits. In the 20th
century biographies of heroes began to highlight their quirks and their
"dark sides." Heroes were debunked as their character defects and
their foibles were intimately described. The "clay feet" of
heroes became all too visible. Today there is much cynicism and skepticism regarding
so-called "heroes". We live in a society that tends to look
upon our leaders with skeptical eyes. We tend to be suspicious of anyone who
might be considered as great or heroic. </div>
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I find it interesting that Matt Talbot and many people in
AA today own up to their addiction and their character defects. They witness to
the action of God in their lives. Their lives are now spent in service to
others. Prayer becomes important in Matt Talbot’s life and in the lives of
AA people today. AA’s Step 11 points to the importance of prayer in our
life.</div>
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<i><b>Step 11… 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. (Big Book, P. 59)</b></i></div>
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Our modern society seldom if ever recognizes or
encourages this.</div>
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As we present Matt Talbot’s life, we will see the heart
of this Step 11 in his life as he developed his spiritual life. </div>
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For us Catholics we look to our family of saints for
examples of heroism. Saints are members of God's family who have passed from
this life to the banquet of life in the presence of God. They are still
an important part of <u>our</u> faith journey thru this life. We believe that
even now they care for us by interceding for us before God. But the
saints do more. They are examples and challenges.</div>
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The saints show us how <i>God's grace can transform
peoples' lives</i>. Matt Talbot’s life shows us how God's grace can enter a
person's life and transform that life. Saints help us to glimpse God's glory
present among us. </div>
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The saints also exemplify for us <i>the human response
to God's grace</i>. Matt Talbot shows us how to respond to God's
gracious call and live as God’s people in our world. Matt Talbot gives us
encouragement and even guidance in facing the challenges of addiction in our
own time and culture as we ponder the story of his life and how he met its
challenges. </div>
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<i>Matt Talbot… A Modern Saint</i></div>
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Now we come to the main topic of our reflections<i>…
Praying with Matt Talbot.</i></div>
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First let me say that Matt Talbot is not a saint – yet.
He is a Venerable… on the path to being declared a saint by our Church. Let’s
look at the life of Matt Talbot… why he is a Venerable and why he is the patron
of those addicted to alcohol. Indeed, his life can help us deal with all of our
addictive behaviors. That’s why we want to ‘Pray with Matt Talbot’.</div>
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Matt Talbot was born in Dublin, Ireland,
on May 2nd, 1856. His family was large… 11 siblings, 7 boys and 4 girls. All
but one of the boys died young. Matt survived. His father was a heavy drinker.
His family was poor. The family moved often. </div>
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At age 10 Matt went to school. He left two years later,
still unable to read and write. At age 12 he got a job at Porter and Stout
Bottling Co. His drinking career began. By age 14 he was drinking whiskey. By
age 16 he regularly came home from work drunk. </div>
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As he developed his drinking career, every evening after
work he trekked to his ‘watering hole’, O’Meara’s Pub. Drink was his only
interest. When his wages were spent, he borrowed, pawned his clothes and did
extra work at small jobs for more money to drink. Matt was an alcoholic.</div>
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By age 28 he was well on his way to destruction. One
Saturday morning in 1884 Matt waited outside of O’Meara’s without a penny to
his name. He had been unemployed that week. When he had money, he would share
it generously with his drinking friends. Now he thought his ‘friends’ would
help him out. Surprise… they passed him by, one by one… basically ignoring him.
He was just a drunk.</div>
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Matt was stunned and hurt and angry. But it was a ‘moment
of grace’. People today in AA call it ‘a moment of clarity’. Matt thought about
his predicament and realized he was totally enslaved to booze. He was
powerless. He decided to ‘take the Pledge’ for three months… no booze for
three months – period. He went home and told his mother, ‘Ma, I’m going
to take the Pledge’. He was 28 years old. (The Pledge was a promise common in Ireland
to avoid drinking – no drink - for a certain period of time.)</div>
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The next three months were sheer hell for Matt. He
stopped drinking ‘cold turkey’, as folks in AA describe it today. The
withdrawal symptoms from his addiction - hallucination, depression and nausea -
were extremely painful for Matt, but he stuck to it. Here began the physical
part of Matt’s recovery. It was tough. In his day and age there was no detox or
rehab centers. </div>
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To fill in the time he’d spend at O’Meara’s, Matt went
for a walk every evening after work. He was tempted to stop into the old
watering hole… Once he stopped into another bar… but was not served immediately
as the barman was busy serving regulars. Matt stormed out and went into a Jesuit Church.
Here begins the spiritual part of Matt’s recovery.</div>
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Dropping into a Church during his evening walks became a
habit. Gradually he began to pray, to ask God for help. This would be
considered Step Two of AA’s Twelve Steps:</div>
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<i><b>Came to believe that a
Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.</b></i></div>
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This was something new for Matt… he was not a man of
prayer. He had been raised Catholic but had not practiced. To find the strength
to remain sober he decided to attend Mass every morning before work and to
receive Communion. Daily Communion was not common practice in those days.
Catholics went to Mass on Sunday only and waited til Easter and Christmas to
receive Communion.</div>
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Matt broke the mold. His life began to change. His
spiritual life began to grow. This would be comparable to Step Three of AA:</div>
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<i><b>Made a decision to turn our
lives and our wills over to the care of God as we understood Him</b>.</i></div>
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Matt Talbot never married. After he took the Pledge he
lived in a number of tenement flats. Matt’s mother died. Matt decided to live
as an Irish monk lived in the 6th century… A simple life. His flat was like a
Monastery room in the 6th century… Modest and spartan. His meals were
simple and small. He slept only 5 hours a night. He rose at 5 AM to go to Mass. </div>
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Matt worked in the lumber yard of T & C Martin where
he was employed as a laborer. He was a hard worker. Matt became concerned about
the rights of workers in an age when workers’ rights were not a major concern.</div>
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Matt joined several religious associations, from the
Third Order of St. Francis to the Workingman’s Sodality. He attended a meeting
almost every evening. These organizations centered around prayer devotions and
doing charitable works. AA also stresses service, especially to other
alcoholics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Matt learned to read and write. He came home every
evening between 9 and 10 PM and would begin his spiritual reading for several
hours until he went to bed. Matt developed the habit of reading Sacred
Scripture. His reading was guided for most of his life by Dr. Michael Hickey,
Professor of Philosophy in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonliffe_College">Clonliffe College</a>.
