The article from the March 1998 issue of Essay “Only a Deluge of Grace Could Save Me” touched me very much. After reading it, I came to realize that sexual sobriety is a gift from a loving and compassionate God to one who admits the delusion and betrayal of lust, who is ready to call for help with a sincere desire to recover, and who is willing to do anything possible to work the 12-Step program as suggested and guided by a good sponsor.

Also I understood that recovery is a gradual, yet a very transforming process. It’s an adventure of tapping buried feelings of guilt, discovering new horizons of friendships, getting into trusted responsibility, accepting one’s physical, emotional and spiritual disease with dignity and sharing the blessings of sobriety to those whom God entrusts. Being a priest myself and also in this spiritual adventure of freedom, healing and grace, I can relate very well with what the author of the article wrote at the end, “…we are beloved of God. Always and everywhere, even in the depth of our insanity, we belong to that Love.”

Part of my daily sobriety exercise is to spend at least 30 minutes of meditation before going to sleep. This meditation includes reading something from the AA Big Book, the SA White Book, the Essay, or anything related to the 12-Step program. It helps me to examine where I am in sexual sobriety during the day and gives me the strength to say ‘no’ to possible temptations. Staying in touch with other SA members, if only by letter, is a good reprieve and a source of great support. Working with a newcomer as a loving act of giving back to others what God has given me is a wonderful way for me to maintain my sexual sobriety.