Eucharist

Father Hardon’s writings on the Eucharist explore the central mystery of the Catholic faith and the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. These articles examine Holy Communion, the Mass, Eucharistic devotion, adoration, sacrifice, and the spiritual power of the Eucharist in Christian life.

What Jesus Does in His Eucharist

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. On Holy Thursday night, Jesus did three things: He changed the common elements of bread and wine into His own living Body and Blood. He offered His human life to His heavenly Father, to be accomplished on Calvary, when He would bleed to death in order to restore eternal […]

Why Develop the Eucharistic Formation of the Young?

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We cannot even begin to answer this question “Why develop the Eucharistic formation of the young” unless we assume that our nation needs a moral conversion. During his talks in Denver for the World Youth Day, Pope John Paul II told the young people to “Pray that America might […]

Introduction to Eucharist Book

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Eucharist is the center of Christianity. To understand the Eucharist is to begin to understand why God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. This book is an effort to express the Catholic faith in the deepest mystery of Christianity. We believe that God became man in […]

History of Eucharistic Adoration (Abbreviated)

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The Fathers of the early Church defends with vigor the permanence of the Real Presence. Already in the second century the faithful frequently carried the Holy Eucharist with them to their homes. (Thus Tertullian (Ad Uxorem, 2) and St. Cyprian (De Lapsis, 26)). Or they carried the Blessed Sacrament […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #1

Introduction: The Holy Eucharist, The Presence Sacrament By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. If there is one thing Our Lord makes clear in the Gospels, it is the grave need of having our minds enter into what we believe. Remember the parable of the sower? Some seed fell on a path, some fell on rocky […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #2

The Truth of Christ’s Real Presence By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Before we begin our meditations on the Holy Eucharist, we need to understand that Christianity is a historical religion. It is not mythology like the religions of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece or Rome. It is not the product of religious imagination like Hinduism, […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #3

The Church’s Eucharistic Doctrine up to the Sixteenth Century By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our first meditation covers the first 1500 years of the Catholic Church. During this millennium and a half, there were three major Eucharistic heresies of which the Church not only took account, but also carefully refuted and explained her refutation. […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #4

The Teaching of the Church on the Real Presence in the Sixteenth Century By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our present meditation is on the teaching of the Church on the Real Presence in the Sixteenth Century. It seems only reasonable to devote one whole conference on the Church’s Eucharistic teaching in this century. Why […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #5

The Church’s Eucharistic Doctrine from the Sixteenth Century into Modern Times By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We have been concentrating on the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist, with special emphasis on the Real Presence. Our first reflection focused on the Church’s teaching up to the sixteenth century. Then, we looked at what the […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #6

The Sacrament of the Eucharist By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. In our previous reflections, we looked at the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We have seen how the Church has grown in her understanding of the Eucharist as she defended the integrity of the Real Presence from various […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditation #8

The Eucharist as Communion Sacrament By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. There is generally no difficulty speaking about Holy Eucharist as Communion Sacrament. In fact, this is the most common way most Catholics think of Holy Eucharist. However, our perspective will be more specific. We will reflect on the meaning of Holy Eucharist as a […]

A Eucharistic Retreat – Meditations #9 and #10

The Holy Eucharist as Presence Sacrament By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Now we enter directly into the heart of this Eucharistic Retreat. Our aim here is to better understand what we mean when we say the Holy Eucharist is not only the Sacrifice Sacrament of the Mass or the Communion Sacrament, but the Presence […]

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