Announcements

If your parish or organization is sponsoring a Eucharistic Event, Workshop or Eucharistic Congress, email us information about what you have planned at least one month in advance, along with who to contact, and we will list your event here.

50th International Eucharistic Congress (Dublin 2012)

The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and One Another

CONTEXT "The year 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council. The Council marks an important moment of renewal and deepening of the Church’s teaching and of her understanding of herself as the Body of Christ and the People of God. From the beginning of the planning process, it seemed appropriate then that the Eucharistic Congress in 2012 should celebrate this important anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, and that the Congress should have a Eucharistic theme sourced in the documents of the Council." e-Congress, containing news about the Congress and pastoral resources for use in your community, is available at www.iec2012.ie/e-Congress/index.html

Angels and Demons

The Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Library
at the
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In 1999, a year before his death, Father John A. Hardon, S.J. visited Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke (then Bishop of La Crosse Diocese) and approved of the Bishop's plan to build a Marian Catechetical Center at the Shrine complex. After Father Hardon's death, Archbishop Burke (St. Louis Diocese) assumed the spiritual directorship of the Father Hardon apostolates of which The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association is one and proceeded directly to fulfill his commitment to Father Hardon.

The Marian Catechetical Center will consist of a variety of resources for the study of catechetics, classrooms for instruction in spirituality and doctrine, and facilities for Catholic radio broadcasting. A library, dedicated to the memory of Father Hardon, will contain many of his treasured materials. The Shrine has already received some of his clothing and prayer materials. Other personal library possessions of Father Hardon are intended to be transferred to the Shrine once proper facilities can be constructed. To receive and preserve the original writings of Father Hardon, the Catechetical Center will have a museum-quality archiving room on site.

Time is of the essence in constructing the Catechetical Center. Of primary importance is the need for a center to fully engage the evangelization resources available through the Marian Catechist Apostolate; of equal concern is the degree of risk associated with so many of Father Hardon's works – currently spread across a variety of locations and not yet secured in an environment of preservation.

The Capital Campaign is underway and an estimated $5M is needed for the construction of the Center. Those who benefit from the works of the Father Hardon Apostolates are particularly requested to come forward to assist Archbishop Raymond L. Burke in this worthy endeavor. No amount is considered too small.

To learn more about the Shrine you may visit their website: http://www.guadalupeshrine.org/Home/Home.asp

All contributions are to go directly to the Shrine. If you care to discuss your donation, you may contact Sister Christa Marie at 608-788-8601.

Sister Christa Marie, F.S.G.M., Executive Director
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
P.O. Box 1237
La Crosse, WI 54602-1237
Tel: 608-782-5440

Apostolates for Eucharistic Adoration

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Recent Website Additions

• The Two Cities of St. Augustine by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Saints and Biographies section. "We distribute the human race into two kinds of men, one living according to man, the other living according to God. Mystically, we call them two Cities, or two societies of men: the one of which is predestined to reign eternally with God, the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil. (City of God, 15, 1.)"  (09-02-2010)

• Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of "Mysterium Fidei" by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Eucharist section. "The phenomenal growth of Eucharistic adoration and worship in the Catholic Church stands to reason. Once the faithful realized who is on earth, no less than He was in first century Palestine, it is no wonder that those who believe will flock to be in His presence, to honor and thank Him as their God, and to ask Him for the graces they so desperately need. Experience shows that as a parish or a diocese, or a country develops its worship of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, the life of the people wonderfully improves. Why not? It is the same Jesus who worked miracles during His visible stay on earth. He promised to work even greater miracles, mainly through the Blessed Sacrament, for those who believe."  (09-01-2010)

• The True Purpose of Education by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Education section. "The true purpose of education is to teach people the purpose of their lives here on earth. This purpose is to use the creatures that enter their lives as a means of reaching their eternal destiny in the life to come. That destiny is nothing less than entering heaven and possessing God in the perfect satisfaction of all human desires."  (08-31-2010)

