8 Ways Kids Can Grow Closer to God

When it comes to growing closer to God, kids (and adults) have no better teacher than Jesus. His eight Beatitudes are a positive, proactive guide for kids to love and serve the Lord as they mature in their understanding of their faith.

In The Beatitudes for Children, each Beatitude is coupled with a kid-sized explanation that makes it easy for them to relate to these powerful statements. There are "real-life" applications that kids and their parents can participate in, which will inspire the whole family to apply the Lord's guidance to their lives.

Enlightening, energizing, and creatively illustrated, The Beatitudes for Children will help you encourage the kids in your life to stay close to Jesus as they grow.

Pope John Paul II worked many miracles while still on earth... Ask a priest who was ordained during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, "How did you come to know God was calling you?" Chances are, the answer will have something to do with John Paul himself. Living Miracles tells the true stories of some of these "spiritual sons" of John Paul. You'll meet a priest who underwent a "second conversion" after concelebrating Mass with the Pope. Another who had his first life-changing brush with spiritual greatness when Cardinal Karol Wojtyla went kayaking on a modest Michigan lake. And one who knew he was called to the Catholic priesthood when, through the confusion of a teeming crowd, a remarkably peaceful Pope John Paul met his gaze and held it. These stories are sure to excite and reassure every Catholic who prays for the "JP2 priests" in our midst - while praying for their example to inspire a new crop of great men to heroic lives of joyful sacrifice and service. The book includes reflections from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, and Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, North Carolina. Priests profiled include Fr. Ed Kelly (Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PA), Fr. Peter Mitchell (Diocese of Lincoln, NE), Fr. Gary Dailey (Diocese of Springfield, MA), Fr. David Toups (Associate Director, Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C), Fr. Leonard Reisz (Diocese of Owensboro, KY), Fr. Jay Toborowsky (Diocese of Metuchen, NJ), Fr. Alvaro Corcuera (General Director of the Legion of Christ, Rome, Italy), Fr. Stephen Savel (Diocese of London, Ontario, Canada), Fr. Richard Mullins (Director of Multicultural Ministries, Diocese of Arlington, VA), Fr. Mark White (Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.), Fr. John Higgins (Archdiocese of New York, NY), and Fr. Anthony Denton (Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia).

Why do some people kneel on one knee before they sit down in Church? Or bow their heads when they hear a siren? There's no better way to introduce children to Catholic customs than this little book. It doesn't just explain these little devotions -- it makes children want to do them, too.