Soberish Septuagesima

Join us for Soberish Septuagesima:

Nine Weeks to a Better You

“‘Soberish’ can mean drinking more mindfully, drinking less or avoiding alcohol altogether but not other drugs.” —Emily Schmall, “Not Drunk, Not Dry: What It Means to Be ‘Soberish’,” New York Times, January 15, 2025

Periodic abstinence is one of the key ways to maintain a healthy relationship with alcohol, and many Catholics have used Lent as the occasion for such a dry spell. In our new Soberish Septuagesima program, we build upon this practice as well as another hallowed tradition.

The Sunday of Septuagesima (pronounced Sep-two-a-JAY-see-mah) is the roughly seventieth day before Easter and the beginning of Pre-Lent, a period of gradual voluntary food abstinence that took place in preparation for the Great Fast of Lent. Eastern-rite Christians begin abstaining from meat on the penultimate Sunday before Lent and from dairy products on the Sunday immediately before Lent. Roman-rite Christians, on the other hand, used to abstain from meat on the Sunday before Lent, which they called Dominica Carnevala because it was the time to remove (levare) meat (caro) from one’s diet. It is from this name that our word “carnival” originates.

Our Soberish Septuagesima Sodality charts a similar course, starting with a gradual change in alcohol consumption and ending with a booze-free, mocktail-rich Lent. The idea is to change yourself both in body and in soul: your body with a regenerated liver and better health and a new tolerance level, your soul with strong new virtuous habits.

The Soberish Septuagesima program consists of:

1) A Menu Schedule for the seventy days (actually, sixty-three days) prior to Easter—or for whenever you wish;

2) Tips for Completing the Program successfully; and

3) Tips for Reentry after completion of the program.

The name Soberish Septuagesima Sodality is a mouthful, but we chose it for a reason. A sodality is not a mere club but a companionship of believers united in a common cause. That means, among other things, that despite not being in the same place at the same time, we pray for each other. Join the Soberish Septuagesima Sodality, and wherever you are, there are others praying for you. All you have to do is pray for them in return. See the “Tips for Nailing Soberish Septuagesima” below for more.

  1. The Menu Schedule

The Saturday Night before Septuagesima Sunday: Farewell to Alleluia, Farewell to Your Favorite

On this day, our Roman Catholic ancestors said goodbye to the word “Alleluia” (since it was suppressed during from Septuagesima Sunday to Easter) and even buried or burned the Alleluia in effigy during a bittersweet goodbye ceremony. Tonight, throw your own farewell party and enjoy your favorite cocktail as you say goodbye to it for the next nine weeks. Remember, it doesn’t have to be goodbye forever; it can be Au revoir—until we meet again.

If you are not sure what your favorite cocktail is, no worries. Just pick one and say goodbye to it. The point is to make a statement to your habits and tell them that you are not playing by their rules anymore. With God’s help, you are the master of your own fate; you are the captain of your own soul.

Septuagesima Sunday

            You said goodbye to your favorite liquid crutch last night. Now say hello to the beginning of a new you. Some people like to do a before-and-after record of their progress, taking a selfie and weighing themselves at the beginning of the program and again at the end. We leave that to your discretion: do whatever motivates you.

Your mantra today and for the weeks following is “I chastise my body, and I bring it into subjection” (I Cor. 9:27). The verse is taken from the Epistle Reading of Septuagesima Sunday in the traditional Roman calendar. For encouragement, read this portion of the Epistle as you listen to the soundtrack from Rocky (1976), “Gonna Fly Now”:

“Brethren: Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may ob­tain. And every one that striveth for the mastery refrain-eth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty; I so fight, not as one beating the air: but I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I myself should beco­me a castaway.”

Last Call

Channel Rocky Balboa and the athletic-metaphorically rich St. Paul as you begin your spiritual workout with a toast: “Gonna chastise! Flying higher! Trying harder!” Remember: you got this. Like Apollo in the ring with Rocky, your infernal spirits won’t know what hit them.

Septuagesima Week

From Septuagesima Sunday until the following Saturday, do the following:

Sexagesima Week

Congratulations! You have already broken some bad habits by refraining from your favorite intoxicating beverage. Now it is time to assert your independence from C2H6O, the active ingredient in alcohol. Providentially, the no and low alcoholic spirit industry is teeming with alternatives. Many a producer promises a buzz without the hangover or any of the other side effects of alcohol. Their secret is to use other ingredients that create a relaxing effect on the soul such as lion’s mane mushroom, ashwagandha, and kava. We have tested these products, and to our surprise, they work—especially after having toned down prior alcohol consumption.

