The goal of the Institute is the formation of a large and ever growing body of well instructed lay apostles in the Church Militant who will become a mighty force for expelling the modernist heresy from within the Church, and for spreading the True Faith throughout the world.
The course of instruction is basically the same as that which has been offered at Saint Benedict Center since 1942. Our teachers are the popes, the councils, the saints, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and, most especially, Holy Scripture and Catholic Tradition. By learning from these unchangeable foundational sources, we continue to keep our eyes fixed on the narrow path to salvation, no matter how distorted and distracting the world around us becomes; no matter what is taught by self-proclaimed “experts;” and no matter where wolves in sheep’s clothing attempt to lead the flocks.
The course will have the aspect of continued adult education. Catholic men and women, in any ordinary occupation in life, can form a Circle of Study which could meet weekly for the purpose of increasing their knowledge of the Faith, and of things pertaining to it.
In order to give the course form and purpose, every person enrolled will aim at obtaining a Diploma of General Catholic Education, by means of completing a program which we describe below, and with the help and guidance of the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies at Saint Benedict Center.
For those who would like to participate, here are some essential guidelines for the formation of a Circle of Studies:
1. The number of participants in each circle should range from two to twelve. Such a group can meet conveniently in a home. This will keep the class in the nature of a seminar, rather than a lecture. When the Circle grows to a larger number, we advise that it be divided into two Circles.
2. A patronal name should be chosen for each Circle, such as “The Holy Family Circle” or “The Saint Thomas Aquinas Circle.”
3. A Moderator should be selected for each Circle. His or her duties will be detailed below.
4. The members of each Circle should agree on an appropriate time and place for the meetings. Each meeting should last about 100 minutes so that attendance at it will count for two Academic Hours.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE WEEKLY PROGRAM
In order to maintain the interest of the participants, the program for the weekly meetings should have a variety of different types of activity – reading, memory drills, discussions, auditing cassettes, etc. No one of these activities, however, should exceed ten to twenty minutes in duration. Here are some suggestions for a typical meeting:
1. Read one chapter, or a part of a chapter, from one of the books of Holy Scripture (twenty minutes; discussion should take up perhaps another ten minutes). An old Catholic Bible with footnotes, or a good Catholic commentary, would be of great help.
2. Spend five to ten minutes drilling on some memory item, like learning to name the Twelve Apostles in the same assigned order, or to recite the Ave Maria in Latin.
3. Read together a good history of the Church, like a volume of Mourett-Thompson (twenty to thirty minutes).
4. Listen to a cassette from the Saint Augustine Institute for about one half hour. You will receive our Saint Augustine Institute Sales Notices regularly every quarter, and they will include listings of all tapes available.
5. Members should be encouraged to read quotations from books they are studying by themselves. Throughout the session, members should be free to ask questions or make suggestions, but discussion should never be allowed to become a complete takeover.
6. Short prayers should begin and end each session. Eventually it would be good to say these prayers in Latin.
