EWTN: Sunday Night: Live with Father Benedict Groeschel [prerecorded]

EWTN | December 13, 2008 | Incredulous Joe

[Salvation]

AA is reality. Are you married? Have your family start attending Al-Anon. It’s wonderful.

[Salvation]

I didn’t know that was even there. Wow!

[Salvation]

Over here.

[Clemenza]

While I do not share his faith, I’ve always enjoyed Father Benedict’s commentary. Unlike most of the priests of my youth, he knows what he is talking about, and communicates it in a cogent, intelligent matter. He’s no Fulton Sheen, but Msgr. Sheen can never be matched.

[Salvation]

Don’t you realize he is begging for help? (Whether he knows it or not.)

May God walk with you during this difficult time.

God, grand me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Prayers offered.

[Marechal]

No, from his language and contentiousness when people actually *did* offer help or constructive suggestions, I’d venture to say he’s certainly not begging for help. Begging for attention, more like. Actively trolling, perhaps.

Either way, mission accomplished, given that dialogue on the topic at hand was pretty much destroyed.

[Salvation]

It will get back to the topic. These threads wander sometimes.

[RobFromGa]

take a look at this thread, please and starting at #18 there is a fellow Freeper who I think doesn't yet know that many know exactly what he is experiencing with his alcohol issues...

PING, this thread might be of interest to you! Freegards, RobFromGa

[RobFromGa]

thanks Salvation...

[RobFromGa]

Im sorry. Im truly sorry. I am a lost cause.

The only question that matters if you want to fix this...

Do you honestly want to quit drinking?

If the answer is yes, then you can be helped. If the answer is no, or you don't know, then you are unlikely to be successful. If the answer is Yes, there are many that can help and it doesn't require a belief in a higher being.

And AA doesn't require you to be spiritual, the AA group can be your higher power, you would benefit greatly from hearing how "normal" your problems with alcohol are...

I hope you are ready for help. you sound like you have suffered enough but this is a decision only you can make.

[Mercat]

Thank you. Ditto to your post.

[incredulous joe]

I seriously doubt that I have time to create a discussion forum for the program, as I said I download the show and usually don’t even get around to listening to it till a couple days later.

This particular podcast will be replaced tonight.

I think that I’d like to give it a shot and see if some other FRiends may be interested in a weekly discussion. Such undertakings take time to build up.

I think this “Question Box” episode particularly good for such a format here.

Have a “Gaudete” Saunday! Don’t think that I’m using that the proper way, but you know what I mean ;0)

[raybbr]

Alcoholism is a thief. It literally took everything from me and continues to this day to take from me.

You CAN stop it. You have to ask for help. Unless you really want to die then no one can help you.

I felt the same way over twenty years ago. I got help. I went through it. You can too, if you want.

Prayers for strength for you. May God's hand guide you. May you learn the power of God's love.

[don-o]

You need to find a reason to live. For me, it was my family. I recall, at my bottom, I was on a day trip with my son. We were going to an old mountain cemetery to observe the dedication of a tombstone of a relative who had been recognized by the D.A.R.

At this time, I had toyed with the idea of how I could off myself and make it look like an accident, so my family could get the insurance money. But, thankfully, I had enough sanity to play that tape through to the end and consider what my death would do to my family - money be damned.

Next day, I went to my second AA meeting. I had been once before - many years ago. At that point, I had not been given the gift of the “desperation of the dying” that I now recognized that I had. I had come to the place where I absolutely wanted to stop drinking.

Is AA perfect? Some will try to say so. I don’t say that. But, there one can find a box of tools and one can select the tools than one is able to use. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me.

The first one I tried out was “humility.” I thought I already had that one. What I had was humiliation. There is a difference.

Please stay in touch.

[mlizzy]

Beautiful photograph of The Little Flower. Thank you!

I was told I would probably have no children (by my doctor because of a medical condition). My husband and I prayed several novenas to St. Therese, asking for her intercession. And I not only did indeed get pregnant (John is now 23 years old!), but he was born on the day The Little Flower died, September 30.

P.S. Our 4th child, a daughter, is named Therese.:)

[trisham]

Don’t you realize he is begging for help? (Whether he knows it or not.)

****************

I think he may well be. The truth is, we may never know, but why take the chance?

[trisham]

Wow! What a wonderful story. :)

[highnoon]

Alcoholism is a thief. It literally took everything from me and continues to this day to take from me.

I was where you were some years back. Already with 2 DWI's and a pending felony charge involving a weapon. Prison seemed inevitable. I beat the prison time, did 2 months in county, and received a long term of probation. Held my breath and didn't drink for a while, but eventually went back to the one thing I 'could count on' (sic), the bottle.

Until I reached the point of total surrender, I was doomed to an alcoholic death. I don't care if you believe in God or the Spaghetti Monster, or a doorknob as your Higher Power. The concept in AA is "God as you understand Him".

I have worked with many people in the program who have a problem with a God. I simply try and point out (or have them recall) all the times that they should have been dead, arrested, whatever, but somehow dodged the bullet. If it wasn't a Higher Power that saved them when they were blacked out, then it must have been as I put it to them "dumb f*cking luck".

Use that as a Higher Power to begin with.

The part about alcohol being a thief is half right. It takes from us - but only what we first give up to it. The time for being a victim is over, at this point you (and me in the latter years of my addiction) are volunteering our lives to the bottle.

If you drink in a bar you don't like, you find one you do like. If you go to an AA meeting you don't like, find another one. Try walking into a meeting and looking for the similarities with the people inside instead of the differences.

As far as worrying about what's going to happen to you, try looking under your feet, and realizing where you are at the present time. THAT's where you exist - not 2 weeks in the future. The only thing that lives there is fear.

My prayers to you.

CW

[incredulous joe]

I had never seen that photo. I thought it very beautiful like the photo of St. Bernadette after deatn ~ incorruptible.

Anyway great story! I love hearing about the Little Flower helping others and leaving the signature trademark that she was there, such as yours.