Addiction and Grace- Chapter 7- Empowerment

One of the ways to prepare for grace, that is aligning the human will with God's will, is asceticism.
Asceticism can become for some an attachment to non-attachment.

True freedom from attachment is characterized by great unbounded love, endless creative energy, and deep pervasive joy.

Attachment is 'replaced', so to speak, by compassion. Unity with the pain of the world. But there is no despair in compassion, as opposed to addiction. It is filled with hope.

Addicts will try to reform their behavior, sometimes with moderate success, often by substituting a less harmful behavior. The deeper challenge is to transform our desire.

In the struggle with addiction, we might encounter some small transformation, or 'spaciousness'. If we say yes, then the struggle is 'consecrated'. Meaning dedicated to God. We may be dedicated to stopping the pain that addiction causes us, or we may be dedicated to a greater relationship with God, consecrated by an desire to open ourselves to grace in the struggle.

A taste of the grace brought about by consecration overcomes the addiction so that we look more and more for opportunities to get free from attachments.

"Can I overcome my addictions by surrendering myself to God?"
"I wonder if I could surrender myself to God without having to give up my addictions?"

Both questions are absurd. Why?

With the willing consecration of the heart, any activity can become asceticism.

An attachment of May's: Making either/or decisions.

There are 'sudden empowerments' (deliverances) that come about with no cause. (Ignatius might call this consolation without cause?)

Miracles are nothing more than God's ordinary truth seen with surprised eyes.

Perhaps the difference between me as a spiritual, Christian person is that I believe in grace, that God has a hand in all that I do, in addition to the gift of free will, that I might choose in freedom. Sometimes I choose in conflict with what God might desire for my life, but grace is still there, waiting to be recognized. (SB)

Ending an addiction works when there is no substitute addiction. That is the key to success. Just stop, and don't substitute something else. The something else may work, or it may not, or it may work for a time.

Brother Lawrence: "People would be surprised if they knew what the soul said to God sometimes."