A Missal for Toddlers and My Little Catechism (Ignatius Press)

Ignatius Press has recently released several new books for children, and today I would like to tell you about two of them, entitled A Missal for Toddlers and My Little Catechism.

A Missal for Toddlers is a 22 page board book, designed for children ages 3 to 5. The book is designed to walk your little one(s) through the important parts of the Mass. It starts with the Church bells ringing, the Sign of the Cross, the Gloria, the Liturgy of the Word, the Alleluia, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rites. The illustration style is very inviting for young readers, and they do a nice job of illustrating what a child should be doing at all parts of the Mass. Since this book is a board book, it will last a bit longer and hold up to a little more abuse. I think is a great book to bring to Mass to help train your children and keep them focused on what's going on around them and not what the people in the pew next to them are doing. My son is recently three, so this came at the perfect time for me, and I don't plan on going to Mass without it in the foreseeable future.

My Little Catechism is a 100+ page paperback book designed for children ages 7+. It begins with an introduction which answers what a catechism is, how we can know Jesus, what the Bible is, and what the Creed is. The book is then divided into three major parts - The Father Creator, Jesus the Savior, and The Holy Spirit in the Church. Within each of these major parts are chapters which answer questions your child will most likely have. Some questions are as follows: Does God exist? What is sin? What was Jesus' childhood like? What is a sacrament? What is eternal life? With each chapter is an answer to the question and sections on what the Bible says, what we believe, a way to put it into practice, a prayer, and a little way to test yourself.

This book uses the Apostles Creed as a skeleton for its contents. I like the question and answer format, because it reminds me a bit of the Baltimore Catechism, only with more detail. I also like that this book is another title from the Magnificat Children's Books "series." Other books in this series and in the same style are The Catholic Bible for Children and Catholic Saints for Children. All books have the same style illustrations and cover art and make for a great set of books to put in your family library or as an aid in the classroom and parish. If you are looking for a way to better explain the faith to your children or let them read the answers on their own, I highly recommend this book!

These books were provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for honest reviews.

Catholic Saints for Children and A Missal for Little Ones (Ignatius Press)

Catholic Saints for Children is one of the latest releases from Ignatius Press and Magnificat. The book is just under 100 pages, but it packs a punch in content. There are thirty saints covered in all, and they are arranged by order of their birth, with the exception of the Blessed Mother being placed before St. Joseph. In addition to well known saints, like Peter and Paul, there are some lesser known ones, like Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and Blessed Charles de Foucauld. Each saint's entry contains a one page biography, what the saint can teach us and the intercession he/she can provide, a prayer, and an illustration of the saint.

With thirty entries, you or your child could read one entry a day, and not repeat a chapter until the next month. This reduces reader fatigue that parents can often get from reading the same book over and over again, but with a book like this you will want to read it many times over. I enjoyed reading the articles on St. Benedict and St. Dominic as I have a particular affinity toward them. The book is done in the same style of The Catholic Bible for Children, which was released in 2011, both in artistry, size, and the presentation, i.e., French flaps. Thus, these two books are perfectly complementary and if you are buying one you should buy the other. Five stars!

A Missal for Little Ones is a little book designed for little hands. The book is a hardcover with a dust jacket, which means that the book is carefully crafted and designed to last. The book attempts to make the Mass as approachable as possible for young readers. The title of each section tells the child what is going on in the Mass, and the text in the chapter contains a portion of the specific prayer or a summary of what is occurring at the specific time in Mass. In the very middle of the book is a section on the Apostles' Creed. Unfortunately, it is only snippets of the Creed, which is my biggest complaint with this book. The Creed is a vital part of the Catholic faith, and the snippets in the book omit key parts, like Jesus being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnation is one of the great mysteries of the Faith and should not be omitted in my opinion. The book closes with prayers for children to learn and instructing your children in the method of spontaneous prayer. Overall this was a good book, but it could have been better. It is recommended for ages 3+, but if that is the case there should be even fewer words. Also, for that age, it should probably be in the format of a board book. I guess what I am saying is that I feel like there should be two different books, one for ages 3 to 5, and one for ages 5 and up.

These books were provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

First Communion Books (Ignatius Press and Magnificat)

First Communion season is upon us! This is an important milestone for Catholic children in their faith life, and one that should be celebrated! To commemorate this joyous occasion the child is presented with many gifts to help them grow closer in their walk with Christ. The typical gifts are either a Bible or a Rosary, and both are fine gifts. If those gifts have already been covered, and you are scrambling for a gift to get them, I have two book recommendations for you. Both are available from Ignatius Press.

Your First Communion: Meeting Jesus, Your True Joy is a 45 page hardcover, which features the words of Pope Francis to first communicants. The book is divided into five sections:

Meeting Jesus in Holy Communion
The Power of the Sacraments and the Light of Christ
Holy Confession - Meeting Christ Who Loves us Dearly
The Church is Like a Mother
Messages for Life

The book looks like First Communion should with a white cover and gold lettering. It goes nicely with other Magnificat books, like The Catholic Bible for Children and Catholic Saints for Children. The font is nice sized for little readers, and though there is a lot of text on every page, it isn't so much to overwhelm a timid reader. There are also illustrations on every page as well. I especially loved the chapter on Confession. We make such a big deal about children's First Communion that we completely forget/downplay that it's their first Confession as well. It is important to remember that before you go to the table to eat, you must first wash yourself. Perhaps, if we did a better job catechizing our youth about Confession, there wouldn't be such a fear about going. At the very end of the book is a place for your child to write their own prayer to Jesus and a memory page for pictures. Those aren't my cup of tea, but I can see where some parents would find it appealing. What I like best about the book is that the message is simple, but it's not dumbed down. The words are easy enough for a child to understand, and that's vitally important, especially if you are supposed to have faith like a child.

Friendship with Jesus is an illustrated hardcover by Amy Welborn. Amy is no stranger to children's books, and this book does not disappoint. The book begins in a narrative style. Children in Rome had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and they got to ask him questions. This book records some of the questions the children got to ask the Holy Father. Topics included Pope Benedict's First Communion, Confession, the Real Presence, and the importance of Sunday Mass to name a few. The questions just make sense, and you can see any child asking the same questions that these children did.

I especially loved the section on the Real Presence. A child asked how can we know that Jesus is present in the Eucharist if we cannot see Him? Pope Benedict compared it to electrical current. We can't see it, but we can see and feel the effects. We cannot physically see Jesus like His apostles could, but we see His presence in the lives of His followers. Each question page is flanked by a picture page done in a watercolor style by Ann Engelhart. As a big fan of Pope Benedict XVI, my child(ren) will definitely be receiving this book before their First Communion. I highly recommend it. Be sure to check out the companion to this book by the same author and illustrator combo called Be Saints!

The first book was provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

In Him Alone is our Hope (Magnificat)

When I take the time to examine my spiritual life, if I am honest with myself I can find a lot of shortcomings: things I wish I did better. It seems that prayer is always at the top of this list. I wish to be better at this discipline. I strive to be better at this discipline. Sometimes I progress. Sometimes I regress. I keep trying though, and that is important. St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises have intrigued me. It has always been a practice that has escaped me, but I have been reading about it a lot lately.

Recently, I picked up the book In Him Alone is Our Hope, courtesy of Ignatius Press. In this book, the then Cardinal Bergoglio preached a Holy Week retreat for the Bishops of Spain using the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The retreat starts with Cardinal Bergoglio asking the bishops to reflect on how their vocation started. It quickly progresses to asking the bishiops how their vocation has grown and evolved over time. In this time of prayer, the bishops are asked to also reflect on their tasks, duties, and responsibilities as shepherds of the Church. However, he is also asking them to reflect on their personal lives and grow closer to God in this retreat so that they may serve the Church better.

There is a particularly beautiful passage in this book where Cardinal Bergoglio talks about what it means to "keep watch." He first starts by referencing the Scriptural passage of the Agony in the Garden, where none of the Apostles could stay awake with Jesus and keep watch. Then, he contrasts the task of 'keeping watch' against similar tasks like supervision and diligence. To summarize his points, he says, "To supervise and to be vigilant both entail a certain degree of control. To keep watch, on the other, hand speaks of hope." This means that the bishops are called to be like God - allowing us to make our own choices, but always keeping watch ready to welcome us home when we err. One can see this message of love and forgiveness in his short papal reign so far.

One could argue that the audience for this book is only bishops. However, I believe that there is spiritual wisdom in this book for priests and laity as well. Some might read this book and learn more about the vocation of being a bishop and how our current Pope views their role in the Church. Others might read this book and see Pope Francis' possible reform program for the Church. I personally tried to take some of the advice he gave to his brother bishops and apply it to my own life. We can all stand to grow closer to God, and the way to do that is by surrendering to God and allowing him to form us and mold us in His image.

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