“I hate myself! I just made a great confession and felt clean and blessed. So, why did I commit this sin yet again?” I often had the above thought when I fell to sexual sin and before I took my recovery from pornography and masturbation seriously. Perhaps it’s a...
As I write this, the thought that comes to mind is: “How do you put something so vast, infinite, and truly marvelous as God’s mercy and love into words?” For those of you reading this who may not know me or my story, I am a revert to the Catholic faith. I attended...
We are about a week into the time of year that can be considered a “spring training” for Catholics. Lent is an opportunity for us to imitate Christ by renewing our spiritual discipline prior to the glorious resurrection of our Lord on Easter. The ashes that launch...
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...
Recently, I have been reflecting on how my porn addiction began in the first place. This took me back to a dark place in my life during college, when I had broken up with who I thought was the love of my life, which left me directionless and unstable. I had no passion...
“Then one of the scribes…asked Jesus, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,...
When I first became sober, maintaining my recovery was the most important part of my life. But two years in something happened. My life changed. Suddenly I was engaged and moving away to start graduate school. Since my faith was important to me, I found a parish right...
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...
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...