Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Catholic History and Religion :: 2025-26 School Year

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Popping back in with my annual post of recommendations for books on Catholic history, literature, and religion tied to the time period we will be studying with the CMEC this year: roughly 1650-1800 in American and British/European history.

For previous years' recommendations, check out my Catholic History and Religion archive. At this point, I have written posts every era! I have shared about this period before, but I have reorganized and refreshed my previous suggestions here and added a few new ones.

This post is organized into the following categories: Bible for all Forms, Catholic Historical Supplements for Forms 1-3, Religion for Forms 1-3, and Catholic Historical Supplements and Religion for Forms 4 & 5 (High School).

BIBLE

Lower Forms

The CMEC follows the PNEU in scheduling Paterson-Smyth's books as a complementary resource for Bible lessons, and I will be using them in my preparation as well. I don't agree with everything he writes, but he offers good "captain ideas" for Bible lessons that get at the overarching themes of the assigned Bible texts.

I like to take his suggestions in light of Catholic thought, so I rely on Knecht's A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture as well. This tome provides a Catholic perspective on both Old and New Testaments, from historical background to theological and doctrinal connections to application. I have used it in various ways over the years and always with good results. The section on Moses and Exodus, which will be our Old Testament reading for Forms 1-3 this year, also includes nice images and diagrams helpful for our Book of Centuries.

I will also be using these two references in preparing to go through the Gospel of Luke with my Form 1 & 2 students.

Upper Forms

My older kids will read straight from the prophetic books (Ezekiel, Ezra, and Haggai) and the Epistles (Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews, and James), along with various commentaries. On the shelf are the PNEU-recommended Dummelow One-Volume Bible Commentary for historical background, the Navarre Major Prophets and Letters of St. Paul volumes, and the relevant sections from the Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent (I always print these and add to a binder).

All Forms

In all of our lessons, we will be reading from our preferred translation, the Douay-Rheims. Each of my Upper Forms students has his or her own copy to use, and I use mine for the younger kids. 

We rely often on The Dore Bible Illustrations. I have used this volume for years and it so handy to have these scenes so reverently and beautifully illustrated all in one place!

As a side note: the CMEC TBG Songbooks include the Bible passages for the year in the King James Version, so I print ours in the Douay-Rheims and tape them in for our recitations. We also add at least one Latin hymn to our hymn study each year.

~~~


CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR FORMS 1-3

Biographies

My Form 1 students will read a couple of the shorter/easier biographies from the list below this year. When they come around to this period in Form 2 or 3, they will have the chance to read the others.

My Form 2 and 3 students have 1-2 biographies assigned each term, depending on age and ability. The rest will go on their free read shelf.

A few notes on the list: This list is not meant to be comprehensive; it is just what I have on my shelves or have purchased for this year's studies! Also, Form 3 students who are strong readers may also like some of the options under High School.

Windeatt series: 

Vision series (some of these we read this prior year, but for those who haven't): 

Other biographies (many are from the American Background Series reprinted by Hillside Education):

Other Notes on Form 1-3 History

Arnold-Forster's A History of England and  H.E. Marshall's Our Island Story are both written from a British, Anglican perspective. I love the books and think they are certainly worth using! I can't really imagine our homeschool without them. However, I do edit here and there and supplement with Catholic reading as described above for a more balanced view. With this approach, I think my students get to understand how the viewpoint of the author colors his or her work.

I have listed below some chapters Catholic families may want to preview. You may decide to include them and discuss them with your kids, or you may choose to omit/abridge.

Our Island Story (for the chapters scheduled to coincide with this time period, not the chapters assigned to Form 2B by the CMEC this year): Chapter 83 (I would question some of the arguments against King James), Chapter 85 (I edit)

A History of England: Chapter 61 (I would discuss these translations in relation to Catholic ones), chapter 64 (I edit sections of "Why King George Found a Welcome")

~~~ 


RELIGION FOR FORMS 1-3

Catechetical Instruction

Each week I have a half-hour religion slot in which I work with my Form 1 & 2 students. We read aloud, add to notebooks, memorize prayers and catechism, etc. 

For last year's religion block, I had planned more than we had time for, so we will continuing with the following resources this year:
My Form 3 students will be reading Fr. Knox's The Creed in Slow Motion this year, and I will also slot in some of the high school spiritual reading for them as I finalize our plans.

