The Lenten Recovery Challenge

Module 30 of 47

Thursday, March 19th

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 morning, Friend

August 12

Daily Reflection

Saint of the Day

Daily Reflection

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saint of the Day

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is instructing His disciples before He must return to His Father in heaven once His mission on earth is completed. Jesus is preparing them to govern and protect His Church as well as teaching them about Sacred Scripture and the traditions and truths of the Kingdom of God. In this particular reading, there is a person who sins against another person and there is a need for restitution and/or reconciliation. Jesus suggests that the two confront each other alone first and, if the offender listens to the offended, the offended will have won him over. But if he doesn’t listen, then the offended should arrange to meet him again with two or three witnesses. If he still refuses to listen, then the offended should involve the Church. Finally, if that fails, the offended can treat him like a tax collector or Gentile. In this way, we see that the offender is invited, again and again, to live in communion with Christ and the Church.

In the recovery process, there is a similar approach used in helping those suffering from addiction to find recovery through the invitation of others into the recovery community. This is known as the “Twelfth Step Call,” where we invite a newcomer into recovery by sharing about how we recovered, giving the newcomer a reason for hope. Step 12 reads, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” This is the step where we give back through service to other addicts as sponsors, CIR meeting leaders, and so on. The goal of the “Twelfth Step Call” is to encourage others to commit to their first step of recovery.

We can help others make this step by being truly present to them and sharing our experience, strength, and hope. Sometimes these calls fail to bring the addict into recovery. Yet, if they refuse to heed our invitation, we can still place them in the hands of God, praying that they will not be forgotten and will soon find the road to recovery.

Reflection Questions

What has it meant for you to have a spiritual awakening? Have you tried to share this with others by inviting them to begin recovery?
What does practicing recovery principles in all our affairs mean to you in terms of your recovery?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Reflection by Loretta L.

View Full Reflections Calendar

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

Audio Reflection

(1572-1641) — Jane (Jeanne in French) was born to nobility in Dijon, France. She married Baron de Chantal at 20, had four children, and her husband died in her arms following a hunting accident when she was 28. Jane took a vow of chastity and became a close friend and spiritual student of Saint Frances de Sales. At 38, she founded the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady, which was established for women who felt a call to religious life but not the level of asceticism common in orders of that time.

Jane asked very specifically in her prayer that God send her a guide. She received a vision of Saint Frances de Sales before ever having met him. A sponsor is an essential part of 12-Step recovery. This is not a program we do on our own or in our own way. In the words of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, “Anyone who takes himself for his own spiritual director is the disciple of a fool.” Have you touched base with your sponsor lately? Have you considered sponsoring others?

“Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to him. That is all the doing you have to worry about” (Saint Jane Frances de Chantal).

Reflection by Brad Farmer