Under Dr. Hickey's guidance Talbot's reading became wider. He laboriously read
the Bible and the lives of saints, <i>The Confessions of St. Augustine</i>,
the writings of St. Francis de Sales and others. When he found a part difficult
to understand, he asked Professor Hickey or a priest he knew to help him
understand. He had a lively devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He loved St.
Therese of Lisieux and her simple way of doing ordinary things extraordinarily
well for the love of God. Matt was immersed in God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Matt was known as a happy man, quiet and with a good
sense of humor. He was generous and would help fellow workers who needed some
money to buy clothes or shoes for their kids. He never insisted on getting his
money back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
At age 67 Matt had his first serious illness. He was
under a Doctor’s care for the next two years. At age 69 Matt died of a serious
heart attack on the way to Mass on Sunday, June 7, 1925. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
As word of Matt Talbot spread he rapidly became an icon
for Ireland's
temperance movement, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Total_Abstinence_Association">Pioneer
Total Abstinence Association</a>. His story soon became known to the large
Irish emigrant communities. Many addiction clinics, youth hostels and statues
have been named after him throughout the world from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska">Nebraska</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw">Warsaw</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney">Sydney</a><u>.</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Let’s look at the various aspects of Matt’s spiritual
life. Here we can talk about ‘Praying with Matt Talbot’. What are the spiritual
parts of Matt’s life?</div>
<ul data-rte-list="default" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Matt began to spend time in
prayer… stopping in a Church every evening and asking God for help. He
realized he could not resist alcohol under his own power. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">He began to attend daily Mass
and Communion… he ‘practiced his religion’. This was a beautiful way to
develop his spiritual life. He uses what is at hand to deepen his
journey with his God.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Matt led an austere life. His
life was no longer about taking care of Matt first. His life was not about
‘stuff’. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">He began to read SS and the
lives of the saints to feed his spiritual life. He was challenged by the
lives of the saints… The saints show us that we humans can overcome our
frailties and flaws and follies, our ignorance and illnesses… with the
help of God’s grace our courage and patience can create something great.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Matt joined spiritual
organizations which he attended most evenings a week. Here he was embedded
with spiritual people – people not perfect, but certainly trying to lead
good and faithful lives. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">These spiritual organizations
centered around devotional prayer and doing works of charity… reaching out
to be of service to others in need.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Summary of the spiritual life of Matt Talbot…</div>
<ul data-rte-list="default" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Time for prayer everyday</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Practice your religion if you
have one</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Keep your life as simple as
possible</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Feed your spiritual life with
Sacred Scripture and the lives of the saints or the lives of other good
people… </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Find a mentor to help you…
(in AA this could be a sponsor)</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Don’t do it alone… plug into
others who are spiritual people… (in AA this could be other folks in the
AA Program who exhibit a spiritual life and who lead lives of service)</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Addictions are part of our society’s sickness and
darkness. 70,000 opioid ODs in 2018 is a chilling statistic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
I have tried to address two general addictions we all
encounter, then specific addictions prevalent today. How might we deal with
addictions? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
I briefly described Richard Rohr’s ‘divine therapy’
approach to generalized addictions. Then I turned to specific addictions. I
briefly dealt with heroes and saints as people who can help us. I believe we
need heroes and saints today to whom we can look for encouragement and some
answers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Matt Talbot is a wonderful example of a life of a heroic
and saintly individual who struggled with his alcoholism. When we look at his
life and how he dealt with his alcoholism we see a number of the principles of
today’s AA Program which helps so many alcoholics today. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Their 12 Steps have been successfully applied to other
addictions which burden our society. I believe Matt Talbot’s spirituality
parallels in a number of ways the spirituality of the AA Program. Then we
examined elements of Matt Talbot’s spirituality which can help those in bondage
to addictions today… a ‘divine therapy’ in the words of Richard Rohr, a
modern spiritual writer and teacher.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Read the final paragraph of the Big Book of AA, P. 164</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<i><b>“Abandon yourself to God as
you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away
the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall
be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of
us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.”</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">
May God bless you and keep you – until then.</div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-67078781900566935242020-02-02T21:28:00.000-05:002020-02-02T22:40:24.004-05:00 Role of the Eucharist in Matt Talbot’s Life.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Daily communion and Eucharistic Adoration were key in Matt Talbot's life. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Bread
of Angels</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">By Fr. Joseph
Esper</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.catholicjournal.us/2018/08/24/the-bread-of-angels/">https://www.catholicjournal.us/2018/08/24/the-bread-of-angels/</a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In 1856 a boy named Matt was born to
a poor family in Ireland,
the second of 12 children. His father was a laborer with a fierce temper and a
fondness for alcohol; his mother was a hardworking, saintly woman who tried to
ensure her children grew up to become good Catholics. Matt never had much of an
education; at the age of 12 he got his first job—working in a wine bottling
store. Soon afterwards he came home drunk for the first time; the beating
administered by his father had little effect, for Matt kept on coming home
intoxicated every day. Before long he was a hardened alcoholic, but he was
always kind and helpful toward his family and friends, and, in spite of his
drinking, was capable of working hard. Matt held a series of jobs and was
well-liked by everyone; he spent most of his paycheck buying drinks for himself
and his buddies. He attended Mass each Sunday but didn’t receive Holy Communion
or otherwise practice his faith. Through it all, his mother continued praying
for his conversion.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">One
night, after being unable to get a drink because he was broke, and not finding
anyone willing to buy a drink for him, Matt wandered the streets of Dublin, deciding it was
time to give up alcohol. He was tormented by thirst and the agony of alcohol
withdrawal; he went to a church, hoping to receive Communion, but the church
was still locked. Matt collapsed, and as he lay there, he begged God for the
grace to overcome his addiction. As worshippers arrived for the early Mass,
they were disgusted to see a drunk lying on the doorstep of the church—but,
unseen by them, a miracle of grace was taking place. God heard Matt’s prayer;
at the age of 28, he was given the strength to turn away from alcohol for the rest
of his life. Matt went home and told his mother he was going to take the
pledge; she was happy but told him not to do so unless he really meant it. Matt
did mean it, and he pledged to give up drinking for three months; those were
the hardest twelve weeks of his life, but he persevered. After this success, he
took the pledge for a full year, and when the year passed without him having a
drop of alcohol, he took the pledge for the rest of his life—and he lived up to
that promise.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For
the rest of his life, Matt was a quiet, humble, friendly, hard-working
Catholic, quick to share a smile, a laugh, and a helping hand. He not only
swore off drinking, but also cursing and foul language; he became known for
speaking his mind in a respectful way, for acts of charity, and for a quiet but
profound commitment to his Catholic faith. The prayers of his mother helped him
convert, but it was the Eucharist which made it possible for him to persevere
in his new way of life. Each morning he attended 5am Mass before starting work
at 6am; during his lunch hour he would visit a nearby church, and after work he
frequently made a Holy Hour or went on short pilgrimages to nearby parishes.
