Homilies about addiction

A Priest's Story: How God Loved Me as a Sinner and a Loser

Father David

The homily, delivered by a new parochial vicar, Father David, focuses on God's immense patience and unconditional love for sinners, drawing parallels with the Gospel parable of the weeds and the wheat. Father David shares a deeply personal testimony of his youth, marked by a struggle for acceptance, alcoholism, promiscuity, and resentment towards his parents, culminating in a suicidal crisis. He recounts how a simple question from a friend on a pilgrimage, "Don't you know there is a God who loves you as you are?", transformed his life, leading him to believe in God's mercy and eventually to the priesthood.

From Addiction to Freedom: The Power of God's Healing Grace

Tadeusz Dzieszko

The homily reflects on the parable of the wheat and weeds, emphasizing that evil (weeds) often grows alongside good (wheat) in our lives. The priest shares the powerful testimony of Wiesław Indraszek, a former drug addict who found healing and conversion in Medjugorje, and also mentions St. Camillus, who similarly turned his life around to serve the sick. The core message is that God offers a chance for change and healing from addictions and moral failings until the very end of life, and that prayer, sacraments, and community are vital in this ongoing spiritual battle.

Why God Lets the 'Weeds' Grow: A Story of Mercy and Transformation

The homily uses the parable of the wheat and weeds to illustrate God's mercy and justice, emphasizing that we are not called to judge others. It highlights that God sees hope in everyone, even those who appear to be 'weeds,' and that our identity is in Christ, not our sins or addictions. The speaker uses the story of Michael Tolbitt, a man who overcame addiction and became a servant of God, to exemplify this message of transformation and hope.

Is Your Addiction a 'Thwarted Good Desire'? A Counselor's Story

The homily uses the parable of the weeds and the wheat to discuss how our 'sins, faults, and failings' might actually be 'thwarted parts of fundamentally good desires.' The priest shares a personal story about an addict named Peter whose heroin addiction stemmed from a deep desire for connection and belonging, which he found by reconnecting with his birth mother. The homily encourages listeners to discern the good desires underlying their unhealthy behaviors, aiming to redirect them towards God.

From Addiction to Grief: How Suffering Leads to Surrender in God's Love

Father Robert Durhower

The homily uses the parable of the sower to explore the spiritual journey, contrasting a young man's struggle with addiction and the need to admit spiritual poverty with a mother's profound grief after losing her child in the Sandy Hook shooting. It emphasizes that true freedom comes not from asserting independence, but from surrendering to God's love and listening to His word, even through immense suffering.

The Weeds Among Us: Bill W. and the Power of God's Grace

The homily uses the parable of the wheat and weeds to discuss how appearances can be deceiving, especially when it comes to judging others. It highlights the story of Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, as an example of someone initially seen as 'worthless' due to addiction, but who, through divine intervention and community, became a 'healer' for thousands. The core message emphasizes that with God's help, no one is truly helpless or hopeless, and we should refrain from quick judgments.

Why We Mistake the Creature for the Creator: Finding Your True Treasure

The homily explores why Jesus uses parables, emphasizing their appeal to our nature as narrative creatures and their role in guiding our value-driven perception of the world. It delves into a hierarchy of goods (body, mind, heart), arguing that only the 'goods of the heart'—God himself—can truly satisfy and lead to transformation, drawing parallels with the seriousness of a child at play and the transformative power of love and religious conversion.

Loving in a Hateful World: The Christian Struggle

The homily begins with the priest acknowledging that he prepared for a different reading due to celebrating the Latin Mass earlier. He then connects the Gospel's mention of Jesus curing the sick to the feast day of St. Camillus de Lellis, the patron saint of the sick and hospitals, and also of gamblers due to his past. The core message, however, pivots to the struggle Christians face in a world that may hate them, emphasizing the call to love and forgive rather than retaliate or hold grudges.

Finding Happiness and Faith Through Gratitude: Lessons from Patagonia

Father Peter

The homily emphasizes the importance of gratitude and faith in God, even amidst life's challenges, drawing on personal anecdotes and missionary work in Patagonia. It highlights the blessings we often overlook and the strength found in devotion to the Blessed Mother, especially for overcoming addictions and temptations. The priest also shares a letter reminding listeners of their relative wealth and blessings compared to much of the world.

From Gambler to Saint: The Transformative Power of God's Love

The homily emphasizes God's incomprehensible love and commitment to humanity, contrasting it with ancient Greek and Jewish perceptions of a distant God. It highlights that God actively enters into our 'messes' through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, lifting us up without force. The homily uses the life of St. Camillus de Lellis, a former gambler and sinner, as an example of conversion and transformation through God's grace, demonstrating that saints are not born perfect but are transformed by divine love.

What Kind of Soil Are You? Receiving God's Word with Hope

Father Steve Thorne

The homily uses the parable of the sower to emphasize that while God's word is always good, the crucial factor is the receptivity of our hearts. The priest shares a personal story about a homeless man at a retreat who, despite appearing asleep, was deeply moved by a homily on hope, illustrating how God's word can transform even the most challenging situations if received with an open heart.

Father Wilson's Gardening Tips for Your Spiritual Life

Father Wilson

Father Wilson uses the parable of the sower and the seed as a metaphor for the Christian life, emphasizing its fragility and the need for God's word as 'water.' He offers practical 'gardening tips' for nurturing spiritual growth in ourselves and others, particularly those struggling with illness, addiction, or life transitions, advocating for gentleness, patience, and persistent prayer.

Overcoming Addiction: The Inspiring Story of St. Camillus de Lellis

The homily focuses on the life of St. Camillus de Lellis, highlighting his conversion from a gambling addiction to founding an order dedicated to nursing the sick. It emphasizes that addictions can be overcome through God's grace and reliance on divine strength rather than self-reliance, presenting St. Camillus as an inspiring example of personal reform and service.

How to Drop the Baggage of Sin and Start a New Life with God

The homily emphasizes God's persistent invitation to return to Him, not as the 'same old person,' but as a new creation, shedding the 'baggage' of sin and false gods. It uses the analogy of an airport traveler burdened with too much luggage to illustrate how sin hinders spiritual progress, encouraging listeners to embrace faith, hope, and love as a 'living altar' to overcome temptations and addictions.

Stay Focused: Lessons from Jesus and St. Camillus on Mission and Distraction

The homily encourages believers to stay focused on their mission as disciples of Christ, drawing parallels between Jesus's unwavering focus despite persecution and St. Camillus's radical dedication to serving the sick. It warns against modern distractions like gambling addiction and emphasizes seeing Christ in the vulnerable, urging a refocus on God's purpose and extending mercy to others.

The Cure We Seek: Why Healing Isn't Always Instant

The homily reflects on the human desire for healing and cure, drawing a parallel with St. Camillus's journey from gambling addiction to caring for the sick. It emphasizes that while we seek healing, the process often requires work and alignment with Jesus' will, not just an instant fix according to our own desires. The core message is to ask Jesus for healing but also to grant him permission to do it in His way.

Is God the Center of Your Life? The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

The homily emphasizes that God, not worldly pleasures or even good things, must be the absolute center of our lives. Drawing from the parables of the buried treasure and the pearl of great price, the priest explains that while pleasure is God-given, it often displaces God, leading to addiction and dissatisfaction. He urges listeners to prioritize God's kingdom, recognizing that true fulfillment comes only from Him.