Events: Talks, Retreats, and Prayer

The events listed here vary. Some are specifically addiction-related and some are general healing events that may be helpful to you along your journey.  Please see the descriptions for more information about each event. More events can be found under the Ongoing Support tab.  

Regularly scheduled on an ongoing basis (see calendar at link below)
Event: Recovery Support Retreats at Malvern Retreat House
The painful grip of addiction can destroy lives and families, leaving us feeling hopeless. Mending relationships during recovery is an ongoing process. Those men and women recovering from addiction, families seeking a sense of community, and individuals seeking God’s direction for their lives are all part of new initiative at Malvern Retreat House. As a center of hope, Malvern Retreat House is a place where people say, “Welcome” and “Come as you are.”
Location: Malvern Retreat House, Malvern PA
More info: https://www.malvernretreat.com/visitors/find-your-retreat/addiction-support-retreats/ 

Ongoing Support: Prayer Meetings, Support Groups and Outreach

AFIRE Chapters:
AFIRE is a parish-based ministry that seeks to spread faith, hope, and love amidst the epidemic by performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  Each group is unique in the works that it performs depending on the needs in each particular community.  For more information and to find a local AFIRE group, visit the AFIRE website: www.apeopleafire.org.
Local AFIRE chapters:

1. St. Christopher, 13301 Proctor Road, Philadelphia, PA; Contact:  Deacon Jim O’Neill, http://www.stchrisparish.org/
2. St. Jude, 321 West Butler Pike Chalfont, PA 18914; Contact: Lori Rawski at [email protected] (Parish website: https://stjudechalfont.org/) 
3. Saints Peter and Paul, 1325 Boot Road, West Chester, PA, 19380; Contact: Kathleen Rosati via email at [email protected] (Parish website: http://stspeterandpaulrc.org)
4. St. Stanislaus, 51 Lansdale Avenue, Lansdale, PA; Contact: Eileen McKeron (Parish website: https://www.ststanislaus.com/) 
5. St. Thomas of Villanova, 1229 E. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010; Contact: Karen Farley (Mercy Ministry website: https://www.stthomasofvillanova.org/mercy-ministry.html) 

The Calix Society Meetings 
“A.A. restores your health and keeps you from an early grave. Calix saves your soul and puts you on the road to heaven.” – William J. Montroy, a founder of the Calix Society. Are you in a 12-step recovery program? Do you have family or friends in recovery? Tell them about The Calix Society! We have two Calix units in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For more information about the Calix Society please visit calixsociety.org. For local meeting information, contact Ken J. at 215-327-3236 or [email protected].

Magdala Ministries – Support for Women Struggling with Sexual Addiction
We know that pornography, masturbation, and other sexual addictions aren’t just a “guy problem.” The need for women to be accompanied in the journey towards healing from addiction has gone sorely unmet, and that’s why we’re here. Magdala exists as a space where women can find hope, healing, and freedom alongside each other from sexual addiction. Our goal is to supply you with support, community, and accountability. Online support groups, blog, podcast and more available at: magdalaministries.org

Malvern Retreat House – Addiction Recovery Support
Men and women recovering from addiction, families seeking a sense of community, and individuals seeking God’s direction for their lives are all part of this new initiative at Malvern Retreat House. As a center of hope, Malvern Retreat House is a place where people say, “Welcome” and “Come as you are.” Explore their webpage to learn more about retreats, events, and support.

Matt Talbot Shrine at St. Gabriel Parish, Philadelphia (Grays Ferry)
Venerable Matt Talbot is a recovered alcoholic from Ireland who is being considered for sainthood by the Vatican. He is popularly considered the patron saint of those struggling with addiction. Help us fight the plague of addition in our communities with prayers and devotions to a Servant of God who fought the battle. The Shrine is open Tuesdays and Thursdays following 8:30 AM Mass until 6:00 PM. For more information, visit https://www.matttalbotshrine.org/ . Questions? Contact [email protected].  

