Similar to Peter, Step 2 and Step 3 are constant reminders for me to keep my focus on God and not myself. One way of keeping my focus on God is thanking Him throughout the day for the seemingly little things around me: the beautiful flowers on my balcony, my sweet and funny little grandchildren, even the fat pigeon chicks on my neighbor’s windowsill. Miraculously, when I do these things, I experience a vivid shift in mood that comes from God, the creator of this wonderful world. We know that God loves to be praised; He has choirs of angels praising Him all day. Jesus teaches us to pray the Our Father by beginning with praise: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” A wise person once told me that praise and gratitude are one in the same to God. Both gratitude and praise have become ways I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and not on the rough “waters” of my life’s challenges, regrets, anxieties, or fears.
Because I have a disease that makes me forget the importance of being grateful, praising my beloved Savior, or even paying the gas bill, I must be reminded throughout the day that I am no longer in charge and that He is. Most of us have had very broken beginnings, histories and childhoods populated by traumatic events, abandonment, even disaster. That’s why we must not focus on ourselves but on Jesus. As the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous tells us, if we seek God and actively participate in the Twelve Steps, we will find a new freedom and a new happiness. We will find freedom from regret over the past and fear of the future, and we will begin to comprehend serenity and experience true peace. I’ve truly seen these promises fulfilled in my own life and in the lives of others within the rooms of recovery.
My Lord, my darling Jesus, how can we ever thank you enough for giving us the means to finding you through the Twelve Steps?
Reflection Questions
- How can you set reminders throughout your day to keep your focus on Jesus by praising and thanking Him? What are you most thankful for today?
- How have you experienced Jesus’ peace in spite of the dangerous “waters” of your life’s challenges, regrets, anxieties, or fears?
Daily Mass Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 28:1-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36
Reflection by Marcia G.