_{Gandaf Walle, SJ, S.T.L. '24}

"At the CSTM, we are engaging the reality of a Church as a ‘conscious body,’ a Church that is community-centered and people-centered and not simply institution-centered; a Church that is constantly learning, aware, open and engaged in solidarity with the diverse peoples and realities, local and global; an emphasis on the importance of local rootedness and openness to the international character of our school through interculturality and interreligious encounters.

As a conscious body, we think of a transformative formation through a particular focus on the development of a personal, interpersonal and communal consciousness by confronting the knowledge we receive to the diverse realities (local and international) surrounding us. Such transformation entails viewing students not as mere objects but as subjects of their own formation (self-educators) in relation to the faculty and staff."

Tayz Hernandez, M.Div. '26

"We all have a multiplicity of gifts, we are all experts or have interests in different things. The CSTM invites us to utilize those gifts across all the different spaces. If there is a certain club or group of particular interest, we are encouraged to start that and start those conversations. For example, our arts group. Another example, within liturgy where we actively exude the multiplicity of definitions of diversity. Whether it be diversity in music, in representation among the ministers, etc. Everyone has gifts that we are invited to use and bring to this space. 

There is no perfect church nor a perfect environment or school, but we are invited to make of the school what we feel we need in our formation. There is openness and trust with the faculty and staff who want to support us in our journeys and make sure that we have the most holistic formation possible."

Callid Keefe-Perry, Assistant Professor of Contextual Education and Public Theology

"Spiritual Transformation and Formation are not commodities that can be acquired. Or, rather, be wary of anyone who says they have transformation up for sale. There are no '10 Quick Tips to Guarantee a Better You' and you should be suspicious of any headlines that read 'You Won't Believe this One Weird Trick for Painless Self-Discovery and Faithful Development!' Instead, we have to find places which contribute to the conditions we are in in such a way that what we need has a place to gain purchase.

When we're young sometimes we do an experiment in science class where you try to grow sugar crystals or salt crystals in a jar. The likelihood of actually successfully growing one is much greater when you have a little seed crystal to start and the solution is very saturated. But make no mistake, the seed crystal itself is insufficient. The container and medium needs to be right to allow the thing to grow. At our best we provide a rich space in which the passion for justice and deepening faithfulness that you already have can meet the conditions in which -- God willing -- you can further grow that seed of Christ into something more.  

Here, imagination is not a flight of fancy or 'playing pretend,' but a disciplined exercise in theological creativity, in envisioning what more might be possible.  What new things God is doing in our midst that we do not yet see. I think often of a gorgeous line from the theologian Peter Phan:

Theology is done with both memory and imagination; it is contemplating the past and creating the future at the same time…. Remembering is not re-producing reality exactly as it happened . . . but re-creating it imaginatively; it is re-membering disparate fragments of the past together and forming them into a new pattern under the pressure of present experiences, with a view to shaping a possible future. . . Like a pair of wings, memory and imagination carry the theologian aloft in the work of linking past and future, east and west, north and south, earth and heaven.

Anyone who is getting into ministry today knows things are in the midst of vast transitions in the Church. We know things have to change. Our task is to see how the powerful, true, and faithful things can be carried forth into the future to meet with what more may yet come. In an era of profound change, it nurtures an environment that is not only aware of the need for transformation but actively engages students in the process of envisioning it. As agents of change, students are encouraged to delve deep into the enduring truths and practices of faith, seeking to understand how these can be authentically transmitted into new contexts."

Hosffman Ospino, Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education

"Our academic life and exercises are opportunities to get a better understanding of la realidad. We explore reality through research, textual analysis, different methods of inquiry, conversation, etc.

The understanding of reality gained in the classroom is often confronted with the lived reality of people in parishes, families, detention centers, shelters, schools, hospitals, etc. Our students have access to these places via Contextual Education placement as well as their ministry sites – for those who are employed or who volunteer in them.

Transformation happens as students (and faculty) engage in an ongoing process of adjustment of the various readings and experiences of la realidad. This happens in dialogue with one another, and by engaging in vocational discernment. Convictions are tested, commitments are strengthened, limitations are discovered, yet in the middle of this the hearts of ministers – and scholars who take ministry seriously – are forged."

Jacqueline Regan, Associate Dean, Student Affairs & Career Services

"Formation for transformation isn’t something particular to the CSTM. However, how we do formation is a special characteristic of CSTM. Year after year, graduates name relationships with faculty and students as most formative in their education. 

The transformative power of good theology is life-giving and life-changing: CSTM students and graduates serve as bridge builders to deeper understanding/insight into lived faith; facilitators of meaning making for those they serve. Our commitment to formation and need to engage is key- pastoral, spiritual, human, intellectual- and its rigor in all aspects is a hallmark of CSTM education - what employers are seeking. Our alumni become 'formators' and agents of transformation of the future."