Our House Ministries:
Our House Ministries, located in the Grays Ferry neighborhood, has multiple activities daily geared to our Catholic faith and recovery from addiction. These include holy hours, Mass, Calix meetings, and more. All are welcome! Please see their website schedule for more information, https://www.ourhouseministries.org/. 

National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia’s Men’s Group (Monday Evenings):
This Men’s Group is a great opportunity for men of all ages to receive support and assistance as they grow toward a chaste and joyful Christian life. Meetings are designed for men struggling with pornography use, infidelity, and other temptations. All are welcome. Confidentiality is assured. Meets Monday Evenings, 6:30-8:00 PM; Location: The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, Philadelphia, PA; To learn more, contact Fr. Jim Paradis, OSA.

St. Thomas of Villanova Parish Mercy Ministry (1229 E. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010)
Mercy is a ministry committed to spiritual, as well as practical, support for families suffering from the effects of addiction.  We will provide awareness about the disease of addiction, both chemical and process, along with education.  We will be available to pray with, listen to, and support anyone who contacts us in a safe and confidential manner.  We are not professionals; we are fellow Catholics trying to live as “missionaries of mercy”. For full details, visit https://www.stthomasofvillanova.org/mercy-ministry.html 

• Family Support Group Meeting – Every Wednesday evening at 7pm in the St. Thomas of Villanova Auditorium
• AA Meeting – Every Saturday morning at 7am in the St. Thomas of Villanova Parish Center (Lower Level)

Rosary for Addictions
Join us as we pray the Rosary for those struggling with addiction.  Sr. Lucia of Fatima tells us, “There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that cannot be resolved at this time by praying the Rosary.”  Let us take up this beautiful prayer of the Church with great confidence! Click here for a downloadable Rosary for Addictions pamphlet

• St. John Bosco, Hatboro: On the Second Friday of each month all are invited to gather in the Adoration Chapel at 9:15 am (after morning Mass) for Rosary at St. John Bosco Parish in Hatboro, PA. Come to pray for a loved one, yourself, or even a stranger who is living in the grasp of an addiction. Parish website
• St. Stanislaus, Lansdale: First Thursdays of each Month, 7pm, Please join our AFIRE group as we pray for those who are struggling with addiction. We all know someone affected by the epidemic of addiction and prayer is a powerful way we can support those who are struggling. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 51 Lansdale Ave., Lansdale PA, meet in the Chapel in the Parish Center.

12 Step Spirituality Group:
A discussion meeting for anyone involved with or interested in Spirituality as practiced in the 12 Steps used by addiction recovery groups, will be held on the last Sunday of each month at 7:00 PM in the St. Ann Parish Office Dining Room. The address is 502 Main St  Phoenixville, PA 19460. Anyone involved with addiction recovery or affected by substance abuse, is welcome to attend. No membership in any fellowship is required. Contact Deacon Dan Giblin, CRS [email protected] 610-952-3765 for additional information.

Mary Mother of Captives Support Group
Mary Mother of Captives is a support group for those coping with a loved one in prison. The group meets every second Thursday of the month at 7PM in the St. Charles Borromeo Parish Hall (3422 Dennison Ave., Drexel Hill, PA). For those recently released, a prison transition group meets every first Thursday at 7PM of the month at St. Cyprian’s Church (525 Cobbs Creek Parkway, Phila.)   There is also a Pen Pal writing program for those interested. For more information, please contact John or Sue at 610-259-3178. Total anonymity guaranteed.