Because of his genuine conversion and his heroic virtues, the Church has given
him the title Venerable Matt Talbot, and Ireland awaits and prays for his
eventual beatification and canonization as a saint (Tonne, Vol. 10, #99; Ball, <i>Modern
Saints</i>, II, p. 361). It was the Eucharist that helped Matt Talbot leave
behind the way of death and instead travel the path of eternal life—and Jesus
wants us to travel this path, too.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Every
one of us has to choose between the values of this world, and those of the Kingdom of Heaven. We know the right choice—but
that doesn’t mean it’s easy for us to follow through on it. In the Letter to
the Ephesians (5:15-20), St. Paul had to warn his converts to watch carefully
how they lived, to avoid religious ignorance, and not to get drunk on wine, but
to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That seems like very basic, obvious advice—but
even Christians can be tempted and led far astray from the truth. In the Book
of Proverbs (9:1-6), we’re advised to “forsake foolishness [and] advance in the
way of understanding,” but we’ll never be able to do this on our own; we need
Christ’s help. That’s part of what Jesus meant (Jn 6:51-58) when He proclaimed
that those who feed on Him have true life. Certainly, He was referring to
eternal life in Heaven, but He also meant being spiritually alive while here on
earth. Only if we allow Jesus to live within us here and now can we hope to
live with Him eternally—and it’s the Eucharist that most fully allows this to
happen</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A
Protestant minister named Keith, and his wife Renee, started attending Catholic
Mass when they were away from home for a few months, though, of course, they
couldn’t come forward for Holy Communion. Keith later wrote, “One Sunday during
the Liturgy of the Eucharist while Communion was being distributed, I started
to cry. I couldn’t explain it. At this time, I did not understand the teaching
on the Real Presence [of Jesus], but my soul did. My soul was starving for the
Bread of Angels” (W. Keith Moore, “Keeping Jesus at the Center,” <i>Coming Home
Network Newsletter</i>, August 2009). Happily, Keith and Renee went on to
become Catholic—a trend that’s become far more common than most people
realize—and so their deepest spiritual hunger was satisfied.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sometimes
it takes an outsider like Keith to remind us as Catholics how privileged we
truly are: we have the opportunity to receive the actual Body of Christ every
time we attend Mass while in a state of grace, thereby being filled with the
life, and the saving and transforming power, of Jesus Himself. When our time
comes to be judged by God, and we’re reviewing each moment of our lives with
Him, we will regret the times we missed Mass, the times we were distracted
while receiving Holy Communion, and the times we failed to give sufficient
thanks for this great gift; we will also rejoice over the times we received
this Sacrament worthily, the times we truly opened our hearts to the
Eucharistic Lord, and the times we allowed His presence to strengthen, nourish,
and enrich us.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .25in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text-node"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Eucharist is more than we can comprehend, more than we can understand, and
certainly much more than we can ever deserve—but Jesus yearns to give Himself
to us in this manner, and nothing pleases Him more than having us come forward
for Communion with genuine gratitude and love. Whether we’re a great sinner
needing to be turned into a great saint, like Venerable Matt Talbot, or an
average Catholic simply trying to make it through another week, each one of us
needs the spiritual life Jesus offers in this Sacrament. He promises that if we
eat His Body and drink His Blood, we will remain in Him and He in us—and His
promise deserves all our faith, all our gratitude, and all our trust."</span></span><span class="text-node"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></span></div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-88621413727892038932020-01-01T13:55:00.000-05:002020-01-01T13:55:00.005-05:00Spiritual Resources for Addicts, Families, and Loved Ones<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As we begin a new decade, let us consider spiritual
resources for those who have an addiction as well as for their families and
loved ones. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The source
for these beneficial resources is available at <a href="https://www.hbgdiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Spiritual_Resources_-_Addiction.pdf">https://www.hbgdiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Spiritual_Resources_-_Addiction.pdf</a></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The contents include scripture passages, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">prayers for recovery, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rosary meditations for help with addictions, Stations of the Cross for 12-step recovery, novena to the Holy Spirit for addictions and recovery, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">patron saints for addiction and related issues, </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">and other h</span>elpful links and resources.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="transform: scaleX(1.07143);"></span>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-63548355035594293452019-12-30T20:14:00.000-05:002019-12-30T20:14:14.380-05:00Venerable Matt Talbot, S.F.O. Image<br />
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<a href="https://www.ourhouseministries.org/secular-franciscans/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://www.ourhouseministries.org/secular-franciscans/" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166" height="400" src="http://clients.networksplusweb.com/ohm/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Banner_wborder.jpg" width="287" /></a></div>
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<b>SOURCE:</b> <a href="https://www.ourhouseministries.org/secular-franciscans/">https://www.ourhouseministries.org/secular-franciscans/</a><br />
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<br />John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-30802865554872577872019-12-22T15:30:00.002-05:002019-12-22T15:30:42.631-05:00A Proposed Documentary about Venerable Matt Talbot<span style="font-size: medium;">"In a world full of addiction we desire to present the hope found
in Matt Talbot's inspiring conversion" in a new documentary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Details are available a</span>t<br />
