The Tears of a Mother

This week the Church gives us a mother and son on back-to-back days: St. Monica on Wednesday, St. Augustine on Thursday. The order matters. Before there was a Doctor of the Church, there was a mother who prayed for seventeen years with no visible result, following her brilliant, wayward son from Africa to Italy, weeping and hoping. A bishop famously reassured her that "the son of these tears" could not perish. Monica's witness is a particular comfort at the start of a school year, when we're reminded that the fruits of our labor at home are mostly hidden from us, sometimes for decades. We plant, we water, we pray, and God gives the growth in His own time. If the year ahead feels long, let Monica keep you company in it.

Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9

First Fridays Begin September 4 — Register This Week

Two programs launch next week at UST, 3:00–4:30 p.m.

Fall Teen Lectures, featuring UST professors across theology, literature, music, and philosophy, run through December with a concurrent parent track on college planning. Bundle: members $50, non-members $75. Single lectures also available. Register → Deadline: September 3.

Middle School Poetry Workshop, led by Catholic Literary Arts, runs the same four Fridays. Members $100, non-members $125. Register →  Deadline: September 1.

Open to all Houston families. Not a member yet? Join CHECH to unlock member pricing on this and every enrichment this year.

A New Way to Begin the Day

Something new is coming to CHECH mornings this fall. HomeLore, a new storytelling project that will be available through CHECH, is producing its own recordings of the classic stories — fables, folktales, and legends told well — paired with a monthly companion page that gathers each month's story, poem, painting, composer, and the Church's own rhythm into one simple plan. It's a small daily practice in the spirit of our year's theme, The Formative Home: the habits of attention and wonder built at the morning table are the same ones your children will carry into a museum gallery, a concert hall, or an afternoon at the Arboretum. Press play, look, listen, and begin the day together. The September plan arrives next month.

Upcoming in Houston

Crux Fidelis: A Sacred Music Concert — Shrine of the True Cross | Wednesday, September 9 | 7:00–8:30 p.m. | Musical journey through seven Stations of the Cross in the presence of the True Cross relic | Celebrating the Shrine's 90th anniversary (1936–2026) | Free, donations appreciated | Dickinson

Long Acres Ranch Homeschool Science: Benthic Ecology — Register Now | September 15–17 | 9:00–11:00 a.m. | Explore the world of water organisms and how they interact with their environment, with hands-on macroinvertebrate searching | Ages 8+ | Registration required online, spots fill quickly | $5 cash at check-in | Semester passes ($20 cash, one guaranteed day per week for all four fall programs) available at September check-in

HMNS Frensley & Robertson Awards | Applications due September 1 | Two Class of 2027 high schoolers each receive $3,000 | Sponsored by the Cockrell Foundation for excellence in science and mathematics

Tiny Saints BOGO Sale | Buy one, get one free on all charms and saintlets, the best price of the year | Popular styles tend to sell out during this sale, so shop early

The Great Divide by Fiona Altschuler | Preorder by September 1 | New middle grade fantasy from a homeschooled Catholic teen author | For readers who love castles, fairyland crossings, banter-filled friendships, and stories in the spirit of The Wingfeather Saga | If 75 preorders come in before September 1, everyone who preorders receives a bonus chapter

Grandparents Month at Children's Museum Houston | September 1–30 | One grandparent admitted free with each child admission purchased on-site | A sweet excuse for a grandparent outing during Grandparents Month

CLA Alleluia Poetry Contest: Brother Sun, Sister Moon | Submissions due October 20, 11:59 p.m. | Grades 7–12 | Free to enter | Students write a poem inspired by St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of All Creatures, marking the 800th anniversary of his death | Prizes up to $100 per category; winners published in the 2026 Alleluia Contest Anthology | Deadline extended

Free Catholic Will Writing — My Catholic Will | Free | The Daughters of St. Paul have partnered with My Catholic Will to offer a free, Catholic-values will-writing tool; write or update a legal will in as little as 15 minutes

Catholic International University

Catholic International University, Newman Guide–listed Catholic university offering degrees in theology and the liberal arts. Two offerings are especially suited to our families: their Early College Program lets homeschooled juniors and seniors earn accredited, transferable college credit in flexible, asynchronous courses, and their free email course, The Happiness Arts, delivers five daily 5-minute lessons on how the liberal arts help us flourish — a lovely formation refresher for parents. Find this partner and more on our partners page.