Church and Dogma

Father Hardon’s writings on Church and dogma explore the authority of the Catholic Church and the importance of doctrinal truth. These articles examine sacred tradition, magisterial teaching, defined dogmas, and the role of the Church in preserving and teaching the faith faithfully.

The Growth of Catholic Doctrine

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Church, we believe, is the living Body of Christ. We therefore believe she grows, not only in numbers or in influence, but also in her own being. We might say this stands to reason. Born on the Cross when her Founder died, the Church has always remained His […]

How Infallible is the Teaching Church?

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The standard lexicons of the English language correctly define infallibility as exemption from fallacy or error of judgment and they also correctly say, under the word “Infallible”: “In Roman Catholic doctrine, incapable of error in matters of faith and morals.” One of the ironies of our age is that […]

The Doctrinal Message of Fatima

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. To understand the basic doctrinal message of Fatima, we confine ourselves to the six Marian apparitions formally approved by the Church. This is not to say that other communications from Our Lady are not relevant or even spiritually profitable. But we have definite ecclesiastical confirmation only of what the […]

Retreat on the Credo: Our Need of Faith

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. I would like to call this a retreat of faith. The longer I live in the priesthood and the more souls I come into contact with the more certain I become that what most people mostly need to grow in holiness in the modern world is a deep abiding […]

Retreat on the Credo: The Faith of Martyrdom

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Today’s feast of St. Stephen does not come coincidentally on the day after Christmas. The Church for centuries has put it there lest we have any illusions about what Christmas means, that the Child born in Bethlehem was God Whose followers will have to pay dearly for their discipleship. […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in God the Father

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The opening article of the Apostles’ Creed proclaims the first and primary mystery of our faith. It is not only placed first, it is first. Unless this first article is true nothing else is believable. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” My purpose […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in Jesus Christ

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. In the second article of the Creed we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” If in the first article of the Creed we found seven truths, in this one we find four. There are four mysteries locked up in this second article of the […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in the Virgin Birth of Jesus

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We are on the subject of faith as specifically the third article of the Apostles’ Creed. Preceding the third article, we’ve already affirmed, “I believe in Jesus Christ,” and now “Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” Immediately we see there are two mysteries […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in the Passion of Christ

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. “I believe in Jesus Christ…Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried.” We divide this article into four parts, namely, the Passion of Christ under Pontius Pilate, Christ’s crucifixion, His death, and His burial. First the Passion. The Latin ‘passio’ means exactly what our English ‘suffering’ means: it […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in Christ’s Descent into Hell and His Resurrection

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. This a profession of our faith in what Christ did after He was crucified and it contains two statements of revealed fact, namely, He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead. First then Christ’s descent into hell. It is taught by all the early […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in Christ’s Presence in Heaven

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The second, third, fourth and fifth articles of the Creed profess our faith in Christ’s earthly visible presence. The sixth proclaims our faith in Christ’s presence beyond this world in heaven. “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” We consequently believe […]

Retreat on the Credo: Faith in Christ’s Judgment on the Last Day

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We profess to believe, “From thence,” that is, at the right hand of His heavenly Father, “He will come to judge the living and the dead.” What do we believe when we say this? We believe that Jesus Christ will come back to the earth in visible form on […]

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