Alleluia, my friend, we are on the home stretch!  If you have taken the time to labor through the Catholic 12-Steps, I am confident that you will be able to work through

11. I will strengthen my soul by regular and fervent prayer.  I will especially develop a great love for the Rosary and our Blessed Lady.  I will develop my own list of personal patron saints and I will pray to them regularly.  I will start to meditate on the truths that I am reading about so that my interior life will be sufficiently strong for the combat that I am in.

12. I will perform the works of mercy.  I will especially perform those works that impact souls who suffer with my addiction.  I will perform good works to give glory to God, the salvation of my own soul, and for the good of my neighbor. 

STEP 11: STRENGTHEN MY SOUL THROUGH PRAYER.

Under Construction but here are some quick thoughts.

I've not been able to find the time (although the urging of the writers of several emails has spurred on my efforts) to finish this article.  In brief, prayer is lifting up your heart and mind to God - basically it's talking to God or the saints.  At its highest form what it is really is spiritual "pillow talk" between two lovers.  At its lower forms it seems to me to be casual conversation between two acquaintances - light and fluffy with little depth of feeling.

I don't know where your prayer life is but, for the sake of argument, let's assume that it is essentially non-existent.  So, let us begin at the beginning.  If you are doing NO prayers, I suggest that the very first prayer to get in the habit of saying is the Morning Offering.  In this prayer you will make the intention of offering up your day to God so that you will "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess v:1) and therefore gain graces from the least little activity in your struggle against your hook.  There are several versions that can be found in any decent missal or prayer book but if you need one feel free to contact me at postmaster@blessedmargaret.org and I'll send you one.  In fact, I'll send you a copy of any of the recommended prayers if you can contact me.  Donations are happily welcomed but it's more important that you get the prayers you need.

The next prayer I suggest is to say Grace Before Meals.  This is to get you in the habit of saying prayers because you eat three meals a day so you'll say grace three times a day.  That's how you practice virtue - you make a habit of it.

The third prayer that I suggest is the Rosary.  I am of the firm opinion that if you want to break free from your hook, the best, fastest, most efficacious means is to center your prayer life on the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The only problem with the Rosary is that for someone who does not have the habit of prayer or doesn't know the different prayers in which the Rosary consists, it can be a little intimidating for the beginner and that is who I am assuming, dear Reader, that you are.  After getting into the habit of praying YOU NEED TO START SAYING THE ROSARY.  If you have the humble opinion that it's not mandatory and that I'm all wet, please feel free to contact me.  It has been my personal experience that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the MOST IMPORTANT FRIEND that you have in your struggle against your hook.  In fact, without her you will most likely fail!

Next, I recommend doing Night Prayers in which you spend a short time examining your conscience and conduct of the day.

Short prayers, called ejaculations, should be added.  They are so short that the sign of the cross isn't normally done.  Examples are, "Come, O Holy Ghost", "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!", "Jesus, help!", "Mary, help!", "Jesus, I trust in Thee".  The list is almost endless and you are perfectly at liberty to devise one of your own.  Get in the habit of making ejaculations whenever you are tempted or under stress.

After you have mastered the Rosary, extend you prayer "repertoire" by adding other prayers like the Angelus and Grace After Meals.

The last thing I recommend, is to meditate.  Not that yoga stuff but real Catholic meditation.  The best way to learn this is to go on a 5-Day Ignatian Retreat.  I would suggest this after you are starting to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" against your hook but there might be others who could make the case to start doing daily meditations earlier or later in the Catholic 12-Steps.

Like I said, this is UNDER CONSTRUCTION and I will flesh this out at a later date.  But let me close with this last piece of advice: Begin simply and simply begin! Sorry!

STEP 12: PERFORM THE WORKS OF MERCY.

Once you have a semblance of mastery over your hook, it's time to give back.  The parable of the Sower of the Seed applies here.  You know,  where the sower scatters seed in different types of soil, rocky, on the path, in the weeds, and on fertile soil.  It's in Matthew xiii, Mark iv, and Luke viii.  The seed is our soul.  Now, unlike the real-life seed which cannot move once it's planted in the soil, our souls can migrate between the different types of soil.  Once we have achieved a state of soul where we are rarely attached to our hook, we have migrated to the fertile soil where, "...and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty", (Mt xiii: 23). God will expect us to yield Him fruit by working for His glory and the salvation of our neighbor which means that we, each and every one of us, has a moral obligation to render fruits of good works back to our Heavenly Father.  There are many such worthy Catholic organizations.  Those I would recommend because I have experience with them are:

Blessed Margaret Family Help Center, Inc.

Legion of Mary

St. Vincent de Paul Society

Start your own if you see a need and are called to do it.  Remember the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.  Read Matthew 25.  Read "The Soul of the Apostolate".  Whatever or wherever you work, remember that it is for the glory of God - not ourselves.  Remember also that the hook stays in your soul forever and that "Charity covereth a multitude of sins".