Marriage

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We might begin by saying that this is the most fundamental truth of our faith in Christian marriage and the family. What is it? That, unlike all other marriage either before the coming of Christ or now in the world, two baptized people when they receive marriage – notice […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Of all the seven sacraments, Matrimony has been the most widely challenged in the history of the Catholic Church. It has also been the main cause of disunity in Christianity. We know this from the classic narrative described by St. Matthew when some Pharisees came to test Jesus by […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Great Catholic Books NewsletterVolume I, Number 2 It must seem strange, or even a bit archaic, to address oneself to a topic like “Saint Augustine and Christian Marriage.” What makes it odd is that Augustine died in 430 A.D. and this is the last decade of the twentieth century. […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Institute on Religious Life Sacrament of Matrimony series Ann Arbor, Michigan 1993 We have been, as you know, reflecting on various aspects of marriage. I thought that in today’s class and later classes we would talk about marriage also but emphasizing chastity and the Church’s teaching which, as you […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our plan is to cover the following areas of this fundamental issue. Christian marriage in the family is a life-long commitment to selfless love. This selfless love is impossible without superhuman strength from God. Christian spouses and their families are a living witness to Christ’s power to work moral […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We do not normally associate the Holy Eucharist with the sacrament of matrimony. But we should. Without the Eucharist, there would not be a livable sacrament of matrimony. What are we saying? We are saying that Christ intended these two sacraments to be related as condition and consequence. The […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our title for this evening’s conference is “Sexual Pleasure Outside of Marriage.” A good subtitle would be, “Sexual Suicide.” In a widely publicized book on this subject, the author makes this observation: “In the most elemental sense, the sex drive is a survival instinct – the primal tie to […]

Sacrament of Matrimony Series By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. (Transcription) Introduction: The Institute on Religious Life presents these lectures on Catholic doctrine by Father John A. Hardon of the Society of Jesus to give impetus to the new evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II. This series on the Sacrament of Matrimony part […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Let us examine what is happening in our society today: mutual love between a monogamous male and female has been replaced with “liberated sex.” Love in its form of blissful monogamy seems increasingly elusive, and sex as a way to obtain physical pleasure is increasingly available as the supreme […]