Why the Saint Augustine Institute?
It has been 68 years since St. Benedict Center was originally founded as a school on the feast of St. Joseph, in the year 1940. At one time, as those familiar with the history of our Crusade know, St. Benedict Center operated a fully accredited college in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It began as part of the ideal of our Founders to convert America to the Catholic Faith. Father Leonard Feeney, Sister Catherine, and Brother Francis knew that deep study of our Faith by men and women who would become the leaders of our nation would eventually convert that nation through their leadership. This continues to be an essential aspect of the Crusade.
As a legacy for a future Christendom, Fr. Feeney desired to establish a “school of thought” with a profoundly Catholic perspective. Fr. Feeney understood that the task of converting this nation is going to necessitate personal holiness, but that it is also going to require a certain degree of intellectual formation.
In one important respect, our assignment to convert America is more challenging today than conversion of pagan nations in times past. The “pious” paganism of ancient Greece and Rome tended to align reason with the natural order to arrive at certain truths, which were then used to form a civic and well-ordered society. The consequent development of natural virtues provided fertile soil for the eventual blossoming of Christendom. The paganism of our day is a “new paganism” in so far as it is a perversion of the natural order. Belief in the existence of moral absolutes and of transcendent authorities is no longer to be found within the fabric of our society. The challenge for our Crusade is indeed formidable.
Another striking difference between our challenges to convert America today and similar challenges of the past involves circumstances within the Catholic Church today. Our Crusade for the conversion of America must recognize the state of doctrinal confusion within the mystical Spouse of Christ. The human element of Holy Mother Church (members both lay and clerical) must be converted back to the infallible teaching of Her very own doctrines. This is especially true of the doctrine, extra ecclesiam nulla salus, the obscuring of which is the main obstacle to the conversion of our country. The urgency to convert the nation simply does not exist without recognition that conversion is necessary for salvation. Clearly, intellectual formation concerning this important doctrine, along with the history of Christendom and our present day, is vitally important for our Crusade.
Over the years, Br. Francis’ strongest sense of mission, as Fr. Feeney’s disciple, has been the continued development of a “school of thought” to assist the Crusade. One method used in the early days of the Crusade at St. Benedict Center in Cambridge was regular lectures and discussion meetings given on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. Br. Francis’ night was Tuesday; Sr. Catherine’s was Friday, with Fr. Feeney always speaking on Thursday, the day dedicated to the Blessed Eucharist. These talks were very well attended and had a profound impact. Here, at St. Benedict Center in Richmond, we have carried on this tradition of providing talks for members of our community.
Another method for the promulgation of a Crusade “school of thought” is the Immaculate Heart of Mary School operated by our Sisters here at the Center. The course work at the School is carefully designed to form holy and knowledgeable apostles who will assist with our Crusade to convert America. However, there are many Crusaders, active supporters of the Crusade, who live too far away to attend talks at the Center or to send their children to our School. For these individuals, the Saint Augustine Institute is of particular importance.
The Saint Augustine Institute (SAI) was established by Br. Francis as the primary method for creating and promoting the particular “school of thought” that will assist our Crusade. SAI is a program of study leading to a diploma. Its syllabus has nine prayers, twelve memory items, and 24 books to read. Each SAI student submits a brief book report on each of the 24 books before the diploma is awarded.
The course of instruction is basically the same as that which had been offered in the early days of the St. Benedict Center in Cambridge. The instructors 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, and no matter what is taught by self-proclaimed “experts” – wolves in sheep’s clothing.
All Crusaders for Christendom are encouraged to begin and/or persevere with the SAI program of study. The conversion of America will depend upon holy and knowledgeable apostles for Christ.
