December 8, 2025 “The Journey of the Heart!”

I hope that wherever you are, you know Recovery is with you—right where you are.

In the early years of my Recovery, I treated healing like an intellectual exercise. I thought I could think my way out of depression and anxiety. But this only brought frustration. My symptoms stayed the same, and I felt empty inside.

Spiritually, I struggled to feel close to God. A voice inside kept telling me that Recovery and God needed to be part of my life. But even with all my spiritual and intellectual effort, something was still missing.

Everything changed on February 4, 2015. I went to work feeling deeply depressed. I held myself together long enough to get through the day. The drive home felt like a blur. After supper, I went to our bedroom. When I let go, a wave of emotions rushed over me. My wife came in to help, and I said, “If I don’t start dealing with what’s going on inside me, I won’t be alive in one year.”

That moment became the turning point. I moved from trying to heal only with my mind to opening my heart. Since then, I have tried to face my pain with gentleness and care. This shift has slowly eased my symptoms and helped keep me from falling into a deep darkness.

The greatest grace I have received is a growing connection to my heart—where I believe God’s presence lives. My relief from depression, anxiety, and trauma comes from this relationship with God.

Lately, I’ve felt a pull to draw closer to God through spiritual direction. This isn’t new to me. I had a spiritual director in high school seminary. Recently, I reached out to a local parish priest for a recommendation, and he kindly offered one. I contacted the spiritual director and set up a session.

Recovery is both an intellectual and spiritual journey. I need both to survive and to grow. Today, I feel more able to navigate my daily moods. I see that my heart holds joy, hope, and beauty. It also holds pain, suffering, and frustration. This is part of being human. This is part of Recovery. This is part of healing.

Join me on this journey of the heart. I would love to hear how you are learning to bring your mind and heart together in your own Recovery journey.