God’s use of water (through the flood) to wipe out evil can be read as a foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Baptism, where God wipes away the evil and sin within our souls. As believers, we are cleansed of sin and graced with a new beginning—we become a new creation in Christ, not by any merit of our own but because of His agape (unconditional) love for us. Recovery helps us to respond to this baptismal gift with faith and love.

Coming into recovery, I was desperately trying to fill a void in my life that I did not know how to fill. This void or hole in all of our hearts needs God’s love and healing but if we try to fill it with the wrong substitutes, such as things or behaviors that bring wealth, power, pleasure, and honor, we are left broken and in despair. Working the Twelve Steps with a sponsor from Catholic in Recovery and leaning on the grace of the sacraments helps us to “get out of our own way” in pursuing the one who can actually fill our hearts: God. When this happens, He begins filling our hearts with the things He cares about, namely, our relationship with Him. Through the sacraments, such as the Sacrament of Baptism, as well as through our recovery we encounter what we longed for when we were caught in the midst of our addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments—the triune love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we learn how to seek God’s will and not our own, we find healing, reconciliation, and a relationship with Jesus, who is our very life and hope.

Reflection Questions

• What are you using to fill the hole in your heart? Are you desperate enough to try a different way forward?
• Do you believe that Jesus wants a relationship with you and that He loves you? What recovery wisdom have you learned that helps you “get out of your own way”?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b & 9c-10
Gospel: Mark 8:14-21

Reflection by Karen D.