More Endorsements of the Institute for Liturgical Formation

The sacred liturgy—especially the celebration of the Eucharist—is at the heart of the Church’s life and mission. For this reason, Christendom College’s Institute for Liturgical Formation serves a vital work in supporting parishes and dioceses everywhere. I wholeheartedly endorse its mission to form leaders who will promote liturgical celebrations marked by beauty, reverence, and fidelity, and I encourage bishops and pastors to consider candidates for the program.

— Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes, Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship

I am delighted to endorse Christendom College’s newly formed Institute for Liturgical Formation. In an age when the beauty and depth of the Church’s liturgical life must be rediscovered, this initiative will play a crucial role in forming Catholics who can celebrate and participate in the liturgy with greater understanding and reverence. By grounding its work in the rich traditions of the Church, the Institute will help renew the sacred liturgy as the source and summit of Christian life.

— Most Reverend Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester and Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth

I am pleased that Christendom College has initiated an Institute for Liturgical Formation. It is my hope that this new program will assist all who take part in it—clergy, men and women living the consecrated life, and the lay faithful—to grow in their appreciation and love for the sacred liturgy, in which the work of our redemption is accomplished and the Church is made manifest as the visible sign of communion in Christ between God and humanity. Please know of my prayers that this Institute will be a rich source of blessings in the life of the Church.

— Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington

I am delighted to recommend the Institute for Liturgical Formation, answering as it does the call of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council for a renewal of the liturgy. The liturgy is a manifestation of the gathered Church and a mystical presentation of the cross from which all blessings flow and tend. It is vital for the life of the Church and, without exaggeration, the life of the world that the liturgy be offered with love, reverence, and fidelity to its scriptural and magisterial beauty. The Institute proposes to do just this and will prove to be an aid to bishops, priests, and parishes throughout the region according to God’s good plan.

— Most Reverend Gerard Battersby, Bishop of La Crosse, WI

The Second Vatican Council stated: “For the liturgy, ‘through which the work of our redemption is accomplished’, most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church” (SC 2). In this light, I am delighted that Christendom College has established the Institute for Liturgical Formation. Given the liturgy’s central place in the life of the Church, the more we can foster a deeper understanding of the liturgy and its beautiful and reverent celebration, the more the light of Jesus Christ shines forth in our lives and through us to others.

— Most Reverend John F. Doerfler, STD, JCL, Bishop of Marquette

I wholeheartedly endorse the new Institute for Liturgical Formation at Christendom College. The reverent celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments is one of the main reasons people convert to the Catholic Faith — and remain practicing Catholics. I congratulate the Institute for its rich and balanced program, which captures the “Always Ancient, Always New” aspects of true development and liturgical reform in the service of the Church. I recommend the Institute to my brother bishops, priests, sisters, and lay directors of worship.

— Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, Bishop of Oakland, CA

Christendom’s Institute for Liturgical Formation stands as a vital resource for deepening the faith of young people through the beauty and tradition of the Church’s liturgical life. In my work with FOCUS, I have seen firsthand how reverent, well-formed liturgical prayer not only anchors young people in their spiritual lives but also inspires them to pursue mission with greater zeal. A solid liturgical foundation fosters both personal holiness and a love for the Church, equipping young people to bring Christ to the world. I wholeheartedly support this initiative and its commitment to renewing the faith through the riches of the Church’s liturgy.

— Jessica Navin, Manager of Spiritual Formation, Fellowship of Catholic University Students

Christendom’s new Institute for Liturgical Formation couldn’t be more timely.  As Lumen Gentium teaches, the Eucharistic Sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of the whole Christian life.’ Today, however, there is a widespread lack of understanding of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and therefore also a tragic lack of true active participation in the liturgy. Liturgical formation places Christ crucified and risen at the center, and enables us to be fully united in charity and humility to the self-offering of Christ to the Father in the Spirit, for the salvation of the whole world.  Christendom is exactly the place to generate the fruits of liturgical formation for the spiritual benefit of the whole Church.

— Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

When I think of Christendom College, I think of a beautiful place, generous professors, eager students. And now with its new Institute for Liturgical Formation we can say, Wow! With shared love for the Church, respect for the liturgy, fervent prayer, and a desire to share that love and learning with the Catholic faithful, Christendom will continue to make its mark for generations.

— Father Eusebius Martis, OSB, Professor of Sacramental Theology, Pontificio Istituto Liturgico, Sant’Anselmo, Rome

I’m happy to endorse with gratitude the new Institute for Liturgical Formation at Christendom College. Liturgical worship, conducted with depth and elegance helps reveal to us who God is but also who we are meant to be in Christ. The crucified and risen Christ is at the center of this mystery, at the heart of Catholic liturgy. As true God and true man, he mediates to all the presence of God in human nature, and in his human glory leads us toward the genuine offering of ourselves to God. Likewise, we human beings, in both soul and body, and both mind and heart, are able in the liturgy to find our true rest and homeland in God, in genuine inspired contemplation and love. But living all of this concretely also requires on our part a reverence for and a deeper knowledge of the liturgical life and practice of the Church. The spirit of the liturgy, and its celebration, can and should reflect all these classical aspirations. I trust that this new initiative of Christendom College will help Catholic Christians in our time foster both practices and teaching that renew the liturgical life of the Church in our age.

— Father Thomas Joseph White, OP, Rector of the Angelicum, Rome