ITHIRST is a nationwide program that offers spiriitual support for those suffering from addiction and their families. Those who suffer from any form of addicition have a much better chance of success at staying their addiction when they seek a 3-part holistic approach of support and healing of MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT.
ITHIRST spiritual support programs do not take the place of other addicition support services, but is an important component of this holistic approach to addicition recovery. iThirst support groups provide the spiritual component of the disease of addiction that cannot be met by clinical professionals, but by the spiritual consolation and guidance that the Church can provide.
iTHIRST support program is not limited to drugs and alcohol, but also to the addiction of nicotine, food, technology, porn, etc.
Under the guidance of Deborah Charewicz, a certified iTHIRST Spiritual Companion, family members of those suffering from Addiction and Substance Abuse Disorder will find a safe space for sharing our deepest longings, hurts, doubts, and dreams.
We will pray, explore, reflect, discern, and ask God to point us toward practices of grace which lead to freedom, wholeness, and joy.
iTHIRST Spiritual Companionship Meetings will be offered twice a month: one in the evening and one in the morning. Individuals may attend one or both, whatever best serves their needs. See schedule above.
An iThirst Spiritual Companion has gone through extensive training through the Archdiocese of Boston. A Spiritual Companion provides spiritual consolation and recovery resource information to the afflicted and their families.
For more than 100 years the Missionary Servants have provided support, respite and spiritual comfort for those individuals and families struggling with substance use disorders. The roots of this ministry were planted in the former St. Joseph Villa ( now the Trinity House Retreat Center) located at the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling, NJ, which provided treatment to alcoholic priests for more than 50 years.
In 1964, Fr. Fred Lawrence, ST, founded the Serenity Retreat League at the Trinity House in Stirling, as a way of offering spiritual support and encouragement to the families of alcoholics. Today, the Missionary Servants seek to continue the tradition of aiding the families of the addicted as well as the individuals themselves through the iTHIRST Initiative.