I also have a Form 2 student who is learning to serve the Latin Mass and has been working with his older siblings on that all summer. We will also slot in some review for him on Sundays to cement the prayers and motions.

Spiritual Reading and Liturgical Year (read over meals as a family)

This year, we continue our re-readings of A Character Calendar and First Communion! These are perennial books for us, and I read them over breakfast.

(Also, I have some special titles in this post if you're looking for religion books to read aloud to littles or that children learning to read can read for themselves!)

CATHOLIC SUPPLEMENTS AND RELIGION FOR FORMS 4 & 5 (HIGH SCHOOL)

As always, please preview the books listed below before handing to your high schoolers.

History Texts

In addition to the CMEC's high school history texts, I add a weekly Catholic history block to my high schoolers' timetable, during which they will read from Carroll's The Cleaving of Christendom (Chapter 12 in Term 1) and The Revolution Against Christendom (Chapters 1-3 in Term 2 and Chapters 4-7 in Term 3). My older kids read from different books when they studied this period, but Carroll's series seems a better fit for my current students. (They read from Laux's Catholic History last year, but there aren't enough pages in that text for this year's studies.)

A few more notes on history:

The CMEC's high school history texts, which are written from a secular perspective, are quite nuanced. If I'm being picky, the only issue I see in this year's selections from Medieval and Modern Times, for example, is that Robinson has the typical negative view of the Middle Ages and positive view of Voltaire and Rousseau. But he acknowledges diversity of opinion and I think the way he states his thoughts makes for good discussion and is a useful part of the students' intellectual development. Overall I really like his approach, balanced by the Catholic history books we will read alongside.

Biographies, Autobiographies, and Spiritual Classics from the Time Period

Some of these will be for Sunday reading, some for leisure reading, some for seasonal devotional reading.
These are not tied to the historical period but will be additional reading they can choose from in this slot:

~~~

I hope this helps those studying the Revolutionary period with us this fall! I can't wait to dive in.

Any favorites to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!

(Amazon links above are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!)
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Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Catholic History and Religion :: 2024-25 School Year

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I'm happy to be back with this annual post: a round-up of Catholic resources tied to our studies with the CMEC next year for my students in Forms 1-5.

We will be covering 1400-1650 in both American and British/world history and the ancient Near East, including Egypt.

This is our second time studying this period since we switched to the CMEC five years ago. I have written about this period before, but I have reorganized and refreshed my previous suggestions and added some new ones!

This post is organized into the following categories: Bible for all Forms, Catholic Historical Supplements for Forms 1-3, Religion for Forms 1-3, and Catholic Historical Supplements and Religion for Forms 4 & 5 (High School).

Previous years' plans:

~~~

BIBLE

Lower Forms

For Old Testament, my students in Form 1-3 will be reading through parts of Genesis. For New Testament, my students in Forms 1 and 2 will read the Gospel of Mark and parts of Acts. As I have explained before, the CMEC follows the PNEU in scheduling Paterson-Smyth's books as a resource for Bible lessons, so I will be using his volumes on these sections for my preparation as well (titled Genesis and St. Mark). I don't agree with everything he writes, but he offers good "captain ideas" for Bible lessons that get at the over-arching themes of the assigned Bible texts.

I like to take his suggestions in light of Catholic resources; for this, I often rely on Knecht's A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. This tome provides a Catholic perspective on both Old and New Testaments: historical background, theological and doctrinal connections, notes for personal application. I have used it in various ways over the past few years and always with good results. It also includes a few nice images and diagrams helpful for Book of Centuries work. The section on Genesis is particularly thorough, so it will be a good resource for us this year.

Upper Forms

For Old Testament, my high schoolers will be reading through Job and Isaiah this year. We will have a few commentary resources on hand:
  • Dummelow's One-Volume Bible Commentary - We have used this PNEU-recommended commentary for the past few years. My kids appreciate the historical details it includes on each book. (This is the new edition -- we have an older used one.)
  • The CMEC recommends Kreeft's Three Philosophies of Life alongside Job, which my older kids read and enjoyed.
  • I have the Navarre volume on the Major Prophets on the shelf as an additional resource.
  • We also draw on the Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent whenever my kids have a question they'd like to explore further.
For New Testament, they will have two streams of reading. First, Form 3 and up will be reading the gospels alongside Charlotte Mason's Saviour of the World. Second, they'll be reading two short epistles each term. We like the commentaries on each epistle from New Advent as well as the Dummlow linked above for historical context or when questions arise.

