Sacred Art in the Home
Why sacred art belongs in your homeschool, how to bring it into daily life, and where Houston’s Catholic families can see it, make it, and share it this year.
Why Sacred Art Belongs in Your Homeschool
The Church has always taught through images as well as words. St. Gregory the Great wrote that in pictures, those who cannot read letters can still read what they ought to follow. St. John Paul II, in his 1999 Letter to Artists, said the Church “needs art” to communicate the message Christ entrusted to her.
Children are formed by what surrounds them long before they can explain it. This year’s CHECH theme, The Formative Home, looks at how the rhythms and atmosphere of a home shape children before any lesson begins. A Madonna above the table or a crucifix by the door is part of that atmosphere, and children learn from it every day.
Sacred art also trains attention. Looking closely at a painting, and noticing what the artist chose to show, is a habit that carries into reading, prayer, and every other subject.
Four Ways to Begin
Study one painting at a time.
Choose a single work for a week or a month and return to it often. Ask children what they notice before telling them what it means. CHECH’s Before the Lesson guide pairs each month’s liturgical theme with a work of sacred art to study.
Give an image a place of honor.
Set aside a prayer corner or shelf for an image that follows the liturgical year, and change it with the seasons. The year’s featured Before the Lesson art is also available as 4×6 Art & Poetry Cards.
Make it.
Copying a master’s work by hand is one of the oldest ways artists have learned. Let children draw or paint the saints and the mysteries of the faith, and display their best work alongside the masters.
See it in person.
Visit your parish and Houston’s historic churches with an eye for their art, and look for exhibitions where living Catholic artists show their work.
Sacred Art in Your Member Resources
CHECH membership opens a library of resources for bringing sacred art into the home. Before the Lesson, our monthly guide, brings liturgical year prompts and sacred art for each season, and gallery visits take families to see great works together. Catholic Resources and Curriculum round out art study with sacred art organizations and picture study programs.
Before the Lesson
A monthly morning-time guide that pairs the liturgical season with a work of sacred art to study, plus printable art pages for your wall.
Catholic Resources
Catholic artists’ guilds, sacred art organizations, and places to see and support sacred art in Houston and beyond.
Curriculum
Art and picture study programs, from drawing courses to art cards and picture study aids.
Enrichments
Art Gallery visits at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with docent-led tours and an optional Glassell art class.
Members log in to open any tile. Not a member yet? Join and the door opens.
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Open to everyone: each year’s theme booklet is illustrated with art chosen for that year’s theme, and every booklet is on its theme page.
The Formative Home → · The Great Conversation → · An Invitation to Wonder → · A Timeless Approach →
Where to See and Share Sacred Art
Sacred Art Live!
Each April at Cathedral High School, families can meet living artists and view or purchase their original works, prints, and merchandise, all testaments to the Good, True, and Beautiful.
Showcase Magazine
CHECH's print magazine publishes art, poetry, essays, and photography by Catholic homeschool students of all ages each spring. A published piece is a distinction students can list on a high school transcript.
Spring Showcase
Each spring, CHECH gathers at the University of St. Thomas for the Spring Showcase, which includes a student art show along with performances, awards, and graduation.
Sacred Art Live! is supported by the Texas Sacred Arts Society, which promotes sacred art, music, and writing across Texas.
Sacred Art on the Calendar
Exhibitions, workshops, talks, and contests from around Houston, drawn from the CHECH community calendar.
Kara Hofstede
Kara Hofstede is a Catholic artist and a CHECH member.Â
For the past two years, Kara and Bridgid Sharp have been working on a book that tells the true story of the ladybug and how it got its name. The little beetle was first called "Our Lady's Bug." They are preparing to raise funds to print it next year.
Follow Kara on Instagram to see her work and keep up with the book on its way to print.
LUX Art Contest
Each year, Cathedral High School’s Sacred Art Live! hosts the LUX Art Contest for students in grades 6 through 8 who are homeschooled or enrolled in an independent Catholic school in the Houston area. Students create a work of sacred art on the year’s theme in any medium. There is no entry fee. Each grade has its own first, second, and third place winners, and prize money goes toward the student’s educational expenses.
Flowers to Mary
For centuries, Catholics have honored the Blessed Mother with flowers. They hang garlands around her images, crown her statues in May, and plant Mary gardens. Some flowers even carry her name in folk tradition, such as the marigold, once called Mary's gold. This contest invites students to take up that tradition in a work of their own.
The theme is defined by subject, not style. Every medium and approach is welcome, from watercolor and pencil to sculpture and digital work, as long as the piece represents "Flowers to Mary" in some way. Each artist explains the connection in a short artist statement.
Who Can Enter
The contest is open to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade who are homeschooled or enrolled in an independent Catholic school in the Houston area. There is no entry fee.
Each grade has its own first, second, and third place, for nine winners in all. Prize money goes toward the student's educational expenses.
How judging works. Entries are judged anonymously. A jury reviews the digital submissions and selects ten finalists from each grade. An independent panel of artists then chooses the top three in each grade.
Register by Tuesday, November 3
Registration takes a few minutes. Each registrant receives a number for naming their files and a link to the submission form.
Read the full contest guidelines →
Register NowTuesday, November 3
Registration closes
Friday, November 20
Digital submissions due
Wednesday, December 2
Finalists notified by email
Tuesday, December 8
Finalists deliver artwork to Cathedral High School
Saturday and Sunday, December 12–13
Finalists exhibited at the Our Lady of Walsingham Advent Market
Sunday, December 13
Winners announced at the Advent Market
January 5–30, 2027
Artwork pickup at Cathedral High School
Five Steps to Submit
1. Register by November 3. Complete the registration form → You will receive a registrant number and the submission link.
2. Make the artwork. Two-dimensional work may be no more than 24 inches on any side. Three-dimensional work must fit in a box 2 feet square and weigh no more than 100 pounds. Leave the student's name off the artwork.
3. Photograph it. Take one clear, crisp JPEG under 5 MB, with nothing in the frame except the artwork. Name the file with your registrant number.
4. Write the artist statement. Write at least 1,000 characters (about 170 words) describing how the piece was made and how it represents "Flowers to Mary." Leave the student's name out of the statement.
5. Submit by November 20. The submission form asks for the student's first and last name, the full formal name of the school or homeschool, grade, artwork title, medium, the artist statement, and the JPEG.
Share the Flyer
Share the official flyer in your co-op group chats, parish emails, and social media. The QR code on it links straight to registration.
Questions
Contact Elaine Jones at Cathedral High School at [email protected].
Join the CHECH Community
Sacred art is one way Catholic families hand on the faith, and CHECH helps them do it together. Membership is $35 a year for the whole family and includes enrichments, Catholic and curriculum resources, community groups, and member discounts.
Become a Member