Reflecting on recovery and embodiment is especially relevant on this feast day of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, the great opponent of the oldest of heresies, Gnosticism. Gnosticism is deeply antagonistic to the positive Catholic vision of creation and the human person. It views material reality and the human body as evil, flawed, and degenerate. In a Gnostic worldview, there is no value in stewardship of the body and the goods of creation, of loving God and the Golden Rule, of sharing the Good News, of redemptive suffering, of resurrection and the glorified body. There is no Christ touching and healing the leper. To be a Gnostic is to be utterly insular and subjective. It is a dualistic hyper-interiority that seeks total liberation of the mind/soul from the body/flesh.

Much of this should resonate with us in recovery given how elements of Gnosticism were often unconsciously at play in the throes of our active addictions. We lived a kind of rejection of our embodiment. We disdained our appearance, our sexuality, our weight, our disabilities, our socioeconomic circumstances, our families, our relationships, our jobs, and above all, our sufferings which led us to dissociate from and abuse our bodies in all kinds of ways. We rejected reality. We pursued an illusory knowledge or “gnosis” that would set us free but never came. We often appropriated our Catholic faith in a Gnostic manner, reducing and trivializing it into a “self-help program” that had nothing to do with Christ’s call to repentance, surrender, trust, and love.

As Catholics in recovery, we “know” better! Our “gnosis” is the Word made flesh who consumes us as we consume Him. We embrace the Logos in gratitude for the gift of our ensouled bodies. And unlike the Gnostic, we cherish recovery fellowship, shared vulnerability, a common public faith, sacramental spirituality, the witness of the Saints, and the “anti-Gnostic” Twelve Steps that keep us properly “embodied” and grounded within the Mystical Body of Christ. We are set free in the Truth. We rejoice, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

Saint Irenaeus, pray for us!

Reflection Questions

• How were you a “Gnostic” in the midst of addiction? Give examples.
• How have you come to accept your embodiment in recovery?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: 2 Kings 25:1-12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4

Reflection by Pete S.