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A few years after we started Cat.Chat, a friend of ours said to me: “Ger, I think you should consider doing Cat.Chat concerts for kids and families.” I can’t describe to you what happened inside me when she spoke those words. I quickly and abruptly said, “I rebuke that comment as concerts are not an option for me!” 

Those who were a part of the conversation were quite surprised at my reaction since I typically take a considerable amount of time to process and respond with a gentler approach. My stern reply was a sign that something in me required deeper reflection. In my heart, I knew it meant the possibility of jumping into the unknown. YIKES! That scared me.  It really scared me. 

Over the past two decades, we asked our five kids fun questions that prompted interesting replies and sparked meaningful conversations. We recorded their comments in a notebook and would like to share them with you. 

Hopefully, they can bring a smile to your face and warm your heart in this season of your life.

We asked: What’re the most beautiful words in the English language?

I Love You  (Jerome, age 7)

What do you most look forward to about growing old?

Peace & quiet in my house. (Dominic, age 10)

 

We created some advertising graphics to help remind parents to sign up for your parish Lenten Journey.

Simply right-click on the image you want to use and save it onto your computer. 

 

When I wrote this song, I was alone at a friend's cabin doing some songwriting. As I was telling God about all the unknowns and uncertainties of my life, I  found myself reflecting on the lives the Saints and how courageous they were amidst their own personal struggles.

The lives of the Saints have always challenged me to pursue holiness, but I often find myself saying the words of St.Therese of Lisieux, "Lord, make me a Saint, but please be gentle with me."

God is calling all of us, young and old, to become saints. Yes, this is a radical thought.

Most of us think it's unattainable, and yet, the whisper in our hearts is still there. “Come follow me” says Jesus the Saint Maker, who is calling us, as well as our kids, to embrace the challenge.  This challenge of becoming saints happens in the midst of our joys, struggles, sins, fears, uncertainties and most importantly, within the details of our own personal day to day life.

 

What age range is Cat.Chat's Digital VBS Music designed for?

It’s designed for kids in Kindergarten to 5th grade, but can be enjoyed with the whole family.

 

 

Does a parish pay a licensing fee and then have permission to send it out to VBS families? What is the cost?

The licensing fee varies depending on how many kids are registered for your VBS program. Click here to view the pricing. Your parish will have access to the links for each of the five VBS days. You can choose when to send out the links to the families. 

 

 

What age range is Lenten Journey designed for?

It’s designed for kids ages 5-9, but can be enjoyed with the whole family.

 

After the parish or school purchases the program, who can they share it with? 

If you are a parish, you have permission to share the program links each week with your parish families. Schools and homeschool groups also have the rights to share the Lenten Journey lessons with the teachers or homeschool families within their school. 

 

Our family was having a lovely meal over the Christmas break, when I surprised everyone at the table and spontaneously popped a question: “If each of you could pick three positive words that would best describe our family, which words would you pick?”  Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Dominic, our oldest son, piped up with an encouraging smile and said: “Way to go, Dad!” Everyone chuckled because it’s usually Denise, my wife, who likes to ask meaningful conversation questions when the family gets together. So, I surprised them all!

We all started brainstorming and reminiscing about what we accomplished as a family, the places we traveled to while performing concerts, the people we met through our Cat.Chat ministry, our humble beginnings when the kids were really young, and some of the trials we walked through together. Each of our kids, including Jacob our son in-law and Catherine our daughter in-law, took their turns and shared words they thought best described our family. 

I started writing the words down on a piece of paper and got excited with the wide range of uplifting words that were being shared. After about ten minutes, we had collected over thirty words. 

 

The past couple of weeks have brought a lot of changes in our day to day life. Self-isolation and social distancing has probably made for a lot more time with your spouse and family. However, not being able to go out can make it hard to plan a romantic night as a couple. Here are a few date ideas to help you create some fun memories with your spouse in your own home. 

 

Toady we celebrate St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church! 

While on one of our concert tours, our family stopped to visit Canada’s largest church, St. Joseph's Oratory. We were all very excited to see and experience all that St. Joseph had accomplished through a humble saint named Andre Bessette. 

 

In Matthew 22, Jesus tells us a parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. Again, he sent other servants saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast. But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business…” 

Christ has a banquet prepared for us, but so often we are too busy with our own affairs. We are consumed by distractions and do not listen to the voice that calls us to the feast.

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