• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
A 19th century oil painting by Charles Lock Eastlake shows Jesus blessing the children. (CR file/public domain)

Learning all about Jesus

September 23, 2021
By Katie Prejean McGrady
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary, Parenting

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Over the summer, we took a family road trip to Pennsylvania, breaking in our new minivan by putting 4,000 miles on it in just under a month. As we drove across the United States, stopping for quick bathroom breaks at the cleanest gas stations we could find, my 4-year-old developed a favorite pastime.

When we’d get back into the vehicle after a stop, she’d settle into her booster seat and call to us from the back, “Tell me all about …” and she’d name a topic.

Birds. Rain. Ears. Watermelons. Toilets. Football.

You name it, she wanted to know about it, with seemingly no rhyme or reason to the topics she’d list off.

We’d do our best to muddle through some basic information, my science teacher husband far better than me at answering questions about bugs or weather or the human body.

Finally, on the long drive back to Louisiana after two weeks away from home, Rose excitedly said from the back: “Tell me all about Jesus.”

This was my moment, theology teacher Katie of the old days ready to whip out my old tricks.

“Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, the son of God, Word made flesh dwelling among us, who died for our sins. And he loves you very much!”

“But why?”

Ah, the million dollar question that usually followed as soon as we’d introduce any topic.

But I was ready.

“Jesus loves you because you are made in his image and likeness, and worthy of his love.”

“Oh.”

The questions quickly stopped. Unlike her — she would usually pepper us for a solid 10 minutes as we’d dig into a topic.

“Any more questions?” I excitedly asked Rose.

“No.”

Confused why she suddenly lost interest, I tried again.

“Are you sure? I could tell you a lot more.”

“Well normally you and Daddy have to go look things up on your phone before you answer my questions, but this time you just knew it all already. I guess I like it best when we learn about stuff together. But you know it all, so I’m the only one that has to learn this time.”

My husband and I looked at each other stunned. Kids have an amazing way of saying things you perhaps didn’t even realize they were mature enough to really think about.

“Oh, baby, I promise I don’t know everything about Jesus. I have a lot to learn too!”

“But you do! You do know everything about Jesus!”

I sighed deeply.

“No, baby. I will never know everything about Jesus, and neither will you. And that’s really kind of the best. All we can ever really do is just try to know him a little bit more every day.”

“Nice save,” my husband whispered from the driver’s seat.

“Oh. OK. Did Jesus ever have tummy aches and what do you think he ate for breakfast?”

And we were right back to it, this time with questions about Jesus I did need to think about.

The precocious questioning of a curious 4-year-old has taught me plenty about random subjects, but also reminded me of the most necessary thing to cling to, perhaps especially in moments when faith becomes a challenge to live, church teaching becomes confusing to understand and share, or when Jesus feels distant and hard to feel.

We will never know it all. When it comes to Jesus, there are infinite amounts to learn. We will never be done learning about him, the alpha and the omega, who is truth itself, made present to us, died for us and loves us.

And we will never be done simply learning who he is — learning how he loves us, and why, and coming to experience his presence in new ways each day.

Honestly, I’d be happy to answer questions about that from anyone, but especially my daughter, all day.

Fatherhood is the ultimate trust exercise

RADIO INTERVIEW: Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness

Men’s conference centers on Eucharist

Is your parish family-friendly?

RADIO INTERVIEW: How to encourage your children to read

How to answer kids when prayers go unanswered

Copyright © 2021 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Katie Prejean McGrady

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Our unexpected pope

The choices of our new pope

Gift of grace 

Yellow and white cloth hangs over the doors of Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in honor of the papal election

Who is our new pope, Pope Leo XIV?

Question Corner: Without a pope, how do we fulfill the indulgence requirement of praying for the pope’s intentions?

| Recent Local News |

Bankruptcy court judge gives victim-survivors temporary window to file civil suits

Radio Interview: Meet the Mount St. Mary’s graduate who served as a lector at papal funeral

At St. Mary’s School in Hagerstown, vision takes shape to save a school

Catholic school students ‘elect’ pope in their own ‘conclave’

Baltimore-area Catholics pray for new pope, express excitement for his leadership

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Analysis: Quietly, without flashiness, a disarming Pope Leo strives toward unity
  • El deseo del obispo Bruce Lewandowski, “Cuiden bien a los jóvenes.”
  • Angelicum rector: Pope’s election ‘greatest mercy God has ever shown on Catholic Church in America’
  • Planned Parenthood annual report shows abortions, public funding up after Dobbs
  • Pope pledges strengthened dialogue with Jews
  • ‘He’s always been a brother to us’: Villanova Augustinian prior reflects on future Pope Leo XIV
  • Who is St. Augustine, the father of Pope Leo XIV’s order?
  • Report: Catholic Church’s economic benefit to Minnesota is more than $5 billion annually
  • Catholic Charities tasked with Afrikaner refugees as Trump administration keeps others in limbo

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED