Stories of an Outstanding Cat

Admit it—if you have a furry friend, feline or otherwise, you talk to it, have conversations with it, even. We all do! And so it was when the pastor of a church in Clinton, Connecticut encountered a lost cat several days in a row on the grounds of the rectory he called home. A pact he made with the cat for a one-night living arrangement came undone when the rescued cat did not live up to his campaign promise to be gone after one night. It soon became clear to everyone who knew them, that it was the cat he named Roman Catholic who rescued Father Michael and not the other way around. And what followed was fifteen years of their sometimes conflicting needs coalescing into a relationship of devotion to one another and to the parishioners to whom they ministered. The life, adventures, musings, and lessons learned from his beloved, sassy cat became stories that Father Michael would tell to his congregants. In retirement from his busy ministry, he has written them down in this treasure of delightful vignettes. And like Levy’s secular rye bread, you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy them!