The Hour of Testing: Spiritual Depth and Insight in a Time of Ecclesial Uncertainty

In every century of Christianity, lives of serious discipleship have been lived in response to—not in isolation from—the state of the Church and the world. The inherent link between history and Catholic spirituality, between holiness and the dark forces at work in a given era, is as real and pertinent today as ever. In this powerful work that may very well prove prophetic, renowned spiritual writer Fr. Donald Haggerty plumbs the depths of this connection, offering a profound reflection on the signs of the times, both inside and outside the Church, and unfolding their implications for believers today.

Echoing Raïssa Maritain’s remark that “Jesus will be in agony till the end of the world,” this book posits that the Church may live out, within history, a trial mirroring the Passion of her Lord—and that union with Jesus’ suffering must be central in the spiritual lives of her individual members. Against a darkening historical backdrop, the would-be saints of today must be ready to accept and embrace—in love, through prayer, and for the sake of the Church—a mysterious replication of Jesus’ last week in their own lives.

With keen spiritual insight and characteristic eloquence, Fr. Haggerty explores what it means to pursue holiness seriously in the 21st century, being sanctified in and through the Church’s present—or perhaps still impending—“hour of testing”.

Fr. Donald Haggerty, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, serves at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He taught moral theology and worked as a spiritual director in seminaries for twenty years, and has directed many retreats worldwide for the Missionaries of Charity. He is the author of numerous books on spirituality, including The Contemplative Hunger, Conversion, Contemplative Enigmas, and Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation.

“Spiritual master Fr. Haggerty offers a hard-hitting analysis of today’s societal psychosis and dark godlessness. The crisis we face is a call to souls to live their own sacrificial offering in union with the Passion of Christ, cultivating the habit of a deep certitude toward the truths of traditional Catholic faith. This is a prophetic book.”
— Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Founding Editor, Magnificat

“Jesus repeatedly tells us to ‘watch’, lest the Day of the Lord catch us unawares. Fr. Haggerty instructs us on how to watch—through ever deeper prayer and surrender. Brief reflections form a guide to grasping the signs of the times. The effect is powerful, as if listening to a prophet without the drama. This book is both sobering for the complacent and consoling for those agitated by the troubled times that are ours.”
— Msgr. Andrew McLean Cummings, Director of Spiritual Formation, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary

"Fr. Donald Haggerty, one of the Church's greatest living spiritual masters, here directs his attention to one of the most pressing questions of our time: what are Catholic believers to do if and when the Church of Christ seems morally and doctrinally imperiled by the religious liberalism that has swallowed up the mainstream Protestant denominations?”
— Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“In his meditations on God’s humility and Jesus’ interior wounds, Fr. Haggerty urges us to cross a new threshold in prayer and offers concrete directions on how to go about this. He presses us to beg Jesus for the grace to share in his Passion as he lives it today in his Church. This is a critical moment, and it demands a new asceticism and a new heroism."
— Sr. Sara Butler, M.S.B.T., Professor Emerita of Dogmatic Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake

“A valuable reflection on the relationship between holiness and history, between serious spirituality and our current era. Fr. Haggerty masterfully weaves together the objective truths of Catholic biblical, systematic, sacramental, moral, and spiritual theology in a way that can inspire us to embrace more deeply and prophetically our baptismal call to holiness and mission in the crises and crossroads of our own times.”
— Bishop John Barres, Diocese of Rockville Centre, Long Island, N.Y.

“A masterful analysis of the growing crisis of faith that has befallen the Church today. People can be indifferent to God without taking the trouble to reject him in any decisive manner. What are we to do? Fr. Haggerty beautifully sets forth the challenging remedy: fidelity to God through a wholehearted embrace of Christ crucified, joined to Him in a contemplative union of prayer and sacrifice.”
— Fr. Gerald E. Murray, Pastor, St. Joseph’s, Yorkville, New York, N.Y.