Christian Spirituality

Father Hardon’s writings on Christian spirituality guide readers in deepening their relationship with God through prayer, virtue, and the life of grace. These articles explore holiness, spiritual growth, the interior life, and the Catholic path to union with Christ.

Bethlehem and Divine Providence

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. All the mysteries of Christ’s life tell us something about reliance on the Providence of God in our lives. But the event of Christ’s birth at Bethlehem is especially revealing. We begin by asking ourselves, what are the lessons that the mystery of Bethlehem should teach us? Among others, […]

Jesus Found in the Temple

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The subtitle of our present meditation could be “Virgin Most Faithful”. The narrative of the finding of the child Jesus in the Temple, and the Blessed Virgin’s response, is given by Saint Luke in his Gospel (Luke 2:41-50). And his parents were wont to go every year to Jerusalem at […]

The Ascension of Christ – Its Meaning for the Spiritual Life

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The secret to sanctity is strong motivation. We must be deeply convinced that following Christ is worth the effort. And we must be powerfully inspired to rise above mediocrity to serve Our Lord generously all through life. Among the strongest motives we have for growing in sanctity is the […]

The Resurrection of Christ and Our Experience of Interior Peace

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. If there is one hidden theme in the New Testament, it is the fact that while Christ certainly wants His followers to imitate Him in carrying His cross and to deny themselves to prove that they are His disciples, at the same time He promises them not only an […]

How to Be an Authentic Catholic

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Not too many years ago this would have been a strange title for a lecture, “How to be an authentic Catholic.” The reason is obvious. Catholics were Catholics. They were not Protestant, or Mormons, or Jehovah’s Witnesses. But much has happened in the last thirty or so years. Nowadays […]

All My Liberty

Theology of the Spiritual Exercisesby John A. Hardon, S. J.Professor of Dogmatic TheologyWest Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana Copyright © 1998 Inter Mirifica Acknowledgments The Author wishes most of all to thank two persons whose generous cooperation in the writing of this volume covers a period of more than twenty years. As novice master, […]

All My Liberty – Part One – Key Meditations of the Exercises – Chapter 1: Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Life

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Principle and Foundation is not only chronologically the first prayerful consideration of the Spiritual Exercises and logically the basis of all the meditations which follow. It synthesizes St. Ignatius’ doctrine of Christian perfection. There is an emphasis on man’s free cooperation with divine grace, a logical adaptation of […]

All My Liberty – Chapter 2: Estrangement From God

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The doctrinal background of the Spiritual Exercises is the creature’s estrangement from the Creator. In the First Week the main theme of the meditations is sin – angelic, original and personal – with its painful retribution in death, judgment and hell. In the mortal life of Christ, from the […]

All My Liberty – Chapter 3: The Call of Christ the King

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The contemplation on the Kingdom of Christ has been accurately called the heart of Ignatian spirituality. It epitomizes two ideals to which the exercitant is invited to aspire and which, if he follows, will bring him to “the pinnacle of perfection in the imitation of Christ.” The first is […]

All My Liberty – Chapter 4: The Standards of Christ and Lucifer

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Commentators are agreed that this is one of the “great” meditations of the Exercises, as evident from the elaborate detail of its composition and from the reference to its importance in other writings of St. Ignatius. It is also unique in having what may be called two corollaries: the […]

All My Liberty – Chapter 5: Three Classes of Men

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The title, Three Classes of Men, stands for three kinds of persons in any walk of life. They might be three classes of religious or priests, husbands or wives, workers or professional men. However, classified, they represent three levels of volitional disposition to sacrifice whatever is less than God […]

All My Liberty – Chapter 6: Modes of Humility

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The expression “Degrees of Humility” does not occur in either the Spanish autograph or the recognized versions of the original text. The Spanish uses the term maneras or types of humility; the various Latin translations use Species or Modes. There is more than subtilty behind these synonyms. By definition, […]

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