12 Step Spirituality

I've been thinking of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous lately. I think they are applicable to life, whether one is an alcoholic or not. Sometimes, sin can be a kind of "addiction". We get almost addicted to doing things our way instead of God's way. Sometimes we want to change but don't know how. I think the spirituality of the 12 steps can help.

The 12 Steps

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

When we have gotten to the point where we have run out of excuses for our sin; when we have seen over and over the consequences of our sin and want to change, but don't know how, the first step is the key. Once we can admit to ourselves that our lives, whether it be our "everyday" lives, or our spiritual lives, have become "unmanageable", then we can make a start toward freedom. To realize that only God can really change us is the most freeing thing. To place your sins and difficulties at the foot of the cross and ask for God's help is the most important beginning embodied by the first 3 steps.

Making a "searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves" is painful but necessary. When we realize all that we have done, either directly or indirectly, to cause our brothers and sisters to hurt or to fall, it can be overwhelming. But sin is like an infected sore on our souls that we need to open up in order to clean out.

To me, step 5 is basically the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession. The priest acts in persona Christi in the sacrament, but he also is a human being. So, in confession, we are admitting to "God, ourselves *and* another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Confession can be scary and humbling, but it can also be healing once we have "asked God to remove these defects of character."

Making ammends is important to our spiritual and emotional healing. The fact that we have caused any sort of harm to others will haunt us unless we first confess, and second, try to make some sort of ammends. Ammends may be something as simple as praying for those people whom we have hurt. Never underestimate the power of prayer.

Step 10 says basically, keep going--keep it up. As long as we live on this earth, we will fall and fail and we will need to continue to run to God and ask His help. In step 11, we yearn toward union with God in prayer. Keep at it even during the spiritual dry times. God is faithful.

I think step 12 is about consistency. "Practice these principles in all our affairs". We shouldn't compartmentalize our spiritual life to one hour on Sunday.