Pope Paul VI and Venerable Matt Talbot

On 6 November 1931, Archbishop Byrne of Dublin opened a sworn inquiry into the alleged claims of holiness of the former dock worker named Matt Talbot.

The Apostolic Process, the official sworn inquiry at the Vatican, began in 1947.

On 3 October 1975 Pope Paul VI declared him to be Venerable Matt Talbot, which is a step on the road to his canonisation, a process which needs evidence of a physical miracle in order to be successful.  

While Matt remains “Venerable,” Pope Francis  stated  earlier this month that he will proclaim Blessed Paul VI a saint later this year. Details are available at http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-paul-vi-to-be-canonized-this-year

Learning to Pray

Last week a young man who was beginning to address
the possibility of being an alcoholic asked, "How does one pray?" He stated that praying and religious faith were not part of his upbringing.  Had this article been read and printed, it might have been helpful.

Lesson One in Praying

by Dr. Peter Kreeft

January 31, 2018

 http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2018/01/dr-kreeft-prayer-lesson-one-on-prayer/

Let’s get very, very basic and very, very practical about prayer. The single most important piece of advice I know  about prayer is also the simplest: Just do it! How to do it is less important than just doing it. Less-than-perfect prayer is infinitely better than no prayer; more perfect prayer is only finitely better than less perfect prayer.

Nancy Reagan was criticized for her simple anti-drug slogan: “Just say no.” But there was wisdom there: the wisdom that the heart of any successful program to stop anything must be the simple will to say no. (“Just say no” doesn’t mean that nothing else was needed, but that without that simple decision nothing else would work. “Just say no” may not be sufficient but it is necessary.)

Similarly, no program, method, book, teacher, or technique will ever succeed in getting us to start doing anything unless there is first of all that simple, absolute choice to do it. “Just say yes.”

The major obstacle in most of our lives to just saying yes to prayer, the most popular and powerful excuse we give for not praying, or not praying more, or not praying regularly, is that we have no time.

The only effective answer to that excuse, I find, is a kind of murder. You have to kill something, you have to say no to something else, in order to make time to pray. Of course, you will never find time to pray, you have to make time to pray. And that means unmaking something else. The only way to install the tenant of prayer in the apartment building of your life is to evict some other tenant from those premises that prayer will occupy. Few of us have any empty rooms available.

Deciding to do that is the first thing. And you probably won’t decide to do it, only wish to do it, unless you see prayer for what it is: a matter of life or death, your lifeline to God, to life itself.

Is this exaggerated? Are there more important things? Love, for instance? We need love absolutely; but the love we need is agape, the love that only God has and is; so unless we go to God for it, we won’t get it. And going to God for it means prayer. So unless we pray, we will not love.

Having got that clear and having made prayer your number one priority, having made a definite decision to do it, we must next rearrange our lives around it. Rearranging your time, preparing time to pray, is like preparing your house to paint. As everyone knows who has done any painting, preparation is three-quarters the work, three-quarters the hassle, and three-quarters the time. The actual painting is a breeze compared with the preparation. 

The same is true of prayer: the hardest step is preparing a place, a time, a sacred and inviolable part of each day for it. Prayer is like Thanksgiving dinner. It takes one hour to eat it and ten hours to prepare it. Prayer is like Christmas Day: it took a month of preparation, decoration, and shopping to arrange for that one day. Best of all, prayer is like love. Foreplay is, or should be, most of it. For two people truly and totally in love, all of their lives together is foreplay. Well, prayer is like spiritual love-making. God has waited patiently for you for a long, long time. He longs for you to touch the fringe of his being in prayer, as the woman touched the hem of Christ’s garment, so that you can be healed. How many hours did that woman have to prepare for that one-minute touch?

The first and most important piece of practical preparation is scheduling. You absolutely must schedule a regular time for prayer, whether you are a “scheduler” with other things in your life or not. “Catch as catch can” simply won’t work for prayer; it will mean less and less prayer, or none at all. One quick minute in the morning to offer your day to God is better than nothing at all, of course, but it is as radically inadequate as one quick minute a day with your wife or husband. You simply must decide each day to free up your schedule so you can pray.

How long a time? That varies with individuals and situations, of course; but the very barest minimum should certainly be at least fifteen minutes. You can’t really count on getting much deep stuff going on in less time than that. If fifteen minutes seems too much to you, that fact is powerful proof that you need to pray much more to get your head on straight.
After it becomes more habitual and easy, expand it, double it. And later, double it again. Aim at an hour each day, if you want radical results. (Do you? Or are you only playing?)

What time of day is best? The most popular time—bedtime—is usually the worst possible time, for two reasons. First, it tends not to be prime time but garbage time, when you’re the least alert and awake. Do you really want to put God in the worst apartment in your building? Should you offer him the sickest sheep in your flock?

