Catholic Sobriety and Our Lady Exploration

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to the Catholic Subriety Podcast , the go-to resource for women seeking to have a deeper understanding of the role alcohol plays in their lives , women who are looking to drink less or not at all for any reason . I am your host , christy Walker . I'm a wife , mom and a Joyfield Catholic , and I am the Catholic Subriety Coach , and I am so glad you're here . Hello and welcome to the Catholic Subriety Podcast . I'm so excited . Today is the one year anniversary of my podcast . If you've been with me the whole time , thank you so much . If you are a regular listener , thank you for being here . If you have subscribed , you are amazing . And if you're new , welcome . I am so glad you're here . Today is a big day for many reasons it's my 50th podcast episode , also , in addition to being the one year anniversary of my podcast , and I don't know there's something so exciting and even satisfying about getting to that big 5-0 . Okay , I'll let you guys in on a little secret . I'm gonna be 50 in January , so maybe that's why I'm excited about the 50th episode . I don't know , that could be a stretch , because I don't know if I'm super excited to be 50 , but I am excited to keep having birthdays . So for that . Yes , I am very thrilled .

Speaker 1 1:34

Today is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe , who is the patroness of the Americas . If you remember , in 1531 , most of you were not around then , but the Blessed Mother appeared four times to Saint Juan Diego on a hillside outside what is present day Mexico . I have a devotion to our Blessed Mother and I just whenever I've learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe and the story of what happened back then during her final visit on December 12th 1531 . This was when Our Lady arranged roses in Saint Juan Diego's tilima , which he then brought to his bishop as a sign to build a church in honor of her . When he opened up his tilima , it revealed the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe . So I've done a lot of study and reading on Our Lady of Guadalupe and the more I learned , the more intrigued I am . And it's just an incredible apparition , marian apparition . But today I'm just in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe .

Speaker 1 2:44

I want to share with you five miraculous facts about Our Lady of Guadalupe , and this comes from Church Pop . I will leave the link to it in my bio so you can read the whole post . So here are five things to know about Our Lady of Guadalupe and the miraculous image that she gave to Saint Juan Diego . So the tilima's image is not the work of human hands . The original image remains the same , while human replicas fade or deteriorate over time .

Speaker 1 3:17

The image also contains additional details that are set that set it apart , such as Our Lady's eyes reflecting what she saw in front of her in 1531 . A microscopic examination also revealed that there were absolutely no brushstrokes . The tilima also appears to be indestructible . There were actually two different events that threatened the image an acid spill in 1784 and a bomb in 1921 , and the tilima remained unscathed . The stars on Our Lady's Mantle coincide with the constellation in the sky on December 12th 1531 . That's just incredible . And then the Castilian roses that Juan Diego found at the apparition site are not native to Mexico , which this just blows my mind . So the Blessed Mother arranged these flowers in Juan Diego's tilima before he visited his bishop , and when he opened up his tilima , as the story goes , as I'm sure you've heard , the roses fell to the ground , revealing the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe .

Speaker 1 4:31

And Our Lady of Guadalupe actually changed the course of history , according to EWTN , within seven years of this apparition in which Our Lady manifested herself to the native peoples of Mexico as a sign of her maternal care . 9 million 9 million accepted the Catholic faith . Remarkably , this amounts to an average of over 3,000 people a day every day for the next seven years . So there's even more facts . There's another YouTube video that I've seen that has like 15 facts . That actually goes into all the little details in the tilima , which is amazing . I'll try to find that and link that in the show notes as well . And it's so wonderful to have Our Blessed Mother to intercede with us . She is a powerful intercessor . Our Lady of Guadalupe , pray for us .

Speaker 1 5:27

The other thing that I wanted to tell you about today well , I've mentioned it before is that today is my grandmother's birthday , and she did pass away over almost 37 years ago now , but she and I were very , very close and she I feel like she was integral in my recovery , in my sobriety . The day that I got sober was actually the 10th anniversary of her death , and so I just really felt her powerful intercession for me . If you want to learn more about that story , you can go to episode number one and I talk about it there . And then the last thing I want to discuss with you today is . I'm so , so excited because today I am launching the Sacred Sobriety Lab , and this is a program like no other . This is a program that is going to help you gain clarity and confidence around your drinking , but even more than that , it is going to help you just grow in your faith , mature in your faith . Let go detach , hear God's voice more clearly . We begin and end in prayer , and my Pearl Technique is in there . If you have listened to some of my episodes on the Pearl Technique , I detail that in there we talk about protocols , which I just talked about two episodes ago about or ? No , sorry , it was my last episode when I talked about developing a protocol for holiday parties .

