Stepping into Our Savior’s Will

November 14 2010

The little tiny lady sitting outside of church waiting for her daughter to pick her up said she was 96. Little Lilly, who sat behind me during mass, looked to be about five. Her little sister, who looked just like her was about 4 years younger. She was a bit vocal during mass. Very little crying but letting her voice be heard – like everyone else was doing I guess she figured.
And between 96 and one were folk of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors at the 160th anniversary mass for good old St. Malachy’s.
The day before the Jesu Caritas prayer group that meets there the 2nd Saturday of each month, turned our annual retreat into a one-day 12-step workshop/class. We actually did the steps during the retreat. First off we admitted we were powerless at making our lives all that we want them to be; secondly we expressed our belief that a Power Greater than ourselves could get us closer to our ideal. For step three we decided to ally our will with that Power; in four and five we identified and then shared with our assigned sharing partner, the character defects that were keeping us from a more intimate connection with that Power. In six and seven we were ready to have those defects removed and asked God to do it. In eight we listed the people we’d resented or harmed with our actions; we then agreed to do step nine by going out to make amends to those people. We professed to do step ten in the future – making amends immediately if we got off track. And having cleared a lot of the blocks between us and God by doing this moral housecleaning, our step eleven prayer for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out, will be more likely to get through. And in step 12, we said we’d take this message to another human being.
The 12 steps really are that simple.
And so St Malachy’s heads into her 160th year. Our mission statement includes helping others in need. By being willing to go through these steps, my friends from the prayer group were open enough to try something a bit different in their acting out on that particular mission. Father Lawrence was good enough to allow us to try something that maybe has never been done before…a dedicated crew of non-addicted people working the 12 steps of recovery.
Grace abounded on much of the St M campus this weekend. May all of us find a way to achieve the mission of God’s will for us as we go about the nuts and bolts of living in a world that seemingly takes us in the opposite direction. May we continue to cherish and respect our elders and the wisdom they impart, and may we guide our young to ingest the grace, love and guidance of a church and a parish that is a beacon for us all.
Information about Jim McGovern’s book (12 Steps to Change Your World) and step class can be found at ‘12stepsforall.com’.