The Horror of Addiction

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Happy and blessed New Year to everyone!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to become acutely aware of the sufferings of people who are in the grips of addiction of one form or another, so much so that it has filled my prayer with cries for help for those who seem incapable of helping themselves. I remember particularly how often it is in the Gospels that Jesus heals those who are not in His presence, or who are brought to Him by others whose faith is enough to bring about healing for the afflicted one. Can our faith be that great? Is it possible that when or if we see someone who is crushed by addiction and we pray for that person, that our prayer might be heard and some process of slow and gradual healing might be put in motion?

Most of the time, we might not get to see how our prayer may bear fruit, and also, more often than not, we are not the ones who will be instruments for that healing: God will not use us, especially if we are close to the victims; He will use others as part of the healing process.

There is so much uncertainty here, and what we are called upon to do is simply to trust that God may hear our prayer.

Here are some of the things I have noticed about addicts, and all of these are based on personal knowledge of individuals who will remain nameless. What is important to note is that I am speaking out of experience, and not out of any theories I have constructed in my mere intellect:

·         They are often in denial, not recognizing the fact that they are addicted to something.

·         They are so overwhelmingly self-centered, that they are oblivious to the pain their addiction is causing others.

·         In many cases, even when they know that they have a problem, they seem incapable of doing anything to help themselves, or to call for help, or to go to someone who may lead them to help. AA, NA, AlAnon or any other groups such as that are seemingly out of the reach.

·         In the most tragic cases, they actually do not want to get better or get free of the addiction; it has them in such grips that it is far more desirable to them than any perceived or imagined healing.

·         The situation is progressive: it always gets worse.

·         They tend to keep company with people who share the same addictions and who are as resistant to recovery as they are; because of this, their lives are filled with turmoil, betrayal, mistrust, even violence.

·         They have a very slippery hold on the truth, if all. Their lives are filled with dishonesty and rationalization.

·         They will say anything, do anything, use anyone, especially those closest to them, as a means of feeding their addiction or keeping themselves stuck in their addictive patterns.

What hope can we gain from our faith? I look especially to a verse from John 1 that we had read to us on Christmas daytime Mass:

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.

No matter how bleak the situation may seem, pray. Remember always that it is God’s will that all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Remember always that we have been created so that we can one day become happy with God in heaven, as the old Baltimore Catechism once taught us.

And, most especially, pray for those whose lives are devoted to helping those suffering from addictions of any kind.

God bless you!