St. Joseph should be the special heavenly patron of dedicated souls
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Come & See Chapter 12: St. Joseph and Vocations There are many good reasons why St. Joseph should be the special heavenly patron of dedicated souls – in the consecrated life, in the priesthood, and among the laity. But as the Church...
How to recognize grace from temptation
From a conference in 1998 by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. It is the privilege and joy of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood to bring to you a spiritual conference given by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J [about grace and temptation].. Fr. Hardon’s conferences have proved to be...
Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of Divine Mercy
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. If there is one divine attribute that we spontaneously associate with Christ and Christianity it is the attribute of mercy. Mercy, we may safely say, is the distinctive quality of being a Christian: to be a Christian is to be merciful....
Mary is the Mother of Vocations
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Come & See Chapter 11: Mary, Mother of Vocations When Mary told the angel at the Annunciation, "Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38), she became the patroness of every priest and...
Why does the world need priests and religious?
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Come & See Chapter 10: Religious Education and Vocations Vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life depend on good religious education just as the harvest depends on a good soil. Vocations prosper when religious education in...
Jesus appeared to the Mary after the Resurrection
by Fr. John Hardon, S.J. Our Lady, the First Witness It is not only a pious opinion that the Risen Savior first appeared to His Mother Mary on Easter Sunday. No less than six Doctors of the Church, including SS. Ambrose, Anselm and Albert the Great held that Our Lady...
Confession is the masterpiece of God’s goodness
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Come & See Chapter 9: Confession and Vocations The sacrament of confession is closely related to priestly and religious vocations. It is not too much to say, in most cases, that the sacrament of penance is a condition for recognizing,...
Our Lord’s resurrection is a fact of recorded history
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Conference by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Jesus appeared to His mother first, the Fathers of the Church tell us, to Mary Magdalen, then to the holy women, next to Peter, to the disciples of Emmaus, then through barred doors, to the...
A gift of God to the Church: The Catechism of the Catholic Church
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The supreme Shepherd of the whole Church refers to the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a “singular gift of Providence.” The very reason for the existence of the Church, to evangelize, to teach. “Teach them to carry out everything that I...
The Annunciation: The culmination of human history
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Our present meditation is on: The Annunciation. It is the same Gabriel that announced to Zachary that Elizabeth, in her old age, would conceive and bear a son. Given the magnitude of this great mystery of the Annunciation, I thought we...