“And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”
— Phil 1:9-11

Our Mission

Founded in 2023, Criterion is beginning its inaugural year as an apostolate. Though this is its first year as such, it is the fruit of several years of experience in pastoral ministry, mentorship and faith formation, as well as of personal prayer and academic study.

Criterion is ordered toward maximal communicability and rendered applicable to the faithful through the distillation of years of pastoral and personal experience. The research and resources found within Criterion’s materials stem from the heart of the Church’s tradition and from the rich engagement of that tradition within the academy. Nevertheless, the profundity of what Holy Mother Church teaches—that which theologians and philosophers expound upon ably—rarely, if ever, trickles down to the people. As these truths are meant to become principles of life for the People of God, they must be offered to the faithful (must be handled by them) in a manner that evokes a personal response.

Therefore, our hope is not to offer anything new; rather, our work is ordered toward evoking in the faithful that which has already been communicated to them—the inherent dignity of their calling as sons and daughters of God, their share in the Gospel as priests, prophets, and kings in Christ Jesus. We hope to do this by experiential learning so as to help the faithful engage their lives with authentic freedom, in an integrated and intentional manner.

Without attempting to “settle” the question of what a liturgical life is, or even presupposing it (lest it become a presumption), Criterion serves as a positive provocation of this question. It seeks to raise the question of identity, vocation and destiny, as well as of personal responsibility, while proposing the liturgical life as the criterion of ultimate meaning and value. Such a proposal demands a response.

The only fitting disposition, therefore, is one that is open to engagement with all of one’s being—an ongoing and comprehensive response of the whole person—to the offering of participation in God’s very Life. This disposition is one of metanoia: a hunger for freedom and mercy which can only be fulfilled in the Paschal Mystery. This is what Criterion seeks to instill in the heart of the mystagogue.

Criterion exists to serve the Church through formed mystagogues, so that they can in turn usher the faithful into an engagement with the call that always calls them forth.

As a “framework” of mystagogical catechesis, Criterion exists to assist parishes in the work of establishing a culture-building praxis of renewal in their communities.

Mystagogical Catechesis relies on called, dedicated, and equipped leaders. The work of cultural renewal begins within. In this way, Criterion hopes to assist parishes in opening up a pathway for ongoing, ever-deepening engagement—one that is informed, sincere and personal—and offers a way to carry that engagement into the entirety of one’s life.

“But as Pope St. Leo said, speaking of Christ’s passion, ‘Everything that the Son of God did and taught for the reconciliation of the world we know not only from the history of his past actions, but we experience it also in the effectiveness of what he accomplishes in the present.’ We experience the reconciliation which he accomplished in his humanity in the efficacy of the sacred mysteries which are celebrated by his church, for which he gave his life and which he established as the sign and also the means of salvation.”

— Reconciliation et Paenitentia, 8

Drawing from the Tradition

  • Church Documents

  • Writings on the Liturgy and on the Life of Grace

  • Writings on the Holy Spirit and Pedagogy/Paideia

  • Writings on Experience of Meaning and Value

Foundational Texts

Our Logo

The Four Bells represent the sanctuary bells, which raises the awareness of the faithful that Christ is present in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist, therefore is presented in the center of the bells. It is also the center of our lives as Christians.

The Brown Shield represents the rich traditions of prayer and penitence that are so beautifully embodied in the Carmelite and Franciscan charisms.

Meet the Founder

Since coming back to the Church nearly fifteen years ago, I have served in various capacities/settings as a lay ecclesial minister—from campus ministry at St. Mary’s Catholic Center (Texas A&M) to parish and diocesan directorships in both the Arlington and Harrisburg dioceses.

My career in lay ecclesial ministry began shortly after graduating from Christendom College with an MA in Theology. My experience serving our brothers and sisters in Christ, mentoring them and forming them has been another (though equally valuable) form of education.

My family and I are grateful for all that we’ve learned—and especially for all those we’ve served and served alongside in the communities that embraced us—along the way. In each position, each parish, each diocese we’ve had the blessing to serve, we felt the absence of an “adequate” formal formation. Over time, and recognizing this as a common thread, we felt called to put all we’ve learned to the service of the Church in a more focused manner. It is in response to this call that we decided to put all we have into founding this nonprofit.

We believe that this work is being called and provided for by the Holy Spirit and we place it under the patronage of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and St. Francis of Assisi.

I truly hope you will join us in this effort to inspire a renewal of mind and heart in the interior lives of the faithful so that they can “deepen their grasp of the Paschal mystery and make it a part of their lives” (RCIA, 244).

May the peace of Christ reign now and always!

In the blessed interim,

Adam

Adam Arehart