MSI Press Blog

  The following excerpt comes from  Saints I Know   by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission. Appropriate for Caturday -- the book is "written" by a cat -- and for the Easter season.  Saint Joseph This statue of St. Joseph can be found at the feet of one of the statues of Mary in our Mission garden. I think that is the perfect place for his statue because he always supported Mary, marrying her though she was a pregnant virgin, and becoming the legal father of Jesus. Joseph's first thought when he found out that Mary was carrying a child he knew nothing about was not to marry her even though they were betrothed. However, an angel came to him in a dream, revealed to him what had happened, and told him to take Mary as his wife. He did. Joseph was a carpenter (a worker) and raised Jesus as a carpenter’s son. Today, we would say that they were part of the working class. It makes me feel closer to Jesus, knowing that He did not come into this world in glory and privilege but rat...

  It seems appropriate that today's daily excerpt, on Caturday, would from a cat book -- Saints I Know by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission -- and be about St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats. St. Gertrude of Nivelles 626-659 St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the patron saint of cats, which is why sometimes I am tempted to say that she is my favorite saint. But I really don't have a favorite, they are all very special. Well, I talk to St. Francis each morning to find out what jobs I have that day so I suppose that does make him sort of extra special—especially since he is the patron saint of animals. If you think of my jobs as a mission, you might say I am a Mission cat with a different mission every day, thanks to St. Francis. Like St. Basil, St. Gertrude came from a family with many saints. Her mother was St. Itta of Nivelles, her father was St. Pepin of Landen, her sister was St. Begga of Ardenne. Unlike many other saints, St. Gertrude didn't come from a poor or humbl...

  The following excerpt comes from  Saints I Know   by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission. Appropriate for Caturday -- the book is "written" by a cat -- and for the Easter season.  Saint Mary   The one who was from birth meant to be a saint and lived a holy and perfect life, Mary has done so much for the world and for us who live in it that a short article simply will not suffice. I will try my best to point out the things that seem important to a cat, but so many more things will remain unexpressed that your chore will become to find out as many more as you can—and probably you already know many. Mary appears in both the Bible and the Q’uran , and she has many names: Mary (Miriam in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and the people where he grew up), the Virgin Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, Mother of God, Mother of Jesus, and, though her apparitions, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Mercy, and others The name, the Imm...

  The following excerpt comes from  Saints I Know   by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission. Appropriate for Caturday -- the book is "written" by a cat -- and for the Easter season.  About Me and “My” Saints If you have read any of my three previous books, you already know all about me. If you come to any weekend Mass at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, you have met me. If you have come into the Mission Gift Shop, you may have had a chance to spend some time with me in a quiet place and to meet my friends there who take care of me. More than a dozen years ago, I came to the Mission as a kitten, perhaps a year old. No one knows how I got here or where I came from though some saw me wandering around City Hall for a while before I followed the church bells to the Mission. Parishioners greeted me with love, the Mission Gift Shop started taking care of me, and I understood that I had received a God-given mission to take spiritual care of the parishioners in return. I love my Mis...