More Catholic Ministries and Resources

Patron Saints for Addiction and Related Issues

Venerable Matt Talbot can be considered the patron saint of men and women struggling with alcoholism and their loved ones. Read more…

Saint Mark Ji Tianxiang suffered from an addiction to opium until the end of his life, when was martyred in July of 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion – a violent anti-colonial and anti-Christian uprising that took place in Northern China around 1900. Read more…

St. Dymphna, patron saint of depression and mental illnesses, is an Irish saint who was killed by her own father when he went mad from grief after the death of his beloved wife. Read more…

Mary, Undoer of Knots: The grip of addiction is a serious “knot.” Turn to the Virgin Mary under the title of “Undoer of Knots” to ask her miraculous intercession for freedom from addiction and the other “knots” of life.  Read more about this devotion here.   

Three Saints who Overcame Addiction – Read the article from Aleteia here

General Addiction Resources

AFIRE (Active Faith Implementing Relief in the Epidemic):
This is a faith-based movement designed to bring healing, hope, resources, advocacy, and transformational action to families and communities struggling with addiction.  AFIRE unites faith communities in vision and action by providing mutual goals and methods that are all designed to be impactful amidst the epidemic of addiction, while also fulfilling our Christian call to love and serve one another.  Parishes may join the AFIRE movement by becoming chapter members.  AFIRE provides chapters with a starter membership kit that includes everything necessary to form and maintain their groups.  For more information, contact [email protected] or visit their website:  www.apeopleafire.org

Catholics in Recovery:
This nonprofit organization aims to share the Good News that God can bring about healing and recovery, even in the most hopeless cases. The goal of this website is connection with others who have/are struggling and with Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Cenacolo Community in America:
The Cenacolo Community, a Catholic residential program for people overcoming substance abuse, located in Alabama, Florida and worldwide, is changing lives. It was founded by Mother Elvira Petrozzi, an Italian religious who believed that prayer and the sacraments could heal the deep emotional wounds that led many young men and women to lose themselves in drugs and other destructive pastimes. To find out more about Cenacolo, visit their website here.

Help and Hope Guide
Do you or someone you love need help fighting substance use or addiction? Help and Hope is available! Substance Use: The Growing Need to Know includes personal accounts, professional voices, and targeted information to get the help you need or just learn more about supporting someone living with substance use, addiction, or recovery. Call or text Maria Miller at 215.791.5113 for a bound copy of the book, or go online to https://voiceandvisioninc.org/resource-guide/ to access a FREE downloadable copy.

RecoveryAndHope.org:
Website of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia where you can find local social service and clinical resources to help with addiction. Resources include treatment centers, AA, NA, and Al-Anon groups, Narcan information, a helpline, and much more. Visit RecoveryAndHope.org. 

Souls and Hearts Podcast and Teachings on Addiction and Woundedness
Grounded in a Catholic anthropology, Souls and Hearts’ contributors draw from the psychological sciences to offer Catholics mental health education and information in an online format. Our courses are designed as a resource for Catholics, perhaps as an adjunct to therapy, or for those who may not require therapy but could use practical psycho-education on a mental-health-related topic. To find a list of their teachings on addiction, visit www.soulsandhearts.com/TOC. 

St. Jude Parish Addiction Resources (Bucks County): 
St. Jude Catholic Church in Chalfont, PA posts local Bucks County resources for drug and alcohol addiction.  Click here to visit the webpage. 

WE THIRST:  
Christian Reflections on Addiction is a compassionate and comprehensive educational series on addiction from a Christian perspective.  It is intended for all members of the Church, including those who are suffering from addiction, their loved ones and anyone who would like to learn more about addiction to become part of the solution to the epidemic.  The series is not only highly educational, but it inspires faith, hope, love and community action!  WE THIRST is approved for continuing education credits by the National Association of Social Workers in Pennsylvania, the National Association of Catholic Chaplains, and the  Association of Professional Chaplains.  For more information or to schedule this program at your parish, contact Nina Marie Corona at 610-393-5532 or visit the website https://www.wethirstseries.com/

• Now available in video series! Click here for more information

The 12-Step Review – Christian Friends in Recovery:
THE 12 STEP REVIEW is a publication of the Western Dominican Province, a nonprofit organization of the Dominican Fathers and Brothers, and is edited by Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P. It is published four times a year through your donations. On their website, you will find books, CDs, etc. along with the twelve steps to learn more about “the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). 

