GOOD NEWS!
We’re off to pray more deeply and there are more of us to pray! It’s time for our annual retreat from Oct 15th through Nov 1st! So while pre-scheduled cartoons will appear, we will really be deep in the desert in prayer with our Lord remembering all your needs and intentions. That also means that we will be limiting communications. Prayer requests, as ever, will still be received and held up before the Blessed Sacrament.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
We couldn’t slip away into silent prayer without first sharing more good news after our first foray into COVID-era Come and See visits:

We are happy to announce that Chrissy will be entering our Aspirancy program. She joins Aspirant Maria and Aspirant Renae and we rejoice for them all and ask your prayers for their ongoing discernment with us.

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What do you mean, ANOTHER cat?

A news update from Cor Jesu Monastery: Gertrude (named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of cats and cat lovers...at least since 1983) joins Gunther in anti-squirrel operations. Though trim and tiny, Gertrude shows great promise as an ally in the squirrel wars. Gunther, now a medically retired hunting veteran, will be showing Gertrude the ropes as to monastic living for cats before he resumes what can only be referred to as ‘therapy cat’ duties. [He refuses the moniker ‘house cat’ and feels he must have a job. He still hunts and patrols indoors.]

But this also means that Shadow, Gunther’s cartoon alter ego, needs his new companion in cartoon-land to have an appropriate name as well. So we are accepting suggestions to suit the duo of a solid 11 pound Russian Blue male 3 year old and a Dilute Tortie female 7 month old who hasn’t approached even 6 pounds on the scale.

May y’all have a Blessed and safe Thanksgiving! We are are grateful for each and every one of you and send a special note of thanks and appreciation to our special veterinarian and her staff.

We’ve also added a few kitten related items to our Amazon wishlist and remain indebted to all our friends and benefactors.

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You know it’s Advent When the Masks are Violet

It’s beginning to look like Advent. A simple wreath. A different breviary. Different hymns. No Gloria. Violet vestments. Ah yes, and violet masks. There was some joking when masks and lock downs began in earnest earlier this historic year that we all hoped we wouldn’t have to see masks in Advent. But Covid-19 seems determined to stay around into 2021.

Are you going to let that be a determining factor in the joy of the upcoming season of anticipation and expectation as we prayerfully await the coming of the Infant King? If Mary and Joseph didn’t let a census take away their joy as they prepared to welcome Jesus, then we don’t have to either. As inconvenient as it was, they saw readily the Hand of God in the matter and trusted. That trust didn’t diminish the trials and dangers they faced. It meant God was with them through it all and quite literally in fact. Think about it. Do you feel helpless in the face of this pandemic and unrest? Who is more helpless than a babe in the womb? Jesus was right there with Joseph and Mary in every difficulty. Just as he is with us. He is “God with us” Emmanuel.

O Come O Come Emmanuel!

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Gertrude gets her nom de plume and enters cartoon-land in the Sister Regina comic strip as Shadow’s new side-kick: SUNBEAM. We had plenty of suggestions, some more than once, but this one had a ring to it as we flesh out the feline dynamic duo of the squirrel wars. Here’s just some that were submitted:

Samson

Sunny

Lily

Rose

Sunshine

Misty

Lightfoot

Flame

Sunbeam

Light

Cuddles

Trudy

Gertrude is steadily growing, gaining weight and trying out various speeds racing around the cell she occupies after her toys, insects, and anything else she wants to chase. Despite her small size she can hit the ground with an impact that sounds like a human and, despite our best efforts, we smile in distraction as we detect her barreling across the floor just above the Mass Chapel. More than once a Handmaid has heard various thumps and bumps and wondered if a plumber or other contractor might be fixing something in the cell above Chapel and then realize, “Oh, its just Gertrude…all 7 pounds of her.” Look out wood-eating rodents!

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Double Holy Years and Our Need For Them Now

As 2021 gets further underway and more people begin to question if 2021 is going to make 2020 look very good in hindsight, remember to keep focus. On what? Not the news. Or social media. Or the internet. Or rumors. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He’s already planned out the perfect 2021 for our eternal good, so we need to let him have his most holy way.

In the mean time, shut off the noise and take some prayerful time to review two wonderful gifts Jesus has already started unwrapping through the Vicar of Christ on Earth, the Holy Father. Read his Apostolic Letter “Patris Corde” proclaiming the Year of Saint Joseph and pay attention to why he’s doing this. Prepare for the coming year dedicated to “Family Amoris laetitia” and again ask why.

Much of the chaos in the world right now stems from broken relationships: those between ourselves and God, and those among ourselves and our neighbors. Pope Francis is asking us all to look at the model family, where truly holy relationships, love, and sacrifice were played out in anything but peaceful times. Did it ever strike you that the Prince of Peace came having to face attempted murder and flight almost immediately? This family was Holy in an unholy time. This family made holiness among themselves, if you will. They couldn’t ignore the evil around them but their love for God the Father and each other transcended that evil and brought them a divine Peace their situation couldn’t guarantee but God could.

Apostolic Letter “Patris Corde”: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html

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