Second, it won’t work. If you wait until every other obligation is taken care of first before you pray, you simply won’t pray. For life today is so cruelly complicated for most of us that “every other obligation” is never taken care of. Remember, you are going to have to kill other things in order to pray. No way out of that.

The most obvious and usually best time is early in the morning. If you can’t delay the other things you do, you simply must get up that much earlier.

Should it be the very first thing? That depends. Some people are alert as soon as they get up; others need to shower and dress to wake up. The important thing is to give God the best time, and “just do it.”

Place is almost as important as time. You should make one special place where you can be undisturbed. “Catch as catch can” won’t work for place either.

What place? Some people are not very sensitive to environment and can even use a bathroom. Others naturally seek beauty: a porch, yard, garden, or walk. (I find praying while you take a walk a good combination of spiritual and physical exercise.)

You probably noticed I haven’t said a word about techniques yet. That’s because three-quarters is preparation, remember? But what about methods?

I can only speak from my own experience as a continuing beginner. The two most effective that I have found are very simple. One is praying Scripture, reading and praying at the same time, reading in God’s presence, receiving the words from God’s mouth. The second is spontaneous verbal prayer. I am not good at all at silent prayer, mental prayer, contemplative prayer; my thoughts hop around like fleas. Praying aloud (or singing) keeps me praying, at least. And I find it often naturally leads to silent prayer often, or “mental prayer,” or contemplation.

Most advice on prayer focuses on higher levels: contemplative prayer. But I suspect many of my readers are prayer infants too and need to learn to walk before they can run. So these are some lessons from one man’s prayer kindergarten. Let’s “just do it” even if “it” is only crawling towards God. 

Note: Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and popular author of over 55 books.

A Lenten Journey with Venerable Matt Talbot

In addition to your planned Lenten reading, it may be worthwhile to add Matt Talbot - A Lenten Journey (2014), a resource compiled and edited by Fr. Brian Lawless, Vice Postulator for the cause of the Venerable Matt Talbot, and Caroline Eaton.        

This free 69 page resource at

https://www.acnireland.org/matt-talbot-a-lenten-journey/ is recommended for those who are not yet familiar with Venerable Matt Talbot as well as a review for those who are familiar with him.

Note: We previously posted this resource on 1 Mar 2017.

Confiding in God and Overcoming Addiction

"Hope with Realism: Confiding in God and Overcoming Addiction"

Dr. Dan L. Edmunds

December 28, 2017

http:/ /www.catholicstand.com/hope-with-realism-confiding-in-god-and-over coming-addiction/

Ds--distance, duality, disillusionment, denial, and despair. Distance was to put up an unnecessary wall with others. Duality was that double life where one wore masks and played the games. 
Disillusionment was to not find satisfaction and to be afraid of one’s feelings and emotions where the only thought was to be numb. Denial was to ignore a dilemma and to pretend it was not there. Despair was to have no hope. But though it began this way it need not be the end. To restore a connection, to come to patient acceptance, to pay mind to those small joys often overlooked, to take off the mask, to be authentic and without fear. Therein lies the solution and the hope. The Lord gave these words to St. Faustina:

“O soul steeped in darkness, do not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy.”

 A Crisis of Meaning and Identity

When one begins to help others create meaning they will begin to create it themselves. There cannot be something without there first being anything. And from that void one does have a choice of what to fill it with. Will it be the junk food that alleviates a hunger but never satisfies or will it be something based on virtue which cannot be taken away and which provides nourishment? As for where they will go, that too becomes a choice and the path will be less tedious and more fulfilling when the journey takes place with others rather than in isolation. When one walks alone, it is likely they will become lost and there will be none to lift them up again or nurse wounds along the way.

Understanding Addiction   

 

If one wishes to understand addiction they must be willing to understand painful experiences. They must be willing to venture into that darkness and realize that some are too afraid to walk to the light. Some judge and fail to grasp how one may return to the same cycle. But it is the human condition for us to return to that which was familiar though it is uncomfortable. We must come to know those forces which led to a disintegration of identity, a failure to grasp the meaning, an isolation though among others. We must come to see that these persons are human beings regardless of how contorted their lives have become. They cannot be expected to give what they never had. Compassion and patience is a key. And once the door is opened we cannot expect them to immediately rush into it. They need those who will guide them to that opening and will encourage rather than further their feelings of hopelessness and despair. A confrontational approach will only give rise to retaliation, denial, and defensiveness. An approach of service and core human values based on benevolence will give rise to the restoration of their full humanity free from the contortions. Authenticity will give rise to honest interactions. Supportive guidance rather than judgmental dictates will give rise to functional independence and better decision making. Showing an example of humility and kindness will give rise to one adopting the same. There is the need for that process of unlearning, of casting off that which one perpetuated for it is all they knew. There is that need to be willing to suffer with, be with, and journey with the other, to demonstrate that there is no need any longer for masks, roles, and ultimately fear. To show that life can be beautiful and embraced rather than avoided.

