The Catholic in Recovery Podcast

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley reconnect after a busy summer and reflect on how God brings healing and freedom through forgiveness, honesty, and surrender. They respond to a listener struggling to access recovery because of disability and limited privacy, offering practical ways to find support and emphasizing the importance of vulnerability and trusted relationships. They also discuss how families can respond when discovering a loved one’s addiction, encouraging compassion, healthy boundaries, and openness to the healing God can bring through recovery.

Kevin shares how years of functioning alcoholism quietly eroded his interior life despite a successful career, family, and outward appearance of stability. Through the support of recovery, a renewed commitment to his Catholic faith, and a life of prayer, confession, and service, he discovered that sobriety involves not only putting down the drink but allowing God to repair and transform the heart. Kevin’s story is a hopeful reminder that lasting peace and freedom become possible when we surrender our lives to Christ and remain teachable in recovery.

Jana shares how a lifelong struggle with perfectionism, an eating disorder, and alcoholism left her trapped in a cycle of obsession, secrecy, and despair despite outward success and accomplishment. Through recovery, the Twelve Steps, and a profound surrender to God, she experienced freedom from the desire to drink and discovered a deep, personal relationship with Jesus that sustained her through grief, illness, and life's challenges. Jana’s story is a powerful witness that lasting serenity and healing become possible when we trust in God’s love and allow Him to restore what addiction has broken.

Lucy shares her lifelong struggle with food addiction, a battle that led to secrecy, shame, serious health consequences, and a profound sense of bondage. After years of failed attempts to control her addiction, a moment of surrender led her to Catholic in Recovery, where she encountered the healing power of the Twelve Steps, authentic fellowship, and a deeper relationship with God. Lucy’s story is a powerful witness to the freedom Christ offers, revealing how God can break even the strongest chains and transform despair into lasting hope.

Bernard shares how a hidden addiction to lust, pornography, and masturbation shaped his relationships, fueled anxiety, and left him spiritually disconnected despite outward success and respectability. Through the Twelve Steps, surrender to God, and ultimately his encounter with Catholicism and the sacraments, he discovered that true freedom comes not through willpower but through a relationship with God. Bernard’s story is a powerful witness that lasting recovery is possible when we allow God to heal our deepest wounds, restore our dignity, and lead us from isolation and fear into peace, purpose, and love.