Friday, January 29, 2016

A New Keeping Habit for a New Year

Let us observe, notebook in hand, the orderly and progressive sequence, the penetrating quality, the irresistible appeal, the unique content of Divine teaching [...] Let us read, not for our profiting, though that will come, but for love of that knowledge which is better than thousands of gold and silver. - Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education

This year I've begun a new way of keeping.  In the morning I sit with The Gospel of John and The Catena Aurea and copy a small section of the Gospel.  Then I read the commentary and write a short narration of what I read.  The Catena Aurea (The Golden Chain), was complied by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th Century then translated into English by Blessed John Henry Newman in 1841.  It contains excerpts from the writings of over eighty church fathers, and arranged such that it feels like I am eavesdropping on a learned discourse in Heaven.  I by no means understand everything I am reading, but it is a marvelous gift to sit with the Church Fathers in the morning and slowly contemplate the Gospel.  

8 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this for Lent. I'm going to suggest it to my husband, who probably won't be interested in the copywork part but definitely WILL be interested in the Catena Aurea--it sounds right up his alley. Thank you for sharing this practice. It sounds like it is already bearing fruit!

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    1. You're welcome! I think he will enjoy it. And I definitely think it is bearing fruit already.

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  2. Love this. I read the first verse and commentary in the Catena Aurea, which is completely new to me, this morning. So far, it is lovely. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome! It has been a wonderful morning practice for me. Every time I sit down with it, I am in absolute awe of this work and the wisdom of the Church Fathers. BTW, the Catena Aurea is available in the app iPieta. I find this handy because then the app always keeps my place in the work.

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  3. It has been too long since I've seen you, and too long since I've been able to read your blog (or any blog, for that matter!)

    Nell will be four this spring, and while my friends are enrolling their young ones in this preschool or that preschool, I'm realizing that while I know what I DON'T want, perhaps having a clearer vision for what we DO want would be helpful as well. There is a Classucal Conversations group near us that I'm looking into, there is a Charlotte mason school in our town (with partial enrollment for homeschooling as a popular option, it seems), and I need to learn more about these things!! I'm sure you'd be just the person to talk to. Would you like to come over for coffee some morning? ;) it's a mere six hour flight!

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    1. I remember that being a watershed moment for me too, when all the moms with 3 and 4 year olds started signing their children up for various preschools and I realized that the moment of divergence doesn't come at Kindergarten, but much earlier.

      I was listening to a great podcast the other day and she said something those lines - if we have our educational philosophy figured out, what it is that we're actually trying to do in educating our children, decisions become much clearer.

      A Charlotte Mason school could be an amazing opportunity! And a partial homeschooling option is a really intriguing idea. I highly, highly recommend reading For the Children's Sake. I also recommend a podcast called A Delectable Education (http://www.adelectableeducation.com/p/podcast-episodes.html) - that's actually the one I mentioned above. It is a great introduction to Charlotte Mason in nice-sized and conversational bites.

      If you're thinking about classical education, I would strongly encourage you to explore the differences between classical and neo-classical education. Let me know if you have no idea what I'm talking about. :-)

      I'd love to come over for coffee some morning, wouldn't that be wonderful? I'd be happy to settle for a Skype call though, if you're interested!

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  4. I'm very intrigued by your keeping habit Amber! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thanks, Melissa! It really has been a wonderful new keeping habit.

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