MSI Press Blog

`      Rob Asby, the "Spanish Obsessed," talks about how to improve Spanish proficiency and draws from How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately by MSI Press author, Boris Shekhtman, n this article . Rob says: How is your spoken Spanish? If you’re anything like me, it depends on what day you ask the question. Some days my spoken Spanish is flowing and accurate (or at least, it feels like it), other days I stumble apologetically over every sentence. Over time, however, I’ve learned what it takes to have more good days than bad, and in this post I’ll share what’s worked for me. This post focuses on the “performance” side of speaking, dealing with the psychological blocks to achieving fluency. If you feel that you struggle with fluency, and are frustrated with your spoken Spanish, you’ll find the tips in this post helpful. Read more HERE . Read posts about How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately here .              ...

  The story behind Dia de Muertos is pretty simpe, really. Sula, the parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautist a, already had published five books about the Mission and about Catholic customs and beliefs, all of them in English. The parish, however, was pretty equally divided between English speakers and Spanish speakers with two Masses each Sunday in each language and holiday and holy day Masses bilingual. (The community of San Juan Bautista is a pretty evenly divided bilingual community, as well.) Sula, the parish cat, was present at all Masses. She was beloved by all parishioners. The "Sula books" were written to help raise funds for a very expensive retrofit requirement. (The church sits atop the intersection of three major fault lines and has twice fallen from earthquakes high on the Richter scale). Although most Spanish speakers in the parish could understand English, they felt left out of the Sula project. They wanted a book that spoke to their community in their lan...

We have a few Spanish-language books and two authors, very different from each other, who write in Spanish. First, meet psychologist Fernando Ustman . Fernando focuses on transpersonal psychology; his works intersect with psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and the eternal.  His works include the books below: Read about this book HERE . Read about this book HERE . Read about this book HERE . Read more about Fernando and his books HERE . Now, meet Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista (Gata parriquial). Sula has published six books so far on theological topics that touch on the everyday lived experiences of Catholics and others. She has one book in Spanish, with a second one, about Catholic (Franciscan) prayers planned. Here is her Spanish-language book: Read about this book HERE . Read more about Sula and her books HERE . (Yes, when the prayer book comes out, it will automatically link here.)

  For many language learners, translation is the default bridge between unfamiliar words and understanding. But for me, translation has never been the path—I bypass it entirely. I do not translate. I comprehend directly, or I don’t comprehend at all. And when I don’t, I approach the text as I would an esoteric passage in English: through context, inference, and inquiry—not through conversion into my native tongue. This isn’t a philosophical stance—it’s a practical necessity. With over twenty languages floating around in my head, reaching for a specific one to serve as a translation anchor is not just inefficient—it’s cognitively disruptive. The languages don’t line up neatly. They swirl, overlap, and sometimes compete. In multilingual settings, English is often absent altogether. I’ve been in situations where I’ve acted as a go-between—not from English to another language, but between two foreign languages. These aren’t rare occurrences; they’re woven into the fabric of my prof...

  Excerpt from  When Liberty Enslave  by Jerry Aveta There is a common experience between our experiences today and those before the Civil War many years ago.  The effect of the intersection of faith and politics during these two experiences has had on our elections and our governance is uncanny in their similarities.  Both times an election insurrection was stopped by the sitting vice president.  Both times had people of the same faith on both sides of the social issues of the day claiming God’s favor and willing to divide the nation over those competing positions. Part 1 of this writing focuses on the Civil War era and how liberty centered around the issue of equality.  Some people of faith believed all men were equal, some did not. Part 2 focuses on our present times and how liberty centers on the sanctity of life concerning abortion and gun control.  Some in our nation feel enslaved by the liberty of others. Part 3 describes methods for closin...