Posted on 11/15/2006 10:40:30 AM PST by stfassisi
--Long-time Friend, Thomas Aquinas Medallion Recipient (from the Winter 2000-2001 Quarterly Newsletter)
One of the nation's greatest catechists, spiritual directors, and retreat masters, Fr. John Hardon, S.J., died on December 30 at the Colombiere Retreat House in suburban Detroit at the age of 86. Fr. Hardon was a long-time friend of Thomas Aquinas College and a recipient of the Thomas Aquinas Medallion at Commencement Ceremonies in 1981.
His Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1975 by Doubleday, is in its 26th printing with more than one million copies sold. It anticipated the Holy See's Catechism of the Catholic Church for which he served as a consultant.
Altogether, he published more than 30 books on Catholic theology and spirituality, and recorded dozens of audiotapes on various topics, including The Apostles' Creed, The Eucharist, Catholic Sexual Morality and Angels and Devils.
In addition to his rich publishing and speaking career, Fr. Hardon was beloved as a spiritual director and retreat master. He was Mother Teresa's spiritual director and one of her principal confessors. He spent hundreds of hours giving conferences to the members of the Missionaries of Charity and worked with Mother Teresa to promote the establishment of chapels of perpetual Eucharistic adoration. He was also for many years the chaplain of the World Apostolate of Fatima, the Blue Army, aiming to promote devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.
Fr. Hardon also founded numerous Pontifical Catechetical Institutes throughout the United States at the request of Pope Paul VI. In the last few years, he launched the magazine Catholic Faith, and just last fall published The Marian Catechist Manual, to assist Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in their work as catechists. He worked to help homeschooling families everywhere, and consulted with Dr. Mary Kay Clark, founder of the popular Seton Home Study School.
What many found so remarkable about Fr. Hardon was his holiness. He would spend three hours a day before the Blessed Sacrament, writing letters and books on his knees. He kept a strict account of every moment of his life, and had limited his sleep to such a point that his superior had to order him to sleep at least six hours a day. His converts were many, including Lee Atwater, the feisty chairman of the Republican National Committee, to whom Fr. Hardon gave last sacraments when he was on his death bed with brain cancer in 1990.
Fr. Hardon's last visit to the College was in March, 1998, when he spoke on "Writing and the Spiritual Life." He implored his audience to take up writing, saying "writing is a wonderful way of growing in intellectual humility." That he was a giant in intellectual humility is no surprise, given the rich legacy of writing he left us. May he rest in peace.
I realise we are both jesting. I know you know I am not making fun of your beliefs. I am just in a great mood, brother
I realise we are both jesting. I know you know I am not making fun of your beliefs. I am just in a great mood, brother
Of course. Likewise here, my indulgent friend ;)
Hardon's lack of understanding Protestant theology is only exceeded by his ignorance of Protestant history. He should have stayed with his strong suit, Catholic theology and spirituality. Hubris is a terrible thing to watch in a spiritual director. Maybe he just needed more sleep.
LOL Touche
Over the next several years Protestant seminaries and colleges began seeking Fr. Hardon as a visiting professor. Curiously enough, they wanted him to teach Catholic theology; they knew that he was familiar with American Protestantism and also that he was committed to an uncompromising Catholic perspective. While continuing his full-time post at West Baden, Fr. Hardon also accepted visiting professorships at a variety of Protestant schools, including Bethany School of Theology, Lutheran School of Theology, and Seabury-Western Divinity School. In this work he saw an opportunity to share the fullness of the faith with those baptized in Christ who, because of the circumstances of history, time and place, or culture, had yet to receive a complete understanding and appreciation of the Christian faith and of the Church that extends the power and presence of Jesus Christ. "Who do you say I am" (Lk. 9:20)?
Fr. Hardon's experiences in the Protestant seminary were very fruitful. Though his teaching alone did not often bring individuals into a full communion with the Catholic Church, he did find that his Protestant students gained a greater understanding of the Catholic faith, and even began to grasp the sense of the Catholic priesthood. He hoped that they would bring this understanding to bear upon their own Protestant ministries, thus leading their people to a deeper appreciation of the Gospel and a longing for a complete union with the Church; the union that Christ wills for all who are baptized in His name.
Moreover, Fr. Hardon's work in Protestant seminaries was in some respects monumental and ground-breaking. When he first accepted the position at Seabury-Western Divinity school, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury sent a personal representative to Chicago to commemorate the event: for the first time in history an Anglican/Episcopalian seminary had appointed a teacher who was a member of the once hated and feared Society of Jesus.
*He spent three hours every day praying/thinking/writing before the Blessed Sacrament. Yss, hubris is just the right word for such a briliant and humble man. In fact, that is why Mother Theresa chose him as her Confessor. It was all because of his "hubris"
*So, you met Fr. Hardon?
They're not doing a very good job of hiding them if you know about them.
These schools are liberal institutions and are thus no more Protestant than "liberation theology" advocates are Catholic. As far as it goes, mainstream Catholics have enough problems with their own left wing, as well as the radical traditionalists like the followers of Archbishop Lefevre, to worry about the problems of other branches of Christianity. Clean your own house first.
"So, you met Fr. Hardon?"
Many just like him who go just beyond their calling.
Our house is huge. It is world-wide. If I lived to be 400 years old, I STILL wouldn't have finished sweeping the doorstep
If you haven't met him how do you know those you have met are just like him?
So what is Unitarianism? I'm just asking and not spoiling for a fight. We have so many sects here that it is impossible to know who believes what.
My dear neighbor believes in communion once a month and foot-washing. She's Baptist of some type. She also has developed a siege mentality because Armegeddon is apparently tomorrow.
My idea of Protestantism is all sects that are not in communion with the See of Peter. Hans Kung and Spong are from the same bolt of cloth. ~But, there are those who embrace their errors. I had a supervisor tell me Christ wasn't the Son of God, while she shoved her teenager forward to take communion because he hadn't had his First as a child. No idea of Confession and Penance on this babe's mind. I asked her why she even thought she was Catholic.
A lot of people deny Christ because, frankly, He's a terrible inconvenience! Denying Him is like an anorexic seated for dinner and all that is offered is raw carrots, or a magnificent banana split. The poor dear embraces starvation for Allure or Cosmopolitan illusions and passes up the reward.
So, once again, what is Unitarianism and is it Protestant?
"If you haven't met him how do you know those you have met are just like him?"
I read the article he wrote that is the subject matter of this thread.
As I understand it, anyone can be a protestant for any reason and no protestant has authority over any other protestant so who made you the prot-pope who can read out of protestantism those who disagree with your personal opinons?
Fr. Hardon was a brilliant priest. Please rethink your post, re-read what Fr. Hardon wrote, and then, feel at liberty to apologise. Fr. Hardon is CLEARLY referring to what Luther wrote
Wrote what? He makes a ridicules charge against Luther and the Lutheran church and I am supposed to believe it at face value? What evidence does he have of this "cover up"? Luther's "Against the Jews" could have been repressed but its out there.
However, I am equally sure you grant him the right to read the documents of protestantism and come to his own conclusions about them even as you grant to all protestamts the right to read Holy Writ and come to their own conclusaions about it.
If you want to be known as one who thinks Fr. Hardon a buffon, have at it, brother
BUT, me Bride is on the way home and we are going to celebrate the end of a VERY difficult project she had been tasked with (I LOVE using lingo I hate).
In fact, even though we are not officers (current or former) of the Knights of Columbus and therefore not automatically eligible for a dispensation from the No-Drinking-On-A-School-Night Rule, we will soon be opening champage and cabernet.
God Bless Noe!!!!
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