My 7.5 year old loves to read. If she has free time, you can find her curled up in a chair devouring some book. I’ve worked hard for this … reading aloud to her, letting her see me read books, praising her when I saw her reading and it’s paid off! But this same kiddo seems to have no interest in the readings for Mass!
She mostly stares at the people around her and I can tell she doesn’t even try to hear the homily. I know, I know, she’s only seven. She sings the songs and says the prayers but I was hoping by now, she’d start to get some of the magic out of the whole experience.
When I bought My Sacred Sunday, she perked up a little bit. I’d let her follow along with the readings but then I would pull it on my lap to take notes and put my private reflections in it. When I saw that Ginny Kochis had come out with a similar journal for kids, To Hear His Voice, I knew I had to try it! I started with the downloadable PDF version of the summer edition to test it out. I liked it but my printer isn’t great so it put some lines on the edges.
I wanted Rose to have something that felt more important so I bought the paperback version for the fall.
Let me just say … it’s beautiful! I love how each Mass has four whole pages for the kids to write in. Each of the readings is in a huge, easy-to-read font. There are prompting questions so your child isn’t staring at a blank page that says “notes.”
More than anything, my daughter gets so excited about it. She wants to read the Mass readings ahead of time. Now, when we’re done with church, when I ask her questions, she actually has responses instead of “Uh, I don’t know.”
Now, I can’t promise this will work for all kiddos. She likes reading and writing, and when she wants, she has good focus. She’s also my first-born so we’ll see what my wild child second-born does in two years. My second daughter already wants one, though! I told her if she works hard on reading and writing, I will get her one. I haven’t decided how to determine when exactly she’s ready so I’ve been praying about that.
There’s no question for me though, the investment is absolutely worth it if it draws my children into the beauty and depth of the Mass. I also like the idea of starting them young on taking notes in Mass. Ever since Matthew Kelly recommended this, I’ve been working on it and it’s proved to be extremely helpful to my prayer life and what my spiritual focus is during the week.
This is an amazing product. I’m jealous I didn’t think of it. I hope it helps lots of Catholic families connect their kids to Mass!
I think this would also make a darling gift if you're a godparent. To Hear His Voice by Ginny Kochis is available at Amazon.
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Copyright 2018 Sterling Jaquith This article contains Amazon affiliate links; your purchases through these links benefit the author.
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