The Catholic in Recovery Podcast

Foundations of Recovery: Healing the Whole Person

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley discuss the complexities of managing addiction recovery alongside mental illnesses, specifically addressing a listener's experience with sex addiction and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). They emphasize that a strong recovery team should include a 12-step sponsor, a therapist, and a spiritual director, and stress the importance of finding specialized help for conditions like OCD or trauma, noting that trauma is often a factor in chronic relapse. The conversation concludes by underscoring the need to prioritize sobriety as the foundation for life, and then systematically address other areas of health—spiritual, physical, financial, and emotional—to achieve a life of purpose, joy, and peace.

First Things First: Keeping Recovery a Priority in a Busy Life

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley addresses listener questions, first focusing on a seminarian's struggle to balance a busy formation schedule with the time commitment of 12-step recovery, followed by a definition of the term "dry drunk" as being abstinent but not yet fully converted in heart. They affirm the importance of prioritizing recovery as the foundation for life, and discuss sponsors' primary qualifications being sobriety and the ability to work the program.

Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Family Systems

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley return from a hiatus to discuss their recent activities, including Father Sean's travels and Scott's work with Catholic in Recovery amidst a challenging ice storm. The primary topic is Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) or Adult Children of Dysfunctional Family Systems, which they explore by discussing its history, the broadening scope of trauma, and how the resulting traits can be an "unrefined superpower." They examine the 14 "laundry list" traits of adult children and conclude with encouragement to seek help and community through resources like ACA/ACOA groups and Catholic in Recovery meetings.

Sharing Our Recovery with Others

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, hosts Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley catch up after a brief hiatus, sharing updates on their recent travels, Father Sean's new role related to seminarian formation, and Scott's speaking engagements, including his talk on the Twelve Steps and Catholic spirituality. They discuss the challenges of unhealthy attachments, such as to sports, and the spiritual principle of surrendering those attachments to find ultimate hope in God.

Service, Gratitude, & Thanksgiving

In this episode of the Catholic in Recovery podcast, hosts Scott Weeman and Father Sean Kilcawley discuss the interconnected themes of gratitude and service, especially as they relate to the recovery journey around Thanksgiving. They delve into how service acts as the greatest expression of gratitude, sharing personal reflections on the dangers of idle time as a trigger and the importance of allowing others to love you. They emphasize that service is a critical, life-saving requirement for sobriety and a path to feeling a beneficial part of a fellowship.