Featured Courses
Go deeper with this series of courses from The Vigil Project, and scroll down for an extensive video library of shot-form training in music, prayer, and ministry.
Learn and Pray with the Four Marian Hymns, with Ben Frederick
Ben Frederick – Director of Music at Louisianna’s St. Joseph Abbey & Seminary College – journeys through the four great seasonal Marian hymns. He teaches where the hymns come from, the basics of singing Gregorian chant, and how these ancient hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary can root our prayer at the end of each day.
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Learn the four ancient Marian Hymns to incorporate into your personal and musical prayer. Plus, gain familiarity with the basics of Gregorian chant.
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Self paced with the ability to watch the full course start to finish.
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There are no course requirements or prerequisite skills.
History of Salvation and the Liturgy
“The Liturgy! Everybody speaks about it, writes about it, and discusses the subject. It has been commented on, it has been praised, and it has been criticized. But who really knows the principles and norms by which it is to be put into practice?” - John Paul II, October 1985
Over this four-part course, Fr. Andrew Gutierrez – Chair of Pastoral Theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans – guides us through understanding the history of salvation and the purpose of the liturgy itself.
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What is the Mass? Why do we need liturgy as a Christian people? Where does our understanding of salvation come from? Before we ever talk about what we DO at Mass, it's important we take time to remember what the Mass is, and why it is essential to our lives.
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Self paced, but we recommend taking time between lessons to digest the content. It will be helpful to take notes as you learn, and attend Masses in between sessions. In total, the course takes 1 hour and 10 minutes.
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There are no course requirements or prerequisite skills.
Theology of the Body for Musicians with Brian Butler
Brian Butler – Executive Director and Co-Founder of Lousianna's ECHO Community – explores Pope Saint John Paul II’s series of 129 lectures on the human body, from the lens of our calling as Catholic musicians. “The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible, the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the invisible mystery hidden in God from time immemorial, and thus to be a sign of it.” (Pope John Paul II, February 20, 1980). The course is in four parts, with new episodes premiering November 2024.
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To unpack the 129 lessons of Pope Saint John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” from the perspective of a musician.
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Self paced with the ability to watch the full course start to finish.
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There are no course requirements or prerequisite skills.
Matthew 25 for Musicians, with Andrea Thomas
The Vigil Project's Andrea Thomas leads the Catholic Musician Community’s first-ever course: Matthew 25. Over these five videos, you will venture through the themes of stewardship – time, talent, and treasure – as it relates to your vocation as a Catholic musician. We highly encourage you to take time between sessions to pray and journal, and have included journal pages in the lessons that follow for your further reflection.
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Grow in your discernment as a Catholic musician, with the confidence and understanding to develop your craft well.
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Self paced, but we recommend taking time between lessons to pray and journal.
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There are no course requirements or prerequisite skills.
Audio Divina with Ben Batalla
Ben Batalla – pianist, composer, and music director – guides listeners through a prayerful experience of improvisation on scripture. Experience the words of Ezekiel, Matthew, the Psalms, and Revelation in this musical meditation.
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Take time to pray with scripture and original improvisations by Ben Batalla.
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Self paced with the ability to watch the full course start to finish.
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There are no course requirements or prerequisite skills.
Liturgy of the Hours
Andrew Goldstein, of The Vigil Project, provides a step-by-step practical course on singing and praying the Liturgy of the Hours. While the church invites laity to participate in this never-ending prayer of the faithful, it’s infrequent that laity – especially musicians – get a crash-course on how to learn this foundational prayer. Over five episodes Andrew will provide background on the structure, how to sing basic chant, resources for praying the hours, and much more.
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Learn the liturgy of the hours and grow in appreciation for psalmody. An ideal goal of the course is to pick a resource for singing the hours and know the basics of how to begin praying with this resource.
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Self paced with a total course time of about an hour.
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It will be helpful to have a basic understanding of sheet music.
Video Library
Equip yourself for mission as a Catholic musician, whether you serve in the liturgical and devotional space, or bring beauty to the secular world. The library of content is constantly updated with new resources to prepare you to serve.
