In today’s first reading, Moses, shortly after receiving and pronouncing the Ten Commandments, proclaims to the people of Israel the following:

“Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Moses presents the road to life, the Ten Commandments. For us in recovery, the Twelve Steps offer us a way of living that will lead us to victory in a similar way. Yes, we have been released by Jesus of our addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments, just as the boy was released by Jesus of a demon. However, once cured, we must continue on, living according to the Ten Commandments and the Twelve Steps as we make our way along the road of happy destiny.

Reflection Questions

• Were you brought from your “bottom” to recovery by someone close to you? Did you bring yourself to Jesus for healing or did you bring someone else to receive His healing through recovery?
• Having begun the road to recovery, how are you “taking to heart these words [of the Twelve Steps] which I enjoin on you today” into action?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51
Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20

Reflection by Kevin S.