MSI Press Blog

  (illustration by Zhenya Yanovich) New political realities aside, January 6 has always been a special day. In the orthodox tradition, it is the first day of Christmas; in the Christian tradition, it is the last day of Christmas. In celebration, we offer an excerpt from Sula's book, Christmas at the Mission: Epiphany The Bible   contains only 12 mentions of the wise men (magi) and the Star of Bethlehem, but over time they have captured nearly everyone’s attention. A Christmas pageant would not be complete without the three magi, or as they are sometimes called, kings. Many nativity scenes also include the three magi. Who were they? What did they see? What did they know? Why are we enthralled with them? Well, first, they saw a star. The star is called the Star of Bethlehem because when the magi followed it, it stopped in Bethlehem over the manger where Jesus lay. The magi came from the east, following the star. They seemed to know what the star meant because on the way, they sto

                                                   MAKING CHRISTMAS PERSONAL   A teenager in our little country church many years ago had a self-image problem. So convinced was he of his “unworthiness” he refused to take Holy Communion. Nothing we or the minister said could convince him otherwise. I shall never forget the sadness of seeing him sitting alone and forlorn in one of the rear pews as the rest of us joined together in joyful Christmas communion. Sadly, many still struggle with the idea that we are not “good enough” to please God. Maybe that’s why the Holy Spirit gave the prophet Isaiah this all-inclusive vision some 700 years before the birth of Jesus:                “Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders.                And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. “                                                                                                  

Excerpt from Christmas at the Mission  Angels In the  Bible, Luke tells us about the important role that the angels played in the birth of Jesus. They were the voices and choir letting the shepherds know the good news. Angels are messengers from God. In fact, that is what the word, angel , means [B2]   : messenger . [VW3]   Jesus’s birth is not the only time that the angels been involved in the affairs of people. Think about some other times: ·        Three angels appeared to Abraham; he gave them food and rest, and they told him that his wife Sarah, who was very, very old, would have a child—and she did: Isaac. ·        Jacob wrestled with an angel. ·        It was two angels who saved Lott [VW4]   [B5]   from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. ·        An angel appeared to Joshua before the fight for Jericho—and we know that Joshua and his people won, with the help of God. ·        An angel rescued Daniel from the lion’s den. ·        An angel announced to Zachar

(illustration by Zhenya Yanovich)   GIFT EXCHANGE “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” --Isaiah 9: 1   “I’m so exhausted! I can’t wait until the holidays are over,” adults complain. The Christmas season is filled with toil and trouble. Adults are fatigued with the endless round of decorating, cooking, baking, partying, gift buying and wrapping, and fighting crowds at the mall.  “I’m so excited! I can’t wait until Christmas comes,” exclaim children. They are excited to be on vacation, escaping the toil and trouble of school. Play time begins, and they look forward to Santa coming. They enjoy the rounds of parties, time with friends, caroling, meeting Santa, and getting gifts.  Both the giving and receiving, the toil and excitement, capture the true spirit of Christmas--and make the world go around. God gives the gift of Himself in His Son. We open-heartedly receive that great gift and respond by sharing ourselves with God and one another. The freely-given gift ex

  LIGHT SHOW “ I am the light of the world. ” --Jesus of Nazareth   “ White Christmas, ” written by Irving Berlin in 1942 and sung by Bing Crosby, is the most popular Christmas song ever. That is surprising, since most of the world never experiences snow at the end of December. The southern hemisphere is bathed in summer warmth, while half of the land north of the equator only experiences a winter chill. LIGHT SHOW THEN Christmas, at its heart, is really a light show. History displays its meaning. We do not know precisely when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was not until the fourth century that December 25 th was established as its official date by the Church. That date was set to compete with the pagan feast of the “ Birth of the Invincible Sun. ” Christ was the rising “ Sun of Righteousness. ” December 25 th was four days after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The gradually increasing daylight signified light overcoming darkness. Today we celebrate Ch

  (Sula, reminiscing, in her own pew, donated by parishioners in her honor.) So, how is Christmas 2020 going? You might ask Sula, beloved parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista and MSI Press author, considering that she wrote a book a few years ago--a popular one really--called Christmas at the Mission . Different this year, she may tell you because her cancer returned in the form of a tumor but with some very skilled veterinarian care her very bad prognosis turned around and the tumor is disappearing. At the same time this is all too familiar.  Because of covid, her "home" being closed from lock-down many times, and her cancer, Sula retired in December. (Please pray for her cancer to disappear entirely.) She now lives with parishioners and gets to interact with a retired priest from the Mission who lives nearby, so it feels like home. But she does work on Sundays, and she participated in all the normal activities--if anything could be considered normal this year. She he

It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is holiday books. After all, we are straddling two holidays right now -- Chanukah and Christmas. So, if you want to write a holiday-related book, say a Christmas book, when should you start? What kind of timeline will dictate having the book out at the right time? Let's assume that you have a publisher lined up because otherwise all timing issues are moot. Here are the timelines that would work for us, as a publisher: The latest, as a publisher, I would want to get a Christmas book, is January, but preferably the previous November or December. I need at least a couple of weeks to decide whether or not