Christendom’s Graduate School of Theology announced in October of 2024 that it will launch an Institute for Liturgical Formation, set to begin in the summer of 2025. But what is the story behind this new institute and what will it work to accomplish? Find out more in this latest story from Instaurare Magazine.
“Why do some people leave Jesus when He is giving the most precious gift of eternal life? Why do some of the baptized turn away from the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist? Does our biblical, catechetical, and liturgical formation allow the gift of Jesus’ person to shine forth clearly? Does our Eucharistic celebration manifest Jesus’ presence, or does it obscure the presence of Jesus? Do Mass-goers manifest the presence of Christ through their witness of life, charity, and mission? Do our parish communities provide an experience of Jesus’ closeness and caring? Are our families still the primary teachers and transmitters of the faith?”
These were the closing words from Cardinal Luis Tagle at the Eucharistic Congress this past July when he emphasized a tremendous need in the Church today.
Members and friends of Christendom’s Graduate School of Theology took these words to heart, discerning how they could answer this great need. This fall, the Graduate School announced the Institute for Liturgical Formation, set to launch in the summer of 2025. The purpose of the Institute is to educate soundly and train those responsible for liturgical preparation and execution so that they can more effectively serve the Church’s mission to worship God.
This story comes from the latest issue of Instaurare Magazine, the official magazine of Christendom College. Read more from Instaurare here!
Christopher Carstens, Director of the Office of Sacred Worship in the Diocese of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Editor of Adoremus Bulletin, and co-founder of the Institute, was especially struck by Tagle’s pointed questions about the liturgy, particularly the Mass.
“Christendom’s new program responds to these valid questions,” Carstens notes. “But even beyond the Eucharistic Revival, the liturgy continues to be at the heart of the Church’s life—and among the most loved, debated, and misunderstood aspects of the faith. Our goal for the Institute is to assist priests and liturgical leaders in celebrating the liturgy beautifully and reverently after the mind of the Church and to help lead all the baptized deeper into the mystery of Christ present in the Mass, sacraments, and other liturgies.”
When asked what inspired the launch of the Institute, Dr. R.J. Matava, Dean of the Graduate School, highlighted the school’s desire to build up and strengthen the life of the Church.
“We see the Church’s primary mission as to evangelize and catechize people and to worship God,” says Matava. “Our school was founded to support the first of these, and the second is integrally related to it. While it falls primarily to bishops and priests to improve the liturgical life of the Church from a ministerial standpoint, a lot of this effort depends on proper liturgical catechesis—not only for the ordained but for the laity as well. Our institution’s motto is Instaurare Omnia in Christo. The renewal of the liturgy is at the heart of Christ’s cosmic work of renewing the created order, and so it is central to our institutional mission.”
Beginning this year, the Graduate School will offer four summer courses focusing on the liturgy. Participation in the Institute will also provide students with opportunities for liturgical preparation and participation, fostering a rich communal life on campus for attendants. The Institute will significantly benefit those with diocesan and parish-level jobs in liturgical preparation and execution, as well as priests, religious, and lay people interested in pursuing a deeper understanding of the Church’s liturgy.
The Institute is defined by its fidelity to the Magisterium and its commitment to the authentic renewal of the Sacred Liturgy—a task yet to be fully realized. The courses and requirements are intellectually rigorous yet not academically narrow, characterized by its rites-based, practical orientation.
Accordingly, courses will be taught with close attention to actual liturgical texts. This practical formation will also be integrated with a doctrinally rich and theoretically unified foundation, taught primarily from the perspective and methodology of St. Thomas Aquinas, animated by Sacred Scripture, and fortified by the Graduate School’s robust core curriculum. Spirituality will be emphasized throughout the entire curriculum. The Institute will take a lived, experiential approach to liturgical training. Students will fulfill their concentration requirements in person during the summer, worship in common, witness sound and beautiful liturgy, and be involved in liturgical preparation during their residence at the Institute. Beauty in all of its expressions—especially visual and musical—will permeate the culture of the Institute.
“Pope Benedict once claimed that it was sacred art and sacred persons—saints—that were the most moving arguments for the faith,” says Carstens. “Likewise, we want the Institute for Liturgical Formation to promote beauty and sanctity, unto the glory of God.”
Please keep the Graduate School in your prayers as they embark on this vital initiative.
Written by Julie Wells.
Read more from Instaurare Magazine here.