So the story goes that I was on an overnight train bound for Italy. My friend and I, both students for the semester in different parts of France, had met up in Paris to go to Rome for the Palm Sunday weekend.
We were in one of those small “couchette” cars—just my friend & I and an older Italian couple. Around 8 p.m. and to my friend’s great embarrassment, I pulled out my rosary and quietly began to pray. There was no embarrassment on the part of the older couple across from us, though, who reacted with great joy and excitement: Could they join in? they gestured.
Of course they could.
Given that I didn’t speak Italian and they didn’t speak English, we found the one language we had in common—Latin—and so like that we prayed together…in the vernacular of the Church. (My friend, still embarrassed, did eventually join in.)
I want the same for my children—a working knowledge of this beautiful language and enough to get them by in a pinch. I am by no means a Latin scholar, mind you—in fact, what I know I’ve learned from attending the Tridentine Rite and from taking a meager year of Latin in college.
I’ll teach them the basics and we’ll go from there, is what I’m saying.
Right now we are using Prima Latina by Memoria Press. We also listen to the CD from Lingua Angelica to learn the Latin hymns & prayers & chants, which I love. Memoria Press has an excellent program of study but I admit that we are not (yet) that consistent in our approach. We learn the vocabulary but could use more discipline.
So. What we do do daily—and what has really worked for us—is this: we pray the Pater Noster every night during family prayer.
And then we pray the Ave Maria.
The kids have already learned the Ave Maria—that’s where we began and even the littles have it down pat. We started memorizing the Pater Noster last week and even my husband, trooper that he is, is learning alongside his five children.
It’s lovely, you know? Just lovely.
I feel like I’m on a train in Italy. : )
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
That’s a beautiful story Margaret. My daughter insists I pray the rosary in Latin at night though I must admit after 50 Ave Marias I get a little blurred. 🙂
Great story! I’ve got Prima Latina and Latina Christiana on a shelf and I’ve been meaning to get them out. Thanks for the little nudge.
What a great idea! I have great memories of praying the rosary in Latin while I was in Rome.
My oldest went through Prima Latina and is now in Latina Christiana. He really loves it (he’s a workbook-lovin’ kind of kid, so Memoria Press’s course is perfect for him).
When we were on about lesson 12 of LC, my friend whom we school with some days decided to start LC with her son the same age as mine. We recently decided to stop moving forward to let them catch up with us, and I’ve been using the time for review and enrichment.
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to spend the time teaching the Latin prayers, but you can bet I’m going to begin this week. Thanks for the impetus, Margaret.
(word verification: iness. My I-ness speaks to your you-ness, Margaret.)
Good for you Margaret! This gives me something to think about for our family…..my girls (at 3 & 4) have just begun to recite the rosary well. However, I think starting them young is the best way to go.
Thanks for planting this seed!!
That’s beautiful. My husband grew up praying the rosary in English one day and Latin the next. He adores Latin and dreams of having Latin conversations.
Homeschooling your kids will help them learn the prayers better because the older ones can practice penmanship by writing out the Latin prayers.
That’s a great idea. I think we’ll start learning the Pater Noster and Ave Maria. I know a little, but not a lot. My husbands been teaching the kids Latin with Rosetta Stone and I’ve also been using Prima Latina with my oldest.
It truly is lovely! I loved using Prima Latina and Lingua Angelica with our older kids. It became a family tradition during Advent we sing Veni, Veni Emmanuel while we light our Advent candles. During Lent we sing Stabat Mater while we light our candles on our Lenten cross.
Our beloved Fr. Bennett always said God hears better in Latin. He always blessed sacramentals in Latin. I think he truly believed it.
What a beautiful memory you have — finding communion with God in a train amongst strangers.
I would LOVE to learn Latin. Where did you find the book?
We've been using PL, LC I & LC II since my oldest was in 2nd or 3rd. Our homeschool group had Latin classes for a number of years, but they ended just before we moved. We all miss the classes & comraderie with other Latin students.
Allen Jemison has a great Latin/English CD for younger kids, too. My 5yo has been learning to sing both the Latin & English Catholic songs in this way. It's fun to see him perk up at Mass when he hears one of the songs or parts of Mass that he knows.
I hadn't thought about applying the prayers in a practical way (ie. the Rosary), though. We'll have to try that or the Pater Noster at night. I'm not sure what my poor husband will think – he hasn't been learning along with us!!
Latin is wonderful. Thanks for this. I’ve been thinking about studying it and been thinking that I should post about it on my own site.
What an incredible moving story, treasured memory.
You have inspired me to get out our Prima Latina book.
We bought Prima Latina last year but I didn’t do very much of it with the children. You have encouraged me. I will do a bit more this year with them.
My oldest is using Latina Christiana I after going through Prima Latina and now my youngest is using Prima Latina. We really enjoy Latin around here, and at the end of our family prayers every night we sing the Pater Noster together. I don’t think we know the entire Ave Maria yet though (though we could probably figure it out) – I think I’ll make that a goal for the next few weeks! It would be fun to sing the entire Rosary together! 🙂
What a wonderful memory you have to inspire a love of Latin!
~Jenny
We use them, too! My 3 yr old can say the Table Blessing just as well as the older ones!
My oldest and I are going through Latina Christiana, and we are having a GREAT time learning together. (although I always stumble through the middle of the Pater Noster… I’m not sure why…)
That’s wonderful! I’m a Latin teacher, and I feel like it is my duty to make sure that my (junior high and underclassmen) students know the prayers for the Rosary before they finish their first year of study.
What a beautiful story, Margaret, it just makes my heart sing to see people of different ages, cultures, and languages coming together to pray the Rosary together!! BEAUTIFUL!