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Psychological
Healing
in the Catholic Mystic Tradition
Recommended Reading
For the
time will come when people will not tolerate sound
doctrine
but, following their own desires and
insatiable curiosity,
will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to
the truth
and will be diverted to myths. |
—2 Timothy 4:3 |
Fear |
Healing |
Therapy |
Spiritual Counsels |
Books |
About CSF
Introduction |
Primary Readings |
Additional Readings: Saints |
Additional Readings: General |
Additional Readings: My
own books
 FTER
the decline and fall of the Roman
Empire, when illiteracy became the norm of the general population, the average
Christian depended on icons and preaching for guidance in the faith. And
for centuries thereafter, even with the Renaissance in the West, lay Catholics
depended on educated clerics for religious instruction.
Now that’s all well and
good, except for the fact that when the clerics get it wrong, everybody suffers.
And that is precisely the case in the modern world. Most priests today feed
their flocks little of any holy substance but offer them, day after day,
the spiritual equivalent of potato chips and soda pop. And religious education
has, more often than not, fallen into the hands of those who dissent from
the true faith. Religious educators, seduced by the
social world around them, like the ancient Hebrews
embracing the idols and abominations of the heathen lands around them, now
place their “faith” in the diversity
of secular values derived from humanistic
psychology. And all the while the bishops, like shepherds terrified of
the wolves, run from the cross with their tails between their
legs.
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Do you know how
people often snicker when they hear the words “military intelligence,”
thinking it to be an oxymoron? Well, true Catholics feel the same way when
they hear a reference to “Catholic education.” And, even more sadly,
especially in the US, the same is true of the words, “holy
bishop.” |
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So I will say it plainly, and
yet with tears and sadness: If you think that being a good Christian means
no more than going to church on Sunday and enjoying yourself the rest of
the time, and if you’re not willing to spend more time in
prayer and reading spiritual texts than watching
TV, playing video games, and chatting and texting on your mobile device,
you’re in serious trouble.
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But you, remain
faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom
you learned it, and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. . . . For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound
doctrine but, following their own desires and
insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to
the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all
circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill
your ministry.
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— 2 Timothy 3:14–15;
4:3–5 |
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Primary
Readings
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Read this book
to learn the essential facts of the Christian faith.
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Catechism
of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance With the Official Latin
Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II, 2nd edition (Liberia Editrice
Vaticana, 2000).
Paperback ISBN: 0-87973-976-2 |
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Read this book
to make the Bible easy to comprehend.
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Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht,
D.D. A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture
TAN Books and
Publishers
Paperback ISBN: 0-89555-757-6
If you need help interpreting the Bible, in simple,
understandable language, this is it. |
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Use this book
to help make prayer a foundation of your daily life.
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Christian Prayer [the
one-volume edition of the Liturgy of the Hours]
Catholic Book Publishing
Corp.
ISBN: 0-89942-406-6
Use the four-volume edition if you are familiar with
it. |
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Read this book
to understand and conform to the will of God.
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Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure and
Blessed Claude de la Colombière. Trustful Surrender to Divine
Providence / The Secret of Peace and Happiness.
TAN Books and
Publishers
Paperback ISBN: 0-89555-216-7
Extracts from the writings of two influential religious
writers and spiritual directors from the 17th century. |
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Read this book
to learn the basic simplicity of applying Christian ideals in daily
life.
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Thomas à Kempis. The
Imitation of Christ, trans. William Creasy (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria
Press, 1989).
Paperback ISBN: 0-87793-411-8
There are many versions of this timeless classic, and,
in my opinion, this is the best. |
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Read this book
to learn the core principles of genuine prayer from the heart.
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Compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valmo. The
Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, trans. E. Kadloubovsky and E. M. Palmer (NY:
Faber and Faber).
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-571-19165-9
The book draws heavily on the writing of Theophan the Recluse, a
19th century Russian Orthodox bishop and spiritual director. In my opinion, no other
writer—Eastern or Western, Orthodox or Catholic—equals Bishop Theophan’s
spiritual and psychological clarity, and his abily to never miss the point about
prayer. |
Additional Readings:
Saints
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Read this book
to learn how to put into practice a genuine devotion to the Blessed
Virgin.
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St. Louis Marie de Montfort.
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin (Bay Shore, NY: Montfort Publications,
1980).
Hardcover ISBN: 0-910984-49-2
Contains the Consecration To Jesus through
Mary. |
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Read this book
to learn about the mystic process of “dying to the self” through
holy love.
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St. John of the Cross. “The
Ascent of Mount Carmel” and “The Dark Night.” In
The Collected Works
of St. John of the Cross, trans. K. Kavanaugh and O. Rodriguez
ICS
Publications
Hardcover ISBN: 0-935216-15-4 |
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Read this book
to learn from a practical, down-to-earth woman how the mystical effects of
divine love transformed her life.
