How can I describe Cat.Chat? It’s an audio series for kids. They include songs and also stories featuring Josh, Hannah and Papa, and of course, the protagonist, Moses, the talking cat. The series was created by husband and wife team, Denise and Gerald Montpetit. The idea came out of the need for solid, Catholic resources for children. I can relate to them on this: it is so hard to find good, quality, Catholic music and DVDs for children. Denise and Gerald’s hope was to teach children the basics of the faith in a way that is fun and easy to understand. They most definitely achieved their goal. The Montpetits now have five children of their own and I had the chance to meet them recently. I traveled to Woodstock, ON for my very first Cat.Chat Concert, featuring Gerald, as the Cat.Chat man, his four older children, Réanne (13), Dominic (11), Jerome (9) and Luc (6), and Moses, the talking cat. Denise does not go on stage but she runs the show off stage. It is truly a family affair. The show was so much fun, the songs so catchy (you’ll be singing them all the way home) and the depth of the message so clear, that I am still a bit in awe at the whole thing. The children at Holy Family Catholic School in Woodstock were enjoying themselves and singing along, I wished the concert had been at my own kids’ school. After the concert I had the chance to tape a conversation with Gerald and to hang out a bit with the whole family. Not a perfect family (whose is?) but certainly one where every member is aware of their calling to be family, if that makes any sense. I don’t know how else to explain it. Even 18-month-old Vanessa seemed to enjoy the bustle of packing up the equipment into the trailer behind their RV. If you want to find out more about Cat.Chat and about the Montpetits, be sure to tune in to Catholic Focus this Tuesday, May 18th at 7 and 11pm ET (8pm PT) to watch that conversation I had with the Cat.Chat man, Gerald Montpetit, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, I bet you’ll be going online to buy the CDs. My favourite Cat.Chat is the first one: Mary Leads Me Closer to Jesus and my favourite song is “Pray for Me.” Believe it or not, listening to this CD helped me understand a bit better our special relationship with Mary and how she truly leads us to Jesus.  Cat.Chat also has some resource books full of fun activities that you can do with your children and an amazing Vacation Bible School package that I encourage you to bring to your Parish. Of course, you can also bring one of the concerts to your school or Parish.. But if you have children ages 3-11 and want to get them a special gift to help them learn more about the Church and get closer to Jesus, go to www.catchat.ca or call 1-866-286-5433. I highly recommend them.