Heresy is a term rarely discussed or even taken seriously in the modern world. And this is more than a shame; it is a grave tragedy. For to be capable of discerning and naming a heresy, one must first be able to recognize and know the Truth. Lamentably, in the post-Christian culture in which we live today, our society can no longer recognize the Truth or distinguish good from evil. We have lost our way in unbridled materialism, atheism, hedonism, and relativism. We are awash in a sea of heresies.

How this pertains to addiction and recovery has everything to do with the predominant heresy of our times—the cult of Self. The exaltation of the subjective self as the only source of one’s truth and sole judge of one’s choices and behaviors is positively pathological, the destructive ramifications of which are evident everywhere in our society: rampant addiction of all kinds, ubiquitous depression and anxiety, and shocking rates of self-harm, suicidality, violence, and lawless behavior, just to name a few. Worst of all, the cult of Self has resulted in pervasive nihilism and a sinister loss of respect for the inherent value and dignity of every human life, which Pope Saint John Paul II alarmingly called the “Culture of Death” (Evangelium Vitae).

The work of recovery—daily conversion, personal holiness, seeking Christ above all things—is tantamount to fighting against heresy. For if you think about it, when we succumb willfully and in weakness to the throes of habitual addictive sin, when we give scandal to our loved ones and friends with our deceptive, manipulative, and abusive behaviors, we are in effect prostrate before the unholy altar of the god called Self. We have become heretics! Our rebellions in pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth serve only to worship and adore the graven image of Self. 

All of us come into recovery as pagans, so to speak, possessed in one way or another by the heresy of Self. But by working the Steps, by living the virtues, and by staying close to God in humble repentance and gratitude, we undergo a purifying exorcism from the false god of Self, and we acquire the saving knowledge that there truly is only one God in three Divine Persons! So, as God liberates us day by day from the cult of Self, and anoints us to be living witnesses to His mercy and saving power, let us go forth and help Him recreate a dying world enslaved to addiction and the cult of Self. Let us love God and neighbor one addict, one sinner, and one day at a time.

Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nazanzius, pray for us!

Reflection Questions

• Describe your understanding of what it means to be a “heretic”?
• Give examples from your experiences as a Catholic in recovery on how God has relieved you of the bondage of self. Are there areas of your life that still need to be relieved by God?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: 1 John 2:22-28
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
Gospel: John 1:19-28

Reflection by Pete S.