All Forms

In all our Bible lessons, we will be reading directly from our favorite translation, the Douay-Rheims. Each of my Upper Forms students has his or her own copy to use, and I use mine for the younger kids. 

We rely often on The Dore Bible Illustrations. I have used this volume for years and it so handy to have these scenes so reverently and beautifully illustrated all in one place!

As a side note: our TBG Songbooks from Riverbend Press include the Bible passages for the year in the King James Version, so I print ours in the Douay-Rheims and tape it in for our recitations. And for the terms that schedule a hymn we have already covered, we will work on reciting the additional verses of that hymn but also add in a Latin hymn to learn.

~~~



CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR FORMS 1-3

This is a period I enjoy very much, especially in British and European history! There are so many good Catholic books detailing the persecution of Catholics -- and the saints that arose out of that persecution -- in Renaissance England for all ages. It is a part of history that is little included in most textbooks but full of living interest and heroic deeds.

I have all of these currently on my shelf and am in the process of selecting which will be assigned for Sunday reading, which will be simply leisure reading and set on the free read shelf, and which might be family read-alouds.

Biographies

My Form 1 students will read a couple easier biographies from the list below; when they come around to this period again in Form 2 or 3, they will have the chance to read the others. My Form 2 and 3 students have 1-2 biographies assigned each term, depending on age and ability. The rest will go on their free read shelf.

A few notes on the list: The books below have been ordered by series/difficulty level. This list is not meant to be comprehensive; it is just what I have on my shelves or have purchased for this year's studies! Also, Form 3 students who are strong readers may also like some of the options under High School.

Windeatt series: 

Vision series: 

Other biographies:

Historical Fiction

A few Catholic historical fiction options:

Other Notes on Form 1-3 History

Arnold-Forster's A History of England and H.E. Marshall's Our Island Story are both written from a British, Anglican perspective. As such, they laud "Good Queen Bess," pass fairly quickly over the Catholic martyrs, claim that the Church didn't want commoners reading the Bible, approve of the rebellion of the Scottish presbyterians, and so on. I love the books and think they are certainly worth using! I can't really imagine our homeschool without them. However, I do edit a few chapters covering this period and supplement with the above biographies and such about Catholics who lived then and what life was like for them. With this approach, my students get to experience how the viewpoint of the author colors their work.

I have listed below some chapters Catholic families may want to preview. You may decide to include them and discuss them with your kids, or you may choose to omit/abridge.

Our Island Story: Chapter 63 (I begin the chapter at "When King Henry heard..." on p. 285), Chapter 66 (I edit p. 301), Chapter 68 (I omit the first four paragraphs on p. 308), Chapter 76 (I read the first half only, stopping at "Like King James" on p. 346)

A History of England: Chapter 41 (I omit), Chapter 42 (I edit sections on "The Oxford Martyrs" and "The Death of Cranmer"), Chapter 43 (we discuss the section on treason on pp. 365-6)

Also, if students (or parents!) would like a fuller picture of Guy Fawkes, this article is interesting!

For American history using This Country of Ours, you may want to preview Chapters 9-10, which describe when Spanish Catholics brutally attack a group of Lutheran settlers.

~~~

RELIGION FOR FORMS 1-3

Catechetical Instruction

Last year I really enjoyed studying the Mass with my Form 1 and 2 kids. We went through all of the parts of the Traditional Latin Mass using our books and images, did illustrated copywork of some of the most beautiful prayers and responses of the Mass, and practiced using a hand missal. It was very fruitful, especially with one of my little boys receiving First Communion and another beginning to serve Low Mass.

This year, I'm tentatively planning to do a new study each term with resources already on my shelves:

My Form 3 student will read about the same topics but in her own time: O'Sullivan's All About the Angels or St. Michael and the Angels for Term 1, Mother Loyola's Hail, Full of Grace for Term 2, and joining the older kids' study of the Mass in Term 3 with Fr. Knox's The Mass in Slow Motion.

Spiritual Reading and Liturgical Year (read as a family over meals)

We will continue A Character Calendar, which has been a favorite with my younger students.

We did not finish all of Reverend Halpin's Children's Retreats last year, so we may revisit that for some of our morning reading together. But I am also thinking about re-reading Mother Loyola's First Communion, since it has been a few years! (If you have not read this, schedule it as a family read! She walks through the "types" for the Eucharist in the Old Testament and walks through the life of Our Lord in chronological fashion. This will be our third time through this text and it remains a family favorite.)

