Do you wonder why Latin is so important to the Catholic Church? Do you want to better understand the Latin you hear in Church? Are you curious about what the Latin you see inscribed in Churches actually says? Would you like to learn how to pray the Rosary in Latin? If you answered “Yes!” to any of these questions then this is the course for you!
Total class meetings: 6
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th Grade. Enthusiastic 8th grade students welcomed too.
Suggested credit: ½ semester Theology or Latin
Instructor: Debbie Gaudino, MA
Instructor Email: mrsgaudino@gmail.com
Course description: In this course students will explore not only Ecclesiastical Latin as expressed in the prayers and hymns of the Catholic Church, but also learn the history of those prayers and hymns. Organized thematically, each class will provide a foundation of Latin vocabulary and then use that vocabulary to learn Latin passages of Sacred Scripture, prayers, hymns and more.
Assignments will send students on a hunt for Latin in their local Churches, inside their prayer books and hymnals, and more.
Students with no previous Latin studies (and those who are quite proficient in Latin) will benefit from this deep dive into one of the greatest treasures of the Catholic Church – its Latin patrimony.
Course outline:
Day 1: Why the Church loves Latin? The Holy Trinity
Day 2: The Holy Catholic Church
Day 3: Mercy and the Forgiveness of Sins
Day 4: Holy Mass
Day 5: The Holy Eucharist
Day 6: Our Blessed Mother and the Communion of Saints
Course materials: Optional Book: Oremus: A Treasury of Latin Prayers ISBN-10: 1594719896 (https://amzn.to/3QldrcO)
Homework: After each class, students will work on an open-book assignment designed to review and reinforce the Latin vocabulary and participate in a discussion forum where they will reflect upon the material learned and have the opportunity to ask questions about the material (or anything else related to Church Latin).
- Teacher: Debbie Gaudino