Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. However, each day well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day.
As we get closer to Advent, we draw near to our Lord, the Giver of Life. This often requires letting silence and stillness into our day, amplifying the intensity with which our heart beats for Him. Our preparation might include shedding some repeated behavior that has kept us from being intimate with God and others. The more stuff we add to our lives, the more we must take time to free ourselves from attachments to anything but God. As we will proclaim in this Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm, “Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
While we embrace the stillness, darkness, and silence of Advent, we are to remain hopeful. As a result, we see an overlap between the initial phases of the liturgical calendar and the Twelve Steps of addiction recovery. Both ask us to identify with our own inherent powerlessness and need for a savior. Upon this realization, we are filled with hope that Christ can bring the change we desperately desire or keep us moving on the path of spiritual progress.
This Sunday’s First Reading describes the hope of Jesus and reliance we have on the Lord amid our own human limitations. Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah as they declare God’s Lordship and the hope of His return:
You, Lord, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds
we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen,
any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
It has been said that, in recovery, what we go looking for, we go looking with. Let the Lord guide you on this journey and be sure to share what you find with others.
Reflection Questions
- How are you making room for Jesus in your life? Consider the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental ways you are preparing yourself for the Lord’s coming.
- Reflect upon and share about a 12-step recovery principle or Catholic tradition that is especially helpful to you this time of year.
- What are you grateful for?
Sunday Mass Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel: Mark 13:33-37
Printable General Recovery Meeting Reflection
Printable Family & Friends Recovery Meeting Reflection
Printable Lust Recovery Meeting Reflection
Download virtual meeting reflections: General Recovery, Family & Friends Recovery, Lust Addiction Recovery