Bibliography on Spiritual Formation & Recovery
For those interested in classic readings in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian spiritual development and their modern application in the 12-Step program of recovery pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous:
Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism. 4th Edition. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, 2001. Sometimes referred to as the AA “Big Book.”
Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: A Brief History of A.A. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1957.
Attributed to St. Anthony the Great, “On the Character of Men” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text” Vol. 1, compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, trans. and ed. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard and Kallistos Ware. London: Faber and Faber, 1981.
Baxter, Roger, S.J ed. Meditations for Every Day in the Year. New York: Benzinger Brothers, 1884.
Cattoi, Thomas. Divine Contingency: Theologies of Divine Embodiment in Maximos the Confessor and Tsong kha pa. Piscataway, N.J.: Gorgias Press, 2009.
Dan F. Sober but Stuck: Obstacles Most Often Encountered that Keep Us from Growing in Recovery. Center City, Minn.: Hazelden, 1991.
Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” in Basic Writings. New York: New American Library, 1966.
Evagrius Ponticus. The Praktikos & Chapters on Prayer. Translated by John Eudes Bamberg. Kalamazoo, Mich: Cistercian Publications, 1981.
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. New York: Touchstone, 2003.
Fullam, Lisa. The Three Ways in Moral Development. Unpublished paper provided by author.
Garrigou-Lagrange, Reginald O.P. The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life. Westminster, Md: The Newman Press, 1955.
Gallagher, Timothy. The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005.
Gula, Richard M. Reason Informed by Faith: Foundations of Catholic Morality. New York: Paulist Press, 1989.
Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version for all quotations.
James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York: Collier Books, 1961.
Kempis, Thomas A. The Imitation of Christ. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1952.
Krestens, Adolph. Adapted from the Latin by Elmer Stoffel. Spiritual Guidance: Fundamentals of Ascetical Theology based on the Franciscan Ideal. Paterson, N.J.: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1962.
Louth, Andrew. Maximus the Confessor. London: Routledge, 1996.
McIntosh, Mark A. Mystical Theology: The Integrity of Spirituality and Theology. Blackwell Publishing, 1998.
McCormick, Patrick C.M. Sin as Addiction. New York: Paulist Press, 1989.
Menninger, Karl. What Became of Sin? New York: Bantam Books, 1973.
Mercadante, Linda A. Victims & Sinners: Spiritual Roots of Addiction and Recovery. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.
Meyendorff, John. Christ in Eastern Christian Thought. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd Edition, Vol. 2 and 4. New York: Thompson Gale in association with the Catholic University of America, 2003.
Nemeck, Francis Kelly, O.M.I and Coombs, Marie Theresa, Hermit. O Blessed Night: Recovering from Addiction, Codependency and Attachment based on the insights of St. John of the Cross and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. New York: Alba House, 1991.
Peele, Stanton and Brodsky, Archie. The Truth about Addiction and Recovery: The Life Process Program for Outgrowing Destructive Habits. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Peters, Ted. Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994.
Rambo, Lewis R. Understanding Religious Conversion. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1993.
St. Maximus the Confessor, “Four Hundred Texts on Love,” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text” Vol. 2, compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, trans. and ed. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard and Kallistos Ware. London: Faber and Faber, 1981.
Rahner, Karl. Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1978.
Staniloae, Dumitru. Orthodox Spirituality: A Practical Guide for the Faithful and a Definitive Manual for the Scholar. South Canaan, Penn.: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2002.
Schmemann, Alexander. The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003.
“The NSDUH Report: Participation in Self-Help Groups for Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use: 2006 and 2007.” National Survey on Drug Use and Health, November 13, 2008 Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available at: https://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/selfHelp/selfHelp.pdf
Sylvester, David A. A God of Our Understanding: Secularization in the Theology of Alcoholics Anonymous. Unpublished, March 2009.
Tanquerey, Adolphe. Translated by Branderis, Herman. The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology. Tournai, Belgium: Desclee & Co., 1930.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition. New York: The World Publishing Co., 1960.
Wilson, Bill. As Bill Sees It: The AA Way of Life. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1967.