Language of the Catholic Church and Western Civilization
"Church Latin" is the informal, snappier-sounding term for the more scholarly phrase Ecclesiastical Latin, or the occasionally-used Medieval Latin. All of these terms are used to denote something different from "Classical Latin"--the Latin used by, say, Julius Caesar. Church Latin was (and is!) the Latin used by the Catholic Church for two thousand years--thus, where... Continue Reading →
Guess what? There are old books that were specifically written to teach the Latin texts found in the Traditional Divine Office.
It's never too early for Latin, and it's never too late.
This just in! Newly in the Public Domain in the USA as of 2021, Medieval and Late Latin Selections (for the Use of College Students) by Charles Upson Clark and Josiah Bethea Game. My waiting to share this treasure is finally over!
This seems like the perfect time of year to plan something exciting: start-to-finish Latin by the Natural Method, Vol. 1 doing just a paragraph a day. Really. A paragraph is so bite-sized almost every single one of you should be able to squeeze that in. But there are enough days in the year that you... Continue Reading →
If you read last week's post, featuring Fr. William Most's thoughts on teaching Latin, you know there is something going on. It's a war.
"Most Latin teachers will readily admit that Latin is not taught with very great success today. Even after as much as eight years of Latin, students often find it quite an effort to translate fifty lines of Cicero in an hour and even then, they will not always get the sense."
An equation for today: Something you don't really know + something you know well = quicker, pleasanter learning. I'm really hoping you know the New Testament, or at least the Gospels, very very well: if so, your Latin studies will get a boost from today's profiled resource: audio recordings of the Neo-Vulgate New Testament. Almost... Continue Reading →
No matter how good the glossary is in the back of your Latin textbook, it can only take you so far. Everybody needs a Latin dictionary, and if your particular interest is Church Latin, you need a specialized Latin dictionary. Here are some suggestions: Print Dictionaries A Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin by Fr. Leo F.... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yN6QueLslM I love hymns and carols, and currently this one is playing in my head--mostly because I am getting ready for Advent. (What, you don't know many songs for Advent? Better learn this, stat!) This song sounds like a Christmas carol, but it is all about the Annunciation, so it's absolutely delightful to sing while... Continue Reading →
As I said in a recent post, if you're here because you want to start worshiping at the Traditional Latin Mass, the most important thing I want to tell you is that with a good Latin Mass Missal, you don't need to actually know Latin to worship well. But there are so many good reasons... Continue Reading →
