Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute

 

Since, like all the faithful, lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. This duty is the more pressing when it is only through them that men can hear the Gospel and know Christ. Their activity in ecclesial communities is so necessary that, for the most part, the apostolate of the pastors cannot be fully effective without it. CCC 900.

 

Who We Are

 

Under the patronage of St. Augustine of Hippo, the mission of the Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute (“Institute”) is to assist people in achieving the end for which they were made—the enjoyment of God in His infinite goodness.. “The fulfillment of all desire . . . .”

 

The Institute seeks to achieve its mission by offering training, resources, and spiritual direction to encourage Christians to enter into deeper union with Christ through spiritual formation focused on the magisterial teaching and spiritual patrimony of the Catholic Church, with particular emphasis on Pauline ascetical theology and the 17th Century French School of Spirituality.

 

The Institute, through its resources and educational programs, provides formation for all interested Christians, with particular attention devoted to making its offerings available to members of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas.

 

What We Offer

 

·         Online resources and recommendations for seeking deeper union with Christ

·         Bible studies

·         Spiritual theology and formation courses

·         Mornings of Reflection

·         Retreats

·         Training in spiritual direction

·         Visiting scholars lectures series

 

Commitment to the Magisterium

 

Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute, in the content of its instruction, as well as its ends and means, seeks full accountability and submission to the magisterium of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church, both the means and goal of God’s plan, we find the fullness of truth. Not only as a duty, but as a delight, the leadership of the Institute joyfully embraces all that the Catholic Church believes and teaches, without reservation or dissimulation.

 

Our Method

 

Recognizing the vital necessity of catechetical instruction after baptism, or entry into full communion with the Church, as well as the heavy demands placed upon the priestly office in the modern world, the Institute seeks to engage the laity in a disciplined approach to spiritual formation and the interior life. At the Institute, we strive do this through our course work and other activities by calling upon the Church’s broad and rich ascetical patrimony, with a specific focus on St. Paul’s teaching on spiritual life and the  influence of the 17th Century French School of Spirituality.

 

This particular approach to spirituality was the principal devotional influence within the worldwide Catholic Church from the mid-17th century through the mid-20th century. The movement was characterized by: a deep sense of God’s grandeur and of the Church as the Body of Christ, an Augustinian view of man that nonetheless stresses the very positive potential of man to reach Christian perfection through grace, and a strong apostolic and missionary commitment. Among the devotional emphases of the movement were: the centrality and exaltation of Christ and the necessity of the movement of the will to make oneself Christ’s humble servant; the necessity of the knowledge of God and self-discipline in order to advance in the spiritual life; adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

Affiliation

 

The Institute is a lay apostolate of Austin Hall, a 501(c)(3) educational, non-profit organization. While we encourage and support all organizations faithful to the magisterium, we are not formally affiliated with, owned by, or in any way subject to a specific religious order, organization, movement, or institution.

 

As lay faithful, we seek to participate in Christ’s prophetic office as witnesses “[t]o teach in order to lead others to faith. . . .” CCC 904, and “collaborate in catechetical formation . . . .” CCC 906.

Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute 

Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute

 

Since, like all the faithful, lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. This duty is the more pressing when it is only through them that men can hear the Gospel and know Christ. Their activity in ecclesial communities is so necessary that, for the most part, the apostolate of the pastors cannot be fully effective without it. CCC 900.

 

Who We Are

 

Under the patronage of St. Augustine of Hippo, the mission of the Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute (“Institute”) is to assist people in achieving the end for which they were made—the enjoyment of God in His infinite goodness.. “The fulfillment of all desire . . . .”

 

The Institute seeks to achieve its mission by offering training, resources, and spiritual direction to encourage Christians to enter into deeper union with Christ through spiritual formation focused on the magisterial teaching and spiritual patrimony of the Catholic Church, with particular emphasis on Pauline ascetical theology and the 17th Century French School of Spirituality.

 

The Institute, through its resources and educational programs, provides formation for all interested Christians, with particular attention devoted to making its offerings available to members of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas.

 

What We Offer

 

·         Online resources and recommendations for seeking deeper union with Christ

·         Bible studies

·         Spiritual theology and formation courses

·         Mornings of Reflection

·         Retreats

·         Training in spiritual direction

·         Visiting scholars lectures series

 

Commitment to the Magisterium

 

Austin Hall Catholic Studies Institute, in the content of its instruction, as well as its ends and means, seeks full accountability and submission to the magisterium of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church, both the means and goal of God’s plan, we find the fullness of truth. Not only as a duty, but as a delight, the leadership of the Institute joyfully embraces all that the Catholic Church believes and teaches, without reservation or dissimulation.

 

Our Method

 

Recognizing the vital necessity of catechetical instruction after baptism, or entry into full communion with the Church, as well as the heavy demands placed upon the priestly office in the modern world, the Institute seeks to engage the laity in a disciplined approach to spiritual formation and the interior life. At the Institute, we strive do this through our course work and other activities by calling upon the Church’s broad and rich ascetical patrimony, with a specific focus on St. Paul’s teaching on spiritual life and the  influence of the 17th Century French School of Spirituality.

 

This particular approach to spirituality was the principal devotional influence within the worldwide Catholic Church from the mid-17th century through the mid-20th century. The movement was characterized by: a deep sense of God’s grandeur and of the Church as the Body of Christ, an Augustinian view of man that nonetheless stresses the very positive potential of man to reach Christian perfection through grace, and a strong apostolic and missionary commitment. Among the devotional emphases of the movement were: the centrality and exaltation of Christ and the necessity of the movement of the will to make oneself Christ’s humble servant; the necessity of the knowledge of God and self-discipline in order to advance in the spiritual life; adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

Affiliation

 

The Institute is a lay apostolate of Austin Hall, a 501(c)(3) educational, non-profit organization. While we encourage and support all organizations faithful to the magisterium, we are not formally affiliated with, owned by, or in any way subject to a specific religious order, organization, movement, or institution.

 

As lay faithful, we seek to participate in Christ’s prophetic office as witnesses “[t]o teach in order to lead others to faith. . . .” CCC 904, and “collaborate in catechetical formation . . . .” CCC 906.

Unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam