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Catholic parents are responsible to teach their children the Catholic faith.  The Church has provided us with excellent resources for doing so, but none so helpful as the Baltimore Catechism. In the late 1800s, the Catholic Church was still just getting established in the United States, and the bishops met in Baltimore, MD, which was then the Archdiocese and center of the Catholic Church in America.  There, a number of Councils were held, at which the bishops addressed problems caused by Protestant and secular influences in American schools, which called for the development of Catholic schools and catechism tools.  The … Continue

As a homeschool parent or student, you may wish to calculate a child’s or your own Grade Point Average (GPA). 1. Assign Grades To do this you must, obviously, assign your children grades in their high school subjects.  Here’s an example: Subject                 Credits   GradeEnglish                       1.0         ALatin                          1.0         BAlgebra I                    1.0         BBiology      … Continue

Many students use interest in college and business as an excuse to neglect classical Catholic studies and do LESS studying and working. In this video, Elon Musk, one of the world’s greatest business leaders and engineers, explains why students should NOT imagine that “going to college” or “getting a degree” for is a reason to neglect essential studies.

Dear friends, It will be along time before any “high school” students take up the formal study of Classical Astronomy in Ptolemy’s Almagest.  In fact, few may ever do so.  It’s very difficult and will likely require the help of a tutor. As an alternative, I recommend that students study Aristotle’s Physics and then his work On the Heavens.  This work came before Ptolemy’s Almagest in history and is easier for students to get started with.  It requires the knowledge of Classical Geometry because in it, Aristotle uses Geometry to prove many of his teachings on the heavens. I’m always … Continue

  The Problem with “Modern” Catholicism No, it’s not the Second Vatican Council.  No, it’s not the “Novus Ordo” Mass.  No, it’s not scandals in the clergy.  No, it’s not the use of the English language.  No, it’s not Pope Francis. The common scapegoats attacked by Catholics are superficial reactions to imaginary controversies stirred up by social media personalities and authors for clicks and sales.   In fact, I would argue that the attempt by laymen to blame the clergy and hierarchy of the Church for the problems in the Church are one big, lazy excuse for the real problem in … Continue

Sicut dicit Philosophus in III De Anima, duplex est operatio intellectus: una quidem, quae dicitur indivisibilium intelligentia, per quam scilicet intellectus apprehendit essentiam uniuscuiusque rei in seipsa; alia est operatio intellectus scilicet componentis et dividentis. Additur autem et tertia operatio, scilicet ratiocinandi, secundum quod ratio procedit a notis ad inquisitionem ignotorum. Harum autem operationum prima ordinatur ad secundam: quia non potest esse compositio et divisio, nisi simplicium apprehensorum. Secunda vero ordinatur ad tertiam: quia videlicet oportet quod ex aliquo vero cognito, cui intellectus assentiat, procedatur ad certitudinem accipiendam de aliquibus ignotis. Cum autem logica dicatur rationalis scientia, necesse est quod … Continue

To help study with Latin translation work, I’d like to share a Latin verb conjugation chart I made back in 2009, which shows all forms of Latin verb endings regular verbs. This chart is very helpful if used regularly as it provides you with a system that can be memorized and visualized as you gain experience with it. It’s the easiest way to identify all of the Latin verb endings needed in translation. By simply knowing were forms are on the chart, you can remember their charcateristics.  Often, this is all that’s needed to make a good translation. What You … Continue

  Dear friends, In North Carolina, we enjoy great liberty as a homeschool family.  The state of North Carolina respects the right of parents to direct their children’s education, and there is very little interference or trouble from the state once a family registers as a home school. I often hear parents speaking of the requirements of their states with regard to homeschooling and, to be honest, I find much of this talk to be exaggerrated and used as an excuse to settle for low secular school standards–as if they are necessary.  Many homeschool publishers and services exploit the ignorance … Continue

In modern circles, it’s common for us to hear that the earth is millions or billions of years old.  Many Catholics have embraced this dating of the earth, but I believe that most or all of them have done so prematurely, and wrongly.  I understand that this “old earth” idea of dating is common in schools and universities today, but there’s a problem with it that very few are aware of. There is no demonstrative evidence that the earth is millions or billions of years old–nor can there be.  No one who talks about these numbers has any evidence that … Continue