C A L I X S O C I E T YU N I T E D K I N G D O M

T R E A S U R E R

THOMAS HEAD51 PARK AVENUE CHADDERTON OLDHAM GREATER MAN- CHESTEROL9 OAL

TEL: 0161 624 2815

M O U N T S T M A R Y S

The Calix Society News Letter

A P R I L 2 0 1 7

Lillian LallyJoint Secretary6 Lichfield Drive Chadderton Oldham

God grant me the Serenity to Accept the things I cannot Change, Courage to Change the Things I can and Wisdom to Know the Difference.

There is a separate booking form attached with this email copy of the Calix Newsletter or in the envelope if sent by post. Please use this to place booking with Tom or make a copy for your records to bring with you on the retreat. Also attached or enclosed, is a copy of the itinerary which is provi- sional, and subject to minor change

Annual Calix Retreat 21st/22nd/23rd April 2017at Mount St Mary’s, Spinkhill, Derby

I N S I D ET H I S I S S U E :

Booking 2Forms

Cost & 3Directions

In a letter to the Calix Society on May 15, 1962, Bill Wilson, one of the founders ofA.A., wrote:‘As you know I always have been personally partial to all persons or organizationswhose goodwill and helpfulness to A.A. is beyond question. You need not have said that you strive to keep your efforts within the framework of the traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. I know you have tried and have succeeded

Itenary & 4CredoLetter from America 5

Photos 6

The theme for this year ’ s 2017 Convention

L ead b y Fr Peter Morgan Pope Paul V1 7

‘’Do I Know GOD’’The Calix UK Web Page; http://calixsociety.org.uk

Boo k ing F orm

Loc a tion:Mou n t St Ma r y ’ s S 2 1 3 Y L Thomas HeadD a tes : 21/22/23 April 2 0 1 7 51 Park Avenue

Chaderton Oldham OL9 0AL

Tel No; 0161 624 2815

Costs; £85.00 per personNon-Returnable Deposit; £20 per person, payment by 3rd April 2017

Cheques need to be made out to “Calix Society” NAME OF CALIX UNIT

N a m e S h a re Room

y es/ n o D o u b le Room

Si n g le Room

Dep o s it Paid

Ba l a nce Due

S p e c i a l Ne e ds

Total

Total outstanding £

M O U N T S T M A R Y S

Cost of and Directions to VenueThe Retreat commences with arrival about 4.00pm when rooms are allocated.

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Please be sure to advise of any special needs on the Booking Form. The cost of the retreat is £85.00 inclusive of £20.00 non-refundable deposit, which must be paid by3rd April 2017. Cheques need to be made out to “Calix Society” and forwarded via Calix Treasurers to Tom Head at the address of the front page of this newsletter.

Please note: Bookings will NOT be accepted by Mount St Mary’s

The address is Mount St Mary CollegeSpinkhillSheffieldS21 3YLLocated of Junction 30 of the M1

For more detailed directions go to the web address -www.msmcollege.co.uk/msmcollege

F riday 21st Saturday 22nd Sunday 23rd

4.30pm – Arrivals& Registration

5.30pm – Tea & Coffee

6.00pm – Supper

8.00pm – MassEvening Prayer

8.00am – Prayers8.30am – Breakfast9.30- T a l k by

Fr Peter11.45am – Mass

1.00pm – Lunch2.15pm – Free Time3.15pm – T & Coffee

8.00am – Morning Prayer8.30am – Breakfast9.30am – T a l k by Fr Peter

10.30am – Coffee & Tea

12.00 pm – Mass

3.30 – 4.30pmConfession

1.00pm – LunchDeparture & Farewells

4.30 – 5.30pmHoly Hour/Benediction6.00pm - Supper8.00pm - Dance/Raffle

Safe JourneyGod bless and keep you safe until we meet again

T h e Calix So c iety C r edo Calix is an association of Catholic alcoholics who maintain their sobriety through affiliation with, and participation in, the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Our first concern is to interest Catholics with an alcoholic problem in the

virtue of total abstinence. Our second stated purpose is to promote the spiritual development of our

membership.Our gathering today is an effort in this direction. Our conversation and our asso- ciation together should be a source of inspiration and encouragement to each other, geared to our growth toward spiritual maturity.Our participation in all other activities of Calix such as: the frequent celebration of the Liturgy, Reception of the Sacraments, Personal prayer and meditation, Holy Hours, Days of Recollection and Retreats, aid us in our third objective, namely, to strive for the sanctification of the whole personality of each member. We welcome other alcoholics, not members of our faith or any others, non- alcoholics, who are concerned with the illness of alcoholism and wish to join with us in prayer for our stated purposes.

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LETTER FROM AMERICA – CALIX USAPresident’s Letter to the members of the Calix Society on thesolemnity of the Immaculate conception

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December 8, 2016

Dear brothers and sisters in the Calix Family,

Having recently been entrusted with the service position of president, and desiring to see as many souls as possible maintain sobriety, grow spiritually and strive for sanctification of the whole personality, I feel it is time for The Calix Society to renew its trust in the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary through a formal act of consecration to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart.

