The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments


Book Description

Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (Second Place). In the first book to directly integrate the Twelve Steps with the practice of Catholicism, Scott Weeman, founder and director of Catholic in Recovery, pairs his personal story with compassionate straight talk to show Catholics how to bridge the commonly felt gap between the Higher Power of twelve-step programs and the merciful God that he rediscovered in the heart of the sacraments. Weeman entered sobriety from alcohol and drugs on October 10, 2011, and he's made it his full-time ministry to help others who struggle with various types of addiction to find spiritual wholeness through Catholic in Recovery, an organization he founded and directs. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Weeman candidly tackles the struggle he and other addicts have with getting to know intimately the unnamed Higher Power of recovery. He shares stories of his compulsion to find a personal relationship with God and how his tentative steps back to the Catholic Church opened new doors of healing and brought him surprising joy as he came to know Christ in the sacraments. Catholics in recovery and those moving toward it, as well as the people who love them will recognize Weeman's story and his spiritual struggle to personally encounter God. He tells us how: Baptism helps you admit powerlessness over an unmanageable problem, face your desperate need for God, and choose to believe in and submit to God’s mercy. Reconciliation affirms and strengthens the hard work of examining your life, admitting wrongs, and making amends. The Eucharist provides ongoing sustenance and draws you to the healing power of Christ. The graces of Confirmation strengthen each person to keep moving forward and to share the good news of recovery and new life in Christ. Weeman's words are boldly challenging and brimming with compassion and through them you will discover inspiration, hope, sage advice, and refreshingly practical help.




The Catholic Alcoholic


Book Description




Drinking with the Saints


Book Description

Raise Your Spirits and Toast the Saints Recipe for a liturgically correct cocktail: mix Bartender’s Guide and Lives of the Saints, shake well, garnish with good cheer. Drinking with the Saintsis a concoction that both sinner and saint will savor. Michael Foley offers the faithful drinker witty and imaginative instruction on the appropriate libations for the seasons, feasts, and saints’ days of the Church year. · A guide to wine, beer, and spirits, including 38 original cocktails · Lively sketches of scores of saints, from the popular to the obscure · Tips on giving the perfect toast and on mixing the perfect drink · Even includes drinks for Lent!




The Catholic Gentleman


Book Description

What it means to be a man or a woman is questioned today like never before. While traditional gender roles have been eroding for decades, now the very categories of male and female are being discarded with reckless abandon. How does one act like a gentleman in such confusing times? The Catholic Gentleman is a solid and practical guide to virtuous manhood. It turns to the timeless wisdom of the Catholic Church to answer the important questions men are currently asking. In short, easy- to-read chapters, the author offers pithy insights on a variety of topics, including • How to know you are an authentic man • Why our bodies matter • The value of tradition • The purpose of courtesy • What real holiness is and how to achieve it • How to deal with failure in the spiritual life




Drinking with Your Patron Saints


Book Description

There’s a patron saint for everything. And Michael Foley has a drink for every patron saint. Have a problem with the IRS? Pray to St. Matthew and mix up a classic Income Tax cocktail to toast the tax collector apostle. Looking for a deal at a gun show? Try St. Adrian of Nicomedia, the patron of arms manufacturers, and raise a glass of craft beer from Denver’s Call to Arms in the saint’s honor. Or stir up a Gunfire, traditionally served to British soldiers on Christmas Day. Need to sell your house? Ask St. Joseph for his help and honor his patronage with a Sazerac, made with wormwood in honor of his trade as a carpenter.Drinking with Your Patron Saintsgives you a saint for every occasion. Packed with inspiring stories and delicious drink recipes for saints from Adam to Zita, this book will be a boost to your spiritual life—and your spirits.




Alcohol, Addiction and Christian Ethics


Book Description

Addictive disorders are characterised by a division of the will, in which the addict is attracted both by a desire to continue the addictive behaviour and also by a desire to stop it. Academic perspectives on this predicament usually come from clinical and scientific standpoints, with the 'moral model' rejected as outmoded. But Christian theology has a long history of thinking and writing on such problems and offers insights which are helpful to scientific and ethical reflection upon the nature of addiction. Chris Cook reviews Christian theological and ethical reflection upon the problems of alcohol use and misuse, from biblical times until the present day. Drawing particularly upon the writings of St Paul the Apostle and Augustine of Hippo, a critical theological model of addiction is developed. Alcohol dependence is also viewed in the broader ethical perspective of the use and misuse of alcohol within communities.




Seeds of Grace


Book Description

A surprising and enlightening assessment of AA-its basic tenets and how it works on the spirit-by a nun and recovering alcoholic. When Sister Molly Monahan joined Alcoholics Anonymous she was looking for the help and support she needed to stop drinking. But what she found was something more, something that surprised her: a deeper spirituality than she had ever experienced in her religious community. How could a nonreligious group espousing the most basic of spiritual beliefs have anything to teach a nun who had already spent three decades steeped in the values, rituals, and traditions of the contemplative life? The mystery of the effectiveness of AA has yet to be explained. This book looks at that question in new, interesting, and important ways. In Seeds of Grace, Sister Molly Monahan traces her progress through the Twelve Steps and identifies the lessons that Alcoholics Anonymous has to instruct all of us about grace, forgiveness, community, and, in AA parlance, "the God of our understanding." Along the way, through a series of meditations, she shares her insights on why AA works, how it works, and how it has changed her life and the lives of millions of people.




The Healing Journey for Adult Children of Alcoholics


Book Description

I feel like people leave me abandoned all the time. Sometimes I'm so afraid for what seems like no reason. I just don't seem to have any energy. Why do the same thoughts keep racing through my mind? I usually don't feel happy or sad. If there isn't real excitement, I feel bored. I want to be close to people, but I just never make it. Do you see yourself in this list? Children of alcoholic parents have suffered wounds that affect their lives for years to come. They learn to protect themselves from the pattern of hurt that they have come to expect in life. The results of such constant vigilance against pain can range from ulcers, sleeplessness, addictions, depression and anger to a string of broken relationships. But adult children of alcoholics can go through a healing journey that will help them recover from their painful past and be set free to live as God intended. Daryl Quick takes readers step by step through new ways of feeling, thinking and acting that will replace the ineffective patterns they have been locked into for years. With moving stories and helpful exercises, Quick shows how adult children of alcoholics can find hope and healing. A book for those who want to recover from their past.




Breathing Under Water


Book Description

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is America's most significant and authentic contribution to the history of spirituality, says Richard Rohr. He makes a case that the Twelve Steps relate well to Christian teaching and can rescue people who are drowning in addiction and may not even realize it. To survive the tidal wave of compulsive behavior and addiction, Christians must learn to breathe under water and discover God's love and compassion. In this exploration of Twelve Step spirituality, Rohr identifies the Christian principles in the Twelve Steps, connecting The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous with the gospel. He draws on talks he has given for over twenty years to people in recovery and those who counsel and live with people with addictive behavior. Rohr offers encouragement for becoming interiorly alive and inspiration for making one's life manageable for dealing with the codependence and dysfunction (sin) rampant in our society.




Daily Companion for Healing Addictions


Book Description

Offers a daily reflection; Scripture verse or quote; and prayer for those who struggle with addiction, are in recovery, or are on their way to recovery. Complementing counseling, 12-Step meetings, or retreats, this book will offer encouragement to help bring healing one day at a time"€"and with God's help, strengthen you to help others who battle addiction.