A friend wrote this morning and mentioned that a priest he knew was asked by a Protestant whether he is assured of his salvation, whether he is certain that he is saved. This is a common question asked by Protestants, evangelicals. It’s a necessary problem in their system of religion—this question of whether we’re sure that we’re saved. So, he asked me if I would take some time to talk about it, think through it, and try to provide something helpful. Now, as a former Protestant, I know all about this endless fussing about assurance of salvation. I witnessed it … Continue

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is arranged in four parts: [1] Profession of Fath (Apostles’ Creed)[2] Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Seven Sacraments)[3] Life in Christ (Ten Commandments)[4] Prayer (Lord’s Prayer) These have been the four pillars of Christian life since the beginning of the Church. In Acts 2:41-42, when the Church was first formed, we read: “Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” Acts 2:41-42 … Continue

Some homeschooling parents, for whatever reason, can find themselves with a 17 or 18 year-old student old enough to graduate high school, but not finished with high school course requirements–maybe not even close. If this is the case, parents should not panic and consider high school graduation a lost cause, nor should they commit to spending years trying to “catch up” on high school studies. The problem can be solved much more intelligently. First, remember that as a registered homeschool parent, you are your child’s school administrator. You have the authority to give your child a high school diploma and … Continue

Many Catholics are not aware that the Catholic Church has arranged a system of prayers, readings, and songs for all Catholics to recite throughout the day, every day of the year. The Liturgy of the Hours is the official daily prayer of the Catholic Church and is intended for all Catholics. In the past, laymen made use of simple devotions while the priests, monks, and nuns of the Church prayed the “Divine Office”. In the old Divine Office, the Psalms were recited every week, following a strict schedule of prayer times, which was very demanding. After the Second Vatican Council, … Continue

I’d like to discuss why Protestants believe Catholics are wrong. What do Protestants find false about Catholicism, and why are they incorrect? I believe this is an easy argument to make, and I will demonstrate this in my talk. This is not a prepared talk, so bear with me if I wander a bit, but I think I can explain this clearly and convincingly. The name “Protestant” indicates that these Christians define themselves by their opposition to Catholicism. The term comes from the Latin “protestantes,” meaning “protesting ones.” Their identity is in relation to Catholicism. You can’t have Protestants without … Continue

In this lesson, we will study Aesop’s fable of the Hawk and the Farmer. This fable is studied in lesson 108 in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy’s Aesop’s Fables course. Let us begin by reading the fable. Fable A Hawk pursuing a Pigeon with great eagerness, was caught in a net which had been set in a corn-field for the Crows. The Farmer, seeing the Hawk fluttering in the net, came and took him. The Hawk besought the Man to let him go, saying piteously that he had done him no harm. “And pray what harm had the poor Pigeon … Continue

The Summa Theologica was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas in the mid 13th century, almost 800 years ago. When modern Catholics learn about and attempt to study the Summa today, they are challenged not only by its content, but also by its structure. The content is challenging because Catholics aren’t familiar with the classical liberal arts or Aristotelean philosophy. The structure is challenging because Catholics aren’t familiar with, well, Aristotelean philosophy. In this article, I’d like to explain how to study the Summa for mastery. 1. Develop Preliminary Knowledge The Summa Theologica assumes that the reader is familiar with Sacred … Continue

We live in a generation which complains that children spend time playing video games, posting on social media, sitting around the house, etc. Many families try to correct this by signing kids up to play sports or get involved in other extra-curricular activities. However, the core issue of idleness is not being addressed and children are not living virtuously simply because they are moving around outside. Parents are just substituting one form of leisure for another, quite arbitrarily. The real challenge is to cultivate the virtue of Justice in our children by motivating them to seek profitable, honest work rather … Continue

The 2023-2024 school year has been one of the most productive ever in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. The amount of work completed by students has been amazing. I am grading hundreds of assignments weekly, across all subjects, and the work is generally very good. As more students learn how to study, they are able to take on more studies and move deeper into classical Catholic studies. This week, I posted on the Study Center, asking students to (voluntarily) write a brief summary of what they’ve learned this year. I will share their responses as they come in: “I started … Continue

Today is Saturday, June 8, and this is William Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Recently, I posted a talk on understanding the Trinity. It was actually posted on Trinity Sunday, or shortly thereafter. I discussed the problems in modern society when it comes to discussing a Catholic doctrine like the Trinity. I explained how, for modern Catholics who don’t study scholastic philosophy, it’s almost impossible to comprehend the Catholic teaching because it was developed with the help of Aristotelian philosophy. In scholastic philosophy, where Aristotelian philosophy is studied and known, ideas are developed and defended using the ideas … Continue