<a href="https://lumenentertainment.vhx.tv/products/matt-talbot-documentary?fbclid=IwAR2z4-zhCgIrW2IFOY-JgwfBhp0Dx1NeLKVUAO0-eMfgj1DvckpRurY3I38">https://lumenentertainment.vhx.tv/products/matt-talbot-documentary?fbclid=IwAR2z4-zhCgIrW2IFOY-JgwfBhp0Dx1NeLKVUAO0-eMfgj1DvckpRurY3I38</a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Matt Talbot Documentary" height="225" src="https://vhx.imgix.net/lumenentertainment/assets/4d8d4df6-5d39-44a2-a497-3a2fd7b8194d-8adef64f.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=720&w=1280" width="400" /></span></div>
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John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-3924947421905931632019-12-06T16:52:00.000-05:002019-12-06T16:54:32.480-05:00Granby Lane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;">Images of Granby Lane, Dublin 1 where Matt
Talbot died in 1925 and his memorial plaque. You can see the back of St .Saviour’s in
the background of the picture where he was headed for another Mass.</span> </span></div>
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<br />John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-55124770880600799312019-11-29T16:08:00.002-05:002019-11-29T16:08:55.906-05:001937 Painting of Matt Talbot Sold<div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Lot 1219/0221</span></h1>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="hammer-price"><span>SOLD</span> Hammer price:
<u>€180</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Signed by The
Artist<br />O’Sullivan (Sean) Matt Talbot 1856 – 1925, a large coloured print,
approx. 58.5cms x 44cms (23″ x 17 1/2″), in attractive wash mount, signed on
mount ‘Sean O’Sullivan R.H.a. 1937,’ gilt tipped wooden frame. (1)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://fonsiemealy.ie/auctions/lot-12190221/?fbclid=IwAR04AqOo23fvymR2zKLb_p38oYZa_oiUQoxyhI4JbtTuW3M9a9yOPV2VQ3I" title="https://fonsiemealy.ie/auctions/lot-12190221/?fbclid=IwAR04AqOo23fvymR2zKLb_p38oYZa_oiUQoxyhI4JbtTuW3M9a9yOPV2VQ3I">https://fonsiemealy.ie/auctions/lot-12190221/?fbclid=IwAR04AqOo23fvymR2zKLb_p38oYZa_oiUQoxyhI4JbtTuW3M9a9yOPV2VQ3I</a></span>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-65403885085227871562019-11-01T21:02:00.000-04:002019-11-01T21:02:12.939-04:00All Saints' Day<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The scope of All Saints' Day includes all those officially
recognized as saints and those whose cause for canonization has not yet been
completed, like Venerable Matt Talbot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">It also includes those whose holy lives were known only to God as well as their family, friends or religious communities.</span><br />
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<img alt="PRAYER – Lord, in Your servant, Venerable Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty and charity and commitment to daily prayer. May his life........#mypic" height="400" src="https://i.pinimg.com/474x/89/98/e8/8998e8a638cce465d89c1519484f1736.jpg" width="225" /></div>
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John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-52192754863105571812019-10-15T14:01:00.000-04:002019-10-16T16:12:08.381-04:00St. John Henry Newman and Venerable Matt Talbot<div style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;">As we recently posted on <span style="face: "Times;">March 4, 2019 (<a href="http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Blessed%20John%20Henry%20Newman" title="http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Blessed%20John%20Henry%20Newman">http://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Blessed%20John%20Henry%20Newman</a>) Matt</span><span style="face: "Times;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="size: 4;">Talbot was basically illiterate when he
signed a pledge not to drink, confessed his sins to a priest, and turned his
life over to the care of God at the age of 28. He laboriously</span><span style="size: 4;"> began to read over the years and would frequently ask his
spiritual advisor and the Lord about certain words and what certain passages
meant.</span><br /><br /><span style="size: 4;">Over the years he read his
Bible, the lives of saints, and books by saints. One day, in the timber yard
during lunch break </span><span style="size: 4;">Daniel Manning, a fellow
worker, saw Matt reading <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i> by John Henry
Newman and said to Matt that he tried to read it but it was very difficult to
understand. Matt simply answered that when he got a book like that he always
prayed to Our Blessed Lady and she always inspired him to take the correct
meaning from the words. See page 101 at </span>
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://issuu.com/aidtothechurchinneed/docs/matt_talbot_times">https://issuu.com/aidtothechurchinneed/docs/matt_talbot_times</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">It is
interesting a book was published in 1945 and 1946 by different publishers with
the same content but with different titles: <u><i>Saints for the
Times</i></u> and <span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"><i><u>John
Henry Newman, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas More, Matt</u></i></span><span class="a-size-large"><i><u> Talbot</u></i> by </span><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"><span style="size: 4;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Reverend Thomas J. McCarthy,Ph.D. at <a href="https://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2016/07/matt-talbot-common-man_19.html">https://venerablematttalbotresourcecenter.blogspot.com/2016/07/matt-talbot-common-man_19.html</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Hopefully the day will come when Venerable Matt Talbot will be proclaimed
a saint.</span></div>
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John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-26355666419967949252019-10-11T10:34:00.000-04:002019-10-11T10:39:47.850-04:00Who is Matt Talbot?<div>
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<span style="size: 4;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Guess House in
Michigan (USA) has been serving the Catholic Church for more than 60 years with
“the <span style="face: "Times;">world’s first and most
successful treatment and recovery program for Catholic clergy and religious
in providing the information, education, treatment and care needed to overcome
alcoholism, addictions and other behavioral health
conditions.” (</span></span></span></span><span style="size: 4;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="face: "Times;"><a href="https://guesthouse.org/" title="https://guesthouse.org/"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://guesthouse.org/</span></a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="face: "Times; font-size: medium;"><b>Who is Matt
Talbot?</b></span></div>
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<span class="published"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sep 11, 2019</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://guesthouse.org/2019/09/who-is-matt-talbot/" title="https://guesthouse.org/2019/09/who-is-matt-talbot/"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://guesthouse.org/2019/09/who-is-matt-talbot/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Who is Matt Talbot? A growing number of people in recovery
know. In November 1991, St. John Paul II told a Guest House
alumnus “I am very interested in the canonization of Matt
Talbot.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Guest House began prayers and Masses in honor of Talbot’s
June 19 Feast many years ago and Guest House priests have led or been a part of
the growing Matt Talbot retreat movement. Father Mark Stelzer, Guest House
education director, has led several of the popular retreats.This
year, Guest House brought benefactors and alumni from across the United States
for its first Matt
Talbot pilgrimage to Ireland, retracing his journey through life. But
exactly who was Matt Talbot? His story is inspiring:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Venerable Matt Talbot (May 2, 1856 to June 7,
1925)</b> was an Irish alcoholic (admittedly the son of a drunk), and a
laborer who became an ascetic (ascetics abstain from sexual and other pleasures
in pursuit of spiritual goals). When brick layer’s laid bricks, he served as
their “hodman,’’ humbly gathering mortar and bricks for the
craftsmen. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">How Matt Talbot hit bottom</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Numerous American Catholics say a devotion to Matt Talbot
helped in their journey toward recovery. From age 13 to age 28, his
drinking was uncontrollable. Friends said Matt “only wanted one thing: the
drink… for the drink, he’d do anything.’’</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In his darkest days, Matt
literally spent all his available money on alcohol.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When his wages were exhausted, he could turn the mangle (the
hand-driven mechanism that squeezed the water out of wet clothes) for a local
wash woman. His reward for helping a wash woman? A pig’s head. He would then
sell the pig’s head for money to buy drinks.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">He was also known to pawn his coat or boots for money to buy
alcohol and he would be mocked for walking barefoot through the streets. He hit
bottom when he and his brothers stole a fiddle from a blind street musician,
selling it for the price of a single drink.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">He eventually began a seven year search to find the street
musician he had robbed. He eventually took the money he hoped to return to the
musician and used it to have Masses offered for the man’s soul.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Talbot knew he had to go to Confession. So he went to Holy
Cross College, the seminary for Dublin, Ireland, where he confessed his
sins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">He soon after, made a pledge to stop drinking for three months
but there was no Alcoholics Anonymous, no recovery or support groups, not even
family or friends he could count on. So he focused everything he had on
God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">For the first time in many years, he accepted the sacrament of
Holy Communion at a morning Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church, beginning a new
routine of attending Mass every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">But the struggle continued. During Mass, he
fell to the floor, hearing a voice tell him “It’s no use. You’ll never stop
drinking.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">He got on his knees, begging God for mercy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">“Three things I cannot escape.’’
Talbot declared. “ The Eye of God, the voice of conscience, the stroke of death.
In company, guard your tongue. In your family, guard your temper. When alone,
guard your thoughts.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>12 steps before the 12 Steps</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fifty years before the 12-steps were written, Matt Talbot
learned his own variation with a Jesuit spiritual advisor who followed the
Ignatian Way: </span></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">He abstained from drinking (vowing to be sober for three
months, then for another six months and finally for the rest of his life but the
first seven years of his abstaining was particularly difficult for
him.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">He confessed his sins regularly, attending
daily Mass.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">He learned to read so he could study the Bible, becoming
a lay member, Third Order Franciscan.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">He gained strength by frequently praying before the
Blessed Sacrament, asking how anyone could be lonely when they were with the
Lord. Some say they saw him in “ecstasy” when praying before the
Crucifix.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">He would take working class jobs and give to charity the
money he would have otherwise spent on alcohol. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">His desire for alcohol remained but when he felt the urge
to drink, he went to Church, turned to God for help and prayed. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">“It is easier to get out of hell’’ than to give up
drinking, Talbot said. He also gave up smoking, confiding that it was actually
easier to give up alcohol than it was to quit smoking. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;">Talbot was often asked to pray for others. Once, when asked to
pray for a man’s sick wife, Talbot said he would pray to Our Lady. The next day,
he told the man the prayers would be answered but not in the way he hoped,
telling the man to not to be afraid, that everything would work out as it was
meant to. The next day, the man’s wife died and the man felt certain Talbot’s
prayers had been heard and that his wife was in Heaven.</span></li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Matt Talbot: From “poorest of the poor” to being widely known as
holy</h3>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The poorest of the poor and most addicted people can relate to
his testimony.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Matt
Talbot Dublin Diocesan Committee</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> argues, Talbot: “lived
in a tenement, wore second hand clothes, died in a laneway and was buried in a
pauper’s grave. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Coming from such a deprived background and with an alcoholic
father and a family history of neglect and poverty, Matt found himself sucked
into the culture of addiction and to the only choice of drug available to the
poor of his day, alcohol. Matt, like so many others, embraced alcohol as a means
of escape from the misery and poverty of daily life. Today we live in an age of
addictions more sophisticated perhaps than those of Matt’s day, addictions to