(Also, I have some special titles in this post if you're looking for religion books to read aloud to littles or that children learning to read can read for themselves!)

~~~


CATHOLIC SUPPLEMENTS AND RELIGION FOR FORMS 4 & 5 (HIGH SCHOOL)

This year, I will have two high schoolers: a freshman (Form 4) and a sophomore (Form 5). As always, please preview the books listed below before handing to your high schoolers.

History Texts

In addition to the CMEC's high school history texts, I add a weekly Catholic history block to my high schoolers' timetable, during which they will read from two books this year:

Additional supplements for real history buffs:

A few more notes on history:

Ball's Great Astronomers, which my high schoolers will be reading from this year, tells the story of Galileo in the usual way. I would like my kids to read the fuller story so have printed this article on the common misconceptions about the Galileo affair and tucked it into the book.

One benefit of the overall CMEC selections for American history is their breadth. The curriculum includes stories of the French and Spanish settlers of America too, not just the English and Puritans. Even our travelogues highlight some of these lesser-studied figures and events. Much British writing from or about the period is very anti-Spanish by default, so I am happy to have, for example, Cabeza de Vaca's account to balance this out. Just because this was the period of treasure-hunting Spaniards does not mean all Spanish were brutal, obviously! And I'm pleased for my students to read about the Frenchman Marquette, who has a beautiful story of adventure and service to the native peoples. I am sure these will inspire worthwhile discussion in our home this year.

The high school book the CMEC uses for general history, Robinson's Medieval and Modern Times, is much more even-handed on the Renaissance and Reformation. This year's chapters were a pleasure to read. They will provide good context for what my students have read before and it is perfectly timed for their last pass through this historical period.

Catholic Literature

These will go in their leisure reading time. Some selections tied to this year's studies:
  • Monsignor Benson's Come Rack! Come Rope! (I have an old edition so haven't previewed the one linked) and By What Authority? (both historical fiction -- I read these years ago and know my kids will enjoy them too)
  • Lyra Martyrum (beautiful poetry collection from Catholic martyrs of the English Renaissance)
  • We will also be reading Mazoni's The Betrothed this year along with the CMEC!

Biographies, Autobiographies, and Spiritual Classics from the Time Period

Some of these will be for Sunday reading, some for leisure reading, some for seasonal devotional reading.

Also, the biographies recommended for Form 3 above would also make great reading for a high school student.

Catechetical Reading

My Form 4 and 5 students are still preparing for their Confirmation, as there was no local Confirmation here last year. You can see their reading plan for Confirmation here. They will also spread St. Michael and the Angels (a long-time favorite of mine) and The Mass of All Time (recommended by my oldest daughter, who read it on retreat this spring) across the year.

~~~

I hope this helps those studying these time periods with us this fall!

Any wonderful books I should add to the list above? Let me know in the comments!

(Amazon links above are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!)
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Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Announcing: The Coralean Islands!

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Exciting news: Gianna has a new novel out! The Coralean Islands is the second book in her Four Red Banners series. (She published the first book, Four Red Banners, a couple years ago.)

I honestly enjoyed this story even more than the last. It picks up where Four Red Banners left off but centers on the royal brothers. Here's the book description:

The Coralean Islands have been suddenly attacked by an enemy neighbor, and King Colan and his army are headed to defend their territory. But deeper trouble than war awaits them there. Colan and his cousin Marius have a serious quarrel that threatens once again to divide loyalties throughout the army. Meanwhile the Acrosians become trapped in a ravine, and as the enemy begins to surround them, Prince Hector makes a weighty decision that he hopes will end both the quarrel and the war. But it has consequences he didn't expect, not only for himself but for everyone he loves.

You can find it on Amazon!

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Sunday, June 18, 2023

Catholic History and Religion :: 2023-24 School Year

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It's my annual post on our Catholic history and religion for the upcoming school year!

Below you'll find lots of Catholic supplements for medieval and modern history, which is what we'll be studying the coming year with the CMEC. As usual, I have also included some Bible and religion resources I'll be using and links to recommendations from years past.

This post is organized into the following categories: Bible for all Forms, Catholic Historical Supplements for Forms 1-3, Religion for Forms 1-3, and Catholic Historical Supplements and Religion for Forms 4 & 5 (High School).