• Towards an American Baptist - Roman Catholic Dialogue by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Christian Unity section. "Any approach to a dialogue between the American Baptist Convention and the Roman Catholic Church should begin with some understanding between the two traditions. Without such mutual understanding, there is a risk that the intended dialogue might become a disputation, or, at the other extreme, might never come to grips with those essentials to which we are deeply committed as Christian communities.…I have decided to do the brave thing and presume to state briefly what I consider the fundamentals of Baptist faith and polity, which I will then examine in the light of Catholic thought. My hope is that in this way we shall have some common ground for further discussion, building on principles that are of common concern to all Christians interested in religious unity."  (08-21-2010)

• Through Mary to Jesus by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Mariology section. "The "In today’s confused world, it is not an idle question to ask: What is a Catholic? A simple answer would be: A Catholic is a Christian who believes we are to go to Jesus through Mary."  (08-21-2010)

• Threshold of Faith in the New Catechism by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Catechism and Catechesis section. "The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" is not a mere collection of doctrines. It provides the groundwork for understanding what we Catholics believe. On this level, the Catechism is unique. The Holy Spirit is guiding the Church in the most academically sophisticated age of her history. In America alone, over five million students go to college every year. We are trained to the hilt in every humanistic subject from azymes to zygotes. But most Catholics are undereducated in their faith. The result is predictable. By the time they finish even their secondary education, they find themselves in conflict in their own minds. They are trained in science, history, and world literature. They know the structure of the atom and the composition of the moon. At the same time, their minds have been, to say the least, undertrained in the religion they profess. What happens? They abandon their Catholic faith as a remnant of childhood."  (08-21-2010)

• Solitude by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Christian Spirituality section. "We then first ask ourselves, "What is solitude?" In the Christian vocabulary, solitude is the conscious and deliberate aloneness with God."  (08-19-2010)

• Sexual Pleasure Outside of Marriage by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Marriage section. "Our title for this evening's conference is "Sexual Pleasure Outside of Marriage." A good subtitle would be, "Sexual Suicide."…There are several ways in which we can approach this subject. We could look at sexual pleasure outside of marriage as a root cause of the disintegration of once civilized nations who are literally committing sexual suicide. We could analyze the reasons behind this suicidal mania, which our Holy Father identifies as the culture of death which pervades so much of modern society. My plan here is to meditate on the divinely instituted purpose of marriage which the Author of Life has associated with the pleasures of what should be only marital intercourse."  (08-18-2010)

• Spiritual Potential at State U. by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Education section. "It was not coincidental that a full-blown Department of Religion came into being at Western Michigan or that it grew over a thousand per cent in enrollment within less than 10 years. These results were the fruit of coordinated work on the part of believers from different religious traditions, who recognize the spiritual potential of a state university. What happened at Western can be done elsewhere to make people aware that a scientific study of religion answers to the students’ needs, which their parents and society at large are paying millions in tax revenue to supply."  (08-18-2010)

• The Third Commandment by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Commandments section. "Our present meditation is on the third precept of the Decalogue. Surprisingly, the Third Commandment comes in three parts. First of all, it prescribes work for six days a week. Secondly, it prescribes the sanctification of what was called the Sabbath in the Old Law and Sunday in the New Law. And then it prescribes abstention from servile work, again for the ancient Jews on the Sabbath, which meant rest, and for us on Sundays and what we call holy days of obligation. My plan is to cover both those three parts and add a somewhat detailed set of recommendations."  (08-18-2010)

• Sunday Schools, Non-Catholic by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Protestantism and Non-Christian Religions section. "The early American phase of the Sunday school movement filled a special need because of the high degree of illiteracy and (some claim) of low morals in the colonies.…At first the churches did not want the Sunday school, particularly on account of its lay leadership, but there was dire need of an organization to do the work that the public school was relinquishing. In time, Protestant churches adopted the Sunday school and quickly changed its scope and curriculum. Catechisms appeared, and in general the school policy became that of its supporting denomination."  (08-16-2010)

