Saint Luke the Evangelist brought us this dynamite. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he gave to the Church his magnificent version of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Woven throughout this single narrative is the emphasis on Christ’s sacrificial love and saving action in people’s lives. Most poignant is how faith in Christ results in the dramatic reversal of fortunes for the poor, the humble, the meek, the condemned, the outcast, the possessed, the brokenhearted, the sick, and even the dead. This dynamic is crucial for understanding who Christ is in our lives and how He walks with us in recovery. He is the living God who desires to be in a saving relationship with us.

A personal relationship with Christ cannot be overstated. Achieving health in recovery depends on it! Pope Benedict XVI put it well when he wrote, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est). This is the same in recovery! Jesus is not a distant God, an intellectual theory, or a figment of our imagination. No! He is alive and here! Prior to recovery, I unwittingly adhered to these untruths; the result was a broken relationship with God, a barely lukewarm faith, and a relentlessly unforgiving life of anxiety and addiction.

Pope Francis eloquently captures the saving dynamic of relationship with Christ: “Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness…and that is where death is. That is not the place to look for the One who is alive! Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do” (Easter Vigil Homily, 2013). Let us, therefore, invite Christ into our lives in recovery so that we may bear lasting fruit!

Saint Luke the Evangelist, pray for us!

Reflection Questions

• How is God the prime mover or director of your recovery?
• Share how you nurture your relationship with Christ, in good times as well as bad.

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: 2 Timothy 4:10-17b
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Reflection by Pete S.