Previous' years plans:

This is my LAST post in the four years' history rotation. Soon I'm planning to create separate pages on the site to house these resources for future years -- and to be a place I can update as I come across great new books!

~~~

BIBLE

Lower Forms

For Old Testament, my students in Form 1-3 will be reading through parts of Samuel and Kings. For New Testament, my students in Forms 1 and 2 will read the Gospel of Matthew. As I have explained before, the CMEC follows the PNEU in scheduling Paterson-Smyth's books as a resource for Bible lessons, so I will be using his volumes on these sections for my preparation as well (Prophets and Kings and Saint Matthew). I don't agree with everything he writes, but he offers good "captain ideas" for Bible lessons that get at the over-arching themes of the assigned Bible texts.

I like to take his suggestions in light of Catholic resources; for this, I often rely on Knecht's A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. This tome (it's a thick one!) provides a Catholic perspective on both Old and New Testaments: historical background, theological and doctrinal connections, notes for personal application. I have used it in various ways over the past few years and always with good results. It also includes a few nice images and diagrams helpful for Book of Centuries work.

Upper Forms

For Old Testament, my high schoolers will be reading through some of the minor prophets this year: Amos, Hosea, and Micah. We will have a few commentary resources on hand:
  • Dummelow's One-Volume Bible Commentary - We have used this PNEU-recommended commentary for the past few years. My kids appreciate the historical details it includes on each book. (This is the new edition -- we have an older used one.)
  • I will be previewing the Navarre volume on The Minor Prophets for their reference as well.
  • We also draw on the Catholic Encyclopedia at New Advent whenever my kids have a question they'd like to explore further.

For New Testament, they will have two streams of reading. First, Form 3 and up will be reading the gospels alongside Charlotte Mason's Saviour of the World. Second, they'll be reading the epistles to the Thessalonians and Corinthians. I like the short introductions to each epistle from Catholic Answers as well as the Dummlow linked above. (I have been previewing additional commentaries but don't think they are necessary for these epistles. However, if you have a favorite classic commentary written by a saint to recommend, let me know! For example, we loved St. Robert Bellarmine's Commentary on the Psalms last year.)

All Forms

In all our Bible lessons, we will be reading directly from our favorite translation, the Douay-Rheims. Each of my Upper Forms students has his or her own copy to use, and I use mine for the younger kids. 

We rely often on The Dore Bible Illustrations. I have used this volume for years and it so handy to have these scenes so reverently and beautifully illustrated all in one place!

As a side note: our TBG Songbooks from Riverbend Press include the Bible passages for the year in the King James Version, so I print ours in the Douay-Rheims and tape it in for our recitations. And for the terms that schedule a hymn we have already covered, we will work on reciting the additional verses of that hymn but also add in a Latin hymn to learn.

~~~


CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR FORMS 1-3

This coming year, we will be studying roughly 1900-present. My Form 2A and 3 students will also be studying the Middle Ages in Europe for their general history stream.

Biographies

There are many great options for saint biographies for these time periods! My Form 1 students will read a couple easier biographies from the list below; when they come around to this period again in Form 2 or 3, they will have the chance to read the others. My Form 2 and 3 students have 1-2 biographies assigned each term, depending on age and ability. Ideally, the Form 2A and 3 kids to have one medieval and one modern saint to read about each term. The rest will go on their free read shelf. 

A few notes on the list: The books below have been ordered by series/difficulty level. This list is not meant to be comprehensive; it is just what I have on my shelves or have purchased for this year's studies! Also, Form 3 students who are strong readers may also like some of the options under High School.

Windeatt series: 

Vision series: 

F.A. Forbes series: Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Athanasius, Pope St. Pius X (better for Form 3)

Other books:

Historical Fiction

I like to add some Catholic historical fiction to the free read shelf when able. A few for this year:

Other Notes on Form 1-3 History

For the Middle Ages, Christine Miller's The Story of the Middle Ages is the CMEC's recommended spine. The nice thing about this text is that it provides a broader view, covering the history of much of Europe (not just England). I read this book with my students four years ago and don't recall anything problematic for Catholic families but will add notes here if I encounter anything worth a caution.