Addiction and Mental Health

There is often an unnecessary dichotomy made between addiction and mental health. The two are intertwined in that it is often challenging states of mind which paves the way to addiction and once addiction arises there is then a greater deterioration of one’s mental state where for some the end result is complete despair. It is necessary not only to support the person who is in difficult emotional states whether addiction arose or not but to also take on the role of activists to seek to change what we are able in the dynamics which lead one to such states. And some may ask- why do some go through a painful or difficult experience and addiction arises whereas with others it does not? The fact is that all will react to oppressive dynamics, some will become depressed, some anxious, some even psychotic. Some will develop an addiction. Each is based on what is available (or not available) at the time. Each is an ill-fated attempt to alleviate that which they find to be an unbearable condition.

St. John of the Cross states:

“God has to work in the soul in secret and in darkness because if we fully knew what was happening, and what Mystery, transformation, God, and Grace will eventually ask of us, we would either try to take charge or stop the whole process.”

A Longing For Connection

 

Addiction becomes that strange event by which one longs for connection but becomes disconnected and isolated, seeks meaning but enters despair, yearns to be free from anxiety but becomes a prisoner of their own thoughts, hopes to avoid pain but becomes engulfed in the unavoidable, seeks to be recognized for something positive but becomes unrecognizable, goes after pleasure and excitement but becomes apathetic and anhedonic. Addiction remains that compulsion only when the dynamics around the person remain compulsively chaotic and bewildering. The obsessive quality of addiction remains an obsession when one believes there is no way out and has no other focus. And though addiction was present, though the darkness has become pervasive, one may find through that hope combined with realism that inward path where the light is rekindled and one emerges anew with an insight, a connection, meaning, and a willingness to embrace life as it is.

Spiritual Doubt

 

There was that time of spiritual doubt. One did those things which killed the Spirit within. One replaces the Spirit with spirits. One does not want to see, recognize, or be bothered by God for a time for they had projected all their human resentments and negative feelings onto their image of who this God was. One could not be in control if God was. And though things were so out of control one played the game that they did have such control. When one admitted that this was not the case and began to see the face and workings of the Divine in their fellows, they began to discover amazing things and we discarded spirits for the spiritual.
It is not that some struggling with addiction do not want help. They do not desire to live in despair and turmoil. It is rather they have crossed the line into dependence and familiarity. It is that they are not ready for they do not know how to receive help nor do they trust anyone to help. Fear keeps them trapped in the cycle. A different way of life is foreign and anxiety producing. Some would say we must give up on these souls but it is when the door becomes cracked even just a tad that light may enter. The door can only begin to be cracked open when the person encounters in another the very traits they were lacking- patience, compassion, authenticity.

 

 The Spiritual

 

There are those extreme idealists whose hearts may be benevolent but whose thinking leads them to disillusionment, discontent, bitterness, and cynicism. They desperately want to see their vision unfold. But it is that attachment to this desire that leads to their confusion. Patient acceptance and a hope tempered by realism are what is needed.There was that time of spiritual doubt. One did those things which killed the Spirit within. One replaces the Spirit with spirits. One does not want to see, recognize, or be bothered by God for a time for they had projected all their human resentments and negative feelings onto their image of who this God was. One could not be in control if God was. And though things were so out of control one played the game that they did have such control. When one admitted that this was not the case and began to see the face and workings of the Divine in their fellows, they began to discover amazing things and they discarded spirits for the spiritual.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Notes Matt Talbot

 "Sean McDermott Street celebrates 25 years of Salesian involvement”
By Cian Molloy – 29 January, 2018

https://www/.catholicireland.net/sean-mcdermott-street-celebrates-25-years-salesian-involvement

So many families in this parish can thank God that even in hard times, and in the face of many negative forces, they have seen their children grow up to become good citizens, good Christians and good parents, people of whom this parish can be proud.

The Parish of Seán McDermott Street in Dublin’s city centre, is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the Salesian Order’s involvement in the parish administration.

In addition to running Our Lady of Lourdes Church, which is home to the Shrine of the Venerable Matt Talbot, the Salesians also run the Crinian Youth Project, as a response to the disastrous impact of heroin on many of the parish’s young people.

At a Mass marking the silver anniversary, the Salesian provincial Fr Michael Casey was generous in praising others who are also working to support the people of the parish, including the Daughters of Charity, the Columban Missionary Sisters, the local schools, the local day centre for the elderly, the parish’s pastoral council and those working in the local health services.