Drug Addiction Resources

Article Series: “The Opioid Epidemic: A Catholic Perspective” by Gina Christian
An exclusive 6-part series on CatholicPhilly.com about how the Church is reaching out to those suffering from addiction by offering mercy, support, and spiritual resources for our communities. The articles include information about local, grass-roots addiction support centers with Catholic spirituality.  Click here to read the series. 

Alcohol Addiction Resources

Calix Society:
The Calix Society is an association of Catholic alcoholics who are maintaining their sobriety through affiliation with and participation in the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. They concern themselves with two major key points: to interest Catholics with an alcoholic problem in the virtue of total abstinence, and to promote the spiritual development of the members. For more information and to find a meeting, visit https://www.calixsociety.org/directory/.  

The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics by Paul Sofranko:
This book is intended to assist Catholics and other Christians find deeper meaning in their struggles with alcoholism, by connecting the oftentimes hard road of sobriety with Jesus’ suffering road to His Crucifixion. You can purchase this paperback book new from $4.99 here.

Sex and Pornography Addiction Resources

Covenant Eyes:
Our Internet Accountability Service is designed to help you overcome porn by monitoring your Internet activity and sending a Report to a trusted friend who holds you accountable for your online choices. Visit their website to learn more!

Integrity Restored:
Our mission at Integrity Restored is to help restore the integrity of individuals, spouses, and families that have been affected by pornography and pornography addiction. Integrity Restored provides education, training, encouragement, and resources to break free from pornography, heal relationships, and to assist parents in preventing and responding to pornography exposure which is so devastating in the lives of our children. We are also a resource that trains and helps clergy in assisting families at the parish level, so that the domestic church truly becomes what it is, the human space in which we encounter Christ.

Healing Ministries and Other Catholic Resources
The ministries below offer opportunities to seek spiritual healing for many different issues. Since addiction is a complicated and multi-faceted struggle, these ministries can be a powerful help in your journey of recovery.

Be Encouraged: Catholic Support for Mental Health website
Resources to assist with healing, accompaniment and flourishing.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has launched a website with resources to support those who are experiencing mental health struggles and those who love them. The website offers links to find Catholic clinicians, local crisis response phone numbers and ministries that can assist with recovery and healing. In addition, there are tools to help parishes, schools and institutions cultivate a deeper awareness of and responsiveness to these realities, suffered by so many. Visit the Be Encouraged website at archphila.org/support.

Book: After Suicide: There’s Hope for Them and For You, Fr. Chris Alar, M.C.
Addressing the hard issue of suicide simply and pastorally, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, and Jason Lewis, MIC, draw from the teaching of the Church, the message of Divine Mercy, and their own experience of losing a loved one to offer readers two key forms of hope: hope for the salvation of those who’ve died by their own hand, and hope for the healing of those left behind. This book is a must-read for all those trying to make sense out of such a difficult subject. Find the book here.

Malvern Retreat House Healing Retreats
All of us are in need of healing. Whether struggling with grief, physical ailments, addictions or spiritual disquiet – each of us strives to be made whole. As a spiritual triage, Malvern Retreat House seeks to meet all people where they are on life’s journey, providing them peace, healing and comfort. To find healing retreats, visit their website.

Unbound Deliverance Ministry
Unbound is a ministry of healing that helps individuals find freedom in areas of their life where they feel bound. Situations where Unbound can help include: relationship problems, inability to forgive, habitual sin, chronic anger, fear, or sadness; any area of your life where you feel stuck or desire freedom. For more information, visit the website heartofthefather.com. 