• The Sixth and Ninth Commandments and Consecrated Chastity by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Chastity section. "The extensive teaching of the Second Vatican council on Consecrated Chastity is absolutely unique in the Church’s two thousand years of the Church’s councilor history….There is nothing like it in all the previous councils of the Church. You might ask why? One reason that I like to repeat, having been privileged to assist with the broadcasting of the canonization of Saint Maria Goretti. In 1950, Pope Pius XII in his homily after the canonization predicted that the enemies of the Church would use sex pleasure to destroy the faith of millions of believing Christians. As he said without chastity, Christianity cannot survive. Everything that he predicted has been fulfilled beyond his own, the Popes wildest, might I say, nightmares. There is a worldwide mania called sexual promiscuity."  (08-14-2010)

• Seventh and Tenth Commandments and Consecrated Poverty by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Commandments section. "Regarding the seventh and tenth commandments of the Decalogue…we may say that Christ was enacting or legislating, giving laws. Moses gave laws from God and Christ was giving laws, but watch this, not from God but as God. That is why, as we meditate on consecrated poverty, we are looking at an actual reality. God not only in His incarnation became poor; God was, we may say, poverty living in the world. Ever since, Christ lived a poor life in Palestine from the stable in which He was born to the borrowed grave in which He was buried. He has never ceased giving some of His followers the grace to live like Him. Call it voluntary poverty, call it poverty of dependence, call it consecrated poverty. By whatever name, this is Christianity at its noblest. It is also a Christianity that the modern world desperately, and I mean desperately, needs."  (08-14-2010)

• The Spiritual Personality of Religious Communities by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Religious Life section. "Societies, like individuals, have distinct personalities…Religious communities are no exception. They are so numerous in the Church, and so varied, because there are so many ways that Christ can be imitated - since God is infinite and Christ, who is divine, is infinitely imitable. They are also manifold because the Church wisely encourages different ways in which different groups can render varied service to the People of God, some by concentrating on prayerful contemplation and sacrifice, others by combining the roles of Mary and Martha through contemplation in action, and still others by moving rhythmically from prayer to action and back to prayer again."  (08-14-2010)

• The Second Vatican Council by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Vatican II section. "Broadly speaking, councils of the Church are authorized gatherings of bishops for the purpose of discussing ecclesiastical problems with a view to passing decrees on the matter under deliberation. If all the bishops are called to participate and actually represent the Catholic world, the assembly is called ecumenical which means universal; if only part of the hierarchy is invited, the council is particular."  (08-09-2010)

• Doctrine of the Real Presence in the Encyclical "Mediator Dei" by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Eucharist section. "Shortly before his elevation to the Pontificate, Cardinal Pacelli was commissioned by Pius XI to preside at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest in 1938. In the opening address on May 25, he exhorted the assembled multitude to cultivate their faith in the Blessed Sacrament with as much devotion as they would give to the study of Christ Himself, because the Eucharist, he told them, is Christ. "It is that unsearchable mystery by which we believe that the earthly life of Christ our Redeemer, though apparently closed at His Ascension into heaven, still goes on and will go on until the end of time. It is nothing less than the invisible continuation now of His visible presence in times past.""  (08-08-2010)

• Doctrine and the Blessed Virgin Mary by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Mariology section. "My intention is to look in sequence at the five principal doctrines of the Catholic Church about Mary and to review them in the approximate order in which they rose to prominence in the Church’s history, either because of the opposition of heretics or because of the needs of the faithful. These five doctrines are: 1) Mary’s perpetual virginity; 2) Her rights to being called the Mother of God; 3) Her mediation of grace from Christ to the human family; 4) Her Immaculate Conception; 5) Her bodily Assumption into heaven."  (08-03-2010)

• Doctrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Mariology section. "We have been accused of mariolatry, of exaggerating our devotion to Mother Mary, detracting from our worship to her Son. For this reason let us look at the true doctrine about Mary which was a strong and clear provision of the Second Vatican Council. There are five principal doctrines in the Catholic Church about Mary. Let us study them as they arose in the Church’s history in answer to the needs of the faithful in their opposition to heresy."  (08-01-2010)

