“Behold I bring you good news of a great joy;

For to you is born in the city of David

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Welcome to the Christmas Mewsletter

Dear Mewsletter Reader,

Blessed Christmas! This Mewsletter will offer gifts ranging from the holy to the fun. We first recreate the story of Jesus birth using Scripture and music. We also mix in prayers and reflections. Then members of the Feline Cloister present their own creative gifts.

May your Christmas and Christmastide be filled with the joy that sustains and strengthens.  

In Christ,

Br. Ricky, OSB-F, Amma Jane, OblSB and all in the Feline Cloister

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

The Mystery of the Incarnation



“The Incarnation means that the infinite love, wisdom and power of God simply could not contain itself; it had to become flesh as we are flesh, so that all creation could know its God firsthand

and not by hearsay or imagination...

"We can yield in faith to the mystery, and in so doing we can let love incarnate touch our lives here and now…We can open our entire being to the Word made flesh because the Word has truly become one with human life.”

Mother Gail Fitzpatrick, OCSO, Seasons of Grace:

Wisdom from the Cloister (Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications, 2000), 194.

“Eternal God,

in Jesus Christ your light shines in our darkness,

giving joy in sorrow

and comfort in loneliness.

Fill us with the mystery of your Word made flesh,

until our hearts overflow with praise and joy,

for he is the beginning and the end of all that exists,

living forevermore. Amen.”

Book of Common Worship – Daily Prayer (Louisville, KY:

Westminster John Knox Press, 1993), 74.

Jesus is Born

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. 

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

"O, Little Town of Bethlehem"

Click on the picture above to join the

congregation at Metropolitan United Church

in Toronto, Canada



“God of all ages,

in the birth of Christ

your boundless love for your people

shattered the power of darkness.

Be born in us with that same love and light,

that our song may blend with all the choirs of heaven and earth to the glory of your holy name. Amen.”



Revised Common Lectionary Prayers

(Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002), 39.

The Shepherds are Greeted By Angels With the Good News

Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Luke 2:8-16

“Each year the Child is born again.

Each year some new heart

     finally hears

           finally sees

                  finally knows love.

And in heaven

    there is great rejoicing!

There is a festival of stars!

There is celebrating among the angels!

For in the finding of one lost sheep,

     the heart of the Shepherd is glad, and

      Christmas has happened once more.

The Child is born anew

    and one more knee is bowed!"

Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem

(Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1980), 26.

The Shepherds go to Bethlehem

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

Luke 2:15-20

We Celebrate His Birth

Her wrinkled hands touched the tree

                                     lovingly

   as though she held eighty Christmases in a touch.

And then she turned to us and smiled

                                     joyfully

  and thanked us that she was here now,

celebrating with us the birth of her Lord.

Turning again to the tree, she drew from her bag

                                     carefully

   the gifts that she offered,

      and bending slightly she placed them under the tree.

No gold, no frankincense, no myrrh

  were greater gifts than hers

   who gave all that she had

     in celebration of his birth.”

Ann Weems, from Kneeling in Bethlehem

The Christmas Spirit

by Ann Weems

"The Christmas spirit

        is that hope

           which tenaciously clings

              to the hearts of the faithful

and announces

    in the face

           of any Herod the world can produce

           and all the inn doors slammed in our faces

           and all the dark nights of our souls

that with God

       all things are possible,

that even now

       unto us

                a Child is born!"

Ann Weems, from Kneeling in Bethlehem

Above "Nativity " by Dawn Eggenberger

OFFERINGS FROM THE FELINE CLOISTER

Br. Ricky, OSB-F

Novice Master and Mewsletter Editor

This special Benedictine version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was pawed by Br. Randy, OSB-F in 2012. Some of you who may have seen and heard this Benedictine rendition in last year's Christmas greeting. We really like it and have shared it with the Resident Novices. They feel that Br. Randy’s version captures the essence of the Rule in a fun way.

The Worldwide Novice Community Mews

Christmas Greetings!

The Worldwide Novices of the Feline Cloister

December, 2025

Christmas is a time for song and laughter. To encourage us in this endeavor, our Worldwide Novices mew their feline rendition of “Deck the Halls.” You are invited to sing along!

Deck the halls with boughs of catnip. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

Now’s the time for feline kinship. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

Groom you now your fur up pretty. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

Mew a feline Christmas ditty. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-mew!!  

See the cat treats spread before us. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

Grab a few and join the chorus. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

Follow us, don’t lose your focus . Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

For we mew a Merry Christmas. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-meow-meow!!

Friends of the Feline Cloister, Peanut and Mojito, bark a round of applause for the creative feline rendition.

Prayer - A Great Christmas Gift

Prayer makes a great Christmas gift.

We can give it to every person on our list.

We can give it to our family. We can give it to the people who bring our mail or pick up our garbage. We can make it for what we think the person wants most.

We can afford it because it only costs a few minutes and we don't have to stand in line to get it or send it.

A prayer is never returned, never put in the closet, never broken on the first day.

We can wrap our prayers with fond memories, deep compassion, determined commitment, quiet faith.

This Christmas we can give our gift of prayer.

What better gift can we offer?

Steven Charleston in Hope As Old As Fire

December 23

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Ginger wants to become a Friend of the Feline Cloister

“Into this silent night

      as we make our weary way

          we know not where,

   just when the night becomes its darkest

       and we cannot see our path,

just then

is when angels rush in,

their hands full of stars.”

Br. Ricky, OSB-F, mews,

"Watch for the angels. Be on the lookout for the stars!"

Above: Ann Weems, from Kneeling in Bethlehem

and "Sky Watching" by Dawn Eggenberger

Br. Ricky, Sr. Espy and Sr. Nikki mew you a

Merry Twelve Days of Christmas and

a New Year filled with purrs and joy!



Do you know a feline or a human who would benefit by

reading this Christmas Mewsletter?  

Amma and Br. Ricky invite you to forward this email to them.

A Closing Mew from Br. Ricky, OSB-F

"There MUST have been a feline at the manger!"