A Journey of Remembering, Healing, and Light
Dear Reader,
The Gospel of Mary offers one of the most moving portraits of the soul’s spiritual awakening found in early Christian writings. It tells of the soul’s ascent through the powers of wrath — the inner forces that keep us bound in ignorance and fear — and of its return to divine peace and unity with God.
Mary’s vision is not of punishment, but of liberation — a recovery of divine identity.
And in its essence, her teaching parallels the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous: a path of surrender, self-examination, and spiritual awakening that restores the soul to sanity and grace.
Both Mary’s “five steps” and AA’s Twelve Steps guide us toward the same truth — that we are not defined by darkness, but called to rise in light.
Step One: Awakening to Knowledge — Remember Who You Are
Mary’s journey begins when the Savior teaches her, “Where the mind is, there is the treasure.”
She discovers that true knowledge — gnosis — comes from turning inward, not outward. The soul remembers that it was created by God, not by the world.
This is the first act of awakening: realizing that we have been lost in illusion and must return to the Source.
AA Parallel: Steps 1–3 — admitting our powerlessness and turning our will and life over to a Higher Power — awaken us to the truth that we cannot heal ourselves.
We remember who we are: children of God, not slaves to our fears.
Step Two: Separation from the Powers — Seeing Through Illusion
As the soul rises, it meets the seven “powers of wrath”: darkness, desire, ignorance, zeal for death, the kingdom of the flesh, false wisdom, and anger.
Each claims authority over the soul, saying, “You belong to me.”
The soul answers, “You did not see me nor know me; I belong to the All.”
Here Mary reveals that liberation comes through seeing clearly — through recognizing false attachments and illusions.
AA Parallel: Steps 4 and 5 — the moral inventory and admission of wrongs — uncover our own “powers” of resentment, fear, and pride.
We bring them into the light, where they lose their hold.
Step Three: Recognition of the True Self — The Old Self Falls Away
After confronting the powers, the soul realizes that it was never truly bound by them.
Mary’s soul proclaims, “What binds me has been slain; what turns me about has been overcome.”
This is the moment of rebirth — the false self dies, and the true self begins to live.
AA Parallel: Steps 6 and 7 — becoming ready to have God remove our defects of character and humbly asking Him to do so — mark our turning point.
We no longer defend our old identity; we let it fall away in trust.
Step Four: Liberation in the Spirit — Rest in the Light of God
Passing through the final power, the soul finds peace and stillness.
Mary says the soul is “free from the chains of forgetfulness.”
It no longer resists or fears but abides in divine presence — in harmony with the Good.
AA Parallel: Steps 8–11 — making amends, continuing inventory, and seeking conscious contact with God — restore spiritual balance and serenity.
We learn to live in the light, guided by grace, one day at a time.
🌈 Step Five: Bearing Witness — Sharing the Vision
When Mary returns from her vision, she tells the disciples what she has seen.
Though some doubt her, she speaks boldly, sharing her experience of truth and liberation.
Her witness becomes her ministry.
AA Parallel: Step 12 — having had a spiritual awakening, we carry the message to others.
What once shamed us becomes the testimony of God’s mercy.
💫 The Journey of the Soul and the Heart of Recovery
Mary’s “five steps” reveal that the path back to God is not about escape, but remembrance.
Each time we awaken, see, surrender, rest, and share, we recover our original wholeness.
Her words echo the promise found in recovery and in Christ alike:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
The Twelve Steps help us live that blessing — not just once, but daily.
Through honest inventory, humility, and prayer, we ascend the same inner ladder Mary described — from darkness to light, from fear to love, from forgetfulness to divine remembrance.
In the end, the soul’s return to God is not a journey of distance, but of awakening.
God has been with us all along.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
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