But in his homily yesterday (Sunday), chief celebrant Archbishop Diarmuid Martin remarked that there are three others ‘constantly present, invisibly animating the spiritual and the human development of this community’.  The three are: Don Bosco, founder of the Salesians; Matt Talbot and Our Lady of Lourdes.

“Don Bosco was a great saint of the people,” said the Archbishop. “He worked within communities and especially with young people. Anywhere in the world where you find a Salesian community you find a presence among young people that is practical, caring, and forward-looking. I have visited Salesian schools in the poorest parts of the world and the Salesian presence is always one that provides practical help for young people, no matter what their belief. The Spirit of Don Bosco is one that sets out to enable every young person to reach his or her full God-given potential as individuals and to build up a community that surrounds and helps young people.

“So many families here in this parish can thank God that even in hard times, and in the face of many negative forces, they have seen their children grow up to become good citizens and good Christians and good parents, people of whom this parish can be proud.”

Describing Matt Talbot as ‘a true Dubliner, who faced the challenges of Dublin in difficult times’, the Archbishop said, “He was a worker, a very simple man who was able in the midst of poverty and disadvantage to be truly a man of God, a mystic, and a man of prayer. He lived a saintly life not by running way from his place of hard work and his difficult social environment. He stayed here and found holiness here. Over the years, he has touched hearts and he has answered the hidden prayers of many a parent or of individuals in heart breaking situations of addiction. His presence here is truly a blessing.

“The third figure is Our Lady of Lourdes, patron of this parish. Mary is the model of a strong woman who sought out God’s will and stood by her Son Jesus when his unfailing love was responded to with rejection and when his goodness was responded to with shameful violence. Mary is the one who reminds us of how the presence of goodness will eventually overcome the arrogance of the violent.”

“The future of this parish and its people will be shaped not by the drug barons but by the goodness and the determination of good honest and courageous citizens, young and old, women and men, who care not for their own wealth and power, but for the safe and happy future of our younger generations.
“May the Lord bless this parish and especially its young people.”

Songs from the Musical "Matt Talbot"

Songs from the musical "Matt Talbot" were created by Pat & Kathleen Phelan in 1986 and posted on November 12, 2017 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yissk0U0P-Y.

The Dark Night of Recovery

Gerald G. May, M.D. who authored 

 Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions practiced medicine and psychiatry for twenty-five years before becoming a senior fellow in contemplative theology and psychology at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

Addiction and Grace offers an inspiring and hope–filled vision for those who desire to explore the mystery of who and what they really are. May examines the "processes of attachment" that lead to addiction and describes the relationship between addiction and spiritual awareness. He also details the various addictions from which we can suffer, not only to substances like alcohol and drugs, but to work, sex, performance, responsibility, and intimacy. 

Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist working with the chemically dependent, May emphasizes that addiction represents an attempt to assert complete control over our lives. 
Addiction and Grace is a compassionate and wise treatment of a topic of major concern in these most addictive of times, one that can provide a critical yet hopeful guide to a place of freedom based on contemplative spirituality.”

While parts of this book can be read online, your attention is directed to “The Dark Night of Recovery," beginning on page 222 at https://www.amazon.com/Addiction-Grace-Spirituality-Healing-Addictions/dp/0061122432/ref=sr_1_4_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517276335&sr=8-4&keywords=gerald+may+dark+night+of+the+soul#reader_0061122432

Eighty quotes from May’s books are available at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/68181.Gerald_G_May

Major Financial Donation to the Canonization of Venerable Matt Talbot

Carpet king Des Kelly left a gross estate of more than €13m in his will which included charitable bequests to two Dublin homeless shelters and €71,425 for the canonisation of Matt Talbot...” The article is available at the link below.

Carpet king Des leaves €13m in will and cash for 'Saint Matt'
By Liam Collins
January 21 2018
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/carpet-king-des-leaves-13m-in-will-and-cash-for-saint-matt-36512194.html 


NOTE: The cost of  some canonisations is estimated to be as much as €500,000. The donation amount in the article will undoubtedly help finance Matt's cause.

Seeking Christ Rather Than Alcohol

From the moment Matt Talbot took the pledge not to drink with a priest. Matt filled the void with God. The first three months were very challenging but he persevered for the next forty one years.

Seeking Christ

by Father Pablo

January 6, 2018

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/labmind/2018/01/seeking-christ.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Catholic&utm_content=45

Every heart searches for meaning.  Every soul longs for happiness.  We are born restless.  We are born with a void inside, a missing piece, which moves us to seek fulfillmen   We are like a beautiful and complex jigsaw puzzle with one missing piece.  Without that last piece we remain incomplete, so we tirelessly search for the piece that will complete the picture.

