Letting go of our past is a significant and necessary step for a fruitful and sustained recovery, but it does not mean we forget our past altogether. Rather, it is helpful to keep alive in our memory who we have been in addiction so that we do not regress in putting on again the “old self”! The founder of Catholic in Recovery often tells the impactful story of his first sponsor holding up a Bible and saying, “this book is for people who don’t want to go to Hell,” and then holding up the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and saying, “this one is for people who have been there and have no interest in going back!” Remembering our personal histories of active addiction and sharing them through our collective testimonials can serve as powerful motivation for persevering through temptation and adversity, as well as become a shared reservoir of learned wisdom as we celebrate with one another our experience, strength, and hope in Christ Jesus.

A sustained and vibrant recovery requires that we not only know our past but that we live daily with a healthy awareness that our powerlessness is always a reality—that we are just a drink, drug, screen, or any trigger away from reverting to the “old self.” Knowing the sick person we were in active addiction helps us to be and remain the healthy person we are in recovery today. Remembering our past reinvigorates our ever-present need for a savior. Let us never forget who we were so that we may become the saints He wills us to be!

Reflection Questions

• How have you learned to let go of your past but not forget it? What was your relationship with God in the past and in the midst of life in active addiction? How has that relationship changed in recovery?
• How has hearing other recovering addicts’ stories of their pasts and present life in recovery impacted your own conversion experience? How has your story done the same for others?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Jeremiah 14:17-22
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
Gospel: Matthew 13:36-43

Reflection by Pete S.