substances such as alcohol and other drugs soft or hard, prescription or
illegal, addictions to gambling, pornography and the internet, addictions to
work, professional advancement, sex, money and power. All these have the ability
to destroy our lives and like demons even our very souls as well.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">He is celebrated as a patron of the fallen, broken and
alcoholics. Talbot also spoke of “the Way” saying: “To know God and to
understand His ways and to watch in His presence in all sanctity is the great
end of life.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">He died at age 69 on Trinity Sunday 1925, the hottest day
of the year in the midst of a heat wave, while hurrying to attend his second
Mass of that Sunday. Witnesses who gathered around him after he fell in the
nearby streets said his eyes closed around 9:40a.m. as the Church bells were
ringing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">People immediately began talking about his intense
holiness and spreading the word. A short biography written about him the year
after he died sold more than 120,000 copies.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">People wanted to hear his story. The first formal book
about this poor worker,<i> Life of Matt Talbot</i>, would appear in 1928, just
three years after his death. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">By 1931, the beatification process had already
begun and the following year, the International Eucharistic Congress started
encouraging pilgrims to learn the Matt Talbot story.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> By 1972, work began on a
shrine and in 1975, he was declared Venerable by St. Paul VI.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;">“Never be too hard
on the man who can’t give up drink,’’ Talbot once said. “It’s as hard to give up
drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even
easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on
Him</span>.’’</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-15958895350293781542019-10-09T16:08:00.001-04:002019-10-09T16:08:42.478-04:00"Catholic in Recovery"<span style="font-size: medium;">"Catholic in Recovery (</span><a data-ctbtn="2" data-cthref="/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjalJHc8Y_lAhWtrVkKHbsIDr0QFjABegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcatholicinrecovery.com%2Fabout%2F&usg=AOvVaw3zOXwrF02-EtBoc_fSKVb9" href="https://catholicinrecovery.com/" style="href: "https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjalJHc8Y_lAhWtrVkKHbsIDr0QFjABegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcatholicinrecovery.com%2Fabout%2F&usg=AOvVaw3zOXwrF02-EtBoc_fSKVb9";"><cite class="iUh30 bc"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://catholicinrecovery.com</span></cite></a><span style="font-size: medium;">)</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is a nonprofit organization that seeks to serve
those suffering from addictions and unhealthy attachments (including alcoholism,
drug addiction, pornography addiction, sex and relationship addiction,
compulsive overeating and food addictions, gambling addiction, codependency and
the impact on family, and general fear, control, and anxiety).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">The organization was started by the passion of Scott Weeman as
he found healing and new life through the help of twelve step recovery and the
sacramental love and mercy provided by the Catholic Church. We support parishes
and communities with group resources that draw people closer to these two
powerful sources of grace. It is the aim of Catholic in Recovery to share the
Good News that God can bring about healing and recovery, even in the most
hopeless of cases."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">A brief video by Scott about Venerable Matt Talbot is available
at </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/361074503" style="href: "https://vimeo.com/361074503";"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://vimeo.com/361074503</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">A related reference with Scott is at </span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTuZOYpyKlE" style="href: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTuZOYpyKlE";" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTuZOYpyKlE"><span style="font-size: medium; size: 4;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTuZOYpyKlE</span></a>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-85513498971269998752019-09-30T20:22:00.000-04:002019-09-30T20:29:36.085-04:00Matt Talbot: An old friend on the modern journey to recovery<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Gina
is quite active in speaking and writing about Matt Talbot.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Matt
Talbot: An old friend on the modern journey to recovery</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">By
Gina Christian</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="authorvcard"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Catholic News Service</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="posted-on"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">September 16, 2019</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://thecentralminnesotacatholic.org/gina-christian-an-old-friend-on-the-modern-journey-to-recovery/" title="http://thecentralminnesotacatholic.org/gina-christian-an-old-friend-on-the-modern-journey-to-recovery/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">http://thecentralminnesotacatholic.org/gina-christian-an-old-friend-on-the-modern-journey-to-recovery/</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">After 30 years of drug and alcohol abuse, Pat — a Philadelphia native with
tattooed arms and a Rocky Balboa accent — made an unlikely new friend: Matt
Talbot, an Irish laborer who’d been dead for about a century.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’d never heard of him until I got sober,” said Pat, now a member
of the Calix Society, a Catholic support group for those in addiction recovery.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">During a Calix meeting that Pat attended after getting clean, the
group’s national chaplain, Father Douglas McKay, showed a film on Talbot, who
had battled the bottle throughout adolescence and early adulthood.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">After taking an abstinence pledge at age 28, Talbot remained sober
for decades until his death in 1925, living a quiet, ascetic life that included
daily Mass, prayer, Scripture reading and charitable works.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Collapsing on a Dublin
street en route to Mass, Talbot was discovered to have regularly worn
penitential chains. Declared “venerable” by Pope Paul VI in 1975, Talbot is now
invoked as an intercessor by a number of groups that minister to those
suffering from addiction, including the Calix Society, which was founded in the
U.S.
