To complete today's challenge, find time to prayerfully read through the reflections below, attend a recovery meeting, and share what's on your heart and mind on today's discussion board.
REFLECT
Good evening, Friend
May 30
Daily Reflection
Saint of the Day
Daily Reflection
Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day
Saint Dymphna
Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The first three steps form the foundations of recovery from our addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments. Steps one through three enable us to begin our journey of renewal and hope. We admit that we are powerless without Jesus, acknowledge that He alone can save us, and decide to allow Him to do so. By doing these three, Jesus unbinds us and leads us to freedom as we proceed through the subsequent nine steps.
In today’s Gospel reading, we find the spiritual leaders of the day questioning Jesus’ authority and power. They challenge Him to prove Himself to them, posing a question designed to manipulate and trap because they are not sincere in their pursuit of truth and have already rejected Him. We may find ourselves judging these men harshly for their deceit and unbelief, ulterior motives, and their blindness to Jesus’ love, wisdom, and salvific mission. We might be quick to dismiss them as foolish and stubborn because we have the advantage of knowing Jesus as the savior and messiah. But as we look more closely at these men and then within ourselves, we may find a disturbing similarity.
In our active addiction—and even at times in our recovery—have we not sought to manipulate our Higher Power and even rejected His desire and ability to heal us because of our persistent stubbornness, pride, or desire to continue to indulge in our “drug of choice?” Like the chief priests, scribes, and elders of Jesus’ day, do we fear losing our autonomy, power, and control, even when we are offered freedom, salvation, unconditional love, and forgiveness? Jesus’ response to His accusers is not a reprimand coming from a place of unkindness or lack of compassion. Rather, it comes from the truth that He cannot compel us to accept Him and receive the healing and wholeness that He offers. We must freely choose to let go of what binds us to our addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments to receive His healing and move forward with a life of recovery.
Reflection Questions
In what ways have you found yourself rejecting Jesus’ call to healing and freedom from addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments in your daily journey of recovery? How can you accept His call today?
What are some instances where you have judged others harshly and failed to recognize the similarities with your own behavior and faults?
Daily Mass Readings
First Reading: Jude 17, 20b-25 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6 Gospel: Mark 11:27-33
(7th Century) — Saint Dymphna’s beautiful mother died when she was a teenager, and her father, a pagan Irish chief, sought desperately to replace her, but no one was beautiful enough for him except for Dymphna, who looked like her mother. Refusing his advances, she ran away with a priest friend, Saint Gerebernus. Her father hunted them down and killed them when she continued to refuse his advances. Many miraculous healings of the insane and the possessed have taken place at the site where she was killed. Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of therapists and those suffering from mental illness.
Many accounts of miraculous cures have been attributed to Saint Dymphna. While an instantaneous cure would be most welcomed, a day without indulging in our addiction, compulsion, or unhealthy attachment is a miracle in itself. Take time to express gratitude for (seemingly) small things as well as big things in our recovery journey. We are powerless, He is All-mighty (Steps 1 and 2).
“I am He Who Is, and you are she who is not” (The Lord, to Saint Catherine of Siena in a vision).
*Saint Dymphna is now commemorated on May 30 according to the 2004 Roman Martyrology, though she was formerly commemorated on May 15.
Reflection by Brad Farmer
Other Saints
Saint Bona of Pisa
May 29, 2026
Blessed Maria Bartolomea Bagnesi
May 28, 2026
Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop
May 27, 2026
Saint Philip Neri
May 26, 2026
Saint Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church
May 25, 2026
Our Lady, Help of Christians
May 24, 2026
Saint Giovanni Battista Rossi
May 23, 2026
Saint Rita of Cascia
May 22, 2026
Saint Eugene de Mazenod
May 21, 2026
Discuss
Share your thoughts and connect with others on this journey.
The day my sobriety began, through the grace of God, is when darkness and emptiness were transformed into new life. I didn’t really realize it ay that time, but there was a significant turning of my may of thinking.
Joe Camacho2 months ago
When my accountability person became my sponsor. Through my anxieties she has brought me down to earth and given me tools to help me through my codependency. God has blessed me with her. She has coached me through the Lenten season and gives me hope, a hope that I have never has before. Thank you my Lord and my God.
Looking for support?Connect with others who understand your journey.
REFLECT
