KATHRYN'S PAGE | CatholicKids101

my name is Kathryn.

My friends call me Kat so you can too. Welcome! I’m really glad you’re here. First I thought I would tell you a little bit about myself. I am 11 years old and I am in the 6th grade. My favorite colors are bubble gum pink and periwinkle blue and my favorite treat to make is a banana whip with fresh strawberries. My favorite movie is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Have you ever seen it? It's an old movie. I really like old movies, especially musicals.

Speaking of music, I’m also a musician. You probably figured that out when you saw my picture. The school I go to is called Allegro Music Academy. I study regular school subjects but I also have a lot of musical instruction. Every morning when I’m getting ready for school I pray, "Thank You, Jesus! Thank You that I have another day to use my gift of music for Your glory!”

My mom always reminds me that all my gifts and talents come from God and that I should always strive to use them for His glory. On our piano at home we have a little sign that says: AMDG - Ad maiorem Dei gloriam. That's Latin and means “For the greater glory of God.”

The instruments I play are the piano, the violin and the cello. I thought you might like to see a picture of some of the instruments that me and my classmates play at school. How many of them can you name?

Musical instruments isolated under a whi

Now it's time to get down to Catholic Kids 101 business! I would like to tell you about my very favorite way to pray and how I do it. I’m hoping my CK101 Page will help it become your favorite way too!

My favorite way of praying is the prayer of the Rosary! You will see that a part of Catholic Kids 101 is a whole big section entitled: ROSARY 4 KIDS. Rosary 4 Kids is like it's own little website inside CK101! There you will meet a boy named Mario and he is going to tell you all kinds of amazing things about the Rosary! But for now, my CK101 page is going to be like a "sneak preview" of more awesome Rosary things to come.

I want to ask you a question... Did you know that in more recent times Jesus has sent Mother Mary from Heaven to help us understand that we need to pray the Rosary? It’s true! I’ve thought a lot about it and I decided since Jesus has done that, He must think that praying the Rosary is really important!

Saint Bernadette Soubirous, age 14 in 1858

I'll tell you about one of those times. In the year 1858, Jesus sent Our Lady to a place called Lourdes, France. She came from Heaven to talk with a fourteen year old girl named Bernadette Soubirous. Our Lady had a beautiful Rosary! Bernadette said it was made with a gold chain and it had white beads. I have often wondered if Our Blessed Mother made the beautiful Rosary herself...

Catholic_White_Gold_Plated_Rosary_Beads_

Here is how Bernadette described what happened when she saw Our Lady for the very first time. Bernadette said, "Without thinking of what I was doing, I took my Rosary in my hands and went on my knees. The Lady made with her head a sign of approval and herself took into her hands a Rosary which hung on her right arm...it was only after the Lady had signed herself that I could do the same. The Lady left me to pray all alone; she passed the beads of her Rosary between her fingers but she said nothing; only at the end of each decade did she say the 'Glory be' with me."

When I was little, my mom and I would pray one decade of the Rosary together before I went to bed. When I got older we started to pray 5 decades every night together right after dinner. Now on every first Saturday of the month we pray all 20 decades together. It takes a while but it's great!

When I pray my decades, I think of the 'Our Father,' the 'Hail Mary' and the 'Glory Be' as beautiful background music. Those prayers keep the pace or rhythm as we go along. When I'm saying those prayers, I'm not so much thinking about the actual words of what I’m saying. My fingers are moving the beads and my voice is speaking but my mind and my heart are really somewhere else...they are trying to stay focused on the particular Mystery. We call it a Mystery because when we think about the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary there will always be things to learn and discover!

I thought for my CK101 Page I would share with you some meditations that I wrote for the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. I'm hoping these will help you when you pray your Rosary decades. I also have beautiful drawings for you to look at by a talented artist named Anna May McCallum. She is letting me show her prayer card illustrations to all the people who visit my page. I love how she drew kids as part of the Rosary mysteries. It helps me imagine myself right there watching, learning and being a part of all that is going on in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Thank you Anna May!

Immaculate MaryThe Adoremus Hymal

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Before you read my meditations, I wanted you to see this really neat video clip of people at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. Millions of people visit the place where Our Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette each year. There are huge processions and the people pray their Rosaries together.

