A man went to his Pastor for spiritual advice. He complained that he was bombarded with many temptations that led him to sin. He described his soul as “filled with cobwebs all around me. They are my temptations. I get stuck on them. They trap me.” Frustrated, he asked the Pastor, “How can I clear my soul of these pesky cobwebs?” The Pastor looked at him with compassion and wisely said, “Kill the spider.”

So often, I seek God’s forgiveness of my sins. But that is not enough. I must ask God to help me see the cause for why I do the sin. That is the spider. Some spiders are so strong I can’t remove it by myself. But once I name that spider and claim it as an unwanted squatter in my soul, then with God’s grace (His Love in action) He can dump it out of my life. Jesus said in John 8:32 “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

For ten years, I worked as a counsellor at the Care Unit of Cincinnati. It was a hospital for alcohol and drug recovery. I saw too many destroyed lives and broken hearts walk through those doors due to drug addiction. There was one person’s journey to health that showed me the spiritual side of recovery. Overcoming addiction is more than just healing the body. You got to kill that spider in the soul that makes cobwebs trapping you into the addiction. Any recovery must include a relationship with God.

I worked with this patient for many months whom I’ll call Joe. He had what others might see as the American dream come true. He had a devoted wife, nice kids, good well-paying job, and loving family. Then he selfdestructed. Drinking took over his life. I did an intervention with Joe that got him into the Care Unit. Blessings still came to him. His wife stayed devoted, his family still loved him, and his boss was very supportive. When he left the hospital, he had every reason in the world to stay sober. He had the tools needed for recovery like a sponsor and AA meetings.

I was shocked when just a few months later, he relapsed. Joe readmitted himself back to the Care Unit after an all-weekend bender. I realized something was missing in his recovery. There was something in his soul causing him to self-destruct.

Finally, after weeks of intense counselling, the spider showed itself. Joe finally revealed he had an older teenage brother who died in a car crash after illegally drinking at a party. Joe begged his brother not to drink and drive. He pleaded with him not to go to the party. The older brother pleaded with Joe not to tell his parents about the party. He said, “Joe, if you love me, don’t tell mom and dad.” Joe kept quiet. The words of his brother pleading for silence were the last words Joe heard his brother speak.

All these years, Joe felt responsible for his brother’s death. The name of his spider was guilt. The spider made Joe punish himself and everyone around him. But once that spider was named, then the healing could begin. Joe slowly began to see he was not the cause for his brother’s death. Most importantly, he discovered God. That was the missing piece in his recovery. I assured Joe God was not out to get him. I used to tell him, “God does not have a smite button on his computer.”

Today, Luke tells the story of Jesus appearing again to the disciples. They thought Jesus was a ghost come back from the dead to seek revenge for their disloyalty. Jesus calms their fears. “Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Then he proved it by eating some fish. In those days, the devil was depicted as a big ugly fish. Jesus eating a fish was the sign He had destroyed the devil.

I convinced Joe, Jesus was not a ghost of punishment, but a real, loving, human God who will touch you with Divine Mercy. Once Joe accepted Jesus into his life, he squashed the devil…like a bug. Happy Easter.