We might know in our minds that God has the attributes of being all present, all knowing, all loving, and all merciful. But if we can come to know these also in our hearts, then I believe it becomes easier to trust in Divine Providence. And knowing that we’re living...
For a long period of time in my own recovery, I found myself trapped in a “plateau” of sorts. I would fall, go to Confession, and be good for about a week. Hardly would a temptation enter my mind, then suddenly it was like a switch was flipped, and I would fall again....
The Fourth Stage of Love—Love of Self for God’s Sake The pinnacle of growth in virtuous love is rarified air, a degree of love that is truly mystical and extraordinary. It is a degree of love signifying complete union with God, and is entirely the prerogative of God...
The Second Stage of Love—Love of God for the Self’s Sake The love of God for the sake of self represents the first real movement of conversion within the sinner’s heart. The self-obsessed, narcissistic gaze in a fundamental way begins to turn outward from the egoic...
Attachment, as we have seen in previous articles (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four), is central to addiction, recovery, and spiritual growth. St. Ignatius of Loyola describes his Spiritual Exercises as “every way of preparing and disposing the soul to rid...
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. In the second part of our reflections on Saint Augustine and 12-step recovery, we examined how and why Augustine submitted himself entirely to the care of God as Augustine had come to know Him in his dramatic and grace-filled...
Read Part 1 of this series. In the first part of our exploration of the wisdom of Saint Augustine and 12-step recovery, we witness the dramatic change in awareness that led to Augustine’s recognition of his own powerlessness and of the one who is all-powerful, God....
Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series. Having considered Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s several observations for why we should love God as well as his description of the path of growth in virtuous love, we come now to that for which his work On Loving God is...
What do Saint Augustine and addiction recovery have in common? It turns out, quite a lot. Augustine, now recognized as one of the most influential people on Western thought, went through a tremendous struggle before he became the “saint” we think of today. This...
I remember my first run through a recovery program. I did not start with SA (Sexaholics Anonymous) but with a program called Celebrate Recovery (CR), which is a Bible-based 12-step program. Most attendees were non-denominational Christians, those seeking recovery from...