Speaker 1 7:08

But I wanted to tell you a little bit about the Sacred Sobriety Lab so that you have an idea about it and why it is called the Sacred Sobriety Lab in the first place . So why did I name it that ? So let's take the first word , sacred . So sacred means to be set apart , dedicating to God and holy work , and that is what I really want this program to be for you . I want you not to just see this as another sobriety program of trying to figure out whether you want to stop drinking , or you want to limit your drinking , or what you want to do with it . What I want this to be is , yes , that .

Speaker 1 7:56

But alcohol is most often always a symptom of something greater , and I just feel like knowing our identity in Christ and being able to just really dive in to who we are , who's we are , why we are created , what our purpose is . Our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and all of those types of things are going to help us want to drink less or not at all , just because we realize that the things of this world are causing us to be settling for comfort , when we were made for so much more . So I want to read you a scripture , verse 2 Timothy , that kind of illustrates this . It's 2 Timothy , chapter 2 , verse 21 , and it says , therefore , if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable , he will be made a special instrument , set apart , useful to the master and prepared for every good work . That is what we , as Catholic women , strive to be . Jesus calls us to be his disciples and he tells us to take up our cross and follow him . He tells us to leave things behind and follow him , and it's really hard in this world because there's a lot of things . I am attached to , lots of things . I've detached myself from other things that I've been able to , but there's still . You know you can find me scrolling Instagram quite often , so there are things that I am also working on , and the more we desire God and want to please him and do his will , hear his voice so that we know what he is asking us and then say yes to him , our lives will be more fulfilling . We won't feel like we need to escape from our lives by , you know , distracting ourselves with alcohol or scrolling or shopping or Netflix or whatever . It is so sacred . So we are going to be dedicating this work to God .

Speaker 1 10:21

The second word , obviously , sobriety . Now , sometimes when people think of sobriety , they think of no drinking at all , but sobriety is not so much about never drinking as it is finding the level of sobriety that is right for you , meaning you can choose to drink or abstain from a place of peace . So that will be different for you . I do not drink at all . I haven't for 26 years , and that is because I it would be so chaotic if I could even do it , which I don't think I can . Okay , so for some people , that is the level of sobriety that is right for them . For other people , they can say I'm only going to have a drink at dinner , I'm only going to have a drink on the weekends , I'm only going to have alcohol when we do like fun , celebrations or go out to eat , whatever that is for you . That is what this course is . It is a Way for you to , without any , without me saying you have to do this , this and this . You can't drink this , you can only drink here . And I am not doing that . You are doing the work to find out , you are getting curious and you're doing the research to find out what that level of sobriety is for you . Finding that level of sobriety can mean many things for you . It'll mean that you have more clarity , that you're 100% present in your own life , that you're not choosing distraction when it would be more efficacious to turn to the Lord , you are wide open to receiving God's graces , your spiritual gifts are strengthened and , as to Timothy tells us , you are prepared for every good work and useful to the master .

Speaker 1 12:12

So then the third word is lab or laboratory . That can . That might sound kind of weird , because a lot of times people call these things , these types of programs , courses which I mean it is , but this is more of a lab . This is a place where you are going to be a scientist . You're going to be getting curious . A laboratory is a place equipped for experimental study , for testing and analysis , and that is exactly what this is . This is a place for you to study yourself and you will be using the tools and resources that I provide with this lab . You may do some research on your own , but you are going to be a scientist and you're going to get curious . You're going to be taking notes and drawing conclusions and recalibrating when needed . But here's the thing we are not going to be mean or judgmental to ourselves . We are going to be loving and patient and kind .