We often attempt to place other appealing pieces which satisfy temporarily but do not complete the puzzle correctly.  These fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying fillers may include materialism and vanity, drugs and alcohol, hedonism and egotism to name a few.  Though alluring and perhaps temporarily successful in satisfying the inner restlessness, these vices rapidly deepen the void within us.

No matter how many different pieces we use to fill that last opening, there is only one, perfectly made piece that will fit flawlessly.  Saint Augustine accurately identified it when he wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

We are created by God with a natural need for Him to reach personal fulfillment.  We will remain restless, missing that last perfectly fashioned puzzle piece, as long as we resist God.  He has created us for Himself and we need Him.

Some become so restless they run away from God, yet it is in God that fulfillment is found.  Jesus urges us to turn to Him in our restlessness with His words, “come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  He said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” and she answered, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”  In Christ alone our thirst ends, our search concludes, and we move forward with purpose. \\
 

In God we find the fulfillment of every desire of our hearts.  It is in surrendering to Him that peace is found.  It is in surrendering to Him that He will place that perfectly fashioned piece into our hearts, completing who we are.  It is in Him that the restlessness of seeking dissolves into the happiness and fulfillment of having found Him.  May the new year allow us to grow closer to Christ, enabling Him to place the perfectly fashioned puzzle piece that will fill us with peace and joy.

How the Eucharist helps the lonely and the desperate

One of Matt Talbot's quotes is "How can anyone be lonely, with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?"

How the Eucharist helps the lonely and the desperate 

by Eve Tushnet

posted 14 Dec 2017

www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/december-15th-2017/how-the-eucharist-helps-the-lonely-and-the-desperate

Difficult circumstances seem to make the Eucharist all the more powerful.

"...Earlier this year, I interviewed some homeless and formerly homeless people for America magazine. Two of the Catholic interviewees described the way their experience with homelessness drew them to the Eucharist. Greg C said that when he was living in his car, he sought out churches “that had 24-hour Adoration, so it wouldn’t be suspicious that I had my car there… Going to Adoration felt like coming home, even though it’s not where I slept.”

Eleanor (a pseudonym) noted that she became Catholic in part because: “Having been so totally and utterly failed, misunderstood and maligned by 99 per cent of the people I loved – Evangelical Protestants and Catholics alike – I really just wanted Jesus. The Eucharist was suddenly that much more necessary and beautiful.”

The Third Sunday of Advent’s readings emphasise that God comes to the powerless and the suffering. He will overturn the hierarchies of our world: “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53).

I have only anecdotal evidence to suggest that people on the margins of society often have an especial devotion to the Eucharist. I do think there’s something about the experience of marginalisation or powerlessness itself – an experience most of us have had in different contexts – which makes the poignancy and majesty of Christ’s gift of Himself in the Eucharist shine forth more brightly. Eleanor suggests that the Eucharist helps us to know and love Jesus even when many of His followers abandon or harm us.

One other theme my interviewees raised was the fear of how others would see them – alongside the terrible fear of becoming totally invisible. One man, John William Brandkamp, summarised what many of my interviewees said in different words: “I desperately want to be seen, and I desperately do not want to be seen.” In this situation Eucharistic Adoration allows you to turn your gaze towards Christ and know that He sees you without judging you. You don’t have to worry about what He’s thinking about you. You don’t have to worry that He’ll discreetly edge away from you if you look rough or miserable, if you are a more butch woman or a more feminine man.

There is a peace in the Eucharist which is for you, an intimacy even when you feel friendless. He knows you when you are keeping secrets for fear of how others will react to you; knows you, with a knowledge which is only loving.

The Eucharist shows God Himself in a shockingly powerless form. Not only does God overthrow the mighty and exalt the humble – He Himself becomes about as humble as it’s possible to be. His Body is as broken as our heart feels. He places Himself literally in our hands, entrusting Himself to us even though we know we are not trustworthy. It is His might which makes this possible. It is the infinite power of the Lord which makes it possible for Him to become, like us, so weak.

And it is only through His power that we can do as Paul says: “In all circumstances give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Eucharist means “thanksgiving”, of course. In our hardest circumstances we are given such a simple way to give thanks. There are times when words fail, when prayers don’t come, when you have no idea how to live in gratitude for a life which seems consumed by confusion, injustice or suffering. In those times the silence of the Eucharist can be a great solace. Simply being present with Him is enough.

There have been times when I couldn’t receive Communion – sometimes for dumb reasons, like my schedule went all catawampus and I didn’t fast; sometimes because I knew I carried grave sin I was unwilling even to bring to Confession. It’s awful to feel helplessly shackled in sin.

But I trust that when I went to Mass my willingness simply to be in His presence, even if I couldn’t or wouldn’t receive the deep intimacy He wanted to offer me, was a way of giving as much thanks as I could.

