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Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Learning Latin in the new millennium

Veronica Brandt · August 30, 2014

Ave Maria cards HAT BETTER WAY TO SPEND A Saturday than by preparing lessons for next week. There is a common misunderstanding that teachers have short working days and lots of holidays, but any teacher will tell you that the preparations make up for that completely.

They are right.

I have posted before about my attempts teaching a little Latin to children in order to understand the prayers we sing in choir. We have made flashcards, had class quizzes, played bingo, made crossword puzzles, all to try to reach that point where I can ask a child “What does Sanctus mean” to hear the reply “Holy”.

Memrise That wonderful goal – Psallite sapienter – praying with understanding. To see young children catch a glimpse of the amazing reality of prayer, that is the aim.

These two photos show two very different approaches. One shows old fashioned cards with my own handwritten Latin illustrated with pictures cut from old calendars and magazines. This was surprisingly effective, with the younger class insisting on laying them all out in order, checking what each one meant.

The other photo shows a screenshot from a online course on memrise which is much the same sort of thing, except in a shiny webpage.

Memrise uses spaced repetition to make sure each new piece of information soaks into your brain. It sends out reminders by email to return and reinforce vocabulary little by little, bit by bit. It has the patience of a mindless computer, enhanced by ultra-cute design and social features to help keep you engaged.

I put together the course on the Salve Regina fairly quickly over the space of a few hours. It was very easy to add terms and then record audio for each one. One of my sons was curious so I set him up to try it out. He wasn’t very enthusiastic – it seems there is a certain demographic that requires explosions and fast cars to really pull them in, but even he completed the given session. It is made to be very easy to take.

So, there you go. Two ideas for learning the Latin of prayers. Neither is very exhausting or exhaustive. They simply show how one word corresponds to another in meaning. They won’t turn out Latin scholars, but maybe this is the sort of ground work that makes later studies a little easier.

And maybe help someone answer the perennial question “What does Sanctus mean?”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
    This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) falls on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Is the USCCB trolling us?
    I realize I’m going to come across as a “Negative Nancy” … but I can’t help myself. This kind of stuff is beyond ridiculous. There are already way too many options in the MISSALE RECENS. Adding more will simply confuse the faithful even more. We seriously need to band together and start creating a “REFORM OF THE REFORM” Missale Romanum so it will be ready when the time comes.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Common” Responsorial Psalm?
    I try to avoid arguing about liturgical legislation (even with Catholic priests) because it seems like many folks hold certain views—and nothing will persuade them to believe differently. You can show them 100 church documents, but it matters not. They won’t budge. Sometimes I’m confronted by people who insist that “there’s no such thing” as a COMMON RESPONSORIAL PSALM. When that happens, I show them a copy of the official legislation in Latin. I have occasionally prevailed by means of this method.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“The following question is asked by the Most Reverend Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Chur: May this Diocese’s ancient custom be continued of having the Celebrant in Sung Masses (excepting more solemn Masses) intone the Credo and when he is finished reciting it going on immediately to the offertory and finishing it while the credo is being sung by the choir?” (Dubium of Dec 1909)

— 11 December 1909

Recent Posts

  • How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
  • Nobody Cares About This! • 1887 Rheims-Cambrai Gradual included “Restored” Plainsong
  • Is the USCCB trolling us?
  • What No Musicologist Can Explain!
  • “Common” Responsorial Psalm?

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