Addiction
Allowing God—Not Us!—To Order Our Steps Out of Addiction
As I started looking back on my grace-filled release from the bondage of porn, I tried to understand and explain to others my escape route. Many have asked me over the last two years what the “secret” is. After almost 40 years of being trapped, now being at the point of no longer fearing my…
Read MoreThe Rosary Killed My Porn Addiction
According to pious tradition, Our Lady gave 15 promises to those who would pray the rosary with real devotion. Three of those promises are signal graces, an armor against hell, and the destruction of vice. To overcome my addiction to pornography I needed the Mother of God to keep all three of those promises. In…
Read MoreYou’re More than Just an Addict
A few years ago, I was at a 12-step meeting when one of the members called for a “group conscious.” These are periodically called for in order for the group to talk about the vision, structure, and policies of the group. The “group conscious” must be agreed upon because it allows the group to function…
Read MoreA Cry to Freedom: Finding Healing from Abortion and Addiction
How many times have three simple words passed over my mind that I never spoke out loud? For many times over the years they have remained clenched in denial, shrouded in secrecy, hidden in the darkness of my addiction to drugs and alcohol. But the day finally came when my soul cried out, “I need…
Read MoreHow My Consecration to Divine Mercy Has Made Me Porn and Masturbation Free
Jay Stringer, author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing, suggests that before we will ever find our way clear of unwanted sexual behavior, we must first look at what our behaviors reveal about us. While I continue to struggle with the idea that we must unpack our entire history before we…
Read MoreA Catholic Nun’s Devotion to the Sacred Heart Leaves a Permanent Mark on Recovery Programs
I had just received my 16-year medallion and black key tag from my NA (Narcotics Anonymous) family, when a brother priest shared that he was reading Sister Ignatia: Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous by Mary Darrah. The medallion and key tag are given to members to celebrate their extended period of sobriety (editor’s note: sometimes it’s…
Read MoreI’m Going to Be Okay: Finding the Confidence to Open Up
My initial burst into SAA (Sex Addicts Anonymous) came rather dramatically, as I tend to think many people’s entrances into 12-step groups tends to be. Although I felt at home from the start, it was a bit of a culture shock. My issue is pornography, but in SAA groups pornography is par for the course.…
Read MoreDigging out of a Deep Hole
I have had a long love/hate relationship with school. It has been both a rose and a thorn in my life, getting much more complicated when my addiction to alcohol, drugs, and other attachments ran rampant upon starting my freshman year of college. Growing up, I typically did well in school. However, as courses required…
Read MoreFinding and Keeping God’s Treasure
“Half-measures avail us nothing,” are words spoken in Twelve-Step recovery that are meant to reveal the importance of keeping our recovery efforts on the front of our minds and actions. This day-at-a-time commitment to discovering a new way of life and maintaining it is no different than the converted Christian who is now armed with…
Read MoreBishop Barron on Bread in the Desert and Addiction Recovery
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ). All three readings this weekend move toward finding nourishment, perseverance, and true freedom after having to journey through a spiritual desert. The Egyptians traveled out of slavery but yearned for the comforts of old, even if they knew they…
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