What
Our Students Have Been Saying…
Vita and Saulius Kuliavai
God gave us a wonderful gift in that the
two first years of our marriage we were studying at the ITI
in the MMF program. These were the years of formation for
each of us, both personally, and as a young Christian couple
willing to learn how to live our faith better and how to
live a Christian marriage.
First of all, this program allowed us to study the basics
that every Catholic believer should know, such as Scripture
and the Catechism. Second, we studied various subjects on
marriage and the family based on Scripture, the documents
of the Church, the Fathers of the Church, the teachings of
John Paul II (Theology of the Body), Canon Law, human psychology,
and the current situation and family politics. This allowed
us to realize God's call for spouses and to get answers to
the relevant questions that we face in today's world, such
as: "Why not contraception?"; "Why chastity
(premarital, marital)?"; "What is behind homosexuality?"; "Why
not divorce?"; "Why not in-vitro fertilization?" etc.
We also received guidance for the implementation of the things
we learned.
What is more, besides the intellectual studies, we had an
opportunity to live in a community with many families that
truly live their faith. We learned from them that the
theory is possible in practice and how blessed they are in
living according to the call of God. What we got from the
MMF studies at the ITI is the foundation and direction for
living our life in the faith as spouses, parents, and active
members of the Church.
Dr. Gudrun Kugler-Lang
Studying at the ITI was one of the
greatest gifts of God in my life. It changed my life profoundly.
I enjoyed every moment on an academic and on a personal level.
The seminar teaching method allowed me to discover theology
with all the excitement of a researcher. Somehow it seems
that there is a bodily sensation of the act of understanding,
of “making
it one’s own”! To the ITI I owe my certainty
when I think about issues or discuss them. We were taught
to understand where thoughts come from and what implications
they have. Certainty is an important aspect of the quality
of life.
At the ITI, I learned to recognise and to appreciate the
beauty of great thoughts and writings.
To the ITI, I owe many of my best friendships. There is a
certain spirit of family in common faith and shared life
which lasts.
Does all of this sound like an overstatement? It is not!
But it is so wonderful, that in my three years at the ITI,
I almost could not believe it myself each day.
Martin McDonald
My name is Martin McDonald. I am the first
Welsh student at the ITI. The MMF program is packed with
a broad range of classes allowing students to approach the
study of marriage and family from almost every conceivable
angle, including philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology,
history, law, teaching, and much more. I am convinced that
after I graduate, I will return to my country with the necessary
knowledge and skills that every Catholic needs to promote
and defend marriage and family in a society which is becoming
increasingly more hostile to it.
I believe that the ITI is a unique school in the world. It
is a family in every sense of the word. Not only does it teach
the truth and beauty of God’s design for marriage and
family—it lives it to the fullness! I have learnt more
about how holy, joyful, and fulfilling a rich Catholic family
life can be from the families who live, work, and study at
the ITI than I have in the classroom. It is also renowned for
being the meeting place of many international couples. I, myself,
have had the great joy of meeting my future wife, Rose Baklinski,
from Canada there—and where better, than a school dedicated
to marriage and family, to prepare for the vocation of marriage?
A more detailed overview and description
pdf may be downloaded – MMF
Program.
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