In all circumstances our Thanksgiving awaits us on the altar."

A Note on Matt Talbot's Movement from Addiction to Wholeness

The following excerpt is solely about Matt Talbot (St. Katharine Drexel and St. Ignatius are also discussed in the complete article.)

Three pillars, three saints

By Effie Caldarola

February 23, 2017

http://www.catholicnews.com/services/faithalive/2017/faith-alive-2017-no-13-lent-with-the-saints.cfm

"...Venerable Matt Talbot provides an example of someone who used asceticism to help him on his journey from addiction to wholeness. Born into a large family, Talbot lived in poverty-stricken, post-famine Ireland. He began work at age 12, and that's when a soul-consuming alcoholism took root.

At the age of 28, Talbot, with the help of a confessor (and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius!) began his journey of sobriety. His abstinence was accompanied by a radical conversion. A laborer and a union man, he joined the Secular Franciscan Order, gave up another addiction -- smoking -- and began to lead his ordinary life with extraordinary penance and self-sacrifice.

Talbot is at the second rung of a four-step ladder to canonization. A miracle attributed to his intercession could lead to him being declared "Blessed." But in the meantime, thousands believe he has helped them in their struggle with addiction.

All of us are attached to something that impedes spiritual growth. During Lent, fasting from a behavior -- drinking, gossiping, addictive screen time -- that interferes with our relationship with Jesus can lead to conversion. An attribute of Talbot was that people described him, despite his self-denial, as a very happy man..."

Matt Talbot's Inspirational Victory Over Addiction

This informative video, published on Sep 16, 2017, features multiple speakers.

"Theme of documentary- The amount of families in Ireland and every other country in the world who are afflicted by an addiction of one sort or another is very high, and addiction more than anything else, destroys families. Many families have lived tortured lives because what do you do when a member of your family gets addicted to alcohol or drugs? The alcoholic or addict usually ends up going t
o any lengths to feed their addiction, to the detriment of the wider family. 

Where do people in such an awful scenario go for help? What do they do? When many of them hear about the inspirational story of Matt Talbot and how he overcame his chronic alcoholism, they’re inspired and encouraged to try and overcome their addiction and begin the difficult journey from darkness to light. Matt Talbot is nowadays the number one patron for countless people all over the world who are suffering from addiction and are struggling to find recovery.

This 50-minute radio documentary investigates: (a)[ Matt Talbot’s inspirational life-example and why his story resonates so strongly with our modern world; and (b). the huge interest nowadays in Matt Talbot in Ireland and abroad. More than anything else, this documentary aims to highlight Matt Talbot’s story of redemption and hope, and in so doing perhaps inspire any listener who’s suffering from addiction, or knows someone suffering from addiction, to follow his example of walking the difficult (but worthwhile) path from addiction to recovery. * 

This 50-minute radio documentary is to be downloaded for non-profit purposes only, in adherence with the universal truth- “What you do for yourself dies with you, what you do for others remains. It is immortal.”

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary Unties Knots

by Jim Manney

Writing on the British Jesuits’ site Thinking Faith, Hedwig Lewis, SJ, gives more background on the devotion to Mary the Untier (or Undoer) of Knots, which Pope Francis has promoted for years.  You can also visit a website about the devotion.  The devotion is especially appropriate for “problems and struggles we face for which we do not see any solution:”

Knots of discord in our family, lack of understanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between husband and wife, the absence of peace and joy at home. They are also the knots of anguish and despair of separated couples, the dissolution of the family, the knots of a drug addict son or daughter, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, the practice of abortion, depression, unemployment, fear, solitude. . .

- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/16382/mary-unties-knots/#sthas

As readers of biographical articles and books about Venerable Matt Talbot are quite aware, Matt developed a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother from the time of signing the pledge to give up alcohol through his remaining forty-one years of life.

                         

As noted today at the start of this new year, Pope Francis said that having a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary isn’t just something that is nice or good to do, but is an obligation in the life of a Christian (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-on-new-years-day-devotion-to-mary-is-a-must-10900).

Faith is the Answer

Christmas and New Year’s: A rough week for addicts and alcoholics

by Robert Kurland 

Dec 27, 2017

https://aleteia.org/2017/12/27/christmas-and-new-years-a-rough-week-for-addicts-and-alcoholics/

Statistics bear it out. Faith is the answer. Here's how you can help.

“For some, the sights, signs and smells of the holidays bring joy and a warm feeling. But, while others are joyously diving into the season, some of us are dipping into conflict, guilt, and a sense of guilt.”—Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, Dec. 24.

“Tis the season to be jolly!”
Or is it?  For many addicts, alcoholics, their family and friends, there are triggers—Christmas tree ornaments that once were scattered in a drunken rage, candles that went out when it was past time for a return home—that remind one of bad times in the past.