The Preamble to Calix Society Bylaws states that we are “established under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” To entrust our society to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart will demonstrate our faith in her intercession for ourselves and for those “still out there.” Our Lady’s aid, as Mediatrix of All Graces and Mother of Mercy, seems essential to putting the 12th Step into action as a Catholic.

March 25, 2017 the Solemnity of the Annunciation seems to me to be the perfect day for this act of consecration. The Annunciation marks the start of the redemption of man through Our Lord’s Incarnation, and it is through our Eucharistic Lord that we maintain our sobriety and grow in Christ’s peace.

This date also marks the anniversary of Our Lady’s words to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Mary was created Immaculate to be the Mother of God, and of all of us. It is her Immaculate Heart that purifies all of our prayers, and supplications as she presents our needs to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The waters of Lourdes symbolize this purification process and remind us of the forgiveness available to us for our past harms.

Finally, March 25th marks the anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s Act of Entrustment of the whole word to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God in fulfillment of a request Our Lady first mentioned at Fatima. Fatima reminds us of Mary’s Sorrows, and her call to pray and do penance in reparation for sin. Whether we are making amends, or carrying the message to others, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s help is most certainly needed.

Therefore, I propose that to renew to the Blessed Virgin Mary the testimony of our devotion, and to demonstrate our trust and confidence in her patronage, we, as members of the Calix Society, join together in professing an Act of Consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 2017.

Yours in Christ,

Bruce GPresident, the Calix Society

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Pantasaph

Spinkhill

M a s s o f Be a t i f i c a t i o n f o r P o p e Pa u l V 1 , c o n c e l e b ra t ed a t St P e t e r ’ s by Pope Fr a n c i s & P o p e B e n e d i ct

A DDR E SS OF THE HOLY F A TH E R PA UL V I TO THE MEMB E R S OF THE C A L I X SO C IE T Y Satu r day, 11 M a y 1974

We are happy to greet members of the Calix Society on the twenty-fifth anniversary of their foundation.As we welcome you on your pilgrimage to the See of Peter, we express our appreciation of your earnest commitment to working for the elimination of alcoholic abuse, including alcoholism itself.In our apostolic ministry, we are deeply aware of the gravity of this problem and how it is closely linked to the overall problem of drug abuse. We see the disastrous effects that these disorders have on so many people throughout the world: the effects on the individual, on families, on communities.We know moreover the effects on society as a whole.

We see how widespread alcoholic abuse is and how it causes great human suffering, anguish and dete- rioration - even death. It produces marked disorientation of the whole person, especially when accom- panied by grave lack of personal responsibility and by serious sin. To be properly confronted, alcoholic abuse and, in particular, alcoholism must be fully understood with all their various implications : physical, psychological, moral and religious. In this way, rehabilitation can be effectively undertaken. We know that this rehabilitation of those in need calls for fraternal interest and professional help on the part of others, together with strict personal discipline and repeated and sustained effort.We are greatly pleased, therefore, to express our sincere and lively commendation of the valued efforts that are being made by many through the application of the appropriate natural means. We are even more pleased when efforts, like your own, take into account supernatural reality and admit the impact that must come from Christian principles and from the exercise of the Catholic faith. In recognizing a dimension-beyond natural forces-needed for the cure of alcoholism and for the Christian reconciliation of persons afflicted thereby, you are in effect finding yet another application of the broad and time- proven principle enunciated by Saint Thomas- a principle expressing an immutable relationship be- tween nature and grace: gratia perficit naturam .IVe rejoice to see how many people esteem recourse to a higher power in overcoming the problems related to alcoholic abuse. And worthy of special mention is the fact that you identify this higher power as the supernatural grace of Jesus Christ, the healing power of his word and of his sacraments. In this latter regard we are happy to encourage you to draw special attention to the Sacrament of Reconcilia- tion and to the Eucharist. We are confident moreover that your efforts, motivated as they are by au- thentic Christian concern for your fellowmen in need, will be effective in helping them to undergo the genuine metanoia of true renewal and reconciliation.We express our double insistence on the need of taking into account both nature and grace for the benefit of the unified whole which is the new man in Jesus Christ.

You have chosen to look upon Matt Talbot as an admirable exemplar of discipline and supernatural virtue. It is our hope that his success will encourage countless men and women throughout the world to realize the need for conversion, the possibility of real rehabilitation, the serenity of Christian recon- ciliation, and the peace and joy of helping others to overcome abuses, disorders and sin.May your efforts and those of all men endeavoring to assist in such an important work be blessed by God, “ in

whom we live and move and have our being” , and without whose help we are incapable of supernatural conversion. And with the expression of our hope goes our Apostolic Blessing.