Mariology

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Prayerful reflection on Mary’s Magnificat is always in order. It is the longest discourse we have recorded of the contents of Mary’s heart. Totally inspired, it is the perfect prayer of humility. It is a sublime prayer of humble adoration. The Magnificat has been a part of the Church’s […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. St. Robert Bellarmine is widely known in theological circles as the great champion of the Papacy. At the Vatican Council, his Controversies were the principal source from which the assembled fathers formulated the definition of papal infallibility. And in 1931, when the Holy See declared him a Doctor of […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. In their formal protest in 1950 against the definition of Our Lady’s Assumption, the Anglican bishops of England declared, “We profoundly regret that the Roman Catholic Church has chosen by this act to increase dogmatic differences in Christendom and has thereby gravely injured the growth of understanding between Christians […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Jesuit Father John A. Hardon, is a well known theologian, author and lecturer. He was born in Midland, PA. His father died while performing an act of charity not long after the family moved to Cleveland. He was raised by his mother. After completing his university studies under the […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Having spoken of Our Lady’s life and mission, we now want to consider our own response to her Divine Motherhood. How can we fittingly live in devotion and gratitude to Mary? Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is one of the cardinal features of a Catholic. And this devotion to […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. If we were to synthesize the Fatima message, it could be expressed in one sentence of the Blessed Virgin’s: “Do whatever He (my Son) tells you” and you will be happy, already in this life and perfectly happy in the eternal life to come. The Fatima message is both […]

(Transcription) By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Father Hardon: I thought for the next half an hour or less, we would talk about the meaning of consecration to Mary. Our Lord could not have been clearer in insisting that we not only believe, but that we understand what we believe. My hope therefore, is to […]

In life and in death, the Mother of the Redeemer By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We really ought to first understand who the Blessed Virgin Mary is and what her role in our lives ought to be, and then, building on that dogmatic foundation, allow our fervent piety free range. The Blessed Virgin Mary […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. This conference will perhaps be quite theological for I think we need first to understand who the Blessed Virgin is, what her role in our lives ought to be and then, building on a solid dogmatic foundation, allow our fervor and piety free range. We might begin by noting […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. In today’s confused world, it is not an idle question to ask: What is a Catholic? A simple answer would be: A Catholic is a Christian who believes we are to go to Jesus through Mary. Suppose we concentrate on the single phrase, “through Mary.” Any light we can […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. There are many titles by which we address Our Lady, in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. In the most recent of these titles, we say, “Mother of the Church, pray for us.” What are we asking for when we make this invocation? We are asking Our Lady to […]