MSI Press Blog

  (photo by Stacy Gentry) About Me and This Book I love Christmas! Who doesn’t? Everyone I know loves Christmas, but then they are all people. I am a cat, but I enjoy celebrating Christmas with my people friends and with my Boss.  Christmas is a special time for my Boss. He is the One and Only, you know, the One who brought His plan to life that first Christmas—except no one knew then it was Christmas.  As for me, if you have read either of my other books (if not, please do), 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, partly because the beginning is rather cloudy, and I only know what the people at the Mission Gift Shop remember about me some 12 years ago. Yes, I am getting to be 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 her...

  Christmas in Nebraska, 2022   …also known as “fly-over country.” I have lived, most recently, in Germany and that is the starting point for my Christmas journey each year to Nebraska. If you want to find the real “spirit of Christmas,” remaining in Germany would be self-evident. For many weeks ahead, each town, each city, opens the town square every weekend for Christmas markets. More than anything, it’s a chance for local artisans to fill the charming booths with their wares and for the church and secular choirs to provide music. People wander around, sipping on Glühwein, munching on cookies, greeting each other, and adding to an overall atmosphere of gemütlichkeit —conviviality, comfort, and friendliness that is almost impossible to replicate in any other setting. My work as a professor means that I must finish my work before I leave for Nebraska, missing some of the biggest, busiest, most beautiful markets.   I’ve spent Christmas in many places: once in the Hagia Sop...

  Recently released: audiobook edition of Christmas at the Mission by Sula Parish Cat at Old Mission. And yes, we know the timing is a bit odd (Christmas in March, anyone?), but the book will be there when Christmas comes (sooner than one thinks), and we will remind you! Or, you can get a head start now. It is a charming book. Book Description Sula the Cat does it again! Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is a cat with a special mission: to comfort people in need. Every morning, she spends time with St. Francis, patron saint of animals, and receives guidance for the day. During Masses, led by the Holy Spirit, she seeks out whomever God wants her to comfort, and they report that she brings comfort, indeed. In her spare time, she writes books. This time, she is writing about Christmas traditions and how she experiences them as a parish cat. Ever wonder where our various Christmas customs come from? Sula tells you about the history and the customs today, both mainstre...

  book illustrations by Zhenya Yanovich an early Christmas gift...an excerpt from Christmas at the Mission by the famous and beloved Sula , Parish cat at Old Mission Christmas Carols Music is such an important part of our life at the Mission. At every Mass we sing hymns, liturgical songs, and excerpts from the Psalms . Christmas, though, has special songs. People call them Christmas carols . There are many different Christmas carols. Each carol tells a different part of the story of what happened at and shortly after the birth of Jesus. Here are some. I am sure you know others: ·        O, Little Town of Bethlehem is about the city where Jesus was born. ·        Silent Night is about the time when Jesus was born. ·        Away in a Manger talks about the place where Jesus was born. ·        What Child Is This? is about Jesus himself. ·  ...

Sula, the parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is quite a famous cat. Google her, and you will find lots of pictures and references. She has appeared as the lead article in Guideposts Magazine and in A ll Creatures Magazine -- and she has written six books of her own, including one in Spanish. The excerpt below is from one of her earlier books, a beloved one that was illustrated by the late Zhenya Yanovich, a Russian artist of growing esteem. The 12 Days of Christmas The twelve days of Christmas refer to the period extending from Christmas to Epiphany. The song you just read and maybe even sang in your head is well known both to Catholics and to those not in the Church. It is a secular tribute to something sacred, but many people do not know the sacred part. Do you know that there are three feasts during the 12 days of Christmas? They date from the fifth century and all focus on the incarnation of the Word of God (Christ) as the baby Jesus, human like us—well, like...

   Christmas at the Mission came after other Sula books were written, the first being Surviving Cancer, Healing People, which won a Literary Titan gold award. The first Sula story was told in Guideposts Magazine  (and repeated two years later as the lead Christmas story in All God's Creatures Magazine ) as the lead story in the Christmas 2015 issue. So, it seemed a natural that one of the books in what become a 7-book series should be a book about Christmas. Not only did Sula photogenically place herself in just the right Christmas spots (the local newspaper got some of those shots, too), but it became clear that not all parishioners were familiar with all the concepts associated with the Catholic observation of Christmas. Sula's books have always tried to strike a balance between informing and entertaining. For more posts about Sula and her books, click HERE . For more book back stories, click HERE . (And yes, we know the timing is a bit odd -- Christmas as four months ...

Holidays   If you’re a newly bereaved parent of a deceased child and you haven’t encountered a major holiday yet—say Thanksgiving or Christmas, be prepared for a shock. The holidays can bring home the extent of your loss in a way that nothing else can. Having recently lost a child, you might not be thinking about the holiday or how it will affect you. This is a mistake. It is better to face it in advance and decide how you will handle the holiday. Will you decorate for Christmas as you’ve always done? Will you go to a relative’s house and try to get through the whole thing as quickly as possible? Or will you close up shop and absent yourself from the holiday completely, traveling to Cancun, Key West, or a neighborhood motel, with or without your spouse? Paulette Jarnagin lost her son Keith in a drowning accident six months before Christmas. Paulette, who admits to “always going overboard” at Christmas, didn’t want to celebrate the holiday that year, but her family and...

photo by Stacey Gentry: Sula, parish cat at Old Mission/MSI Press "author" in the creche Shared by Dr. Dennis Ortman , author of a number of award-winning books -  CHRISTMAS STORY “ And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory. ” --John 1: 14   Even as a child, I knew that Christmas was about more than Santa Claus coming and getting gifts. The baby Jesus was born. In addition to the Christmas tree and outdoor lights, we set up a Nativity scene in our home. Our parents told us the story and introduced the characters. At school, we re-enacted the Christmas story. We all vied to play Mary or Joseph, but I ended up being a sheep. The nuns explained that the story was about the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, who came to save us from our sins. I wasn ’ t sure what that meant, but I knew it was a very happy occasion. We sang joyous Christmas carols at church and in the neighborhood. At home the family gathered to share a meal and exchange...