Among the Pots and Pans

Thursday the Church honors St. Teresa of Ávila, the Carmelite reformer and Doctor of the Church who wrote some of the deepest pages on prayer ever written and then went back to sweeping the convent floor. She described prayer simply as friendship: taking time, often, to be alone with the One we know loves us. When her sisters worried that kitchen duty kept them from God, she told them the Lord walks among the pots and pans, helping us in the interior life and the exterior alike. That is a word for every homeschooling mother who has wondered whether a day of laundry, lessons, and lunches leaves any room for prayer. This week, try a few minutes of quiet with the children each day, nothing elaborate, just a short time to sit together in the presence of a Friend.

Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee;
All things are passing;
God never changeth.
— St. Teresa of Ávila, trans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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CHECH Art Gallery @ MFAH

Our first docent-led morning at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is next Friday, October 23: American History across the Galleries, celebrating 250 years of the nation through Cole, Sargent, Remington, and the Tiffany window. Tours are grouped by grade from kindergarten through 12th, start at 11:00 a.m., and a parent or guardian attends free as chaperone. Come for a single visit or save with the full series (October 23, December 11, February 19, and May 21).  See the full schedule on our Enrichments page.

Not a member?  Register for a single visit or the full series.
CHECH members: find your member pricing here before you register.

It’s Time to Plan Next Summer

The best summer programs for high schoolers open applications in the fall, and many offer early bird pricing or fill well before spring. Thomas Aquinas College’s Great Books programs, featured last week, are already accepting students. CHECH members will find a curated guide to academic, faith-based, arts, and outdoor programs in our Summer Programs collection. Not yet a member? Join CHECH to get it, along with the rest of our member library.

Dear Mater

Dear Mater, I feel guilty when I don't get through everything on our homeschool list. How do I distinguish between what is truly important and what can wait?

Mater's answer starts with a question every homeschooling parent should ask: am I homeschooling, or am I schooling at home? Read Mater's answer on our website. Have a question of your own? Submit it here, anonymously if you'd like.

Make Time for This

Light a Candle Somewhere New

Visit a church you’ve never been inside. Light a candle, sit together in the quiet for five minutes, and talk about what you noticed on the way home: the windows, the statues, the smell of the candles, who the church is named for. Children remember a place they’ve been taken to on purpose. Houston has no shortage of churches worth the drive: Annunciation downtown, the oldest Catholic church in the city; the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart; the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham; St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston; or simply the parish across town you’ve driven past a hundred times.

Upcoming in Houston

Your Houston Stars: HMNS Rooftop Stargazing | Tue Oct 20, 7–9 p.m. | HMNS parking garage, 7th floor | Free, no ticket needed | Telescopes on the Moon, Saturn, and the Dumbbell Nebula with HMNS astronomers | Weather dependent

Endurance: Finding Shackleton’s Ship Beneath the Ice | Sat Oct 24, 6:30 p.m. | HMNS | $12 members, $18 public | Mensun Bound on the expedition that found Endurance | Teen Night: high schoolers preregister and pay $10 at the door

Oktoberfest: Our Lady of Walsingham | Sun Oct 25 | Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham | More to come: Trunk or Treat (Oct 28) and Cathedral High School Open House (Nov 7)

All Girls Lenten Day Retreat | Sat Mar 6, 2027 | Shrine of the True Cross, Dickinson | Girls 7–17 who have received First Communion | $40 early bird through Jan 30 | Mass, Adoration, Confession, talks, bread baking, and crafts

Critter Connections Magazine | Free printed subscription for Texas residents | Ages 13 and under | Quarterly wildlife magazine with activities, crafts, and stewardship prompts | Next issue in Nov

Alto: Ascension’s Monthly Prayer Companion | $9.17/month, billed annually | Morning and Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, daily Mass readings, saint reflections, and liturgical living guidance from Kendra Tierney Norton | First issue out this October

Thomas More College

Thomas More College in Merrimack, New Hampshire, offers a Catholic liberal arts education aimed at forming the whole person, spiritually, intellectually, and physically, after the example of its patron, the statesman and martyr who was “the King’s good servant, and God’s first.” Students read the Great Books in small, discussion-based classes with their professors, and every sophomore spends a full semester at the college’s campus in Rome, studying the history of Christendom in its catacombs, basilicas, and piazzas. High schoolers can get a taste of it before applying. Rising seniors can spend two weeks on the New Hampshire campus in the Great Books Summer Programs ($500 including room, board, and books; applications due March 31, 2027), or travel with the college to the Eternal City in the Rome High School Summer Program. Find Thomas More College among our partners on the CHECH Partnerships page.