Priesthood

The Catholic Church exists only where there are priests whose priesthood goes back to Christ’s words to His Apostles at the Last Supper, “Do this in commemoration of Me.”

Observations on the Reflections on American Catholicism and Priesthood Today

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The following observations are made after a careful reading of Reflections on American Catholicism and Priesthood Today. The author of these reflections has been president of the National Federation of Priests’ Council, founded in 1968. The purpose of the federation is, “to give priests’ councils a representative voice in […]

The Priesthood

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Today is the fifty-second year since my ordination to the priesthood. No words of mine can begin to express the gratitude I owe to God for the privilege of exercising the priesthood for more than fifty years. It has been a half century of extraordinary graces that the good […]

Vatican II Priestly Spirituality

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. As we approach this immense subject, we should remind ourselves that Pope John Paul II has been the principle spokesman for priestly spirituality in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. He has spoken or written literally thousands of words, on what priests should be and how they […]

Priesthood in Christian Unity

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. One of the most heartening features of the ecumenical movement among Christians separated from Rome is their re-examination of the status of the priesthood in the full concept of the Church, and their sincere desire to restore something of that priestly heritage which they lost at the time of […]

An Interview / Easylin

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Catholic Twin Circle (CTC): How do media portrayals of priests color the publics perception of them — considering both the news media and fictional portrayals on television and in the films? Father John Hardon, S.J.: Media portrayals of priests are consciously biased against the Catholic priesthood. With rare exception, […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – The Priesthood

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. What is the priesthood? Before dealing at length with the meaning of the priesthood in the Catholic Church, there is value in first looking at the priesthood in general, as revealed to us by God in the Sacred Scriptures, because today in so many circles there is such widespread […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – What Is The Catholic Priesthood?

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Not too many years ago it would have been less important to ask the question, “What is the Catholic priesthood?” because anyone familiar with the Catholic Church, even though not personally a Catholic, would have had a fair idea of what a priest is. The description might have been […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – The Priesthood of the Faithful

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. There is more than passing value in looking at the meaning and implications of the priesthood of the faithful. There is much confusion these days in some quarters about who and what is a priest; there is an overwhelming amount of what they call identity crisis in many priests. […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – The Priesthood and the Sacrament of Penance

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. It is remarkable how much publicity the sacrament of penance is getting these days. A whole stadium of people are assembled and in an elaborate ceremony are given general absolution. In other cases, several thousand people are brought together in response to massive publicity to be given general absolution […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – The Priesthood and the Eucharist

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The priesthood in the Catholic Church is identified with many things, because over the centuries of the Church’s history there have been priests engaged in a bewildering variety of enterprises. There have been priests who were great preachers like John Chrysostom; great theologians like Thomas Aquinas; mystics like John […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – Priests and the Ministry of the Word

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Since the life of a priest is to be modeled on the life of his Master, even as Christ went about preaching and teaching the Word of God, so the primary duty of a priest after the offering of the Mass and the administration of the sacraments is to […]

Retreat on the Priesthood – Humility and Obedience in the Priest

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. It may seem a bit strange that all the major exhortations of the modern Popes to priests stress the importance of the virtues of humility and obedience, with no exception. On second thought, however, it is not unexpected. You would expect priests to be reminded to practice especially the […]

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