Prayer

Father Hardon’s writings on prayer explore the heart of the Christian spiritual life and the soul’s relationship with God. These articles examine meditation, contemplation, devotion, perseverance in prayer, and the role of prayer in growing in holiness and grace.

I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. As we begin the Apostles’ Creed, I would like to explain the method we will follow in these teleconferences. Each article of the Creed is an ocean of revealed truth. Not just a single conference, nor even a volume could be written about every one of these articles. Literally […]

I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, Our Lord

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The second article of the Apostles’ Creed is the foundation of our Christian faith. It is at once a profession of our belief that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ and that the Incarnate God is the Lord, who is the Master of our eternal destiny. […]

He Was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit, and was Born of the Virgin Mary

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our present conference is a profession of our Catholic faith on how God became man. We have already declared that we believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, Our Lord. Our focus here is on how the Incarnation took place. Two powers cooperated with each other in […]

Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Died and was Buried

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. If we wish to know how important is this article of the Creed, all we have to do is read Saint Paul’s statement to the Corinthians. He says, “I judge myself not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). We cannot exaggerate […]

Jesus Christ Descended into Hell, and on the Third Day Rose Again from the Dead

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. This article of the creed affirms two truths of our Christian faith. It first declares that after Christ died, His soul separated from the body and visited the souls of the faithful departed in what theologically we call the Limbo of the Fathers. The second truth is Christ’s bodily […]

He Ascended into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. It is very important to be convinced that Christ’s Ascension into heaven was an historical fact. As early as the beginning of the second century, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote seven letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome. In these letters, he is at great pains to defend […]

He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The focus of the seventh article of the Apostles’ Creed is on Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the world. Also called the Parousia, the New Testament writers identify it as the final triumph of Jesus in the establishment of His kingdom. Before we reflect on this Second […]

I Believe in the Holy Spirit

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The third and last part of the Apostles’ Creed begins with our profession of faith in the Holy Spirit. The Creed begins with proclaiming our faith in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth. Then we profess to believe that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became […]

I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church and the Communion of Saints

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. It may seem strange to begin with the statement that Christ founded the Church during His visible stay on earth. But over the centuries, this has been widely denied by many so-called Christians. They claim that Christ merely inspired a religious movement, or started a reformed movement of Judaism, […]

I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We do not ordinarily associate Christmas with the forgiveness of sins. But we should. God became man in the person of Jesus Christ in order to redeem the human race. So true is this that we merely speculate whether the Incarnation would ever have taken place if sin had […]

I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. As Christians, we not only believe that the human soul is immortal, but also that the human body is to rise immortal from the grave. However, our souls are spiritual by nature and are therefore naturally immortal. Our souls will never die. In God’s original plan, the bodies of […]

I Believe in Life Everlasting

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. If there is one truth of the Catholic faith that needs to be emphasized in our day, it is our belief in everlasting life. As we know, this means more than merely the continuation of our human life on earth. True enough, our souls will never die. In that […]

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