I admitted that I couldn’t win the battle against substance abuse and compulsions on my own. So I finally began to accept the critically important fact that dependence on a Higher Power could help me achieve what had always seemed impossible. I stopped running. I stopped fighting. For the first time, I began accepting. And for the first time, I began to be really free. Do I realize that it doesn’t matter what kind of shoes I’m wearing when I’m running away? Today I Pray I’m beginning to see just how unnatural my old life actually was, and that it became increasingly unnatural as my disease progressed. The longer I’m in recovery, the more natural this new way of life seems. At first, it was impossible for me to extend my hand to a fellow person in recovery; such an act was wholly unnatural for me. But it is becoming increasingly easier for me to reach out to other people in recovery. Sharing my experience, strength, and hope is becoming a natural part of daily living. Have I learned that I can’t keep what I’ve gotten unless I give it away? Will I take the time to share today? Today I Pray May I make prudent use of the foresight and power of choice that my Higher Power has given me, to plan wisely, one Step at a time, without becoming a slave to apprehension, regret, or anxiety. I pray that my Higher Power’s will be done through the exercising of my own will. Today I Will Remember Each daily reading lesson includes a study guide, video, script, assessment and answer key as well as a virtual library of supplemental resources.

The A.A. way is the way of sobriety, and yet there are slips. Why do these slips occur? Why don’t we all accept A.A. and stay sober from then on? There are many reasons, but it has been proven without exception that once we have become alcoholics we can never drink successfully again. This has never been disproved by any case we know of. Many alcoholics have tried drinking after a period of sobriety from a few days to a few years and no one that we know of has been successful in becoming a normal drinker. Could I be the only exception to this rule? You’re joining our global classroom. Thousands of students from all over the world, each with their own unique story, learn at their own pace on Catholic Online School every single day. I pray that I may not be caught up again in the downward, destructive spiral that removed me from myself and from the realities of the world around me. I pray that I may adjust to people and situations as they are instead of always trying, unsuccessfully and with endless frustration, to bend them to my own desires. Today I Will RememberFor a good part of my life, I saw things mostly in negative terms. Everything was serious, heavy, or just plain awful. Perhaps now I can truly change my attitude, searching out people in recovery who have learned how to live comfortably in the real world—without numbing their brains with mood-altering substances. If things get rough today, can I take a quiet moment and say to myself, as the philosopher Homer once said, Bear patiently, my heart—for you have suffered heavier things? Today I Pray Objective: The Lord be With You! I'm Deacon Keith Fournier. I am excited to announce our 'DAILY READINGS ' class. A first of a kind, ready-to-use Daily Readings lesson plan. May I learn to control my urge to control, my compulsion to manage, neaten, organize, and label the lives of others. May I learn to accept situations and people as they are instead of as I would like them to be. Thus, may I do away with the ongoing frustrations that a controlling person, by nature, faces continually. May I be entirely ready to have my Higher Power remove this defect of character. Today I Will Remember Since 1954, the words of Twenty-Four Hours a Day have become a stable force in the recovery of many individuals throughout the world. With more than 6.5 million copies of the text in print, Twenty-Four Hours a Day offers guidance for those living without alcohol or other drugs. Millions rely on these words as a spiritual resource that has practical applications to fit the daily life of those in recovery.

The program and my friends in the fellowship have provided me with a whole new set of tools for living. Even the slogans that once seemed so trite and corny are now becoming an important part of my daily life: Easy does it; First things first; This too will pass. If I use all of my tools regularly and well, they’ll also help rid me of such negative feelings as guilt, anxiety, rebellion, and pride. When I’m feeling depressed, do I use the tools that have been proven effective? Or do I grit my teeth and suffer in painful silence? Today I Pray Hazelden's classic daily meditations book has guided millions of recovering people toward a deeper and more intimate connection with a Higher Power of their understanding. May my Higher Power remove from me the arrogant pride that keeps our connection from growing ever stronger. May my unhealthy dependence on substances and my clinging dependence on those nearby be transformed into a reliance on my Higher Power. Only through my reliance on a Higher Power will I find personal transformation. Today I Will Remember May I set my goals for the New Year not at the yearlong mark, but one day at a time. My traditional New Year’s resolutions have been so grandly stated and so soon broken. Let me not weaken my resolve by stretching it to cover forever—or even one long year. May I reapply it firmly each new day. May I learn not to stamp my past mistakes with that indelible word, forever. Instead, may each single day in each New Year be freshened by my newfound hope. Today I Will Remember

Recovery Resources

If we are determined to stop drinking, using, or giving in to our compulsions, there must be no reservations whatsoever, nor any lurking notion that our addiction will someday reverse itself. Our regeneration comes through the splendid paradox of the Twelve Steps: strength arises from complete defeat, and the loss of one’s old life is a condition for finding a new one. Am I convinced that in powerlessness, power comes? Am I certain that by releasing my life and will I am released? Today I Pray This best-selling app from Hazelden Publishing offers daily thoughts, meditations, and prayers for those in recovery from alcohol and other drugs.

When I sit quietly and compare my life today with the way it used to be, the difference is almost beyond belief. But things aren’t always rosy; some days are a lot better than others. I tend to accept the bad days more easily on an intellectual level than I do emotionally, or at gut level. There are no pat answers, but part of the solution surely lies in a constant effort to practice and live all of the Twelve Steps. Do I accept the fact that my Higher Power will never give me more than I can handle—one day at a time? Today I Pray

Additional Resources

As individuals and as a fellowship, Bill W. said, we shall surely suffer if we cast the whole idea of planning for tomorrow into a fatuous idea of providence. God’s real providence has endowed us human beings with a considerable capability for foresight, and He evidently expects us to use it. Of course, we shall often miscalculate the future in whole or in part, but that is better than to refuse to think at all. Have I begun to believe that I am only an actor in a play directed by something greater than myself? Today I Pray Since I came to recovery, I’ve become increasingly aware of the Serenity Prayer. I see it in recovery literature, on the walls of meeting rooms, and in the homes of newfound friends. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Do I understand the Serenity Prayer? Do I believe in its power and repeat it often? Is it becoming easier for me to accept the things I cannot change? Today I Pray