Eucharist

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Eucharist as the Real Presence is the touchstone of sanctity. As evidence of this fact we have the witness of the saints who, when they speak or write about the power of the Blessed Sacrament to sanctify, seem to be positively extreme in their claims about what the […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, states: How is it that Our Lord is so little loved in the Eucharist? One reason is that we do not speak enough of It and that we insist only on faith in the presence of Jesus Christ […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Easter is the most important feast in Christianity. In fact, it is the pivot of the ecclesiastical year around which everything in the Church’s calendar revolves. Already in the first century of the Christian era, Sunday replaced Saturday as the Lord’s Day, a weekly commemoration of Easter. Yet in […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We know that in Sacred Writing and in the teachings of the Church, the Mass has acquired a variety of synonymous names. It is called the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Eucharistic Liturgy, or simply, the Liturgy; it is the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Sacrifice, or the Sacrifice of the Altar. […]

Development of Doctrine in the Catholic Church By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………. I. APOSTOLIC TIMES TO EARLY MIDDLE AGES………………………… II. BERENGARIUS TO ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI…………………………… III. MIDDLE AGES TO THE COUNCIL OF TRENT…………………………      Before the Council of Trent……………………………………………      The Council of Trent………………………………………………….. IV. DEVELOPMENT OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION……………………      Forty-Hours Devotion…………………………………………………      Perpetual Adoration…………………………………………………… […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. …104. Against what does Pope Paul VI especially warn the bishops? He warns them to be perfectly loyal to the teaching of Christ on the Real Presence and to promote tirelessly the worship of Jesus Christ who is living among us in the Blessed Sacrament. (MF 75) 105. What […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Mystery of Faith Encyclical Letter by Pope Paul VI MYSTERIUM FIDEI, September 3, 1965 MYSTERY OF FAITH Solemnly Promulgated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI On the doctrine and worship of the Holy Eucharist. 1.  The Catholic Church has always devoutly guarded as a most precious treasure the mystery of […]

By Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The present title of our meditation can be shortened and simplified. It should read, “Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and the Catholic Prolife Movement.” We have already spoken at length and in detail about the Holy Eucharist. Our focus has been to bring out the role of the Holy […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We know adoration is due to God alone because He alone is worthy of veneration as the source and destiny of our being. We have also seen that since God became man in the Person of Jesus Christ, our adoration of Jesus is really the adoration of God in […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Saint Robert Bellarmine, writing in the sixteen hundreds, counted over two hundred interpretations of our Lord’s words at the Last Supper, “This is my Body…this is my Blood.” Over the centuries, this has been the principal source of division among the Protestant Churches of the world. My purpose in […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Objection: The term “transubstantiation” depends upon an outdated concept of medieval scholastic philosophy. Today, we must speak of “transfinalization” or “transignification” of the bread and wine. The meaning or sign of the bread and wine changes, but not the matter. Reply: Somewhere near the center of the crisis in […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Those who knew Pope John Paul II before his election to the papacy testify to his great personal devotion to the Eucharist. He would spend much time, we are told, before the Blessed Sacrament. And during his whirlwind pilgrimage for seven days in the United States, witnesses say he […]