Has anyone here ever participated in a 12 step program?

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Le_Crouton

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How was it?

I’m in one right now and I find that a lot of the members are pretty new agey. I was wondering if this is problematic for me as a catholic
 
I haven’t. Most of what I know of it comes from Dream Theater’s “Twelve-Step Suite”. It’s a series of songs that cover the twelve steps and was written by one of the band members as part of his experience with AA. It carries a much more Judeo-Christian spirituality. If you’re interested, the songs are called “The Glass Prison”, “This Dying Soul”, “The Root of All Evil”, “Repentance”, and “The Shattered Fortress”. The last song actually quotes most of St. Francis’ prayer for peace.

Sorry if this seems a bit off topic. I saw an opportunity to talk about Dream Theater and took it!
 
I tried Al Anon (for families of alcoholics) and ACOA (for adult children of alcoholics) for a short time. People are allowed to talk about their Higher Power in way it works for them. If it seems New Agey, a member is to listen without judging. Nobody should try to convert another person to his/her beliefs about the Higher Power.

The best meetings allow people to speak for a brief time – without judgment from the group.

AA founder Bill W. found support through a Christian group. So he moved on to found a spiritually based self help program.

Although the 12 Steps help a lot of people, they aren’t a good for me.

@Le_Crouton, I hope everything works out well for you.
 
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Can you find a Catholic or Christian group? I understand some places have 12-step groups focused more on Jesus for those who have relationships with him and want to emphasize the Christian God more in the 12-steps.

If you cannot find a Catholic or Christian group, then just concentrate on your own recovery and pray for these other people.

(Many years ago I went to a couple of meetings of a 12-step group. It didn’t work for me for reasons having nothing to do with what you are mentioning. However, I have read a lot about addiction and recovery both before and after that experience and I think 12-step groups are good in general - my main problem is I didn’t really have an addiction as it turned out, I was confused and thought I did.)
 
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I am in recovery and active in more than one 12 step group. Everyone is encouraged to form a relationship with and pray to a Higher Power of their own understanding. What anyone else believes has no impact on your own recovery.

This is why the program works worldwide for members of any faith or even atheists.
 
One was my relatives was in A.A. for many years. He was Catholic, and found a 12 step group that met at a Catholic parish where he formed a strong connection with the other members. He even moved once to be closer to that parish and group.
 
njlisa said:
AA founder Bill W. found support through a Christian group. So he moved on to found a spiritually based self help program.
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Also co-founded with the help of a Catholic nun; sister Mary Ignatia! No one ever seems to mention this. I believe she purposely kept this repackaging of the Catholic faith on the down-low in order to attract all people and avoid that anti-Catholic knee-jerk reaction that many people have. Find a group that’s suitable for you. There are many different ones, you might want to look for a Christian based group. Rick Warren has repackaged the AA core steps into Celebrate Recovery. If you google that name, you should be able to find one near you. I’m in one now to break some minor bad habits. I love the support. It helps me to think clearly, change unhealthy relationship patterns, and find deeper spiritual peace.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_us/sister-mary-ignatia-1889-1966

And

www.patheos.com

Sister Ignatia: The Apostle Of Alcoholics Anonymous

Working with the founders of AA, Sister Ignatia began the first hospital treatment center for alcoholics, called a model for many chemical treatment programs in the United States.
www.patheos.com www.patheos.com

“She gave everyone a tangible reminder of their commitment to God and to their pledge – a medallion of the Sacred Heart, which started the AA tradition of giving medals to mark recovery milestones.

“The purpose of the medallion was for you to never forget that God was on your side, and that you could draw strength from that,” MacDonald said.

Sister Ignatia had one stipulation when she discharged patients. She told them that if they ever wanted to drink again, they had to return the medal to her before they did so. According to her biographies, in many cases, she prayed with them through temptation and they kept their medals.”
 
