Day 78

Before I found sobriety, I believed God was done with me. I felt I was too far gone. I repeatedly tried to escape my pain through drinking and using drugs, hoping to die. But recovery offered me a new opportunity to live. In AA, some of the foundations of recovery are acknowledging our struggles, recognizing the harm we’ve caused ourselves and others, and seeking a renewed spirit and mind. Just as the fig tree in Jesus’ parable is given another chance to bear fruit and live, through recovery, we too are granted a new opportunity to live joyously and freely. Through the fruits of our recovery, we can show others how God has transformed our lives and offer hope to those still struggling with addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments.

By working a program of action through the Twelve Steps, attending meetings, having a sponsor, and helping others, we receive the graced “fertilizer” that gives us new life where we thought there was only death. Only God knows our hearts, and only God is the just judge of ourselves and others. Yet He is a loving Father, and He will use all for good in our lives if we truly repent and nurture the new life He has given us through recovery.

Reflection Questions

• Have you found yourself criticizing and comparing yourself to others? What can you do today to focus on yourself and your relationship with God instead?
• How have you been taking care of the new life God has given to you through recovery?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Ephesians 4:7-16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Reflection by Juan Carlos P.

(1807-1870) — Born in Spain and trained in his father’s trade as a weaver, Anthony became a priest and eventually a missionary to the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. On his return to Spain, he established the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (The Claretians). Anthony was appointed the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba in the Caribbean for eight years before Queen Isabella II recalled him to Spain to be her confessor. In addition to his exceptional preaching, Anthony exhibited several extraordinary charisms and miracles in his ministry, which were attested by many, including regular levitation and a supernatural light that radiated from his body when he celebrated Mass. He spread devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Saint Anthony relied on God completely. It is often through the saints’ radical surrender to God that the extraordinary, the miraculous, is made manifest. What miracles have you witnessed in recovery through your surrender to God (Step 3)?

“Lord, by the words of consecration the substance of the bread and wine is converted into the substance of your Body and Blood. All powerful Lord, say over me the word which will change me into You” (Saint Anthony Claret).

Reflection by Brad Farmer