• The Deposit of Faith and the Catechism by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Catechism and Catechesis section. "The deposit of faith is not as we might speak of a deposit of dust on the furniture. It is not like a deposit of money in the bank. The deposit of faith is the Church’s possession of unchangeable truth: What God has revealed through His prophets in the Old Law, and through His Divine Son in the New Law. It is the ocean of divine wisdom that God has manifested to His people over the centuries, but especially revealed to us in the words and actions of Jesus Christ the Incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity."  (07-25-2010)

• Denomination by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Protestantism and Non-Christian Religions section. "A class or society of individuals called by the same name; in the U.S. the term is used to describe the variety of religious bodies, mainly in the Protestant tradition."  (07-24-2010)

• The Decalogue and Christian Sanctity: Introduction by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Commandments section. "…The Decalogue and holiness are very closely related. In fact, Christian sanctity cannot really be understood except in relation to the Ten Commandments. Our plan for this opening meditation is to briefly explain the following areas of an ocean of revealed truth. First, the Ten Commandments are an integral part of the New Testament. Second, Christ lived the Ten Commandments in the highest possible degree. Third, sanctity means the following of Christ, which therefore means living out the Ten Commandments as perfectly as we can after the example and teaching of Jesus Christ."  (07-24-2010)

• The Doctrinal Message of Fatima by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Church Dogma section. "To understand the basic doctrinal message of Fatima, we confine ourselves to the six Marian apparitions formally approved by the Church.…What are the principle doctrines of faith contained in these communications? It is necessary to identify them as revealed truths before we can intelligently speak of the mission of Fatima.…Why, then, have such revelations as those recorded in the lives of the great mystics, or as reported at Fatima? Their purpose is to recall what had already been revealed up to apostolic times and to reaffirm what needs to be believed and put into practice in times like ours. Surely ours is a period of trial, and some would say it is the most critical age in the history of Christianity."  (07-24-2010)

• Devotion to the Sacred Heart by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Sacred Heart section. "Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is as old as Christianity. When the side of Christ was pierced on Calvary, there immediately flowed out blood and water. The Church has interpreted this to mean the outpouring of grace through the Church, which began the moment that Christ expired on the Cross."  (07-24-2010)

• Religious Life Today - Part 4 of 4 by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Religious Life section. "There seems to be a special value in writing about authenticity in the religious life in our time. If there is anything that the modern world abhors it is pretense. It can forgive a person for not being intelligent or educated, for not being skilled or trained, even for not being a law abiding citizen. What it despises is make-believe, where a person claims to be what he is not, or professes to possess what he does not have. Such descriptions as counterfeit and phony, artificial and imitation, are only symbolic of a deep-felt need in our day for honesty and sincerity."  (07-18-2010)

• Religious Life Today - Part 3 of 4 by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Religious Life section. "One of the most providential developments in the Catholic Church, through the Second Vatican Council, has been the extraordinary emphasis on the Liturgy in the life of the faithful: priests, religious and the laity. Unfortunately this liturgical renewal has not always been wisely interpreted. Not the least problem affecting the Church today is the misreading of what the Council taught and, in some instances, a positive indifference to, by now, the extensive teaching of the Holy See on how the Sacred Liturgy is to be celebrated and what norms are to be followed if the inspired directives of the Church’s latest and most comprehensive ecumenical gathering are to bear the fruit desired by the Holy Spirit."  (07-18-2010)

• Religious Life Today - Part 2 of 4 by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Religious Life section. "It must seem strange that we should be reflecting on the meaning of such fundamentals of religious life as poverty, chastity and obedience. Why not talk about their sublimity or dignity, or concentrate on their practice? Why all this preoccupation with the meaning of this and the meaning of that—especially of such prosaic commodities as the three vows? Well, they were perhaps prosaic sometime ago, but they are anything but that today. Volumes are being written, rewriting the essence of religious life and, in the process, redefining the evangelical counsels, including the virtue and the counsel and vow of obedience."  (07-18-2010)

• Religious Life Today - Part 1 of 4 by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. has been added to the Hardon Archives - Religious Life section. "My purpose in this conference is to get just one idea across--a crucial one on which everything else depends: to show that religious life today is going through the most serious crisis in its history."  (07-18-2010)

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