some 20 years after Talbot’s death.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">During his August 2018 visit to Ireland,
Pope Francis stopped at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Dublin to pray before several relics of
Talbot, whose tomb is just feet from the church’s altar.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">For Pat, learning about Talbot was life-changing, and he began
praying to the would-be saint, whose intercession he also credits for his
healing from an intestinal rupture that required 14 hours of emergency surgery.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">After his hospitalization, Pat attended a Matt Talbot-themed
retreat, where he was able to release many of the resentments that had fueled
his addiction.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I found forgiveness not only for myself, but for the people who
had molested me as a child, and for anybody that had ever hurt me,” he said. “I
finally saw everyone as being worthy of God’s love.”</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Longtime Calix member Kathy Diering said that Talbot, in his
resolute example of holiness, “speaks volumes without even speaking.”</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“When you look at his hiddenness, his spirituality, you see that
he really knew that the body and blood of Christ were his true source of life,”
she said. “He was steadfast, and that’s been an inspiration for me, because he
shows what is possible.”</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Talbot’s conversion from sot to saint, made all the more dramatic
by the severity of his alcoholism, resonates with those looking to free
themselves from addiction. In fact, many of those devoted to Matt Talbot say
that his sanctity was the real key to his sobriety.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“He knew that everyone else might leave him, but God wouldn’t,”
said Diering. “And that’s where his strength was.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Holiness is a sign of authentic recovery from addiction, said
Father McKay, who is looking to create a national shrine to Matt Talbot in Philadelphia. While
addiction is a complex disease of body, mind and spirit, he said, too often
treatment only focuses on the first two, without addressing the soul’s deep
hunger for connection with the divine.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Globally, some 35 million people now struggle with drug addiction,
according to the United Nations. A separate study projects that alcohol
consumption (which rose 10% between 1990 and 2017) will increase by another 17%
worldwide over the next decade.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the face of such daunting statistics, Talbot’s appeal as a role
model and intercessor continues to grow internationally, thanks to the
dedicated efforts of those who work to share, online and in person, the
Irishman’s message of hope.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span>
</div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">From his native Poland, Gregory Jakielski has been diligently
spreading devotion to this saint-in-the-making for the past seven years,
maintaining both a website and Facebook page that feature a number of Matt
Talbot resources. In August 2018, he collected hundreds of names that were
placed by a pilgrim on Matt Talbot’s tomb in Dublin.</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;">For Pat, Matt Talbot's simplicity makes clear the path to both sobriety and sanctity. "He had no real possessions, he said. He didn't need anything but God's love, and he wanted to make others feel that too."</span></div>
<div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61955" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_61955" style="width: 158px;"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-61955"></figcaption><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-61955"></figcaption><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-61955"><div class="entry-content">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
</figcaption></figure>John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-76802425014362411482019-09-22T17:57:00.000-04:002019-09-22T17:57:42.739-04:00A Perspective on Drinking in Dublin
<div style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<div style="font: 10pt Tahoma;">
<div style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; size: 4;">The author of this article serves as Director of Formation for
Catholic Schools and Catechesis at the Archdiocese of Denver and</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> teaches at the Augustine
Institute</span> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; size: 4;">(USA).</span> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography">Photographs accompanying </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography">this article are found on the link below.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography"></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="display: inline;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="display: inline;">
<span id="author_biography"></span></div>
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span id="author_biography"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span id="author_biography"><br /></span></span></div>
</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Drinking . . . and Not Drinking in Dublin</span>
<div>
<div style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">by Jared Staudt</span><span style="face: "Times; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="display: inline;">
<span style="size: 4;"><span style="face: Arial; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">September 16,
2019</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="display: inline;">
<a href="https://buildingcatholicculture.com/drinking-and-not-drinking-in-dublin/"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; size: 4;">https://buildingcatholicculture.com/drinking-and-not-drinking-in-dublin/</span></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="display: inline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; size: 4;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="single-post-wrap entry-content" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We began our Beauty of Faith Pilgrimage to Ireland in Dublin, visiting
its churches and its saints/saints in the making: St. Valentine-the Roman saint
whose relics are at the Whitefriar Street church; St. John Henry Newman’s
University Church where he delivered some of the discourses that became <em>An
Idea of a University</em>; St. Lawrence O’Toole, medieval bishop of the city,
and Bl. John Sullivan, a Jesuit with a gift for healing. </span></div>
<div class="single-post-wrap entry-content" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blocks-gallery-item" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Dublin is also known for its drink. As author of <em>The Beer
Option</em>, I had to explore this tradition, even if it was driven by
Protestants at a time Catholics suffered under the penal laws. In the book, I
drew from Mansfield’s <em>The Search for God and Guinness</em>, and it seemed
wise to stop by Ireland’s number one tourist destination, the Guinness
Storehouse. The Guinness family ardently supported the Church of Ireland
(helping to start Protestant Sunday school, restoring the formerly Catholic St.
Patrick’s Cathedral, and producing an international preacher in Henry
Grattan Guinness), but also took good care of their workers, most of whom were
Catholic, providing them housing, healthcare, good wages, and education.
</span></div>
<div class="blocks-gallery-item" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;">
</div>
<div class="blocks-gallery-item" dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Brewing does have a longer Catholic story in Ireland as well. St. Patrick
traveled with a brewer during his evangelization of the nation. St. Brigid (who
composed the great prayer for a lake of beer) and St. Columban both performed
numerous beer miracles, especially the dividing of beer! At the National Museum
of Ireland we encountered a brewing tub over a thousand years old, as well as an
attempt to honor a great Irish saint at Glendalough with a mircrobrew (as the
ancient monasteries brewed for their own consumption, as well as for the sick,
poor, and guests). St. Kevin’s Red was quite good after a walk around the
monastic city and two lakes of the valley (more on that
later).</span><figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><figure></figure></span></figure></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Watching over our pilgrimage, however,
were two holy figures from Dublin to make sure we consumed in moderation (both
of whom appear in <em>The Beer Option. </em> Fr. Theobald Matthew (1790-1856)
formed the Total Abstinence Society to combat the sin of drunkenness and
administered the pledge to over 3 million people in Ireland, and also traveled
in Britain and the United States. Alcohol clearly falls within Jesus’ teaching
