1.      I will admit that I - me, myself, and I, - have a problem that controls me.  I am helpless against it and that I am its slave.

2.      I will admit that only with God’s grace can I succeed.  I have failed with even the best of my efforts.  His power and grace are infinite; I am infinitesimal.  I will grow in my capacity to accept His grace so that I can overcome my addiction.

STEP 1: ADMIT THAT YOUR ADDICTION HAS YOU TRAPPED.

They say that the first step in solving any problem is to recognize that it exists.  Exactly!  This is the very first step and it goes beyond just recognizing it's impact on your life.  It takes recognizing that it has MASTERY over you.  If it didn't have that mastery, it wouldn't be an addiction!  I know in my own case, I tried for years and years to stop.  I couldn't do it.  Every time I thought that I had enough strength and momentum to stop, satan just pushed me just that much harder and PLOP! - I'd fall back into my addiction or into worse sins.  It wasn't until I finally recognized that, on my own, I was never going to be able to conquer my addiction but that "It" had conquered me!

Step 2:  ONLY GOD'S GRACE IS STRONG ENOUGH TO SUCCEED.

A very long time ago lived a man named Pelagius.  He thought that he didn't need God' grace in order to be holy.  He thought that he just had to have a strong-enough will and he was capable of doing great things for God.  He never could have been more wrong for as soon as I think that I am strong enough to do anything, my pride takes over.  Even the best of my intentions, even the ones that start out with God as the end or objective, end up with ME, the Supreme, the All Powerful, the Magnificent, as the ultimate end.  I can't avoid it-at least, if I try anything entirely on my own.  Pelagius was wrong (in fact, his idea was infallibly condemned by Holy Mother Church as the heresy, Pelagianism). 

In order to do anything of merit, because the effects of Original Sin are so powerful in me, I have to rely solely on God to do them.  This is the beginning of the virtue of humility.  Without it, satan just sits back and "waters" my pride until it springs forth its fruit of weeds.  I cannot be trusted and if you, my dear friend, don't have this same opinion of yourself, YOU WON'T SUCCEED! 

If you have trouble with this concept, I want you to imagine that you are one of those slimy, creepy-crawly things in the garden called a "slug".  It's ugly and it leaves a trail of ooze everywhere that it crawls.  Can you imagine having one of these disgusting creatures in your mouth?  Gag!  That slug is the state of our souls and the thought of having it in your mouth is God's revulsion to our souls when we aren't in the state of grace.  Get the picture now?

God is infinite and He is perfect.  All 6 billion sons of Adam who wander over the face of this planet at this point in time plus the other 6 billion or so who have already had their particular judgment have been created and loved by God.  He kept track of EVERY good and bad deed that each and every one of these souls ever committed (Heck of a database God must have, huh?)  God's grace, a supernatural gift from Him, is sufficient to completely change hearts.  Look at St. Paul's conversion and you'll see what I mean.  When St. Paul asked God to remove the "sting" of temptation from him, what did God respond?  That "my grace is sufficient for thee".  That's the point of this step and unless you develop that confidence in God's grace, you are condemned to failure.

Now, these two points are the introduction to the 12 steps.  Please go to Steps 3 & 4 when you are ready to move on.  In the meantime, please pray for me - a sinner.  God bless!