Speaker 1 13:10

Okay , so I want to just really quickly give you an overview of what is inside the lab , and the first thing that we do is we start out with a few days of preparation and then we do a novena to the Holy Spirit for nine days . We do that before even beginning module one because we want to invite the Holy Spirit in . Remember this is a sacred sobriety lab , so we are dedicating this holy work to God and one of the best ways we can do that is through a novena to the Holy Spirit , asking the Holy Spirit to come in and strengthen our spiritual gifts so that we can approach this not by trying to muster up willpower but instead unlocking the power of divine determination so that you can move through this program the way it works best for you . So in module one it's called Managing your Mind , and there I deep dive into the Pearl Technique . I discuss what declarations are , we talk about daily check-ins and I kind of set you up for your lab notes journal in that first module . Module two is called you Were Not Made for Comfort . Here I am going to discuss spiritual gifts , both the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit , the fruits of the Spirit , and I'm going to talk about Charisms . I also have a spiritual gifts assessment that I will link in that module . You'll have access to it from that module as well if you're interested in maybe discovering what some of your top Charisms might be , and I'll talk all about that in there Our calls to discipleship , our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and our identity in Christ .

Sacred Subriety Lab Modules and Bonuses

Speaker 1 15:25

Module three is called your North Star . This is where we are working together so that you can formulate your why and know Exactly why you're doing this , why you want to make the choices you want to make . We're gonna first talk a little bit we'll not talk about , but you're gonna write out your history with alcohol , starting from , you know , your earliest memories to the present time . Again , I'm also gonna ask you to spend some time with Jesus just asking what his future plans are for you and what he wants , and yeah , so I think that's a really great module that I think that you'll love and you'll find a lot of value in the next module Well , hopefully you'll find value in all of them .

Speaker 1 16:14

But module four is caring for your castle , your interior and exterior castle . We're gonna discuss protocols and plans . We're gonna talk about beginning and ending your day with the Lord and so much more . I'm also going to talk about how alcohol affects our health and yeah , so we're gonna talk about that in module four . And then module five is called . This Is Only the Beginning and we in this one it's kind of like here's how to navigate those social situations , those events , and maybe deal with , you know , friends and family that aren't supportive , and also like how to ask for help from those who will be supportive . So this is a really great module that will set you up for continued exploration and you know you working to meet your goals .

Speaker 1 17:19

And then the last thing I have for you in the Sacred Subriety Lab are bonuses , lots and lots of bonuses . So I'm just gonna keep adding to it and , yeah , you're just gonna have access to lots of fun things , any resources that I mentioned I'll have links there , anything . I've had a few friends reach out and offer some of their resources to be included in there . So , yeah , it'll be really fun . And the best part is is , with this lab , with this program , this course , this part of it , you will have lifetime access to it . So the founding member price that I have right now is going to be just the price that you pay forever , and it's going to increase in price as I add more value to the course . So there's no better time than now to jump on the wagon and get in to the Sacred Subriety Lab .

Speaker 1 18:23

Now I do have a few different levels . I have just the lab , and that also , by the way , includes access into my VIP Facebook group for the Sacred Subriety Lab . I also have a couple of different options that include coaching one-on-one coaching with me . So you can check that out at my website , the Catholic Subriety Coach , and if you go to the Sacred Subriety Lab link in the navigation bar there , it has all three options there with what they include , but that's just for people that want a little extra support . They also include actually a physical like Subriety starter kit with it , and , yeah , so it's kind of fun . It's just another add-on , but you're going to get again a lot of value with the Sacred Subriety Lab . I guess that's it for me for today .

Speaker 1 19:27

If you have any questions , feel free to reach out . You can find me on the socials at the Catholic Subriety Coach . Again , my website is theCatholicSubrietyCoachcom . Our Lady of Guadalupe , pray for us . Well , that does it for this episode of the Catholic Subriety Podcast . I hope you enjoyed this episode and I would invite you to share it with a friend who might also get value from it as well , and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing . I am the Catholic Subriety Coach and if you would like to learn how to work with me or learn more about the coaching that I offer , visit my website , thecatholicsubrietycoachcom . Follow me on Instagram at theCatholicSubrietyCoach . I look forward to speaking to you next time and remember I am here for you , I am praying for you . You are not alone .