Mystical Body

Father Hardon’s writings on the Mystical Body explore the Catholic teaching that the Church is the living Body of Christ. These articles examine spiritual unity, sanctifying grace, the communion of believers, and the role of the Holy Spirit within the Church.

Devotion to the Poor Souls

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Today is the feast of All Souls. It comes on the day after All Saints. Between these two feast days, we remember all the members of the Mystical Body of Christ: the Church Triumphant in heaven, the Church Militant on earth, and the Church Suffering in purgatory. Over the […]

Bellarmine on the Mystical Body of Christ

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Shortly after his defection from Rome, Johann Döllinger bitterly reproached the Vatican Council with “doing nothing but defining the private opinions of a single man — Cardinal Robert Bellarmine.” The accusation is false but suggestive, because it leads us to investigate the teaching of St. Robert on the organization […]

A Comparative Study of Bellarmine’s Doctrineon the Relation of Sincere Non-Catholics to the Catholic Church

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Note: This book is currently not available due to the discovery of multiple typing errors. Until the typing errors have been corrected, a correct print version of the book may be purchased from Eternal Life at 1-800-842-2871.

The Church as the Mystical Body of Christ

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The historical origins of the adjective “Mystical” to describe the Church as the Body of Christ may be traced to the first Apostles Peter and Paul. In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle of the Gentiles urges them to “preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond […]