Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

The Rosary in Kid Speak

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Enjoy my interview with dynamic author, speaker, and educator, TJ Burdick, about his exciting new resource, The Rosary in Kid Speak.

What sparked the idea to write this book?

Every night, my family and I pray a decade of the Rosary together. When our youngest was born, we had four children, five years old and younger, which made the Rosary praying process a bit difficult. They’d get into the rhythm of the repetition of the prayers, but we never focused on the true beauty of Our Lady’s prayer- the mysteries. So, I started looking up images of Sacred Art to help my kids visualize the mysteries since they couldn’t read yet. Now, two years later, the oldest are reading, so it made since to accompany the images with easy-to-understand words that would explain the depth of each mystery to them. That’s how The Rosary in Kid Speak was born.

What’s inside?

Each Mystery includes a piece of Sacred Art and a kid-friendly description in words of each mystery. The images give children a focal point that allows them to place themselves in the scene with Jesus and Mary through the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous Mysteries. The words then narrate what’s going on so as to give them a more complete experience while they contemplate the lives of Our Lord and Our Lady. On top of that, the book also includes sections on how to pray the Rosary, a Rosary schedule that tells you which days to pray which mysteries, and several more tips and tricks to help families pray the Rosary together.

Who would benefit most from this book?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Rosary “the epitome of the Gospel” (CCC 971). That being said, EVERYONE can benefit from this book, most especially those who care for the spiritual formation of children- parents, priests, teachers, administrators, catechists, Directors of Religious Education, etc. The greatest thing we can do to help our children come closer to Christ is to lead them to Our Lady who loves them with a more perfect love than we could ever imagine. With the combined efforts of her divine motherhood and our terrestrial care, the Rosary becomes the spiritual rope that binds us all together and lassos the souls of our children into her love. Like the reigns of a horse, Our Lady guides us along the path of salvation with her most beautiful Rosary.

What others are saying about T.J. Burdick:

“T.J. Burdick is smart, faithful, passionate, and a gifted teacher and blogger–precisely the sort of leader we need for the New Evangelization.”

–Brandon Vogt, Content Director @ Word on Fire

“T.J. Burdick is a fresh voice in the New Evangelization—and one of the pioneering voices of a new generation of Christians. He is showing us exciting new ways to tell the Greatest Story Ever Told, and he’s doing it with an infectious and disarming kind of joy.”

-Greg Kandra, Aleteia.org

(You can find more of TJ Burdick’s work at tjburdick.com.)

Our Life, Our Sweetness and Our Hope: Amazing Catechists Offers New Rosary Series for 2014

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When we recite the Holy Rosary, we are reflecting deeply on the lives of Jesus and Mary as written in the Gospels. Therefore, we must clear our minds of all things temporal to hear what God is saying to us as we meditate on His life, His death and His glory.

It’s not always easy to set aside twenty minutes to pray the Rosary, but when we do, God amazes us with His grace; He rewards us for offering our time and energy as sacrifice for Him. If we find it impossible to pray five Mysteries after a tiring day, we may discover that praying with others can be encouraging and uplifting; peaceful and comforting, like a mother singing softly to her child. We’re never alone. Jesus’ Mother is ours; He gave her to us as she stood at the foot of the Cross and watched Him suffer and die. Now, through her historical messages to the world, she has taught us how to know Her Son through the events of His life and honor Him by imitating His virtues found in each of the Mysteries she asks us to pray daily.

Reciting the Rosary not only teaches, it gives us a sweet taste of Heaven as we begin to fall in love with our Savior and grow in grace and holiness. The more wisdom and understanding we receive, the more joyful we become and the brighter our lights shine.

I invite you to add a new method of prayer to yours by giving your weariness to Our Lady and consider praying the Rosary along with me. In no time you’ll discover how much you are loved by God, who is Love and Truth itself. Here’s the link to the videos on my Facebook page, Catechist Daily.

We at Amazing Catechists hope you’ll join us as our 2014 Rosary Series unfolds, and we wish you and your families the constant friendship of our Lord and protection of His Mother as we enter into a New Year of deeper spiritual reflection. Blessings!