In this video clip we see the people raising their candles as they sing in-between each decade of the Rosary. They are singing "Immaculate Mary." You can click on the track from the Adoremus Hymnal and sing along, imagining you are at the Shrine too!

KAT'S rosary Meditations for CK101 Kids

"MY MOTHER, I AM ALL YOURS,

AND ALL I AM I GIVE TO YOU TO GIVE TO JESUS!"

THE FIRST JOYFUL MYSTERY

THE ANNUNCIATION

-Mary is in her little house in Nazareth. She is praying. She is thinking about God and loving Him with all her heart. She is praying that the promised Savior of the world will soon be born.

-The Archangel Gabriel has been sent from God to announce the most wonderful news ever in the history of the world. He announces that God wants Mary to be the Mother of His only Son. God’s Son is Jesus!

-Mary is the most holy person that God ever created. She loves God with all her heart. She only wants to obey God and do whatever God wants. She says that she will be the Mother of God.

-At that very moment, Jesus becomes a tiny Baby in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a tiny Baby in His Mother’s womb exactly like how you were a baby in your mother’s womb not that long ago. God loves babies in the womb very, very much.

Dear King Jesus, we thank You and love You with all our hearts! We now pray for every single person in our family. We pray for all the families of the world. We also pray for the grace to always be obedient to what you want

THE SECOND JOYFUL MYSTERY

THE VISITATION

-Before the Archangel Gabriel went back to Heaven, he told Mary that Elizabeth, her cousin, was going to have a baby.

-Elizabeth was an old woman and everybody thought that she was much too old to have a baby. But nothing is impossible with God! Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant with a baby boy named John. We now call him Saint John the Baptist.

-Mary went in haste, that means quickly, to visit her cousin. Mary wanted to bring Jesus to Elizabeth and baby John. Mary always brings us Jesus! Remember that Jesus was a little baby growing in Mary’s womb. Put your finger on the side of your neck and press down gently until you feel your pulse. Can you feel it? Thump, thump, thump, thump... That is just how Jesus’ little Sacred Heart was beating in His Mother’s womb.

-Now the most wonderful thing happened when Mary greeted Elizabeth. Imagine Jesus is in Mary’s womb and John is in Elizabeth’s womb. As soon as the sound of Mary’s voice reached Elizabeth’s ears, the baby in her womb, John, jumped for joy!

-Mary stayed with Elizabeth and helped her get ready for the birth of her son, John. He would prepare the way for Jesus our Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Dear King Jesus, we thank You and love You with all our hearts! We now pray for every baby growing in their mother’s womb that they will be born safely. We also ask for the grace to never be afraid to bring You to others.

THE third JOYFUL MYSTERY

THE nativity

-The time has come for Jesus to be born.

-You remember where Jesus was born, don’t you? Yes, in a stable with animals all around Him. Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Mary and Joseph were so joyful because now they could see Jesus, the Son of God, face to face!

-Now it is time to use your imagination. You can use the picture above to help you. Can you imagine the beautiful face of Mother Mary? Can you see Saint Joseph standing as guardian and protector of the Holy Family? Now imagine that you are right next to the manger with Mother Mary like the girl and the boy in the picture. There is Jesus! How tiny He is. Now Mother Mary is carefully picking Him up. See her kiss His little head. Now she is looking right at you! Her eyes are full of love for you. She trusts you. She is going to let you hold her precious Son. She carefully places Jesus in your arms. Can you feel His Heart beating so close to yours? How does it feel to have Jesus so close to your heart? He loves you so much. God came down from Heaven and became a little Baby so you would never be afraid to come to Him. Is there something you would like to say to Jesus? Whisper it to Him right now.

-The very same Jesus is here with us right now, today, at every Mass and in every Catholic Church tabernacle and Adoration Chapel all over the world!

Dear King Jesus, we thank You and love You with all our hearts! We now pray for all the people in the world who do not know You or believe in You. We ask for the grace to always love the poor and to show kindness to those who are in need.

P.S. Did you find the 3 Kings in the picture?

