Recent Posts
The Wrong (and Right) Way to Make a Step Nine Amends
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. The ninth step meant something quite different to me during my first attempt to work the steps. And as a result of my insane thinking and lack of...
A Moment of Grace at a Retreat Leads María to a Life of Sobriety and Joy
A combination of faith and fear prevented me from drinking alcohol until my late 20s. I eventually started having wine and beer at family gatherings and dinner parties for one reason: I wanted to feel like I belonged. Within six months, my drinking had become a...
How Forgiveness Has Played a Crucial Role in My Recovery
My journey to recovery began with forgiving my dad. After he passed away in April 2020, I knew there was still bitterness and resentment in my heart toward him and I wanted to be free from it. The forgiveness process was painfully beautiful, and it showed me how safe...
Step 10 and the Value of Taking a Personal Moral Inventory Daily
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step 10 is considered the maintenance step for good reason. It’s imperative to sustaining quality sobriety and drawing us to closer communion with God, ourselves, and others....
How the Pandemic Taught Me New Ways of Practicing the Faith
Difficult times often challenge us to rethink, renew, and deepen our commitment to being faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Because we lacked many of the things we rely on to nourish and support our faith during the pandemic (and some of us still do), we’ve been...
How Saint Joseph Is Healing My Father Wound
When I was a little girl The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie were popular on television. The kind and loving father figures on these shows made my heart ache for the kind of love I saw acted out on screen. My best friend’s father affectionately called my...
Corrine Finds Recovery for Her Compulsive Overeating and a Catholic Fellowship
At Corrine’s house when she was a child, the refrigerator was in a separate garage. When it was dark, her seven siblings were too afraid to go out to the garage to fetch the ice cream from the fridge for dessert. But Corrine wasn’t. “I would volunteer to get the ice...
What Is Spiritual Direction and Why Does It Matter?
As I have grown in my understanding of sacred Scripture and matured in my relationship with Jesus I have come to appreciate the value of spiritual direction. As Saint Paul reminds us when he tells us, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians...
Why Our Memory Is Critical for Recovery
Addictions strike at the very roots of our physical and spiritual nature. As physical beings, our lives can be full of all the pains and difficulties of animal life. Yet, we also endure suffering through our souls, intellect, and memory. As C.S. Lewis put it, we live...
The Extraordinary Benefits of Eucharistic Adoration (Part 2)
In the first article of this two-part series, I shared with you the benefits of regularly participating in an hour of Eucharistic adoration and offered some advice on how to fully experience freedom from sin, temptation, and addiction. I want to now explain how...
The Wrong (and Right) Way to Make a Step Nine Amends
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. The ninth step meant something quite different to me during my first attempt to work the steps. And as a result of my insane thinking and lack of...
A Moment of Grace at a Retreat Leads María to a Life of Sobriety and Joy
A combination of faith and fear prevented me from drinking alcohol until my late 20s. I eventually started having wine and beer at family gatherings and dinner parties for one reason: I wanted to feel like I belonged. Within six months, my drinking had become a...
How Forgiveness Has Played a Crucial Role in My Recovery
My journey to recovery began with forgiving my dad. After he passed away in April 2020, I knew there was still bitterness and resentment in my heart toward him and I wanted to be free from it. The forgiveness process was painfully beautiful, and it showed me how safe...
Step 10 and the Value of Taking a Personal Moral Inventory Daily
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step 10 is considered the maintenance step for good reason. It’s imperative to sustaining quality sobriety and drawing us to closer communion with God, ourselves, and others....
How the Pandemic Taught Me New Ways of Practicing the Faith
Difficult times often challenge us to rethink, renew, and deepen our commitment to being faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Because we lacked many of the things we rely on to nourish and support our faith during the pandemic (and some of us still do), we’ve been...
How Saint Joseph Is Healing My Father Wound
When I was a little girl The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie were popular on television. The kind and loving father figures on these shows made my heart ache for the kind of love I saw acted out on screen. My best friend’s father affectionately called my...
Corrine Finds Recovery for Her Compulsive Overeating and a Catholic Fellowship
At Corrine’s house when she was a child, the refrigerator was in a separate garage. When it was dark, her seven siblings were too afraid to go out to the garage to fetch the ice cream from the fridge for dessert. But Corrine wasn’t. “I would volunteer to get the ice...
What Is Spiritual Direction and Why Does It Matter?
As I have grown in my understanding of sacred Scripture and matured in my relationship with Jesus I have come to appreciate the value of spiritual direction. As Saint Paul reminds us when he tells us, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians...
Why Our Memory Is Critical for Recovery
Addictions strike at the very roots of our physical and spiritual nature. As physical beings, our lives can be full of all the pains and difficulties of animal life. Yet, we also endure suffering through our souls, intellect, and memory. As C.S. Lewis put it, we live...
The Extraordinary Benefits of Eucharistic Adoration (Part 2)
In the first article of this two-part series, I shared with you the benefits of regularly participating in an hour of Eucharistic adoration and offered some advice on how to fully experience freedom from sin, temptation, and addiction. I want to now explain how...