Online Latin Course

The Latin Mass Society is pleased to announce a special course designed to assist the clergy – and laity – to improve their Latin, with independent certification, with an 80% discount to the usual price for Catholic priests, seminarians, those accepted for seminary admission, permanent deacons, those studying for the permanent diaconate, and novices and professed religious of both sexes who come from or are based in England and Wales.

The tutor, Matthew Spencer, writes:

In the light of "Traditionis Custodes" I have arranged with the Latin Mass Society to offer emergency training in Latin for seminarians and priests and those helping to administer the Sacred Liturgy both now and in the future. This language training will be made available, at one and the same time, to lay persons so that we can honour together the Holy Father's requirement that an appropriate level of understanding of the riches of the Latin language is in place.

While you may or may not personally feel directly affected by the disciplinary norms now recently established, since perhaps you are fortunate to have continued access to the older liturgical forms, or else you are not yourself a minister, nevertheless I would like to reassure you that a serious effort – involving independent certification and enhanced training — is under way in order to secure the future.
Since it would be unfortunate for priests to be deemed insufficient in terms of Latinity, I am hoping that we can show support together to ensure that, as far as is humanly possible, the required linguistic understandings are both maintained and (where necessary) quickly developed.

In these circumstances, I wish to use my own training in relevant languages for the good of the Church and will be extending a temporary offer to lay persons so that they may learn alongside our priests. The Early Bird offer of £500 for three months (twelve weeks or 24 hours of live tuition in a small group) of mainly — but not exclusively — liturgical Latin will be maintained for those signing up by the end of September.

The details of the relevant linguistic provision are on the Chairman's Blog and the first tuition begins, twice weekly in early September.

Those who have taken my courses previously may be aware that the aim is to become comfortable with Latin idiom across the periods and different styles of the language from antiquity to the Middle Ages (especially) but I am prepared to consider on demand and as per request more recent examples of Catholic Latin.

My training methods are immersive but also highly focussed upon the deeper complexities of ancient language including sensitive matters of historical syntax on which I occasionally publish in journals,  using my knowledge of the wider Indo-European tradition.

For those with existing languages of an advanced or developing standard an alternative is to take three or four Latin modules, looking at specific authors or types of text – such as S. Romuald or fourth-century ascetic writers in Latin (and possibly Greek) — on the basis of a one-year Subscription. The regular cost for this option is £600 for 16 weeks (32 hours) and it has proved recently popular and is aimed at, but not necessarily restricted, to those who have taken my courses previously.

Further details can be made available or can be discussed further on personal application.

We always learn together and no question that occurs in class is ever too simple to be addressed. If it is too advanced I will always aim to be prompt in helping current and former students considers avenues for the future development of their ancient language capacity, including by more formal institutional pathways.

THE COURSE
Beginning-through-to-mid-level to meet expressly the needs of the liturgical use of Latin:
3 x 4 week encounter with Latin (12 weeks total) to work through:
First Module of 4 weeks: the Canticle I always start with on day 1 now ('Bless the Lord')
and on through prayers (e.g. 'O Sanctissima) to develop confidence so that we move via some
psalms on to, by the end of the first 4 weeks, an initial look at the Roman Canon.
Second Module of 4 weeks: Roman Canon continues and we start to alternate patristic texts
with rubrics
Third Module of 4 weeks: Rest of Mass texts, more rubrics, additional texts from the Latin
Fathers.

DATES
6 Sep - 1st Oct – Module 1
11 Oct - 5 Nov – Module2
15 Nov - 10 Dec – Module 3

To register, contact Matthew Spencer: [email protected]