Grief to Grace Retreats
Grief to Grace is a week-long program for anyone who has suffered physical, emotional, or spiritual abuse, whether in childhood, adolescence, or as an adult. Professional therapeutic staff will engage you in a program of Living Scripture exercises, therapeutic facilitation, cognitive restructuring, and grief work. By traveling the Paschal Mystery of your own life and uniting your suffering to Christ’s, Grief to Grace can help you to share also in Christ’s Resurrection—finding love, tenderness, belonging, safety, joy and peace. Visit the website 

...There is hope! My son is now clean from heroin for over a year and...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?       

Two of my children went down the dangerous path of drug addiction when they were in their teens and twenties.  It has been a nightmare, and the consequences unimaginable.  Not the hopes and dreams I had for them when they were “little and innocent.”  They are now in their mid-to-late thirties.  I am writing this to give hope to other families whose loved ones are struggling with this disease.  There is hope!  My son is now clean from heroin for over a year and going strong.  Someone who knows his good and true potential gave him an opportunity for a really good job and he feels human again!  He finally has his own place, is independent and engaging in a healthy way with his son, being the father he always wanted to be.  Words cannot describe the transformation and there is no explanation other than God’s grace.  My daughter is not there yet.  She has suffered greatly with repeated imprisonments, sepsis and open heart surgery from dirty needles, and congestive heart failure as a result.  But she has said, “don’t give up on me yet!” 

I will never give up, I will always have hope because miracles can and do happen.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church? How can we support you?

Sometimes, unintentionally I think, some church leaders in their talks or homilies speak in a degrading way about addicts, especially drug addicts. It could be some minor reference, but words matter. This perpetuates the pain, shame and stigma not only for the addicts themselves but for their families in the pews.  There needs to be more compassion.  Also, Catholic business leaders and employers need to look at the whole person, not just a sheet of paper.  Far too many people look at this as a moral choice rather than a disease. These are human beings– persons with dignity– and should eventually be given a chance at dignified work and not just minimum wage jobs where they cannot support themselves or their families…. that has the potential to make them give up and end up back in a broken system that affects all of us in some way.  You may be amazed at the wisdom and life experience of those who have finally found recovery. 

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? What devotions, practices and aspects of your Catholic faith have helped the most?           

My Catholic faith has meant everything to me in my journey toward recovery from all of the trauma.  Jesus was with me the night my daughter overdosed in my home and I was doing CPR on her until help arrived.  He has been with me in the waiting room of hospitals, institutions and prisons.  I know there is a purpose to all the suffering and pain we endure because of the Cross.  And to all my dear fellow Catholics in prayer groups and at church who have prayed with me and given much-needed shoulders to cry on once in awhile– I am grateful.

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?  

The twelve step process and the Nar-Anon groups helped me a great deal.  It gave me a non-judgmental place where I could open up and learn to focus more on myself in a healthy way, rather than continually obsess about my addicted son and daughter.  While it’s not Catholic, the twelve steps were founded upon Ignatian spirituality and I think that’s where they get their power— from our relationship with God.  I still don’t know if my daughter will survive her addiction, but I have finally come to a place of peace where I can accept that– because I know in the deepest part of my soul that God loves her even more than I do.

I began by stealing beer from my Dad's basement fridge...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?

I began by stealing beer from my Dad’s basement fridge, to impress my older brother so he’d want to hang out with me.  I later learned of the “youngest male syndrome,” which has helped me quite a bit.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church?

Preach more about constructive use of our free will, individual accountability and responsibility.  I was reared without anyone informing me that, “Mankind is not the author of all our own thoughts.”  I never knew that temptation strikes as an idea or a feeling– and that preemptively taking action such as confession, fasting, prayer and adoration of Our Lord is necessary to prevent excessively harmful thoughts or feelings (temptation) from setting up shop inside my head.  Teachers and parents blamed themselves and taught me to do the same, which caused many wasted years not recognizing the true assailant who strikes at us all.

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? What devotions, practices, and aspects of your Catholic faith have helped most?

