Latina Latinae Gratia

As you are wrapping up the semester or planning summer vacations and what things you would like to study in the future, how about making the following resolution: I will learn Latin, the language of our Western heritage and the official language of the Catholic Church, the safeguard of that heritage.

If you are an undergraduate before you leave for summer break, march yourself to the registrar's office (or to their webpage) and sign up for a Latin 101 class for fall semester.

If you are a grad student no matter what field, also sign up for a Latin class. Some universities such as Catholic University have Intro to Latin for Graduate Students.

If you are no longer a student, you can always take Latin in a community college such as Northern Virginia Community College.

Though most foreign languages one can easily learn on one's own, you really should have a good teacher to help you with Latin, at least initially.

Spring Semester 2006 and Fall Semester 2006 at Christendom's grad school Notre Dame Graduate School in Alexandria, I took Intro to Ecclesiastical Latin and Intermediate Ecclesiastical Latin grad classes. They were extraordinarily enlightening classes, and they opened up a whole new world to the beauty and dignity of the Latin mass and music, as well as the wisdom and brilliance of Classical Civilization.

My professor was the excellent Catherine Caridi, who has a law degree in Canon Law from Catholic University and who is a very orthodox Catholic. For those of you in the Washington area, she also teaches at NOVA.

Two textbook recommendations: For a Catholic approach with Catholic examples in the exercises, the textbook A Primer to Eccesiastical Latin by John F. Collins and published by Catholic University is the best choice. That is the text we used in my classes. It is well organized and has many exercises. By the time you finish the book (which should take a year of study), you will know all the Latin grammar and will be ready for intermediate and advanced classes.

For a classical approach, Wheelock's Latin is the choice that everyone uses for Latin 101 and 102.

Both books together would be very useful.

So quit procrastinating: Let's throw off the collective amnesia and continue learning the language of our Western Civilization. If we don't know Latin, we don't know the language of our heritage. Make it your resolution to learn Latin..