A Tale of a Cat and Two Sisters

Not too long ago, I followed a digital retreat on the gifts of the Holy Spirit conducted by the Dominican Friars and the Sisters of Life. During one of the sessions, Sr. Marie Veritas, S.V. shared this amusing yet thought-provoking story about a cat. Not just any cat, but one that you could say was quite like Jesus. Here’s how the story goes.

Every year, the Sisters of Life, a religious order based in the US, spend some time during the summer months in a camp in upstate New York. Now, the owner of the campsite had recently purchased a cat, an orange tabby that his little daughter gleefully named Princess Unicorn.

During one of the annual summer camps, Princess Unicorn discovered the Sisters. The cat would follow them everywhere. The Sisters would find themselves sitting in the chapel and all of a sudden hear, “meowwwww, meowwwwww” from the back of the chapel. Or it would join them in their Marian processions or be begging them for food. The cat absolutely enjoyed the Sisters’ company and was not to missed wherever the Sisters were.

So, off they went, rowing along in the pond when suddenly they began hearing meowing sounds. They rowed on and had reached the middle of the pond but kept hearing what sounded to them like a cat meowing. The Sisters then turned to look behind them and to their utter amazement, they found Princess Unicorn swimming after them! Then, of course they took the cat and kept it in the boat and Princess Unicorn was all happy again.

This is how Jesus is with us. He is the persistent lover who is never put off or discouraged by us. He ever seeks to be with us. “I will be with you,” he says in Isaiah 43:2. The God who created the mountains, oceans, and galaxies longs to be with us personally. He looked at each one of us and thought that the world needed one of us too. God, St Catherine of Siena said, is pazzo d’amore with us. God is crazy in love with us! He pursues us relentlessly for he wants nothing more than for us to know and love him, and ultimately be with him for all eternity. But how often, like the Sisters did with Princess Unicorn, do we throw Jesus out of our boats?

The good news is that regardless of how many times we might have thrown God out of our lives in the past and continue to do so from time to time, he remains the same Father who runs out to receive and embrace his prodigal sons and daughters. Each of us has our identity rooted as sons and daughters of the King. Let us claim our inheritance of the riches of heaven by answering to the call of the one who never tires to reach out to us. Let us keep him close to us always. KA

Note: To listen to the wonderful talks from the gifts of the Holy Spirit retreat, please visit https://aleteia.org/online-pentecost-retreat/