Its tricky to never give up on a man without enabling or making allowances for his mis-use of his own free will, but a full time priest assigned to the State Correctional Institution at Rockview, Fr. Bill Crouse, was the bulkhead that held.  Picture a ship at sea that hits an iceberg, punctures the hull and the water rushes past any number of open co-dependent hatches and doorways until one door, the right door, is closed.   Please make sure we have enough priests in prisons.  I’m off parole now, and clean & sober for over 20 years.  It began with a door that was closed.

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?

Adam failed Eve; Saint Peter failed Christ; Christ himself fell 3 times to show us how to get back up.  Don’t listen to the voice that tells you virtue’s not in your making.  It is; we’re all created by virtue, for virtue … by love for love.  Recite the 10 commandments and the 7 lively virtues daily; learn them first in order to make an honest effort at living them.  Without understanding the 7 lively virtues as the balm to heal the 7 deadly sins its rough going out there.  

My daughter became addicted to pills the last two weeks of her senior year...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?

My daughter became addicted to pills the last two weeks of her senior year in a Catholic high school.  She struggled with mental illness throughout middle school and high school.  The doctors medicated her for many years, but the medications never helped. Her prescription pills became a form of self-medication.  When she took them, she finally experienced relief from her mental illness after suffering for so long with no reprieve.  As is the case with most, when she became addicted to the pills and they became too expensive, she turned to heroin which is much cheaper.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church? 

Our entire family suffered tremendously.  What we needed most was love, acceptance, and support.  We needed to be set free of the shame, blame, and guilt, and we needed a support network — our Church — to be there in the darkest times of our lives.  There were times we would have loved a meal or a note of support.  There were other times that we could have used help babysitting our grandchild (as we struggled to care for him when our daughter was in the hospital and/or treatment).  There were many, many times we would have appreciated help driving her to her various appointments as she tried to recover.  The system doesn’t make it easy.  Lots of appointments, etc. in early recovery, and she needed so many things to get back on her feet, clothes, haircuts, etc.  The list goes on and on.  They are small things, but they become overwhelming, and with the help of others these small burdens that added up to a huge weight, could have been made much lighter by the help of the Church.

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? 

It’s been many years, and there have been many practices throughout.  Daily Mass, the Divine Office, the rosary, and more . . . But times like these really bring you to your knees, unable to think or recite prayers or feel anything except deep pain.  For that, nothing was more comforting than quiet meditation before the crucifix where I came to understand at a much deeper level that Jesus too experienced all of this.  Contemplation on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus helped me to understand my faith and my circumstances better.  I came to know the blessing in the curse and to believe that perhaps some good can come out of all this; the resurrection after the crucifixion.  My Catholic faith brought me the gift of eternal hope in the midst of despair.  

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?

I would encourage people to dig deeper into their faith.  Faith doesn’t necessarily mean that you feel good, but our Catholic faith provides us with a great examples, promise, and hope.  The Bible is filled with angst!  Perhaps start with the psalms or the gospels, but wherever you start, read it “from below.”  Read it from the voices of the people who wrote it and experienced all of the despair — on earth. Listen to them as they cry out to God.  Walk with Jesus as he advocated for the oppressed and ashamed.  Imitate him.  When you are suffering and it feels like agony, sit with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  And when you feel hopeless, contemplate the resurrection and remember all the good that came that no one would have believed when Jesus was being crucified. We are not alone.  God is there and has been throughout history as people struggled with the real difficulties of life.  He is there even if it doesn’t feel like we thought or hoped it would feel.  Most important, reach out for help, and help others.  Once we have received the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, we must share them!  The Spirit dwells in us and works through us, and the Spirit wants to be set free to love.  We then become the Mystical Body of Christ on earth, and we emanate a bright healing light in the midst of the darkness, and a hope that “baffles the world.”

I have 3 adult children, two of whom are addicts...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?        

