Religious Life

Father Hardon’s writings on religious life explore the vocation of consecrated men and women within the Catholic Church. These articles examine vows, holiness, community life, spiritual discipline, and the call to serve Christ through religious dedication and apostolic mission.

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Religious Vocation

December 26, 1983 — Homily — Conference 2 By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. As you recall, this is, the first of the essential elements, the non-negotiables that the Holy Father singles out as on trial in the Church today. As he calls it, the first substantial element is a special call from God. We might begin by asking […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Life of Public Consecration to Jesus Christ

December 26, 1983 — Afternoon Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Our present reflections are on religious life as a life of public consecration to Jesus Christ. As we have seen, the first essential element of religious life according to Pope John Paul is: “a vocation given by God.” But a vocation has a purpose. People […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Religious Vows: The Teaching of the Church – Chastity

December 26, 1983 — Evening Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. As we have so far seen, Pope John Paul told the American Bishops that the consecration of Religious to Jesus Christ is “through the profession of the evangelical counsels by public vows.” The Pope further identifies the sources of the Church’s teaching, especially the Second […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Religious Vows: Consecrated Practice of Poverty

December 27, 1983 — Homily By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We are as you know concentrating on the religious vows and specifically how the Church’s new Code of Canon Law legislates how the vows are to be observed. There is no single aspect of consecrated life on which the Church’s Code of Law spends more time, […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Religious Vows: Consecrated Practice of Obedience

December 27, 1983 — Afternoon Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We are on the subject of religious vows and the Church’s teaching, and we are finally on the vow of Obedience. As we have been doing, we will concentrate on the Church’s new Code of Canon Law which synthesizes centuries of the Church’s tradition. First, […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Fidelity to the Founder’s Charism and to Sound Traditions

December 27, 1983 — Evening Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. What we’re doing, of course, is continuing our meditations on the Holy Father’s essential elements of religious life. Before we proceed further, it may be useful to note that the Pope combines two kinds of fidelity; both, he says, required as substantials in the religious […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, Communion in Community

December 28, 1983 — Homily By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Recall this is one of the essential elements as the Vicar of Christ teaches us of authentic religious life. There are two features of religious life that are surprisingly spelled out in great detail in the new code of Canon Law, poverty and community life. Canon […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, The Apostolate of Witness

December 28, 1983 — Afternoon Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We begin, with the present conference, the whole subject of the corporate apostolate of religious. Our specific focus of the present meditation is the apostolate of witness. As we enter on the large area of the apostolate of religious institutes, I think it will be […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, The Corporate Apostolate of Contemplative Communities

December 28, 1983 — Evening Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We will quote from what the Holy Father gives as a primary source of the Church’s mind on the apostolate of religious institutes, namely, the new Code of Canon Law, building on and drawing from now centuries of the Church’s teaching and especially the Second […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, The Corporate Apostolate of Active Apostolic Institutes

December 29, 1983 — Homily By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We should first pause to make clear about what religious institutes we are speaking. We are speaking to those and about those whose avowed purpose is to engage in the practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy understood as to people who are not […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, The Corporate Apostolate of Religious: Practical Norms

December 29, 1983 — Afternoon Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We are on the fourth and last conference dealing with the corporate apostolate of Religious. Our present conference is on some practical norms. So far we have seen a good deal about what the Church expects of a religious in the apostolate, and all religious […]

Retreat – The Essentials of the Religious Life, The Church’s Teaching on the Prayer of Religious

December 29, 1983 — Evening Conference By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We would expect the Church’s new Code of Canon Law to be clear and explicit on the practice of prayer by religious, as persons dedicated to the consecrated life. In order to do justice to a vast subject, the matter will be covered in three […]

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