Earlier this week, I participated in an editorial meeting here at Pauline Books and Media. One of the first things we did was split into groups and discuss the responses to a survey we had sent out a couple weeks ago. About 200 people were kind enough to respond. Even though we were reflecting together upon answers from grown-ups, I couldn't help but think about children. You see, one of the biggest takeaways from the survey was this: even though almost all of the respondents went to Ma...

Feast Day: February 16Onesimus lived in the first century. He was a slave who robbed his master and ran away to Rome. In Rome he went to see the great apostle, St. Paul, who was a prisoner for his faith. Paul received Onesimus with the kindness and love of a good father. Paul helped the young man realize he had done wrong to steal. But more than that, he led Onesimus to believe in and accept the Christian faith.After Onesimus became a Christian, Paul sent him back to his master, Philemon, who wa...

An easy-to-make soup that’s perfect for Lent because it has no meat. (Catholics 14 years old and over abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent.)Ingredients: • 2 large potatoes • 1 medium onion • 1 stalk celery • 2 tablespoons margarine • 6 or 7 cups water • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 cup milk • 1 helpful adult Instructions:1. For this recipe, you will need help from an adult with the sharp knife and the stove. Peel the potatoes and cut in small pieces. (It doesn’...

Lent is the time of preparation for Easter. It lasts from Ash Wednesday to the morning of Holy Thursday. For people who are going to be baptized at Easter, Lent is a very special time of preparation for this sacrament. For those of us who are already baptized, Lent is a time of living our faith more deeply. We turn away from sin and everything that takes us away from God. We turn towards God in prayer and by trying to live better, the way Jesus taught us.We begin Lent by being marked on our...

The Lorica (loh-RYE-kah) is a long prayer believed to be written by Saint Patrick. It is also called “The Breastplate of Saint Patrick.” A lorica or breastplate is piece of armor, like a mail coat, worn by soldiers. The prayer is called a “Lorica” because it is asking for God’s protection.Saint Patrick came to bring the good news of Jesus to people that did not know him. Many people were converted and became Christians. Others were not happy that Saint Patrick ...

February 11Our Lady of LourdesIt was on February 11, 1858, that a beautiful lady first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France. Bernadette was a sickly girl. Her family was so poor they lived in a cellar that had once been a jail. Even though she was fourteen, Bernadette still could not read or write. She never could remember her catechism lessons, but she was a good girl. She loved God very much. Although her memory was poor, Bernadette kept trying hard to learn all she could about ...

February is a great month to look ahead:Why not take this month before Lent begins to plan ahead how you will celebrate the Jubilee Year of the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima in your classroom or home.2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. In honor of this important centennial, Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year from the 27th of November 2016 till the 26th of November 2017.On May 13th,...

Here comes that annoying tickle in your nose again. You try to hold it back, but it’s no use. You’ve got to let it out!ACHOO!!Immediately, someone says, “God bless you!” You say, “Thank you!” then carry on with your day. Do you ever wonder why you were just given that nice wish? Do you ever think, thank goodness my life’s not in jeopardy? Hundreds of years ago, people thought that very thing.Sneezing is an involuntary action. It’s a way for your bo...

Since 1974, the National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, so this year it’s January 29th through February 4th. This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.”Why not celebrate Catholic Schools Week and join us on the JClub journey today? We believe that part of a great Catholic education is great Catholic reading materia...

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima to three children, Lucy dos Santos, and Jacinta and Francisco Marto on May 13, 1917. While praying the rosary in the cove they saw “a lady all dressed in white” who appeared to them and asked them to say the rosary and to do penance for sinners. The lady asked them to return for the next six months, from May to October, on the 13th day of each month. In those apparitions Our Lady revealed to them secrets r...