The Twelfth Step It's time to clean out those closets! Read the tips on doing this using the link below and begin with the prayer to the right. |
| For group use when teaching this step to others Invite members of your group to share with each other what this purge is like for them. Remember, this is a process of living more simply, not of cleaning house so we can refill the house with more! Ask members to keep a list of what they have given away to share with the group. |
| Prayer to assist you with this step Click here to print this or use it on your screen. Open your heart and prepare to take this step. |
| Tell us your story! What commitments have you made? What difficulties have you faced? What has worked for you as you chose to live more simply? How have you adjusted your lifestyle to one that is more sustainable? In what ways have you grown to be in solidarity with the poor of the world? Click here to send us a note and we'll share your story with others. To send us a video, song, pictures, poetry, or other media, simply attach it to an e-mail and send it to this address. |
| Take the other steps See a list of all 14 steps Step One: Step Two: Step Three: Step Four: Step Five: Step Six: Step Seven: Step Eight: Step Nine: Step Ten: Step Eleven: You're on Step Twelve Step Thirteen: Step Fourteen: |
| Step Twelve: Purge your stuff. That's right - give away what you don't need and aren't using. For many people living in the First World today, we have basements, storage lockers, closets and attics full of items which are aren't using. We hold on to these things "in case we might need them someday." Meanwhile, people in much of the world struggle to have enough of these things to cling to life. In this step, we begin now to actually give away what we don't need. We free ourselves and help others at the same |
| time. But be careful here! Sometimes in giving things like this away, we have in the back of our mind the idea that we are creating space in our drawers which will allow us to buy new things! Don't do that! The goal of this exercise is to start you down the road of living with a more fair balance of the world's goods. Let this exercise help you reduce your the struggling peoples of the world. Tips on "decluttering" are here. |
| On the Side... As part of this step, we'd like to introduce you to the people of the Common Hope Project. This amazing project is helping people in Guatemala to get a foothold in life and you can be part of their work. Click the link below to find them. |
| Two powerful resources Click on the cover to buy the book. A New Look at Prayer: Learning to Listen to Your Inner Guide by Bill Huebsch This carefully written e-book helps you recognize your own inner voice which leads to "right living." Driving the Speed Limit: Learning to Live Simply, Sustainably, and in Solidarity with the Poor by Bill Huebsch This e-book provides you with a road map (almost literally) to help you make choices which are both satisfying and in support of the common human good. |
| Key Links Just Faith A site which supports a parish program to teach in depth about just living. Catholic Relief Services A powerful agent of change in the world, also leading the US implementation of this movement. Common Hope A non-profit agency working to end poverty in the third world by establishing there a middle class. |
