It is necessary for Catholic parents to consider carefully what they mean when they speak of education. In many conversations today, one hears confident references to methods, programs, and well-known educational figures, as though these were sufficient guides for forming children. Parents compare curricula, adopt labels, and align themselves with prevailing trends, yet rarely pause to ask the more fundamental questions upon which all sound judgment depends. What is the purpose of education? What has the Church taught about it? What did those whom the Church calls saints actually study? Without clear answers to these questions, discussion remains superficial, however earnest it may be.
This lack of reflection has led to a quiet but serious disorder. Many Catholic parents are unfamiliar with the intellectual tradition that has formed the Church across the centuries. They do not know the studies that shaped St. Augustine, nor the disciplines required of students by St. Thomas Aquinas. They are unacquainted with the structure and purpose of the classical liberal arts. In place of this inheritance, they turn to modern authors—often outside the Catholic tradition—for direction. This practice would seem unreasonable in matters of doctrine or morals, where Catholics rightly defer to the authority of the Church. Yet in education, it has become common to set aside that same authority and to rely instead upon recent opinions and passing movements.
If one asks what actually formed the saints, the answer is not obscure. They were educated within a consistent intellectual order, rooted in the liberal arts, perfected by philosophy, and elevated by theology. They were trained in grammar, logic, and rhetoric so that they might speak and reason with precision. They studied mathematics to discipline the intellect and to prepare it for higher abstraction. They entered into philosophy—especially the works of Aristotle—to understand the nature of reality, the human person, and the causes of things. Above all, they studied Sacred Scripture and theology so as to know God according to His revelation. This was not an accidental arrangement, but the ordinary path of Catholic education, tested and confirmed over many centuries.
The Church herself has repeatedly affirmed this tradition. Pope Leo XIII called for the restoration of Christian philosophy according to the mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, recognizing in it a sure foundation for intellectual and spiritual renewal. Pope St. Pius X confirmed the necessity of Scholastic principles for preserving the integrity of the faith. These teachings were not offered as optional preferences, but as authoritative guidance for the formation of Catholic minds. Yet it must be admitted that they are little known among parents today. In their place, many adopt educational systems that are detached from the philosophical and theological foundations of the Church, often because these systems appear more accessible or require less sustained effort.
Beneath this preference for what is easier lies a deeper difficulty. Many parents are satisfied if their children maintain the external signs of Catholic life—attendance at Mass, familiarity with devotions, and a recognizable cultural identity. What is less frequently sought is the interior formation of the intellect and the will. To educate in the full sense is to lead the student to understand the truth and to adhere to it freely. This requires that the child be taught not only what to think, but how to think, how to judge, and how to give assent. Such formation cannot be superficial, and it cannot be accomplished without effort on the part of both parent and student.
This work of formation also involves a certain risk, which many prefer to avoid. A child who is truly taught to reason and to understand must eventually confront the claims of the faith as truths to be known and embraced. Some will hesitate, and some may resist. This possibility is unsettling, and it is often easier to preserve outward conformity than to pursue the deeper work that leads to interior conviction. Yet this preference is short-sighted. A faith that is not understood cannot endure, and a will that is not formed cannot remain firm when it is tested.
In recent years, another error has arisen alongside this tendency. Many parents have come to substitute a conservative political identity for genuine intellectual and moral formation. Greater attention is given to political positions and current controversies than to first principles. Children are trained to adopt certain opinions and to oppose perceived adversaries, rather than to seek understanding of reality itself. They are often sent to institutions identified as “conservative,” as though this designation alone were sufficient to ensure a sound education. In this way, education is reduced to conformity with a movement, rather than ordered to the pursuit of truth and the cultivation of virtue.
This approach rests upon an inadequate understanding of the human person. It treats children as though they were naturally sound and in need only of protection from external corruption. The necessity of interior formation and ongoing conversion is thereby overlooked. Yet the human will is free and must be directed toward the good through discipline, instruction, and the development of virtuous habits. Without this, neither faith nor moral stability can be secured. Opposition to error cannot substitute for knowledge of the truth, and a will trained only to react will not be capable of enduring when it is required to stand.
For these reasons, Catholic parents must return to first principles. They must consider what education is, what the human person is, and what the ultimate end of life is. They must acquaint themselves with the teachings of the Church and with the formation of the saints. They must recognize that education is not a matter of assembling preferred elements from various sources, but of receiving and adhering to a coherent tradition grounded in truth. This requires humility, patience, and a willingness to undertake serious study.
A true Catholic education is not defined by methods or trends, but by its end and its order. Its end is the knowledge of truth and the formation of virtue, culminating in the knowledge and love of God. Its order corresponds to the nature of the human mind: the liberal arts prepare the intellect, philosophy perfects its natural understanding, and theology elevates it through divine revelation. This structure is not arbitrary, and it cannot be neglected without consequence.
Such an education cannot be improvised. It requires a complete and coherent course of study, guided by those who understand and are committed to the tradition. This is what is provided in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Students are led through the liberal arts in their proper sequence, introduced to philosophy as a true science, and formed in theology according to the mind of the Church. Parents are not left to navigate confusion or to assemble an education from scattered materials, but are given a clear and ordered path rooted in the perennial wisdom of Catholic education.
A decision must therefore be made. Parents may continue to follow prevailing trends without examining their foundations, or they may submit themselves to the wisdom of the Church and provide their children with a true education. The consequences of this decision are not limited to academic success or failure. They extend to the formation of the intellect, the direction of the will, and the life of the soul.
We are here to help.
Mr. William C. Michawl, O.P.
Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
The sources, goals, method, outline, and direction of this lesson are the work of Mr. William C. Michael, O.P., Headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. The written copy has been composed from his materials and instructions with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools, and reviewed and approved by him before publication.