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christofirst said:
One was my relatives was in A.A. for many years. He was Catholic, and found a 12 step group that met at a Catholic parish where he formed a strong connection with the other members. He even moved once to be closer to that parish and group.
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This was going to be my suggestion as well. Try and find a meeting that takes place at a Catholic Church. You will be more likely to find other Catholics there, and it might not feel as new agey to you. Best of luck to you.
 
Daisy, thank you for mentioning Sister Ignatia Gavin.
She apparently has part of a street named after her in Cleveland, and a small museum. I never knew this and will definitely check those things out.

I also read she had one of the biggest funerals ever in Cleveland, with 3000 people in attendance.
 
I’m lucky that my sponsor is catholic but at the meetings when people share I’ve heard several people say things like “I’ve discovered I don’t need religion, I needed spirituality”
 
It’s something for us to be proud of. 🙂 I often wonder if what she did was right by keeping the Catholic name under wraps. But she WAS handing out Sacred Heart metals.

Btw the Celebrate Recovery books are being used in my Catholic parish. My orthodox priest (who began the Full Circle program for teens and is a recovered Alcoholic himself) approved of them. They have an excellent national directory and app.
 
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Le_Crouton said:
I’m lucky that my sponsor is catholic but at the meetings when people share I’ve heard several people say things like “I’ve discovered I don’t need religion, I needed spirituality”
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Little do they know that by participating in the step program, they are living repackaged Catholicism. 🤣 Is the joke on them? Not really. Should you step up and share this with them, telling them the story of Sister Ignatia? Yes!
 
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As an active member of a 12 step program for many years, one hears all sorts of “edgy “ things said in meetings. There’s sayings that I’m guessing you’ve not heard yet, “take what you like and leave the rest” and “live and let live”.
BTW my spiritual life was rekindled in the 12 step program and led me back to my Catholic faith. Look for what you have in common with the other group members not what make you different.
 
My dad died an alcoholic, he never attended a 12 step course. I have attended a twelve step course as a helper, and have been inspired by some of the testimonies.

People go there initially to get help, but afterwards they are encouraged to come back as a helper. When they help other people they also seem to help themselves more.
 
It sounds like some things have changed since I went to Al-Anon.

No one was ever encouraged to come back as a “helper.” You were in fact, encouraged to never leave. There is no graduation. No final class or final step. You attended until you died.

That idea was actually part of why I left. I got tired of people wallowing in their dis function. And yes, I attended meetings at various places, including different states. And it was all the same.

Keep coming back. . . . . . . . . . forever.
 
Calliope said:
This is why the program works worldwide for members of any faith or even atheists
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Encouraging atheists to pray is unlikely to help the programme work. There are 12 step programmes for non-believers. They do not invoke a ‘higher power’.
 
I think the new ageyness of the 12-step program you are in may merely be a reflection of the particular group of people you are with. The first of the 12-step programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, was created with a Christian underpinning. https://christians-in-recovery.org/Tools_AA-BB_AAHistoryAndChristianRoots-Burns . In fact, Bill W looked to a Catholic priest for insight into getting Catholics into AA.

Catholic Answers published an article on the issue of Catholicity of 12 step programs: https://www.catholic.com/index.php/magazine/print-edition/the-catholicity-of-12-step-programs
 
FiveLinden said:
Encouraging atheists to pray is unlikely to help the programme work. There are 12 step programmes for non-believers. They do not invoke a ‘higher power’.
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Calliope may be in an area where the vast majority of people interested in 12-step programs are not atheists. There are many areas where this is the case.

There are also 12-step groups that still rely on a Higher Power, which they allow people to define as either spiritual (such as God, angels etc ) or as something else that works for the person, such as “Nature”, “The Universe”, “Love” etc. This allows believers and unbelievers to all meet in the group together. If, as someone else suggested, each person focuses on his or her own recovery and doesn’t get bothered that someone else is thinking of Nature or whatever, then it should be fine.
 
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Thanks Bear. I would certainly never suggest someone who finds the 12 steps works for them to concentrate on the ‘is there a higher power’ question. Sobriety first! Here’s a page where there’s a bit of thinking about atheists in AA https://aabeyondbelief.org/
 
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