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...
When I first started attending secular 12-step meetings for the loved ones of lust addicts, I noticed that the facilitator of each meeting made sure to read information about the Seventh Tradition, which usually sounded something like this: “Our Seventh Tradition...
“Lord, please don’t let me lose my love for my husband,” I would pray. After years of living with a man with active alcoholism, I felt anything but loving. In fact, I was often in despair, full of fear, grief, and resentment, and on my knees with this prayer on my...
Rule 1 of St. Ignatius’ “rules of discernment” stands alone in many ways, describing the experience of one who is moving in the wrong direction, away from God, and towards vice and sin. In a modern sense, this first rule also describes those of us who are diving into...
I remember the moment I came to terms with my addiction: the moment I stepped out of denial and into God’s healing light. I had no idea what would happen. I was scared and overwhelmed with guilt and shame. I had gone almost twenty years without openly acknowledging...
When we are caught in our active addictions or unhealthy attachments, we seek short-lived fulfillment, pleasure, and temporary reprieve from the realities and suffering of life. Yet, when we are reawakened to the Lord’s crucifix and begin working our recovery, we...
Have you found yourself stuck in an unhealthy relationship pattern from which you cannot break free? If so, then chances are you’ve taken on one or more roles from the Triangle of Dysfunctional Relationships (also known as the “Drama Triangle” developed by Dr. Stephen...
Is your heart breaking and do you feel helpless from watching a family member or someone you love struggle with active addiction? Are you struggling to cope with the negative consequences that their addiction had brought into your life and theirs? If so, you are not...