One of the first prayers some Catholics are taught as children is directed to their guardian angels: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen.” This was true for me....
Step Eleven reads: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Many old-timers will say this step is vital for achieving...
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...
In part one of this series, Mark L. details how the first three Beatitudes can help us in our recovery and spiritual lives “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This Beatitude suggests we must actively pursue God and...
The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. This in-depth and thorough...
I live in rural Pennsylvania, where most of my neighbors are farmers, and many of them are Amish. For those who don’t know, the Amish are Christians whose faith practices include eschewing modern transportation in favor of horse-drawn buggies. All of this means that...
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...
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...
A few weeks ago, my wife and I were talking about the messiness of my relationship with my mom, and a video I had recently watched online popped into my head. The video began with sentimental background music and captions explaining the circumstances of a family: the...
One of the practices that I like to do when I pray is to repeat the words slowly so I can contemplate each one. As I pray for my children to have a gentle mother, I have been drawn to the phrase “full of grace” in the Hail Mary. To be full of grace means there is no...