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St. Teresa of Avila. “The
Way of Perfection” and “The Interior Castle.” In The Collected
Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume Two, trans. K. Kavanaugh and O.
Rodriguez
ICS
Publications
Paperback ISBN: 0-9600876-6-4 |
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Read this book
to learn how a life of devout Christian love reflects Christ’s own
suffering, sacrifice, and obedience.
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St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The
Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary
TAN Books and
Publishers
Paperback ISBN: 0-89555-295-7
Intimate insights from the saint to whom Our Lord gave
the Sacred Heart revelations. |
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Read this book
to learn the details about Purgatory and Hell.
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St. Catherine & Don Cattaneo
Marabotto. The Spiritual Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa
TAN Books and
Publishers
Paperback ISBN: 0-89555-355-X
This great lay mystic “wrote the book” about
Purgatory. |
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Read this book
to learn how divine mercy becomes real in everyday life.
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St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.
Diary
Association of Marian
Helpers
Paperback ISBN: 0-944203-04-3
The “Apostle of The Divine
Mercy” records Jesus’ message of mercy in a
diary. |
Additional Readings:
General
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Read these books
and be enthralled as the meticulous details of Biblical events allow salvation
history to come alive in its full human and divine reality.
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Emmerich, Anne Catherine. The
Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations
TAN Books and
Publishers
Paperback ISBN:
(Vol. 1) 0-89555-787-8
(Vol. 2) 0-89555-787-6
(Vol. 3) 0-89555-787-4
(Vol. 4) 0-89555-790-8
One of the greatest treasures of Catholic mystical
writing shows “how the Roman Catholic Church faithfully follows the
teachings and administers the Sacraments of Jesus Christ
Himself.” |
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Read this book
to get a sense of how Jesus may have actually spoke and taught on a day-to-day
basis.
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C. Alan Ames. Through the
Eyes of Jesus.
Touch
of Heaven
Paperback ISBN: 0-9748225-3-1
Episodes from the daily life of Jesus, seen through
His eyes—as revealed to a modern visionary.
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Read this book
to learn the historical details about the mysteries recalled by the
Rosary.
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Johnson, Kevin Orlin. Rosary:
Mysteries, Meditations, and the Telling of the Beads (Dallas: Pangæus
Press, 1996).
Paperback ISBN: 0-9653660-1-4
A comprehensive reference for the history and meaning
of the Rosary. |
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Read this book
to learn the tell-tale signs of genuine mystic phenomena.
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Johnson, Kevin Orlin.
Apparitions: Mystic Phenomena and What They Mean (Dallas: Pangæus
Press, 1998).
Paperback ISBN: 0-9653660-0-6
The only comprehensive reference book that puts
supernatural events clearly in their Biblical context. |
Additional Readings:
My own books
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Anger
and Forgiveness
Most
of us carry more anger in our hearts than we are capable of admitting even
to ourselves. As a result, we often feel stuck in lives of unfulfilled potential,
unending resentments, and physical illness. In this book, Dr. Richmond explains
the deep psychological implications of anger and forgiveness and shows how
to turn the emotional wounds of daily life into psychological
growth.
Ordering
Information |
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Psychology from the Heart
Psychology
has too often been preoccupied with the pursuit of happiness, and it has
missed the point about helping individuals understand life and find a personally
meaningful—and practical—sense of direction. Psychology itself
cannot offer any meaning to life, but it can help individuals disentangle
themselves from the snare of illusory social identifications that keep us
trapped in spiritual blindness and pull us backwards into
self-destruction.
Ordering
Information |
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Healing (2nd Edition)
There is nothing wrong
with psychological defenses. In fact, they help to protect us from emotional injury.
But if you cling to the defense mechanisms that were created in your childhood and
carry them on into adulthood—as most everyone does unconsciously—your quest for
spiritual healing will be thwarted by overwhelming resentments and conflicts. So now,
and in every moment until you die, you will have a profound choice between
your enslavement to old defenses and the beauty of God.
Ordering
Information |
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TRUE
DISCIPLES . . . will point out the narrow way to God in pure truth according
to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world. Their hearts
will not be troubled, nor will they show favour to anyone; they will not
spare or heed or fear any man, however powerful he may be. They will have
the two-edged sword of the Word of God in their mouths and the blood-stained
standard of the Cross on their shoulders. They will carry the crucifix in
their right hand and the rosary in their left, and the holy names of Jesus
and Mary on their heart. . . . By the will of God, Mary is to prepare them
to extend His rule over the impious and unbelievers. |
—Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 59 |
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Read an excerpt from the book