Recent Posts
Stuck or Still? How a Food Addict Can Tell the Difference
Even before entering into recovery for my food addiction, I had heard a slogan that kind of, sort of made sense…but didn’t really. Don’t just do something. Sit there. I knew at least intellectually that it meant, “Stop trying so hard. Stop being a perfectionist. Let...
Dante and Recovery Part 1: Into the Inferno
“I think and judge it best for you to follow me, and I shall guide you, where you shall hear the howls of desperation and see the ancient spirits in their pain… When he advanced, I followed and I entered the steep and savage path...” Inferno (Cantos 2, 3) I was never...
My CIR Retreat Experience: Recovery Fellowship as the Kingdom of God
About four years ago, before I got involved with Catholic in Recovery, I started to see some of the fault lines and divisions in the Church. It was at this moment that I began to shift my thinking from “the Twelve Steps need the Church” to “the Church needs the 12...
CIR Meeting Fosters Faith, Recovery, and a Vocation to Marriage
For years, Sharon was a compulsive overeater who struggled with diabetes and other weight problems because of her unhealthy attachment to food. “There was a lot of crying out to God over the years. Finally, I stopped asking for a miracle and started asking for help,...
Join a Eucharistic Revival and Experience Christ’s Healing Mercy
Starting back on June 19th, 2022 (the Feast of Corpus Christi), the Catholic Bishops of the United States began a call to action for a national “grassroots effort” for members of the Church—Christ’s Body—to place the Holy Eucharist at the center of our lives. You can...
The Blessings of Being a Catholic in Recovery Group Leader
When I came into the rooms of recovery many years ago, I was told I had to “Trust God, Clean House, and Help Others.” In addition to the step work and building a relationship with God, I had to give the solution away to others and serve if I wanted to have a...
Trust God, Clean House, and Work with Others
Each year that passes of my sobriety I’m reminded of my blessings and the gratitude that I owe to the people in the fellowship of AA who shared how they remained sober and pointed me back to God. I also think often about a phrase that was used in some of my early AA...
4 Ways Addiction Creates Insanity in Our Lives
Addiction and unhealthy attachments can be powerful drivers in our lives—drivers that put us on a course of destruction, pain, and insanity. Below are four ways that addiction and unhealthy attachments create insanity in our lives. A Repetitive Cycle of Suffering...
How to Pull Out the “Weeds” of Sin in Our Recovery and Spiritual Lives
I’m definitely not the first person to compare sin to weeds in a garden. But a recent weekend of helping pull weeds at my in-laws led me to contemplate just how apt the analogy is to our own spiritual lives and recovery. Sins are like weeds in our lives because they...
5 Reasons You Might Be Struggling with Your Faith
There are several reasons why we might begin to wane in our faith. On some level, this is part of the spiritual life. We may not always feel close to God when we’re suffering or in a particularly difficult season. But if we’re sincerely striving after Him, even if we...
Stuck or Still? How a Food Addict Can Tell the Difference
Even before entering into recovery for my food addiction, I had heard a slogan that kind of, sort of made sense…but didn’t really. Don’t just do something. Sit there. I knew at least intellectually that it meant, “Stop trying so hard. Stop being a perfectionist. Let...
Dante and Recovery Part 1: Into the Inferno
“I think and judge it best for you to follow me, and I shall guide you, where you shall hear the howls of desperation and see the ancient spirits in their pain… When he advanced, I followed and I entered the steep and savage path...” Inferno (Cantos 2, 3) I was never...
My CIR Retreat Experience: Recovery Fellowship as the Kingdom of God
About four years ago, before I got involved with Catholic in Recovery, I started to see some of the fault lines and divisions in the Church. It was at this moment that I began to shift my thinking from “the Twelve Steps need the Church” to “the Church needs the 12...
CIR Meeting Fosters Faith, Recovery, and a Vocation to Marriage
For years, Sharon was a compulsive overeater who struggled with diabetes and other weight problems because of her unhealthy attachment to food. “There was a lot of crying out to God over the years. Finally, I stopped asking for a miracle and started asking for help,...
Join a Eucharistic Revival and Experience Christ’s Healing Mercy
Starting back on June 19th, 2022 (the Feast of Corpus Christi), the Catholic Bishops of the United States began a call to action for a national “grassroots effort” for members of the Church—Christ’s Body—to place the Holy Eucharist at the center of our lives. You can...
The Blessings of Being a Catholic in Recovery Group Leader
When I came into the rooms of recovery many years ago, I was told I had to “Trust God, Clean House, and Help Others.” In addition to the step work and building a relationship with God, I had to give the solution away to others and serve if I wanted to have a...
Trust God, Clean House, and Work with Others
Each year that passes of my sobriety I’m reminded of my blessings and the gratitude that I owe to the people in the fellowship of AA who shared how they remained sober and pointed me back to God. I also think often about a phrase that was used in some of my early AA...
4 Ways Addiction Creates Insanity in Our Lives
Addiction and unhealthy attachments can be powerful drivers in our lives—drivers that put us on a course of destruction, pain, and insanity. Below are four ways that addiction and unhealthy attachments create insanity in our lives. A Repetitive Cycle of Suffering...
How to Pull Out the “Weeds” of Sin in Our Recovery and Spiritual Lives
I’m definitely not the first person to compare sin to weeds in a garden. But a recent weekend of helping pull weeds at my in-laws led me to contemplate just how apt the analogy is to our own spiritual lives and recovery. Sins are like weeds in our lives because they...
5 Reasons You Might Be Struggling with Your Faith
There are several reasons why we might begin to wane in our faith. On some level, this is part of the spiritual life. We may not always feel close to God when we’re suffering or in a particularly difficult season. But if we’re sincerely striving after Him, even if we...