Now, I don’t intend to dampen the spirit of this sacred holiday. Rather, I’m making a plea to support efforts to bring faith into the lives of addicts, alcoholics and their families. For example, our parish has formed a Drug and Alcohol Ministry.  We meet monthly, with a prayer/Rosary session beforehand.  Our mission is not to give advice—that’s left to the professionals and 12 Step groups—but to give support and to help people, those afflicted, their families and friends, know that faith in Jesus Christ will give them hope.

The website for the ministry contains the following resources: a prayer for the month, a list of local 12 Step meetings, a list of counseling services and stories of recovery through faith in God. In our area the Higher Power of the Twelve Step meetings is explicitly God. But this may not be the case elsewhere.

The statistics for recovery are a mixed lot. Some reports give 10 percent (or lower) recovery rates from just 12 Step programs. Others give higher figures for 12 Step programs plus extensive counseling. But the most significant statistic is 60-75 percent recovery—abstinence after a two-year period—if there is a significant  faith component to rehab efforts. And it must be realized that recovery is not only for the addict or alcoholic, but for his family.

“If I could speak to other parents facing the same situation, I’d say, “You need to hand your children over to someone greater than yourself, because you can’t control your children or the addiction.  You are not helping them if you try to—hold on!  It gets better.”—Anonymous, Stories of Faith and Addiction, St. Joseph Catholic Church Drug and Alcohol Ministry

So please, in the spirit of giving of yourselves, promote programs in your own Church that will bring faith and hope into the lives of those afflicted by addiction and alcoholism.

God of life, You made us in Your perfect image to live in Your love and to give You glory, honor and praise. Open our hearts to Your healing power. Come, Lord Jesus, calm our souls just as You whispered “Peace” to the stormy sea. St. Jude, holy Apostle, in our need we reach out to you. We beg you to intercede for us that we may find strength to overcome our illnesses. Bless all those who struggle with addiction. Touch them, heal them, reassure them of the Father’s constant love. Remain at our side, St. Jude, to chase away all evil temptations, fears and doubts. May the quiet assurance of your loving presence illuminate the darkness in our hearts and bring lasting peace. — Prayer of the Month, St. Joseph Church Drug and Alcohol Ministry

Note: Is your parish doing enough to support addiction recovery? See http://www.uscatholic.org/print/31095

Lay Saints: Ascetics and Penitents

In her 2016 book, “Lay Saints: Ascetics and Penitents,” Joan Carroll Cruz includes 58 profiles including Venerable Matt Talbot  (pages 169-173), which can be read in its entirety at https://www.scribd.com/document/335235532/Lay-Saints-Ascetics-and-Penitents-Joan-Carroll-Cruz

Update on Authenticating and Protecting Relics

Vatican releases new instruction on authenticating, protecting relics

by Carol Glatz,

Catholic News Service 

Dec. 18, 2017 

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-releases-new-instruction-authenticating-protecting-relics     

Vatican City — Only relics that have been certified as authentic can be exposed for veneration by the faithful, said a new Vatican instruction.   

Published Dec.16 in Italian by the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the instruction clarifies and details the canonical procedures to be followed by local bishops in an effort to verify the authenticity of relics and the mortal remains of saints and blesseds, as well as better guarantee a relic's preservation, approve and track its movements, and promote its veneration.

The instruction replaces the appendix, "Canonical Recognition of the Mortal Remains of the Servant of God," included with "Sanctorum Mater," the congregation's "Instruction for Conducting Diocesan or Eparchal Inquiries in the Causes of Saints," released in 2007.

The new instruction outlined the specific procedures and personnel necessary for the canonical recognition of the authenticity of the relics or remains of a saint or anyone on the path to sainthood. It also specified that any action taken regarding the relics or remains must also conform with local government laws and have the consent of the saints' congregation and the person recognized as the deceased's "heir."

In the case of an upcoming canonization or beatification, some small pieces or fragments already separated from the body can be removed and later given to the postulator or vice postulator for placement in a properly sealed reliquary, the instruction said.

But "the dismemberment of the body is not allowed" unless the bishop has obtained permission from the saints' congregation, it said.

The sale or trade of relics remains "absolutely prohibited" as well as exposing them in "profane" or unauthorized locations, it said.

Some of the rules also include:

-- Rigorously avoiding any sign of veneration for the remains of a servant of God or venerable before beatification.
-- Obtaining written consent from the congregation and every bishop or proprietor that would be involved in the moving of, in transferring the ownership of, or in the pilgrimage of any relics and mortal remains of the saints and blesseds.
-- Getting the consent of the saints' congregation, the relevant patriarch and his permanent synod for the alienation or transfer of ownership of relics and precious icons of the Eastern churches.