THE FOURTH JOYFUL MYSTERY

THE PRESENTATION

-The Holy Family was a Jewish family. All Jewish families worship God the Father in a place like our Church but they call it a Synagogue or sometimes God's Temple.

-Mother Mary and Good Saint Joseph followed the Jewish law perfectly. They knew that when Jesus was 40 days old they were to bring Him to the Temple to be offered to God the Father. It was the law that God had given Moses.

-Now when they came to the Temple 40 days after the birth of Jesus, there was a very old man waiting there named Simeon. He was a very faithful Jewish man. Simeon loved God very much. And God had made a promise to this very holy man. He promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the promised Savior of the world. God promised him that he would see Jesus! So perhaps it was day after day, month after month, year after year that Simeon patiently waited for the Savior to come into the Temple. Simeon trusted God. He knew that God would keep His promise.

-Simeon looked at all the families coming into the Temple that day. Suddenly, just like little John the Baptist, Simeon found himself in the presence of Jesus! The Holy Spirit spoke to Simeon and he understood that the promise was about to be fulfilled. He was about to see, face to face, the promised Savior of the world!

-What tremendous joy filled old Simeon’s heart as he took the Baby in his trembling arms! Tears of joy probably fell from his eyes as he gazed on the sweet face of God and kissed the soft tiny cheek of our Lord Jesus.

-Then Simeon prayed these words: “Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace. Your word has been fulfilled. My eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of every people. A light to reveal You to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel.”

Dear King Jesus, we thank You and love You with all our hearts! How faithful and patient Simeon was. We ask for the grace to be more patient. We now pray for all the elderly, older grandmas and grandpas, who may be suffering. We especially pray for those who feel lonely and have nobody to visit with them. We pray that You will send them a friend during their last days on earth. And Jesus, maybe that friend could even be me.

THE FIFTH JOYFUL MYSTERY

THE FINDING IN THE TEMPLE

-Jesus has grown up quite a bit since our last mystery. He is no longer a baby but a twelve-year-old boy.

-The Holy Family is going to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship God the Father. How joyful they are as they travel together on their pilgrimage to the Father’s House!

-Jesus sees all the people worshiping and loving His Father. His Sacred Heart burns with zeal!

-Now you may know that in this mystery Mother Mary and Saint Joseph lose Jesus. Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph and Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary. That part is the sorrowful part but this is called a joyful mystery because after three days of looking, they find Him in the Temple.

-Remember at the beginning of my CK101 Page when I told you that we call these mysteries because there is always something to discover? Well, think about this. Jesus wanted you and me, over 2000 years after He ascended into Heaven, to be able to always find Him in the Temple. He never wanted anyone to think that they had lost Him. So this is what He did. When He was about 33 years old, on the night before He died on the Cross to save us from our sins, He sat down with His Apostles at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday night. He took some bread in His sacred hands and broke it. He gave it to His Apostles and said, “This is My Body.” Then He took a cup of wine and said, “This is My Blood.” And because Jesus is God and nothing is impossible for Him, the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Jesus! Jesus made the Apostles His first priests and bishops and gave them the power to change the bread and wine into His Body and Blood. For over 2000 years since the Last Supper the bishops of the Catholic Church have been ordaining priests so they can continue consecrating the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

-Jesus wanted you and me to always be able to find Him in the Temple! We don't have to be afraid that we lost Him because we can always find Him in every Catholic Church in the world!

Dear King Jesus, we thank You and love You with all our hearts! We pray now for Your Church. We pray especially for Your bishops and priests. We ask for the grace for all of us to be Saints! We ask for this and many graces though our Rosary!

I would like to end my Catholic Kids 101 Page by playing a song for you on the piano. The name of this piano piece is called "Bread of Angels." I’ll put the lyrics or words for you to read so you can think about them as you listen.

I wanted to play this piano piece for you as a reminder that when you pray your Rosary decades, you can think of the prayers as beautiful background music prayers as you ponder the Mysteries.

Thank you for visiting my page! I am so happy I had this amazing chance to talk about the Rosary with you. Don't forget to visit Rosary 4 Kids! And keep praying those decades!

Your Catholic Kids 101 friend,

Kat