MSI Press Blog

  Well, this may be the shortest book back story yet. Easter at the Mission came about at Easter time after several other Sula (parish cat). Essentially, it was Easter. Sula had already written a popular book, Christmas at the Mission . Readers reported learning things about Christmas they had not known, and the hope was, with the help of the deacon, to do the same with he Easter book -- that hope seemed to have been realized even more in the Easter book than the Christmas book. For more posts about Sula and her award-winning books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% disc

    Just in, on Palm Sunday...a trailer for Sula's book, Easter at the Mission . 'Nuff said, just listen! HERE . For more posts about Sula and her books, click HERE . Fir other posts about Easter, click HERE . For other book trailers, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  Yes, we have quite a collection of short videos of Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, thanks to Stacey Gentry, Sula's official photographer. For some Caturday/Saturday fun, just click HERE and select the videos you like -- or all of them! For more posts about Sula, her life well lived, and her books, click HERE , including Surviving Cancer, Healing People , which won a Literary Titan gold medal. And, with Easter coming up, don't forget about Sula's Easter book! Sula, the now-famous church cat, tackles a mysterious topic for her fifth book: What is Easter, what is its meaning, what are the beliefs behind Catholic behaviors associated with the Lenten season and Easter, why is it called the Paschal mystery? Sula answers these questions with history, dogma, humor, and charm. And, of course, with pictures, lots and lots of people-cat pictures. The sections of the book--Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and East Mornin

  Excerpt from Easter at the Mission Zhenya with his daughter, Julie Photograph by his wife, Alla Yanovich MEMORIAL TO EVGENIY YANOVICH I want to dedicate this book to Evgeniy (Zhenya) Yanovich, the illustrator of my Christmas book. Even more, I want to share his exceptional story. Zhenya was born in Akademgorodok, a tiny town like San Juan Bautista, outside the large city of Novosibirsk in Siberia. Akademgorodok, situated on the Ob River, is home to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is about all that is there, but that is enough. The Academy of Sciences is a special institute of some of the most talented scientists and researchers in Russia. Zhenya was born with spina bifida. In 1979, Siberia had no access to antibiotics or the special treatments available to spina bifida children in some other parts of the world. Doctors held out no hope for Zhenya’s survival, but he lived. As he grew up, everyone in his town noticed his artwork and the immense talent it

  Time goes by so quickly!! It is already Palm Sunday (for Christians in the world). How many understand much beyond the palms? Sula, parish cat at Old Mission, wrote a helpful book, Easter at the Mission , with information not generally shared in books that more superficially discuss the events around Easter, that explains Catholic dogma (much would also relate to Protestant denominations).  Sula's book is informative yet delightfully illustrated and easy to understand. It can be purchased on the spot at Old Mission gift shop or at St. Francis Retreat Center, both in San Juan Bautista. Or, it can be purchased online . Want a discount? Order from MSI Press webstore at half price sale ; use code FF25, and get another 25% off. Cannot beat that price! But it won't last beyond Easter, so please do hurry if you want the book.                                         Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

  Happy Easter to all! Here are some readings related to Easter from a couple of our books: From Blest Atheist: The Church in Siberia From Easter at the Mission : Easter Vigil and Palm Sunday

  (drawing by Uliana Yanovich) What is Easter Vigil? A vigil is a period of waiting. Easter Vigil is considered the greatest of all vigils and reflects the waiting that the disciples and especially the women who followed Jesus did after Joseph of Arimathea, having gotten permission from Pontius Pilate, laid Jesus in the tomb. They waited a very long time: three days. With Easter Vigil, the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Saturday Vigil is brought to a close. The waiting will end on Easter morning with the Resurrection. That will be joyful. For now, though, we all wait. In sadness. In the dark. photo by Stacey Gentry Waiting before the Vigil The church is always dark on Easter Vigil. I am among the first there, waiting not just for the Resurrection that is to come but also for the people who will be coming to wait together—they with me and I with them. I like greeting the people as they come in. Often, I will know with whom I should be waiting. That, after all, is my m

(drawing by Uliana Yanovich) What is Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday is the Sixth Sunday of Lent and the Sunday before Easter. It is a moveable feast because the date changes every year, just like the moveable feast of Easter. Palm Sunday starts Holy Week, the last week of Lent. On Palm Sunday, the priest is allowed to wear a color other than purple—but can wear purple if he wishes to. Palm Sunday is a joyous interlude in the somber season of Lent. I can almost always feel the joy of the parishioners, the priest, and those who serve for the Mass—the cantors, lectors, and altar servers. I get much petting on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’s triumphant ride on a donkey into Jerusalem. Jesus sent his disciplines into town to bring to him a donkey and a colt, and to tell the owner of the animals that the Lord needed them. A large crowd followed Jesus into Jerusalem, and they laid palm branches in front of him along the way. Some even laid their cloaks in front of him, making a

  (drawing by Uliana Yanovich) What is Lent? One of the duties during Lent is to go to confession (reconciliation). Lent is one of two times in the Catholic Church when the Sacrament of Reconciliation is required. Can you guess the other? Yep, it is Christmas. I like to sit with people in the church as they take turns going to one of the priests—our Mission often brings in several priests on one evening during Lent to make it easy for people to go to confession. I notice that when they come back—maybe the priest has given them a penance of a prayer or something like that—they sometimes pray beside me. They always seem happy! That is why I think the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a good thing! Sometimes people seem nervous at first, but if anyone is willing to take advice from a cat, I say “go for it; don’t pass up any opportunity for reconciliation.” The Mission, like every Catholic church makes the opportunity for confession available at any time. Usually a few hours each week are

Hi, I am Sula, the Parish Cat. In honor of Caturday, I am going to invite you to join me on my Facebook Page  HERE   -- I have almost 800 friends now; you can be my friend, too, if you like read some blog posts about me HERE   -- all kinds of information: who I am, pictures of me, information about my book, and more: go discover! read the interview that Mudpie conducted with me when my book, Suriving Cancer, Helping People: One Cat's Stor y first came out HERE   -- it was fun; I think you will like it see  the stories about me on the Internet (from local newspapers, Guideposts Magazine, All Creatures Managzine, and more) read reviews about my books; you can a list of the reviews here Christmas at the Mission Dia de Muertos Easter at the Mission Saints I Know Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story Tale of a Mission Cat read some excerpts from my books HERE And, for some immediate reading pleasure right here, this is the Canticle of Sula that Stacy Gentry, my care pro

  Photograph by Stacey Gentry  And now, about me— Every morning, I make the rounds of the museum, grounds, and church, after starting my day at Mass in the Chapel with the priest and parishioners I love—and, appropriately, on a bit of an empty stomach though I do not take communion (being a cat, you know). After Mass, I go to the Mission Gift Shop for breakfast and, depending upon the day, I begin my rounds somewhat later. Actually, if you have read my other books, you know as much about me as it is possible to know. For those who have not read them yet, I can tell you my tale in a nutshell. It is pretty simple because the beginning is rather cloudy. I only know what the people at the Mission Gift Shop remember about me some 12 years ago. Yes, I am quite a big girl now with my own set of life experiences. It seems that I was always in San Juan Bautista, a beautiful Mission town in the Mexican tradition. Lots of Spanish spoken here, so I have had to learn to meow in and respond to two l