JMJ

 

Dear Parents & Friends of CK101,   

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Praised be Jesus Christ! 

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One sunny day I was sitting in the Adoration Chapel which is located in the center of the beautiful town where I live. I was thinking about the data from a shocking poll I had read. The poll was done by Pew Research and it found that: "just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their Church that the Eucharist is Body, Blood of Christ." 

 

Surprised? I was. And that is exactly what I was praying about that day. At one point I asked Jesus if there was anything I could do to help Him remedy this? It was during my time with Him that day in the Adoration Chapel that I believe He inspired me with the idea for a new website for children: "Catholic Kids 101: kids telling kids about Jesus!"

 

It took a little while to figure out just exactly what it would look like. After a lot of prayers going up from the best "prayer warrior" family members and friends one could have, lively discussions with trusted collaborators and letters back and forth from "my Carmelite nuns" (Mother ended up being my editor), Catholic Kids 101 began to take shape. It has continued to grow and evolve over time with more recent additions of the "Rosary 4 Kids" and the "Guided Holy Hours 4 Kids" sections. Currently, we are in the process of creating the page: "Begin A Holy Hour." We hope it will be an encouragement for priests to help them begin guided Holy Hours for children in their parishes. 

 

I'm often asked about the amazing children featured on the "CK101 Kids Pages." They are amazing, aren't they? The "CK101 kids" that are featured on the pages of this website are a compilation of the hundreds and hundreds of truly amazing Catholic children I have met over the years when I was producing original Catholic music for children, coordinating Catholic Vacation Bible Schools and then working as the Elementary Director of Religious Education at a vibrant parish.

 

It was a 2nd grade child preparing for her First Holy Communion who not only told me what the word "transubstantiation" means but then, to my great surprise, proceeded to spell the word perfectly for me too. The boy who proudly explained that "Christmas" really means "Christ's Mass." The child who unabashedly announced to the group of 80 children getting ready to make their visit with Jesus to pray for his school friend with cancer because Jesus was going to make his friend well again. And He did. The group of little ones who spontaneously waved to Jesus and blew Him kisses when we walked by the Church because they knew He was really there in the tabernacle. The ones who offered Our Lord little sacrifices of love because their friend, Saint Therese, had showed them her Little Way. "The Story of Saint Anthony and the Donkey," the question of what happens when my grandpa dies, singing "You are My Sunshine" to Jesus in the Adoration chapel... all these incidents and so many more that I personally experienced over the years are woven into the CK101 kids pages. These are the real life children that the CK101 kids represent. These are the children who are the "kids telling kids about Jesus." And these are the children, along with every single child who visits this site and learns that Jesus, our Lord God, Savior and Best Friend, is really and truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, that "Catholic Kids 101" is lovingly dedicated to.

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United with you in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,