Language of the Catholic Church and Western Civilization
The inescapable truth: Catholic sensibilities are formed on Latin. Period. Full stop. Two reasons for this are that 1) the clearest understanding of the intellect and 2) the subtlest and most elevated emotions and feelings flow from experiencing the use of Ecclesiastical Latin. Therefore, teaching Latin to your children is a priceless gift for their... Continue Reading →
(Latina pro Parvulis--Latin for Kids, pt. II) I like to get students working to read real Latin as soon as possible. Thanks to an ancient book called the Disticha Catonis, this is really possible after only a few Latin concepts have been introduced. Here's a project I've done with a roomful of 40 fifth-graders, and... Continue Reading →
Catholics have accepted some of the worst distortions of their Faith in the order of music, art, and literature without a shiver of discontent because they never really heard the "Tantum Ergo" or the "Ave Maris Stella" --not for lack of faith, but because there had never been ordinary music in the home to have... Continue Reading →
The following is how I introduce classrooms of students in local elementary schools to my weekly series of Latin lessons on the first day...
Quick update (April 2023): Here are all my LNM things at once: audio files for the Pattern Practice Exercises, and the printable Vocabulary Notebook pages, and the printable flash cards, and MP3s of the Latin readings for the first 8 chapters, and the Drill Masters, and the additional stories I made based on the book's... Continue Reading →
"But to have had no Latin at all practically means that you do not know the logic or understand the categories of general grammar and those forms of language which are at the same time forms of thought..."
Everybody thinks of Latin as hard to learn. And it is-all languages are. But what sets Latin apart for its difficulty in our minds is not the what--it's the how.
Carpe diem! Now is the time…get ready to remember more, do better at your practice sentences, and even like your Latin studies.
How? With clever use of strategies and tools, of course!
Flashcards: the most over-used but under-utilized study aid. Latin students, I'm sure you've already been making use of them. But read through this list of ways to make sure they really work for you! Flashcards: Tips & Tricks Make the cards go twice as far. I got this great idea from a language-learning book: take the... Continue Reading →
Pronouncing Church Latin is very different from pronouncing American English, and on the whole, much simpler. The most important thing to remember about Ecclesiastical Latin is the vowels, which are described immediately below. (Spanish-speakers rejoice!) Vowels A = ahh E = eh I = eee O = oh U = ooo Y = eee Vowel... Continue Reading →
Learn Church Latin 