on the Sermon on the Mount: “If your eyes causes you to sin, pluck it out.” The
other is Ven. Matt Talbot (1856-1925), who became an alcoholic at a young age,
while working in a liquor store. He fell to such a level that his friends mocked
him and refused to help him, causing him to wake up, go to confession, and take
the pledge. He became a Third Order Franciscan, consecrated his life to Our Lady
following St. Louis de Montfort, adopted strict penances, and spent his life
serving his fellow, poor workers in
Dublin.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">The Catholic tradition embraces the festivity of
eating and drinking, but within the context of fasting and friendship so that,
as Paul says, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory
of God.” Our pilgrimage experience in Dublin testified to the right balance of
drinking and abstaining, both witnessed by the saints. </span></div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-19038360958203217052019-09-17T18:33:00.000-04:002019-09-17T18:33:01.353-04:00Learning From Venerable Matt Talbot About Attachment and Detachment of Addictions*<br />
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<div>
<span style="size: 4;"><span style="font-size: medium; size: 4;">Homily For Eighteenth
Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)</span></span><span style="size: 4;"><span style="size: 4;"> </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="size: 4;"><span style="size: 4;"><span style="font-size: medium; size: 4;">by
Fr. Billy Swan</span></span></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.thehookoffaith.com/" title="https://www.thehookoffaith.com/"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://www.thehookoffaith.com/</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium; size: 4;">July 30, 2019</span></div>
<div>
<br />
</div>
<div class="font_9">
<span style="font-size: medium;">"Dear
friends. I would like to share a few thoughts this week on addiction. I do so
not only because it is topical and relevant to our society today but because it
is found in the Gospel story this weekend of the man who wasn’t contented with
his rich harvest but wanted an even greater return the following year – a year
he would never see because of his premature death. Like many addictions, his was
to ‘having more’. What he had was never enough.</span></div>
<div class="font_9">
<br /></div>
<div class="font_9">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Now when we talk about addictions, we might
be tempted to think only of the big ones we hear about – addictions to alcohol,
to smoking, drugs, gambling or pornography. If we do then we might be tempted to
cod ourselves in thinking that addictions effect other people but not me. That
I’m ok. The truth is that all of us are prone to any number of addictions at any
time. Most of us are probably struggling with some addiction right now. It’s not
a question of if we are, but more a question of ‘to what am I addicted?’ This is
because the human spirit always seeks to attach itself to something greater than
itself. And it is this attachment that will either destroy us or fill us with
joy in this life and the next.</span></div>
<div class="font_9">
<br /></div>
<div class="font_9">
<span style="font-size: medium;">One man who came full circle on this journey
of attachment and detachment was Matt Talbot. It is said that he was a hopeless
alcoholic by the time he was 14. He was so addicted to drink that he would do
anything and lose everything just to have another drink. He pawned his clothes
and boots to get money for alcohol. On one occasion, he stole a fiddle from a
street entertainer in Dublin and sold it to buy drink. His addiction to alcohol
turned him into someone he hated to be. When he hit rock bottom, he turned to
God in desperate prayer and pledged with his grace to detach himself from drink
and to attach himself ever more faithfully to God. In his efforts to turn his
life around, Matt Talbot was successful but credited everything to God and his
mercy.</span></div>
<div class="font_9">
<br /></div>
<div class="font_9">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We can learn so much from his story. The most
important thing to learn is how his addiction, like our addictions and every
addiction, is a spiritual problem that needs a spiritual cure. Before his
conversion, Matt Talbot tried to satisfy his need for God with alcohol before he
realised that there is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem. We are prone
to addictions when God is not in first place and what comes first instead in our
lives are things that can never replace him. Matt Talbot’s detachment from drink
corresponded to his attachment to God. To help him make this painful transition,
we know he read the writings of St Frances de Sales who urges us not just to
give up our addictions but to give up our love for them. So for Matt Talbot, it
wasn’t just a question of giving up the drink. It was just as much about giving
up his love for it. Since his death on 7th June 1925, Matt Talbot has been an
inspiration and sign of hope to people like us who struggle with addictions. He
was declared Venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1975 and how wonderful it would be if
one day he is declared a saint. He once wrote: ‘Never be too hard on the person
who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the
dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have
only to depend on him.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Today we pray for ourselves, that we may know
our addictions and admit them. We pray that we become detached and free from
whatever holds us back and kills our joy that comes from God. We pray that every
day, we may attach our spirits in humble prayer to the God who made them and the
God for whom they were made. We pray for all those whose lives are being
destroyed by addiction here and beyond. May this be the time when new hope is
born and many souls turn back again to God. Matt Talbot, pray for
us."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">*Note: We are responsible for this
title.</span></div>
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John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7153046690482925890.post-9411255162767370872019-08-28T17:23:00.000-04:002019-08-28T17:23:29.588-04:00Gregory Jakielski: Advocate of Venerable Matt Talbot<div>
<span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span><span style="font-size: medium;">We celebrate the seventh anniversary of Gregory
“meeting” Matt Talbot in an article and his subsequent promotion of Matt
throughout the world through websites and Facebook in Polish and English and
especially in providing free Matt Talbot prayer cards.</span></span>
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<span><span style="font-size: medium;">Since Gregory has been personally paying for the prayer
cards, </span></span><span><span style="font-size: medium;">we strongly encourage your
financial<span style="size: 4;"> support for his action at PayPal: </span><a href="mailto:mateusztalbot@wp.pl" style="href: "mailto:mateusztalbot@wp.pl";"><span style="size: 4;">mateusztalbot@wp.pl</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The following is his public announcement at </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/VenerableMattTalbot/" title="https://www.facebook.com/VenerableMattTalbot/"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://www.facebook.com/VenerableMattTalbot/</span></a></div>
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<span class="i_12-8ua5qlf"><span class="fsm fwn fcg"><abbr class="_5ptz" data-utime="1566838901" style="data-shorten: "1";" title="8/26/19, 1:01 PM"><span class="timestampContent" id="js_88"><span style="font-size: medium;">August 26 2019</span></span></abbr></span></span></div>
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<span class="i_12-8ua5qlf"><span class="fsm fwn fcg"><abbr class="_5ptz" data-utime="1566838901" style="data-shorten: "1";" title="8/26/19, 1:01 PM"><span class="timestampContent"></span></abbr></span></span><span aria-hidden="true" class="_6spk" role="presentation"><span style="font-size: medium;">· </span></span></div>
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<span aria-hidden="true" class="_6spk" role="presentation"></span><span style="font-size: medium;">“7
YEARS WITH VENERABLE MATT<br />Today is a special day for me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-testid="post_message" id="js_89">
<span style="font-size: medium;">7 years ago in the bookshop in Niepokalanów (Poland) I have
received the August issue of the monthly "Word Among Us". There was an article
devoted to the Venerable Matt Talbot and so my adventure began. These seven
years have passed like one day.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">I am asking for prayer for strength and resources for the next
years of work for spreading information about Venerable Matt Talbot.”</span></div>
John R. Blair, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15937463660466059487noreply@blogger.com