Venerable Fulton Sheen Speaks About Matt Talbot

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1975), one of the most dynamic preachers of the Catholic Faith in the twentieth century, speaks in this four minute video about "Matt Talbot, Patron Saint of Alcoholics."

 

In this twenty minutes video, Fulton Sheen talks about

 "Three Drunks Worth Knowing"

Personally Invite Pope Francis to Visit Matt Talbot's Tomb in 2018

Ask Pope to visit Matt Talbot, Archbishop Martin says

Greg Daly

November 23, 2017

http://irishcatholic.com/ask-pope-visit-matt-talbot-archbishop-martin-says/

"People should write to Pope Francis to encourage him to visit the tomb of Matt Talbot when he comes to Dublin next year, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said. Speaking in Maynooth at a conference on priestly formation, Archbishop Martin spoke of how priests come from the “holy people of God”, a term the Pope regularly uses when speaking of ordinary Catholics, especially those from marginalised communities.

“The bishop’s main point was the importance of the holy people of God, with Matt Talbot as example,” said Fr Richard Ebejer, former administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on Seán McDermott Street, where Talbot’s shrine is. He added that he was delighted that the famous Dublin ascetic had been mentioned, and so asked whether the Pontiff might be prevailed upon to visit Talbot’s tomb, which St John Paul II was widely expected to visit in 1979 although doing so had never been on his schedule.

Disappointed

“The local people had prepared for the visit, and had been disappointed when the Pope did not visit,” the Maynooth-based Salesian told The Irish Catholic, saying that this showed how it is “good not to raise expectations.”

Fr Ebejer has previously said that the disappointment felt locally at St John Paul’s failure to visit the tomb is still palpable today, and that while the North inner city is a marginalised community which has a social stigma attached to it, it has many positive aspects which the archbishop himself has often highlighted.

“There’s a strong sense of solidarity there,” Fr Ebejer said, describing the area as a “local community struggling to lift itself out of poverty”. He pointed to how Dr Martin has spoken about the role of mothers and grandmothers keeping families together when things went wrong, and noted how – even among families where religious practice is low – there is a strong attachment there to the local church.

Fr Eddie Conway OP of the nearby St Saviour’s Church, where Talbot had been going when he collapsed and died in Granby Lane in 1925 agreed it would be good if the Pope visited a community that is so often marginalised.

Stressing that details of the papal visit have not been confirmed, Fr Conway described the failure to visit the tomb in 1979 as “a terrible omission” and said “It would be good for the Pope to visit him – he’s Dublin’s holy man, the saint of the working class, known for how he fought with the whole addiction thing, and someone people can identify with.”

Matt Talbot was declared ‘venerable’ by Pope Paul VI in October 1975."

On Prayer

The following excerpt on prayer is from an article at  http://www.holyfamilybordeaux.org/reflection/prayer/

“C.S. Lewis, in the play ‘Shadowlands’ by William Nicholson, says, “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.” Kahlil Gibran goes further when he says: “You pray in your distress and in your need: would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance…”

Prayer is gift. St Augustine says that in prayer we open our hearts to receiving what God intends to give. Matt Talbot prayed for the gift of prayer and he tells us that it was given to him “in abundance.”
In prayer we bring together the whole of Creation, so that in the words of St Paul,“all things may be united in Christ – things in heaven and things on earth.” (Eph 1:10)”

A Catholic Journey Through the Twelve Steps and the Sacrements

Two reviews about this informative new book are posted below.

Although Matt Talbot is not mentioned, Matt did use the sacraments and the yet to be written twelve steps as part of his recovery journey.

The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments: A Catholic Journey Through Recovery  

by Scott Weeman

November 10, 2017

https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Steps-Sacraments-Catholic-Recovery/dp/1594717257

"The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments outlines in a penetrating way the essential relationship between the beauty of each step and the specific sacramental reality that can link that step to a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ."

 --From the foreword by Most Rev. Robert W. McElroy, Bishop of San Diego

 

 

"In the eight decades since their initial formulation by a handful of alcoholics with the help of a few clergymen, the Twelve Steps have aided countless numbers of women and men with various addictions overcome their unhealthy attachments and go on to lead happy, healthy, and productive lives in their homes, in society and in their places of worship. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Scott Weeman shares his own personal story of recovery and the stories of other recovering addicts to help us get a clear picture of the Twelve Steps and how they relate to the sacraments Christ established and left to his people for our sanctification. Whether you or someone you know is in recovery (or ought to be), whether you are a Catholic or not, this book will help you understand the sacraments in light of the Twelve Steps. More importantly, Weeman will help you see the Twelve Steps more clearly in the Light of Christ."

--Marcus Grodi, Founder and president of The Coming Home Network International