Similarly, our assigned American history texts for these Forms for the modern period (Builders of Our Country, The Landmark History of the American People, and Land of Hope) do not present issues for Catholics.

~~~




RELIGION FOR FORMS 1-3

Catechetical Instruction

This year, I will be continuing a study of the Mass with my Form 1 and 2 students and preparation for Confirmation with my Form 3 and 4 students. See the post from last year for the resources we are using!

My Form 3 and 4 students will also be reading Knox's The Mass in Slow Motion, which was a big favorite of my older kids at this age! (Note: I have a different version than the one linked. Mine is a poorly-done reprint with lots of typos; I'm hoping this one is perhaps better?) I also have O'Sullivan's All about the Angels on the shelf for my Form 3 student since he hasn't read it yet.

We will be also reading from Children's Retreats by Reverend Halpin, which unfortunately seems to be out of print. I plan for my Form 1 and 2 students to read the Confession and Communion chapters and my Form 3 and 4 students the Confirmation chapters, but I may end up reading it aloud over breakfast with everyone.

Spiritual Reading and Liturgical Year (read as a family over meals)

This year, we will continue A Character Calendar, which has been a favorite with my younger students. I will also be reading from Mother Loyola's "With the Church" series, which has been my personal reading for the past year. I am excited to share some of my favorite parts with the children.

I also plan to read from Mother Loyola's Trust, a new-to-us title. We have loved everything Mother Loyola wrote and I'm hoping this book will be another winner!

~~~



CATHOLIC SUPPLEMENTS AND RELIGION FOR FORMS 4 & 5 (HIGH SCHOOL)

This year, I will have two seniors (Form 5) and one freshman (Form 4). My seniors have read so much and are also so much older, so there are some things I will be assigning all my high schoolers together and others that make more sense for me to assign separately. You will see notes to that end below.

As always, please preview the books listed below before handing to your high schoolers.

History Texts

In addition to the CMEC's high school history texts, I add a weekly Catholic history block to my high schoolers' timetable.

The main text for all my high schoolers this year will be Laux's Church History. Even in this one-volume history text, the Middle Ages makes up a large chunk of it (pp. 192-409, or about eight pages weekly). But it is more condensed than the volume and a half of Carroll's series that covers this time period, and I think my seniors will like Laux's style more than Carroll's. (My Form 4 student will focus just on the medieval era in her Catholic history reading, so this will be her only assigned text.)

My Form 5 students can handle a bit more reading and will benefit from a broader view in this their senior year, so they will add the following:
  • One chapter per term from Belloc's Europe and the Faith
  • A bit of reading on the history of the modern era in the Church at the end of Term 3 (not sure yet, but currently planning to assign about thirty pages from Vidmar's The Catholic Church Through the Ages -- not a big fan of his take on it, but I already have it on the shelf and it will make for good conversation with my students)
  • On the free read shelf because they love Belloc: the rest of Europe and the Faith, The Great Heresies (will tie together their history from the past four years), and The Crusades




Catholic Literature (tied to this year's history studies)

These will go in their leisure reading time. Some selections for this year:



Biographies, Autobiographies, and Spiritual Classics (tied to this year's history studies)

Some of these will be for Sunday reading, some for leisure reading, some just optional.
As a note: the biographies listed for Form 3 by Ann Ball and F.A. Forbes would also make great reading for a high school student.



Catechetical Reading (tied to this year's history studies)

My Form 4 student is preparing for her Confirmation, as mentioned above, so this reading is just for my Form 5 students. This will be slotted for Sunday reading and includes some from the Middle Ages and some from the modern era:
  • Aquinas's Shorter Summa: Saint Thomas's Own Concise Version of His Summa Theologica (they have been begging to read some of the Summa, so I thought this would be a good option -- it's still quite long, though, so they likely won't read the whole thing)
  • I also plan to have them read an encyclical each term, which is something they have not done yet. I wanted to choose ones that would be both historically important and clarifying about some aspect of the Faith or the Church's position today. I am currently planning on Aeterni Patris by Leo XIII, Pascendi Dominici Gregis by Pope Pius X, and Caritas in Veritate by Benedict XVI.
  • Last in this section, I wanted to have them read some short works by the Early Church Fathers. Ideally I would like a compilation volume, but every one I have previewed so far has been too much (very long, multiple volumes) or not enough (mostly descriptions of the Fathers rather than the works themselvees). If you have recommendations, please let me know!

Devotional Reading (not tied to this year's history studies)

This includes Advent reading, Lent reading, daily spiritual reading for their personal devotional time, additional reading for the free read shelf, etc.

~~~

I hope this helps those studying these time periods with us this fall!

Any wonderful books I should add to the list above? Let me know in the comments!

(Amazon links above are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!)
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