Your new soberish, mood-enhancing bar may include:

  1. Aplós makes spirits and canned cocktails. They have an Arise spirit “for moments of revelry” and an Ease spirit “for moments of unwind,” but their most popular is Calme, “a complex blend of citrus and herbal botanicals infused with broad-spectrum hemp to calm and relax without the negative effects of alcohol” (and don’t worry: the hemp does not contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana). Their canned products include Ume Spritz, Kola Old Fashioned, Chili Margarita, and Mandora Negroni.
  2. Apothékary has a robust line-up of tinctures and powders including Wine Down (a red wine alternative), Take the Edge Off (a white wine alternative), and Rosé-Tinted Glasses (we’ll let you guess that one). Apothékary promises “relaxation benefits without the drawbacks of alcohol, sugar, or hangovers.”
  3. Designer Kava is an instant powdered formula powder that comes in “Creamsicle” Kelai Kava, “Daydream” Purple Silese, “Luxury” Tanna Pia Kava, and “Midnight” Borogu Tememe Kava. Each varies in potency, the latter being the strongest.
  4. De Soi makes four products from a blend of reishi mushroom, lion’s mane, and L-theanine: Très Rosé, Spritz Italiano. Purple Lune, and Golden Hour.
  5. Hiyo produces nonalcoholic seltzers (blackberry lemon, peach mango, strawberry guava, and watermelon lime) made from organic adaptogens, natural nootropics, and functional botanicals. Hiyo claims that their drinks provide a stress-relieving, mood-boosting lift they like to call “the float.”
  6. KavaKwik is an instant powdered formula in a variety of flavors that you add to water or your favorite beverage. It is made from Noble Kava, which relieves stress and relaxes the mind.
  7. Little Saints makes two spirits from lion’s mane mushroom (a relaxing agent that gives a mild and gentle buzz), St. Ember and St. Juniper. They also have sixed canned products: Negroni Spritz, Spicy Margarita, Paloma, Ginger Mule, Espresso Martini, and Spiced Old Fashioned.
  8. The Pathfinder is fermented from hemp (no THC) and blended with wormwood, angelic root, ginger, sage, juniper, saffron, orange peel, wild-crafted Douglas-fir, and natural terpenes. It tastes like an amaro, that fine class of European liquors known for bittersweet flavors rounded out by citrus and spice, and can be used as a flavorful substitute for amaro, whiskey, or vermouth.
  9. Sentia produces three delicious nonalcoholic spirits: GABA Gold, GABA Red, and GABA Black. They are made from relaxing agents like ashwagandha, damiana, passionflower, magnolia, and schisandra.
  10. ThreeSpirit makes several botanical elixirs that can relax or give energy:
  • Livener (guayusa, guava leaf and schisandra and big flavors from vibrant berries, bright aromatics and heat)
  • Social (A dark herbal elixir described as the ultimate mood elevator. Made lion’s mane mushroom, yerba mate, and damiana.)
  • Nightcap (to relax and unwind)
  • Spark (sparkling rosé alternative, made with caffeine)
  • Sharp (white wine alternative, with a light spritz. Pair with food)

10. Curious Elixirs has nine different drinks individually bottled. All are made from herbs and adaptogens designed to relax.

  • No. 1: Pomegranate Negroni Sbagliato
  • No. 2: Spicy Pineapple Margarita
  • No. 3: Juniper Cucumber Collins
  • No. 4: Sicilian Blood Orange Spritz
  • No. 5: Smoke Cherry Chocolate Old Fashioned
  • No. 6: Coconut Pineapple Painkiller
  • No. 7: Sparkling Champagne Cocktail
  • No. 8: “Black and Blue” Amaro
  • No. 9: Sparkling Rosé Cocktail

And here’s a fun mocktail to make this week:

Sexagesima on the Beach

2 oz. cranberry juice

1 oz. orange juice

1 oz. pineapple juice

½ oz. passion fruit juice

1 orange slice

Pour all liquid ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake forty times. Strain into highball filled with ice and garnish with orange slice.

II. Tips for Nailing Soberish Septuagesima

            Besides the challenge of what or what not to drink, there comes the challenge of how to drink and with whom. We hope that these tips will help you triumph during Soberish Septuagesima.

Set a Time Limit. Keep the Happy Hour to one hour and be firm, even with the consumption of nonalcoholic spirits, beers, or wine: and even with your favorite friends.

