About Verbum & Virtue
In principio erat Verbum
In the beginning was the Word
We gather around the timeless. Verbum & Virtue is a quiet, reader-supported digital sanctuary dedicated to cultivating the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
Our Roots: From Burning Bush Press to the Hearthside
Our work began quietly under the imprint of Burning Bush Press. What started as an earnest family effort to encourage young minds through the Sower & Harvest writing contest for homeschoolers quickly grew into something much deeper. Reading the faithful stories submitted by families across the country confirmed a shared hunger: a desire for literature that honors truth, language that carries moral weight, and an intentional alternative to passive, screen-saturated culture.
As those seeds took root, our initial publishing effort naturally matured. Today, that foundation expands into Verbum & Virtue—a dedicated journal, educational archive, and gathering place for families, classical educators, and contemplative readers seeking to build homes marked by depth and enduring wisdom.
Our Foundation & Vocation
At the center of everything we write, design, and share stands the LORD and the power of His divine Word—Verbum (the Logos). We believe that genuine wisdom, moral beauty, and redemption flow from Scripture and Christ, the living Word. In a shifting culture, God’s Word remains our unshakeable bedrock.
Verbum & Virtue brings together the complementary vocations of a husband and wife, working alongside their children and a small circle of contributors:
C.G. Ortega (BA in Design): With a background spanning aerospace and industrial design, he approaches the classical tradition as a craftsman. He explores how timeless truths provide the foundational architecture, stewardship, and structural strength needed to edify the modern home and family education.
Eréndira Ramírez-Ortega (MFA in Creative Writing): A published writer across fiction and nonfiction who approaches literature not from an academic tower, but from the kitchen table. With her older children launched from the homeschool into adulthood, she writes as a student and mother discovering, reading, and learning with her daughter—her last student—in the homeschool.
We claim no mastery over every branch of classical education as we are practitioners, advocates, and lifelong learners seeking truth alongside you.
The Three Pillars
Verbum (The Word): A commitment to Sacred Scripture, classical philosophy, deep reading, and language that carries weight and moral grace.
Virtue (Moral Excellence): The intentional shaping of character—guided by the classical cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance) and Theological virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity)—to reflect God’s goodness in daily action.
The Hearthside (The Sanctuary): Honoring the home as the vital center of human culture, where hospitality, contemplation, family tradition, and quiet beauty nourish the soul.
Our Guiding Ethos
Depth Over Distraction: Championing slow, contemplative reading over the hurried churn of the modern digital stream.
Beauty as Essential: Cultivating literary and visual beauty not as an extravagance, but as vital food for the moral imagination.
Faithful Stewardship: Drawing from the ancient wells of Christian and classical wisdom to navigate modern life with courage, clarity, and peace.
Join Us
Whether you have journeyed with us since the early days of Burning Bush Press or are finding us for the first time, you have a place here.
Subscribe — Receive seasonal dispatches and free Scriptorium digital tools.
Sustain the Hearth — Support our ad-free publication and help compensate our contributors.
Submit Your Work — Share original, human-crafted essays and family oral histories.