Steps – Fr K. – Humorous Walk thru The 12 – 2005

About This Speaker Tape

Father Larry Kowalski, a Polish C. priest from Oklahoma, delivers a humorous yet raw walk-through of the 12 Steps on New Y.'s Eve. He opens with a long, absurdist joke about donkeys in England to mirror the absurdity of the alcoholic mind.

Larry doesn't sugarcoat his wreckage: stealing from the church poor fund, deep-seated feelings of ugliness, and a lifelong struggle with isolation and authority. He describes his recovery not as a sudden fix, but as a slow, gritty process of updating inventories every two years to dismantle a 'camouflage' of perfection. He speaks candidly about his 'Al-Anon personality,' his compulsive overeating, and the struggle to form healthy relationships.

For Larry, the steps are like 'hemorrhoid surgery'—painful to undergo but the only way to find relief from the deeper pain of the disease.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening joke about donkeys and the priest who cannot tell his ass from a hole in the ground.
• 10:15 Step 1: Discussion on unmanageability and the feeling of not having a right to exist.
• 15:30 Discussion on the 'electric glow' of alcohol as a bridge to other people.
• 22:45 Admission of stealing from the church poor fund and the nature of the disease.
• 30:10 Step 2: The challenge of believing in a Higher Power to achieve wholeness.
• 38:20 Step 3: The role of the sponsor as the tangible manifestation of a Higher Power's direction.
• 45:15 Steps 4 & 5: The process of updating inventories and the 'camouflage' of the self.
• 55:40 Step 6 & 7: The 'hemorrhoid surgery' metaphor and the removal of defects through love.
• 1:05:20 Step 8 & 9: Making amends to the dead and the importance of honest compliments.
• 1:15:00 Step 10 & 11: The necessity of daily inventory and the experience of meditation.
• 1:25:10 Step 12: Carrying the message and the story of the Magi vs. the religious leaders.