Fill the Bottle. There is an old bit of advice about lust, which applies to the Drink as well. The best way to remove air from an empty bottle is not to try to suck the air out of it but to fill it with a liquid. With lust, it is better to fill your attention with something else rather than to think of ways not to think about lust, which only occasions other temptations of lust. (To say, “I am not thinking of Rita Hayworth or the latest scantily-clad Kardashian” is only to make matters worse.)  Instead, change the conversation in your head. After your happy hour, make sure there is another pleasure to look forward to. Perhaps it is a newfound joy in cooking or a reacquaintance with excellent classic cinema or a family board game. The best way to keep those bottles of booze in your cabinet full is to fill the bottle of your soul with other sources of joy.

Avoid the Near Occasion of Sin. If you tend to tie one on every time you meet your buddies at the local tavern on a Tuesday, you may need to skip a few weeks to strengthen your self-control before returning to the weekly rendezvous and ordering a seltzer without embarrassment.

Think Positive. In times of temptation, remind yourself of the blessings that your abstinence will soon be bringing: greater fitness, more energy, better sleep, earlier mornings, less weight, and better connections with others.

The Buddy System. You can do this alone, but if you know friends and family who wish to join you on this journey, all the better. The “buddy system” and “accountability partners” are now popular frameworks, and not without reason. Try to get your spouse or close circle of friends to enlist in the Soberish Septuagesima Sodality. Make it a goal to invite at least three companions to join you. If not, no worries: be John the Baptist and cultivate your holiness in the wilderness with a wild man’s courage for the Good.

Don’t Cheat on Sundays. Since the Sundays of Lent are not technically counted among the days of Lent, many a Catholic enjoys the things they gave up for Lent on this day. Fair enough, but not for our sodality. The goal of Sober Septuagesima is to alter the chemistry of your body, the condition of your liver, and the psychology of your soul. To break from this regimen is to undermine this goal. Have your favorite dessert on Sunday, but lay off the strong stuff.

Sanctify the Fast. A recurring petition in the old Roman Missal during the forty days of Lent is to ask God to sanctify our fast. Fasting is a natural and healthy activity that restores an equilibrium to the body, which is why almost all cultures have examples of it. In our own day, for example, intermittent fasting is all the secular rage. Good, but fasting in and of itself does not confer holiness. We Saintly Sippers are not simply seeking nine weeks to a sexier and slimmer version of ourselves; we are seeking a transformation of our souls, one that will make us a shinier icon of Christ. And so, we must constantly pray that our bodily mortifications have a spiritual effect.

Oremus Pro Invicem. This topic of prayer brings us to the invocation, Oremus pro invicem (pronounced Oh-REE-mus Pro IN-vitch-em), which means “Let us pray for each other.” Our loving Lord has ordained it from all eternity that our salvation is contingent upon each other: from the inspired authors of the Sacred Scriptures, from the Apostles who preached the Gospels, from the parents or friends who first told us about Jesus. God wants us to help each other to build up his Kingdom, and He wants up to help each other. The only condition for joining the Soberish Septuagesima Sodality, besides following the program, is to pray every night before you go to bed for all the other members of the sodality. Pray for someone out there, and be assured that someone out there is praying for you.

III.  Tips for Reentry

Once you have completed your Sober Septuagesima, you will obviously want to hold on to the gains you have made. Here’s how.

           Once you have completed your Sober Septuagesima, you will obviously want to hold on to the gains you have made. Here’s how.

Total Abstinence. If your goal was to get off the Sauce and stay off it, then congratulations: you did it! You are a new man or a new woman. To stay on course, take one day at a time. Remember the things that made your Septuagesima a success and continue to practice them.

Moderate Drinking. If your goal was to become a more moderate drinker, then congratulations: you did it! Thanks to your period of abstinence, both your liver and your habits have been regenerated, and you are a new man or a new woman. The key is to keep up the good habits and not relapse into the old. The good news is that your tolerance level will be different now and you are likely to find that that second drink is more than enough rather than barely the beginning. Limit yourself to two drinks a night at most, and never go back to drinking every night. If you need a liturgical incentive, observe dry nights on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, the traditional fast days of the Roman Rite; or, if you want an even more ascetical schedule, drink only on the two most festive days of the week: Sunday (the Lord’s Day) and Thursday (the institution of the Eucharist). Also, treat all the old fast days of the calendar as occasions for abstinence: the Ember Days, the Vigil of Pentecost, the Vigil of the Feast of the Assumption, All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), Christmas Eve, and Lent (of course).

Mixing It Up. One practical suggestion for parties or other festive get-togethers that are expected to last a long time is to alternate between alcoholic drinks and mocktails. By the end of the night, you may have nursed four drinks, but only two of them were intoxicating. Fortunately, you will soon an entire book full of ideas for nonalcoholic alternatives at your disposal (grin).