In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, students are often required to demonstrate their mastery of assigned readings by composing written outlines. These outlines are not mere assignments to be completed for a grade; they are meant to prove that the student has read the text thoroughly, understood its structure, and studied it with attention and care. An outline that is well composed shows both the form and the content of a text, and it allows the teacher to see clearly whether the student has truly understood what he has read. The first step in writing such an outline is to … Continue

We Became Mothers Because We Loved Our Husbands We did not become mothers by accident. Most of us did not begin our journey into motherhood with long-range plans to homeschool, raise many children, or manage a household full of activity and responsibility. We became mothers because we gave ourselves in love to our husbands. That was the beginning. This origin point matters. We must remember it because the heart of our vocation as homeschooling mothers is not only the care of children but also the love of our husbands. Marriage is not a support system for motherhood. Motherhood is a … Continue

Sunday, July 6 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary TimePsalter Week II Monday, July 7 Monday of Week 14 in Ordinary TimePsalter Week II Tuesday, July 8 Tuesday of Week 14 in Ordinary TimePsalter Week II Wednesday, July 9 Wednesday of Week 14 in Ordinary TimePsalter Week IIOptional Memorial: Saints Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs Thursday, July 10 Thursday of Week 14 in Ordinary TimePsalter Week II Friday, July 11 Memorial of Saint Benedict, AbbotProper of SaintsPsalter: Common of Holy Men Saturday, July 12 Saturday of Week 14 in Ordinary TimePsalter Week IIOptional Memorial: Blessed Virgin Mary

How Catholic homeschooling mothers can use July to rest, simplify, and prepare for a peaceful school year. The summer month of July can be a gift from God for the homeschooling mother. It offers a pause between years of study, a season of sunlight and quiet, and a chance to reset both home and heart before the labors of the academic year begin again. For the Catholic homeschooling mother using the Classical Liberal Arts Academy (CLAA), July is not merely a break but a purposeful time for preparing the home, the schedule, and the soul. As Solomon says in Proverbs, … Continue

In the modern age of information, where nearly every question can be typed into a search engine or asked of an AI chatbot, we would expect truth to be more accessible than ever. The entire repository of human knowledge is, in theory, available to anyone with an internet connection. But despite this apparent abundance, there is a deep and troubling problem at the heart of our digital world: the systems we rely on for knowledge are not designed to give us what is true. They are designed to give us what is popular. This single flaw has led to the … Continue

The art of rhetoric, the discipline concerned with the effective use of language in persuasion, was studied and refined by the greatest minds of ancient Rome, with Marcus Tullius Cicero standing as its most influential teacher. For Cicero, rhetoric was not merely a skill useful in politics or law, but a vital part of the good life, an essential art for anyone aspiring to virtue and wisdom in public and private affairs. His formulation of the five canons of rhetoric has endured for over two millennia, providing the structural foundation for both classical and modern approaches to persuasive communication. These … Continue

So today is Sunday, July 6, and this is William Michael, the headmaster of the classical liberal arts academy. One of the most frequent questions that I receive comes from adult men asking how they can obtain a classical education. They may be through their own formal studies. They may be established in their own career, married, starting a family. I’ve even had older men established in their careers in the latter half of their lives, wanting to get the education that they never had, and seeing it as a good opportunity later in life to do that. And so … Continue

I am often asked what I believe about the origin of the world, and how I reconcile that belief with the claims of modern science. I believe that the world was created by a God of infinite wisdom and power, not by a long process of incremental development, but instantaneously, in a single act of incomprehensible and miraculous power. Anything less would be inappropriate for a divine being of such greatness. This is not a belief formed in reaction to modern ideas, nor is it based on a simple or literal reading of the Book of Genesis. Rather, it is … Continue

As a Catholic mother of many children, I have often met women who feel discouraged when they hear others talk about early sleep training. Some are just learning about the idea when their babies are already three months old—or even seven or nine months. Others have fallen into rhythms entirely centered around the baby’s needs, rocking or nursing the child to sleep, and staying up long hours. These mothers want to change things, but they wonder: Is it too late? Can I start now, without harming my baby or disrupting my family more? This article is for those mothers. It … Continue

God Still Speaks: Reading the Bible with Catholic Eyes As a Protestant, I often made it my goal to read through the entire Bible in a year. I had a checklist in the back of my Bible and took it very seriously. I believed that God’s Word was a “lamp to light my feet” and the primary way God spoke to me. If I had questions about life or wanted to grow spiritually, I turned to Scripture. Now, as a Catholic, I understand even more deeply what the Bible truly is: not just a book of inspiration or guidance, but … Continue