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Recent Posts
Applying St. Ignatius’ Rules of Discernment to Recovery: Part One
| Addiction, Alcohol & Drug Addiction, Codependence, Expert Opinion, Getting Sober, Help from the Saints, Spiritual Tools
In my own recovery, I have found many helpful tools in St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. I could almost call the Exercises a recovery program for addiction and codependency. Within these exercises, St. Ignatius offers rules for the “discernment of...
How to Take Custody of the Mind & Stay on the Path of Recovery
| Catholic Psychology, Psychology & Therapy, Spiritual Tools, Therapy
Taking custody of the mind is a topic that always piques much interest when brought up in recovery meetings. Those of us who struggle with addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments recognize the mind as a battlefield. I was introduced to the concept of...
Unpacking the Process of Sanctification & Recovery
| First Step, General, Second Step
One of the most challenging directives in Scripture is when Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). A simple review of the 10 Commandments convinces me that I break many of them daily. Without the presence of...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 2)
| Fifth Step, Fourth Step, Prayer & Scripture Reflections, Reconciliation, Sacraments, Scripture Reflection, Spiritual Tools, The Sacraments, The Twelve Steps
In part one of this series, Mark L. details how the first three Beatitudes can help us in our recovery and spiritual lives “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This Beatitude suggests we must actively pursue God and...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 1)
| Fifth Step, Fourth Step, Prayer & Scripture Reflections, Reconciliation, Sacraments, Scripture Reflection, Spiritual Tools, The Sacraments, The Twelve Steps
The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. This in-depth and thorough...
If I Have Disordered Eating, Should I Pick a Non-Food Lenten Penance?
| Compulsive Eating Behaviors, Spiritual Tools
I just finished cleaning out our bathroom drains. There’s a Lenten lesson in here, I promise. When my daughters were little, I kept their hair shoulder-length. Anything longer was way too difficult to brush without all of us ending in tears. As soon as they were old...
Courage to Share: Going to Meetings When the Lust Addict Is Your Spouse
| Loved One of an Addict, Pornography & Sexual Addiction, Sex/Pornography
As I entered my first meeting for family and friends of lust addicts, I looked around the room and studied the faces there, wondering if they would understand. After all, I had a secret in addition to how lust addiction was affecting my marriage, but it was such a...
Finding Peace & Healing in the Midst of a Loved One’s Alcoholism
| General
My spouse’s alcoholism was crushing me both emotionally and physically. Our relationship was no longer a real marriage even though we were living together in the same house. My two children were gone and leading full lives far away from our home. For forty years, my...
The Importance of the Virtues on the Path of Recovery & Holiness
| Getting Sober, Spiritual Tools
When a person seeks addiction recovery, they’re usually after one goal—to become free of disordered behaviors and addictions. However, for those of us in CIR, we’re also after another goal. We don’t only strive to stop our addictions, compulsions, or unhealthy...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 2)
| Addiction, Getting Sober, God
In part one of this series, Mark L. writes about how the surrender he thought he needed to embrace to rejoin the Father might be more aptly described as yielding to the wooing of a lover who is always quietly beckoning him. Yielding to God’s will to move from...
Applying St. Ignatius’ Rules of Discernment to Recovery: Part One
| Addiction, Alcohol & Drug Addiction, Codependence, Expert Opinion, Getting Sober, Help from the Saints, Spiritual Tools
In my own recovery, I have found many helpful tools in St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. I could almost call the Exercises a recovery program for addiction and codependency. Within these exercises, St. Ignatius offers rules for the “discernment of...
How to Take Custody of the Mind & Stay on the Path of Recovery
| Catholic Psychology, Psychology & Therapy, Spiritual Tools, Therapy
Taking custody of the mind is a topic that always piques much interest when brought up in recovery meetings. Those of us who struggle with addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments recognize the mind as a battlefield. I was introduced to the concept of...
Unpacking the Process of Sanctification & Recovery
| First Step, General, Second Step
One of the most challenging directives in Scripture is when Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). A simple review of the 10 Commandments convinces me that I break many of them daily. Without the presence of...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 2)
| Fifth Step, Fourth Step, Prayer & Scripture Reflections, Reconciliation, Sacraments, Scripture Reflection, Spiritual Tools, The Sacraments, The Twelve Steps
In part one of this series, Mark L. details how the first three Beatitudes can help us in our recovery and spiritual lives “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This Beatitude suggests we must actively pursue God and...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 1)
| Fifth Step, Fourth Step, Prayer & Scripture Reflections, Reconciliation, Sacraments, Scripture Reflection, Spiritual Tools, The Sacraments, The Twelve Steps
The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. This in-depth and thorough...
If I Have Disordered Eating, Should I Pick a Non-Food Lenten Penance?
| Compulsive Eating Behaviors, Spiritual Tools
I just finished cleaning out our bathroom drains. There’s a Lenten lesson in here, I promise. When my daughters were little, I kept their hair shoulder-length. Anything longer was way too difficult to brush without all of us ending in tears. As soon as they were old...
Courage to Share: Going to Meetings When the Lust Addict Is Your Spouse
| Loved One of an Addict, Pornography & Sexual Addiction, Sex/Pornography
As I entered my first meeting for family and friends of lust addicts, I looked around the room and studied the faces there, wondering if they would understand. After all, I had a secret in addition to how lust addiction was affecting my marriage, but it was such a...
Finding Peace & Healing in the Midst of a Loved One’s Alcoholism
| General
My spouse’s alcoholism was crushing me both emotionally and physically. Our relationship was no longer a real marriage even though we were living together in the same house. My two children were gone and leading full lives far away from our home. For forty years, my...
The Importance of the Virtues on the Path of Recovery & Holiness
| Getting Sober, Spiritual Tools
When a person seeks addiction recovery, they’re usually after one goal—to become free of disordered behaviors and addictions. However, for those of us in CIR, we’re also after another goal. We don’t only strive to stop our addictions, compulsions, or unhealthy...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 2)
| Addiction, Getting Sober, God
In part one of this series, Mark L. writes about how the surrender he thought he needed to embrace to rejoin the Father might be more aptly described as yielding to the wooing of a lover who is always quietly beckoning him. Yielding to God’s will to move from...