1. Does the SAI course cost anything?

No. The only cost is for books you wish to buy, many of which are available at our bookstore. Click here to browse the bookstore.  Good news… there is a growing number of books (Required Reading and Recommended Books) available for free download (about seven or eight at this time).

2. How long does it take?

If you follow the Syllabus, it should take about four years.

3. I have some religious books at home. Can I read them and get credit?

Follow the recommendations and requirements in the Syllabus (see pages 3 and 4). You will find there are books you should begin with on our lists. If you still have questions on a particular book, send the information on the book to ToPrefect@Catholicism.org. The Prefect, Br. John Marie Vianney, M.I.C.M., Tert. will answer your questions.

4. Suppose I have no one else to study with? Can I study alone?

Of course. Although a Circle of two to twelve members is the norm, you can register a Circle of One. It is better to study in a group, as Brother Francis has said, learning with others provides a better atmosphere. We like to highlight the pleasurable aspects of study. It should be fun! If you e-mail your location to the Prefect, he will try to find an existing Circle of Studies near you.

5.  May I file my book reports online?

You may e-mail your book reports, in the body of the e-mail, to toprefect@catholicism.org.  Please keep in mind the comments and instructions about book reports in the Syllabus (see pages 3 and 4).  There is no need for a long report.  Also you may print the form from this site and send it to the Perfect via snail mail (see the Book Report page in the left column).

My purpose in writing this message is to present you with a challenge: to become actively involved – as a religious or secular – in the greatest of wars in the history of Holy Mother Church and the world. Let me explain:

The Catholic Church is entrusted by God with the exclusive message of salvation. Although She can never fail in being the path of salvation, She can, by the failure of Her members – who hide their light under a bushel – be less effective in proclaiming the message of the Savior to all mankind. The “fire” that Jesus came on earth to kindle will never burn out, but it can unnecessarily smoulder, when He wishes it to be a conflagration. Such is the present state of things in the Church. This is because of the failure on the part of the Catholic faithful – clergy and laity – to bring the Gospel to a sinful world, to fulfill their God-assigned role as “the salt of the earth.” “But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?” (Matt. 5:13; Luke 14:34.) Since Her members have largely lost this holy “savour,” the Mystical Body suffers greatly.

This explains why the Church has appeared to grow weak in this twenty-first century. Indeed, since Vatican II, her salvific message appears to have been almost entirely forgotten.

The tragic truth is that the Church has been and is now losing ground to every evil force and false teaching. This is so overwhelmingly obvious that anyone with a modicum of common sense can observe it very locally. The statistics are available, but totally unnecessary. All the real Catholic need do is observe what is taught and practiced in the vast majority of parishes today – non-Catholic doctrine, and protestantized liturgy – much of it with the blessing of the Church hierarchy.

Under the destructive influence of the heresies condemned by Popes Gregory XVI (Indifferentism), Pius IX (Liberalism), Leo XIII (Americanism), and Saint Pius X (Modernism), the Church Militant has taken on the character of a “Church Dormant.” The apostolic zeal that was the mark of Catholicism in the Ages of Faith has been abandoned in favor of spiritual complacency. This loss of militancy and zeal on the part of individual Catholics, and this collapse of the hierarchy’s vigilance against heresy, is ultimately attributable to one thing: the denial by churchmen of her key Dogma of Faith – extra ecclesiam nulla salus.

Put simply, the One True Faith is not being sufficiently upheld “whole and undefiled,” as commanded in the Athanasian Creed. As a result, the world is sinking deeper and deeper into faithlessness. And into this growing faithless void has rushed all manner of error.

Where, then, is one to turn for direction? Consider, for instance, the vast number of Catholic newspapers and magazines published in the United States. Few of them present the fullness of that most powerful message which the enemies of the Church fear so much. In fact, most diocesan papers give ample space in every issue to clerical and lay columnists who do nothing but heap scorn on the beliefs and traditions of our Holy Faith. These papers concern themselves with mostly social and political issues (usually from the wrong side), and neglect the infinitely greater spiritual needs of souls.

Even the more conservative and traditionalist publishers of the Catholic press, we are sorry to say, leave much to be desired. Many of their publications can best be categorized as editorial wailing walls. They imprudently publicize every available bit of disheartening news that shows nothing but scandal and deterioration within the Church, and thus they lead the faithful more and more deeply into despair, while wasting their time, distracting them, and polluting their minds with unholy and impure thoughts.

The Church will never overcome her diabolical enemies, or the spread of these wicked errors that are leading souls into hell by the millions, until her powerful message of the One True Faith – “without which there is absolutely no salvation” – is loudly and confidently proclaimed “from the housetops” once again.

This has been a first priority goal of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center from its very beginning. Since 1940, we of Saint Benedict Center have devoted our lives to studying and propagating the Holy Catholic Faith. Since 1950, we have continually traveled throughout all the United States, distributing doctrinal and devotional literature, and sowing the seeds of the Faith among many millions of Americans. We do this because, like Father Feeney, our determined ambition has always been what it was for Saint Patrick in Ireland, for Saint Augustine in England, and for Saint Boniface in Germany: We want to make America a Catholic nation!

How do we intend to do this? In general, by broadening the work and expanding the reach of our Crusade as outlined in this booklet. Saint Philip Neri said that with only ten pure hearts, he could convert the world. Surely, then, it is possible to convert just one country. And no one today could be more convinced of the possibility of accomplishing such a feat than ourselves, because we have met and talked to many millions of Americans. Good will does exist. We know from experience.

In recent years, God, in His ineffable Divine Providence, has graced us with a definite movement toward revitalization of our Third Order. New interest is being shown. New members are joining our ranks. We are observing – a few here, a few there – a return of Catholics to the militant spirit of the Ages of Faith. May God give it increase!

So, my dear reader, I present you with this challenge – the greatest challenge of our times!

We invite you and the thousands of other faithful Catholics, who can be found in every city and town of this nation, to become active members of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center, in the First, Second, or Third Orders of our congregation. You will thus accept the challenge which our Lady of Fatima has so clearly placed before all of us, and, at the same time, share in the abundant blessings which come from pursuing so worthy a goal: “for the labourer is worthy of his hire.” (Luke 10:7)

For members of the Third Order, we require remarkably little to become a part of this rewarding Crusade. There are two essential things we call for: first, to become reservoirs of the Faith themselves by experiencing the joys of its inexhaustible treasures through study and prayer; then, reach out to their non-Catholic relatives, friends and neighbors and invite them to participate in the same joys. No Catholic can truly love his Faith, or effectively explain and defend it, unless he first understand it properly himself.

My dear friends, we have a nation to conquer for Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the King, and for His Holy Queen Mother!

From the depth of my heart, I implore you to join us and march with us on this Crusade for our Holy Faith.

Sincerely,

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Brother Francis, M.I.C.M.

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I believe that circle members will enjoy sharing ideas and experiences with distant members. The site will provide a convenient location for them to ask questions, deepen their knowledge, and, in general, make their circles of study more enjoyable. Prospects will also find reliable information to help them decide whether they should join an existing circle or form one of their own.

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, 12 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.

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