About ARMOR

"Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil."
-Ephesians 6:11

Inspired by Ephesians 6:11, ARMOR (Addiction Recovery Ministry Of the Redeemer) is an addiction recovery peer support ministry that uses an authentic Catholic approach to help men and women break free from the chains of addiction. That one word — addiction — can be difficult to apply to ourselves, and it leads many individuals to deny the existence of their own problems and to not get the help that they need. To overcome this obstacle, ARMOR often refers to addictive behavior and broadens the topic to include vices (i.e. bad habits) and disordered attachments by which we seek instant gratification by trying to replace unpleasant emotions (e.g. Fear, Anger, Disgust, Sadness) with pleasant emotions that we actually want to feel (e.g. Joy, Trust, Anticipation, Surprise).

Exploiting these addictive behaviors is one of the “tactics of the devil” employed in spiritual warfare against humanity, and the Apostle Paul wrote that "our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12) He also urged us to "put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground." (Ephesians 6:13) Then he proceeded to describe the “armor of God”:

"So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
-Ephesians 6:14-17

Pope Paul VI alluded to this Scripture passage in his address to a General Audience in recalling “how often the apostolic method of teaching used the armor of a soldier as a symbol for the virtues that can make a Christian invulnerable. The Christian must be a militant; he must be vigilant and strong; and he must at times make use of special ascetical practices to escape from certain diabolical attacks. Jesus teaches us this by pointing to ‘prayer and fasting’ as the remedy. And the Apostle [Paul] suggests the main line we should follow: ‘Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’” (Romans 12:21, emphasis added)

The Manual for Spiritual Warfare explains how "the virtues provide our defensive armor":

"They are our best defense against [the devil’s] attacks, for they guard our minds and hearts against his deceptions and temptations. A lapse in virtue is in fact a chink in our armor that makes us vulnerable."
-Manual for Spiritual Warfare

Therefore, ARMOR encourages men and women to "overcome evil with good" by striving to live virtuously as the saints have done throughout history to overcome habitual sin, resist temptation, and draw ever closer to God. By imitating the saints (1 Corinthians 11:1) in striving to live virtuously, we strengthen our good habits (i.e. virtues), weaken our bad habits (i.e. vices), and live according to God's will by obeying His two greatest commandments: (1) love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and (2) love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)

ARMOR's perspective on addiction recovery is based on the belief that the root cause of addiction is both spiritual and emotional in nature, since it involves trying to replace unpleasant emotions — which are a natural response to adverse experiences in life — with pleasant emotions through the use of addictive behavior rather than seeking God's help. The Scriptures tell us that God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31) He also wants us to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33), to not worry (Matthew 6:34), and to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28). So when we, as His creation, seek instant gratification by trying to replace unpleasant emotions with pleasant emotions with the help of addictive behavior — not God — we prioritize His creation over Him as the Creator. This is idolotry. We also diminish our ability to identify and manage our emotions in the process, thereby stunting our own emotional development.

With the existence of so many other addiction recovery peer support programs — even some that combine other recovery methods with a Catholic approach to recovery — why does ARMOR exist? What value does ARMOR provide that a person doesn't get from other addiction recovery peer support programs? Simply put, ARMOR's approach is authentically Catholic. It doesn't add Catholic prayers to other recovery methods that have the goal of achieving and maintaining sobriety; it leverages the peer support concept with the goal to inherit eternal life in heaven. The following are specific points of ARMOR's authentically Catholic approach to addiction recovery peer support:

• Higher Power. Other recovery methods loosely define God as a higher power that can be understood differently from one person to another. Since this approach allows for someone to identify anyone or anything as their higher power that helps them to achieve and maintain sobriety, it is helpful for those who are interested in an addiction recovery method that isn't focused on a specific faith tradition. Alternatively, ARMOR holds the belief in one God in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — and promotes that belief through the use of the Sacraments and traditional Catholic prayers, spiritual exercises, and devotional practices.  For us, addiction recovery peer support is most effective when the recovery approach is aligned with the faith of the one seeking recovery.

• Addict. While participants in other recovery methods refer to themselves as an addict or something similar (e.g. alcoholic), ARMOR participants refer to themselves as children of God. Our identity aligns with the goal to inherit eternal life in heaven and is defined by our Creator, not by our actions. Also, words mean something, and the words we think and speak to ourselves have more impact on our mental and emotional fitness than we may realize.

• Character defects. The process of working other addiction recovery methods involves removing all the defects of our character. ARMOR believes that, as children of God who made us in His image and likeness, we are wonderfully made and perfect in His eyes. God doesn't make mistakes. Likewise, our challenging character traits are not seen as defects but as qualities that encourage us to live virtuously.

• Sponsor. Following other recovery methods includes being led by a sponsor who is experienced in following that same method of addiction recovery. With ARMOR's perspective on addictive behavior described above, addiction recovery requires help from someone who is trained to help others to navigate their spiritual journey and another person who is trained to help others to navigate their emotional journey. To that end, ARMOR encourages every person to seek help from a certified spiritual director and a professional counselor as part of their recovery journey.

Our Vision
To inherit eternal life in heaven.

Our Mission
Live virtuously today.

Our Purpose
Grow closer to God & encourage others to do likewise.

Our Values

• We are children of the one Triune God who made us perfectly and wonderfully in His image and likeness.
• We are on a spiritual journey that requires our cooperation with God's grace to grow and to be healed in His time, not ours.
• We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.

Our Encouragement
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement." (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

Our Patron Saint
ARMOR’s patron saint is St. Michael the Archangel, who threw the devil down to earth with his angels. (Revelation 12:7-12) St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!

Our Inspiration
"Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)