“Who keeps us sober and happy?” the speaker asked. A chorus of merging voices declared, “Our Father” and then continued on with, “who art in heaven, hallowed be they name…” The prayer was recited with each person holding the hand of another, forming a circle that spanned the circumference of the room below the sanctuary […]
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t watched the series finale of the sitcom Mom, you may want to read this post later… Last night, I scanned the On Demand menu on my television in search of the sitcom, Mom. I’ve watched this show faithfully since it began. For me, it seems to portray 12-step recovery meetings […]
With permission from The Jesuit Post, I am reprinting their article titled, “I am a Jesuit and I am an Alcoholic.” I want you to know that this disease is not a moral failing. There is no room for healing when we allow shame to be in the picture. It is time to call out […]
I remember reading the following quote years ago when we first learned of my loved one’s addiction. It changed the way I saw them: “The question is not why the addiction, but why the pain.” And the source of pain is always and invariably to be found in a person’s lived experience, beginning with childhood. … All addictions are attempts to […]
When my book, “Helping Families Recover from Addiction: Coping, Growing and Healing with 12-Step Practices and Ignatian Spirituality” was released last October it was placed in (3) categories on Amazon. Those categories were chosen to help those looking for help with family addictions be able to find it amongst the thousands of books out there. […]
In this series of posts, I wanted to share how three of my relationships have gone through a transformation. In each relationship, I had to ask God to help me see that relationship as it was in reality rather than the way that the relationship had been unconsciously disfigured by fear. Two weeks ago, we […]
In this series of posts, I wanted to share how three of my relationships have gone through a transformation. In each relationship, I had to ask God to help me see that relationship as it was in reality rather than the way that that relationship had been unconsciously disfigured by fear. Last week, we explored […]
Happy Easter! In this series of posts, I wanted to share how three of my relationships have gone through a transformation. In each relationship, I had to ask God to help me see that relationship as it was in reality rather than the way that that relationship had been unconsciously disfigured by fear. Let’s begin […]
Right after my oldest child was born, I went to my next-door neighbor’s house to pay her. She had picked up some supplies for me while I was still in the hospital. As I pushed my son’s stroller through the front-door, the cat hissed at him. Before I could form a coherent thought about what […]
Are you ready for Lent? Do you have a plan to help you grow in relationship with Jesus? Yes, you will need to detach from the things that get in your way. But, we learn in recovery to replace that ‘character defect’ or as Ignatius would say inordinate attachment with something healthy and good to […]