Once again, congratulations, my friend, you've made it this far.  Your patience is commendable.   Step 8 saw the firing of the first salvos of the war and, Steps 9 & 10 will continue that combat where you will learn how to wage war against yourself in order for your intellect to master your will.  I believe that these two steps are the hardest parts of the Catholic 12-Steps as they involve waging war against ourselves.  Typically, I can fly from near occasions of sin but I can't fly from myself!  In order to be able to say "No" to our hook we must first gain mastery over our wills and that is what these two steps are all about.  The first seven steps have been to maximize the flow of grace to our souls while here we will learn maximize the acceptance of that grace by minimizing the impediments that we ourselves present to that flood of grace by our pride, "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (Prov iii, 84).  In other words, the first seven steps increased the flow out of the faucet while these two steps increase the size of the bucket!  So let's restate Steps 9 & 10 before we discuss them in detail:

9. I will strengthen my will by mortification and penance.  I will work to gain mastery over myself by practicing virtue.  I will begin with simple, easy-to-win battles over myself and progressing to more difficult ones.

10. I will strengthen my faith by educating myself on the truths of the Faith.  I will regularly read the Bible, the works of the Saints, Encyclicals of the Popes, and good Catholic reading so that my intellect and my conscience will become properly formed.

STEP 9: MORTIFICATION AND PENANCE TO STRENGTHEN THE WILL.

When God first created man, there was an order and harmony in all of creation.  As first created, Adam's intellect was in harmony with God's will.  His will was in harmony with his intellect.  His body was in harmony with his will and, finally, all of creation was in harmony with his body.  This harmony existed because each subordinate element was obedient to the element above it - intellect above will above body above creation.  Original Sin destroyed this harmony.  As the first sin was a rebellion of man's will against God, disorder was introduced into creation.  Man's intellect became defective, his will became weak, his body rebelled against his will and nature rebelled against his body.  Now maybe I haven't explained this in strictly exact theological ways but I think it's clear that the upper part of man, his intellect and will, don't work as well as God had first created them.  Also, his body is in rebellion against his will.  St. Paul tells us this:

"For that which I work, I understand not.  For I do not that good which I will, but the evil which I hate, that I do.  If, then, I do that which I will not, I consent to the law, that it is good.  Now, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  For I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good.  For to will, is present with me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not.  For the good which I will, I do not: but the evil which I will not, that I do.  Now if I do that which I will not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  I find then a law, that when I have a will to do good, evil is present with me.  For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man: But I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members.  Unhappy man that I am: who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  The grace of God, by Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Therefore, I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God: but, with the flesh, the law of sin." (Rom vi, 15-25).

This is exactly what the Apostle to the Gentiles is saying.  Even though his intellect has learned what God expects of him and he desires to do it, his will is weak and struggles against his own body which desires to remain carnal.  Step 9 is to train the will to master the body and its desires.  It assumes that one's intellect is trained in the Truths of the Faith and that he desires to begin a spiritual "weightlifting" regimen to make the will strong enough to keep the desires of the flesh in check.  Now, when I speak of "desires of the flesh" I am considering it in a broad sense to include all appetites and not just the "bedroom" variety.  We will do this by performing penance and practicing virtue.

PENANCE

Sorry!  Under Construction but here are a few quick thoughts:

St. Francis of Assisi called his own body "Brother Ass" as in "Brother Mule" because, as holy as this Doctor of the Church was, he knew that the flesh of even his own body was stubborn and cooperated with his will only so long as it was under the "bit" of his will.  The same is true of the bodies of us lesser souls.  I would hazard to guess that for most of us, especially for myself, that it is our wills that are controlled by our bodies and not the other way around.  This situation is worsened by our living in a society that preaches instant gratification and self-indulgence wherever we turn.  We are so blessed (cursed really) with material goods, foodstuffs, clothing, toys, widgets, whatever in such overwhelming abundance that it is no wonder that we have absolutely no self-control.  It is no wonder that we fall for our hooks so easily - virtually without even a fight.

Therefore, anything that calls for us to reverse course on what has been our way of life for our whole lives is going to be difficult.   From a natural standpoint, it is impossible.  But, my good friend, we aren't focusing on the natural but the supernatural and all things are possible with God.  We will rely solely on His grace and that is the key to our future success.

VIRTUE

Again, sorry!  I'll finish this soon also!!!

Step 10:  EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN MY FAITH.

If you have made it to this point in your struggle against your hook, you have already discovered the depth of the level of combat necessary to break the attachment.  Congratulations and welcome to the club!  You are not alone by any stretch.  It is your reason that has made that discovery and this step strives to strengthen your Faith by educating your reason.  Now, I know that many people will say differently,  but faith and reason are not in conflict with each other.  There is NOTHING in the traditional Catholic Faith in which there is a conflict between the two.  Any "contradictions" are only apparent, not real.  In this time of Crisis in the Church, however, there is an incredible amount of misinformation, disinformation, and just a lack of information being disseminated amongst the faithful.  Therefore, it's critical that we all educate ourselves so that we know what the Church really teaches.  In this way, our consciences will be properly formed which will enable us to better resist temptations.  "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free", John viii: 31-32.  In this case, St. Paul is speaking of freedom as being free from attachment to sin - which is exactly what we are trying to accomplish with our struggle against our hook.  Therefore, what I am going to present here is a bibliography of recommended readings with a focus on spirituality - for if this is a spiritual struggle, we need to be strong spiritually. 

BIBLE

Douay-Rheims version, especially the Haydock Bible.  It's expensive and in two volumes but the text is a faithful rendering into English of the Vulgate and has extensive commentaries.  Modern translations have many distortions in them.

Missal of the 1962 or earlier Mass.  Used ones can be obtained at yard sales, used book stores, or antique stores for 5 or 10 dollars.  The epistle and gospel readings can go a long way to fill in your understanding of scripture if the cost of a Haydock Bible is out of your price range.

The Church Year by Fr. Leonard Goffine.  Covers the readings of the year as well as providing an excellent introduction to the lives of the saints.

CATHOLIC DOGMA

Catechism of the Council of Trent

Dogmatic Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent

Baltimore Catechism (A, B, C, & D)

My Catholic Faith - this can be also be obtained used.  It currently runs in the $35 range but I bought a used one for five bucks.

SPIRITUALITY

The Imitation of Christ - attributed to Thomas a Kempis.

Preparation for Death by St. Alphonsus - anything by him.

Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross.

The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life by Garrigou-Lagrange - anything by him.

The Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Chautard - do NO Works of Mercy without reading this.

True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis-Marie de Montfort - anything by him.

The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Legion of Mary Handbook by Frank Duff (editions up the late 1950's)

Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo

CATHOLIC SOCIAL DOCTRINE

Encyclicals of Bl. Pius IX (esp. Syllabus of Errors), Leo XIII, St. Pius X (Pascendi), and Pius XII

Now please don't think that this is an exhaustive list but it's a good beginning.  I have found that once you are past the touch-and-go combat against your hook, you will become thirsty for solid Catholic reading.  As I have been advised, I will advise you.  You should do a minimum of 15 minutes a day reading of a good religious book.

There!  You're almost done.  You gain grace by offering up doing difficult things.  Completing these writings to this point certainly qualifies, I am sure.  Let's do move on to Steps 11 & 12, my good friend.  God bless!