I have 3 adult children, two of whom are addicts.  My oldest daughter became addicted to Adderall her senior year of college.  12 years have passed, and her addiction to prescription drugs has cost her custody of her two daughters, her sanity, and her ability to work and hold a job.  She also has a criminal record for forging a prescription for Adderall. 

My son became addicted to heroin when he was 21.  He has been in and out of prison several times for stealing things in order to buy more heroin.  He is now 33 and in treatment for about the 7th time. His addiction has cost him his family, his home, his finances and his ability to be hired for a decent job.

I am grateful they are both still alive but it has been devastating to witness the effect of addiction on their lives and on their children who love them very much.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church? How can we support you?    

For many years, I attended 12 step meetings for families of addicts.  There is much pain and suffering in those rooms as mostly parents are confused about how to deal with the heartbreak and fear of possibly losing their children to an overdose.  I have often thought… why is the Church so silent or seemingly ignoring the painful experience of so many of her families in the pews?  Just to have the Church acknowledge and speak about the problem… address it as the disease it is and help dispel the shame that keeps addicts and their families from getting it in the open and finding healing.  I think too– that people need to be more aware of how many of our prisons are full of people suffering from the terrible disease of addiction… and how difficult it is to live with…. I have witnessed awful injustice in many employers not giving someone a second chance even when they have been clean and stayed out of trouble for several years…   because of a past criminal record.  I think the Church could do more to increase awareness and help foster mercy in our culture.

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? What devotions, practices and aspects of your Catholic faith have helped the most?

My Catholic faith has helped me hold on to hope in the midst of the destructive storm of addiction.  Being close to Jesus in the Eucharist… Holy hours and Adoration…. the sacrament of Reconciliation with a priest who is a good and non-judgmental listener… all of these things have kept my faith alive.  Also the Communion of Saints and knowing that I have friends in heaven who are praying for me and the addicts in my life.  Being connected to other Catholics who are strong believers and pray with and for my family has been a tremendous source of strength. 

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?     

To other parents… don’t give up hope. Miracles can and do happen.  Fear sometimes makes us do things that are unhealthy when the best thing to do often times is surrender our addict to God.  Even if the worst happens.. our kids are baptized children of the Father and He will take care of them in His great love and mercy. 

...I found out about Cenacolo, a Catholic mission for addicts...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?

With my daughter, 11 years ago.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church?

I had no resources from the [parish]. I found out about Cenacolo, a Catholic mission for addicts and lost youth hopereborn.org, through friends at a rosary group. My [parish] didn’t have anything for me.

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? What devotions, practices, and aspects of your Catholic faith have helped most?

My [parish] didn’t help! I was attracted to a group of women who pray the rosary. They led me, not my priest, to Jesus through Mary and adoration. The result of the prayer took us to freedom at Cenacolo, where they live the faith.

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?

Pray to Our Lady, surrender your loved one to Jesus and Mary and learn about Catholic recovery. Cenacolo is FREE , open to healthy young adults seeking freedom from addiction. Nothing else worked. Our daughter is drug free for 6 years and in love with Jesus.

My journey to recovery would be unbearable without the Catholic faith...

How did your struggle with addiction begin?       

At the age of 15 with my friends who would steal alcohol from their parents.  It was very common in my circle of friends.

In your time of suffering, what do you need from the Church? How can we support you?

Someone to speak with in times of temptation.

How has your Catholic faith helped you in your journey toward recovery? What devotions, practices and aspects of your Catholic faith have helped the most?           

My journey to recovery would be unbearable without the Catholic faith.  I know that God loves me even though I am not perfect.  The Sacrament of Penance has helped me the most.  Although, every time I slip, I get even more angry with myself because I break the promise that I made in confession to avoid sin and that which leads me to it.

What encouragement would you offer to others who are struggling with addiction about the role that your Catholic faith can play in healing and recovery?    

Just know that God is there for you to forgive you and to love you know matter how much you may hate yourself and your actions.