Guide to Recovery

Evening Prayer

Arrange to keep busy right up until the time you are to go to bed.  Pray before entering bed, and then read something spiritually supportive (e.g., a book on the life of a saint, the book our church group is reading, or the Bible) as we settle down to sleep.  We can also read something non-religious, but we first must make sure the content does not contain any addiction triggers whatsoever.  In other words, it should be clean.

Pope Francis uses his five fingers as his guide in his prayer.  This is a variation on that routine.

Starting with the thumb, (first) pray for forgiveness for any wrongs that day — especially any inappropriate thoughts, objectifying looks, or lapses in chastity.

(Second), say a prayer of gratitude for all the good that happened that day.  If you have had a particularly bad day, reflect on the life of someone who is suffering much more than you.  Take your time.  Find those moments of God’s presence in your life and the good things — however small, that we can be thankful for.

(Third), pray for the intentions of others — including family, friends, and our leaders.  Leaders would ideally include the clergy, government leaders, business leaders, non-profit leaders, the military, and first responders.

(Fourth), pray for your enemies.  This can be difficult.  It may require praying for someone who did something minor (or major) against you today.  Or it may require a deep dive into your personal history to pray for someone who deeply wronged you early in life.  Keep praying for God to bless those people, every day, until you feel immense peace toward them.  Then you will know you are healed.

(Fifth), ending with the smallest finger, we pray for our own intentions, in the spirit of humility.  If you prayed for the gift of chastity in the morning, now be sure to thank God for any assistance you felt He provided during your struggles, even if you fell.

Hail Mary…
St. Michael the Archangel…
Glory Be…
Amen.

-Ad maiorem Dei gloriam

[1] Matthew 7:24-27.

[2] Acts 4:11.

[3] 2 Timothy 2:11-13.

[4] Matthew 7:8.

[5] Proverbs 16:3.

[6] Exodus 16:4-15.

[7] Exodus 17:2-6.

[8] Exodus 16:4-15.

[9] Exodus 16:16-20.

[10] Matthew 6:9-13.

[11] Matthew 6:26.

[12] Id.

[13] Matthew 3:16.

[14] Luke 5:12-16.

[15] Luke 6:12-13.

[16] Luke 9:28-36.

[17] Luke 22:31-34.

[18] Luke 22:39-45.

[19] Luke 23:34.

[20] Luke 23:46.