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The Legend of the Christmas Cat and the not-so Silent Night

By Lorraine Aho

The tale of the Christmas cat begins on a star-filled wintry night in a humble Bethlehem stable soon after Jesus' birth. The shepherds had returned to their flocks, the Wise Men were on their way home and the angels had ceased their joyful singing. In the bare straw the tired mother cuddled her tiny son against the bitter cold. The swaddled baby cried ceaselessly and would not be comforted, although his mother, Mary, sang sweet lullabies and rocked him gently until she was exhausted and near tears herself.

Mary laid the bawling baby back in his makeshift crib and walked over to the drafty doorway. She stared up at the clear night sky at a bright star directly overhead. "I can't do this alone, Lord." The weary mother blinked back her own tears and desperately pleaded with God to send some help, any help, to comfort the baby.

As the baby's cries continued to pierce the otherwise silent night, a small pair of pointy ears suddenly shot up from beneath a pile of straw in the far corner of the barn. A furry head sporting long whiskers emerged and looked around curiously. A large mouth yawned luxuriantly and out stepped a lean and furry brown striped body. The resident barn cat slowly stretched its legs and treaded delicately across the dirt floor toward the young mother and child.

Mary turned back toward the manger and noticed the movement of the small creature. She sighed as she tucked her baby more tightly into his coarse bed, "I'm sorry Cat, I think no creature in this barn is going to get rest tonight." Mary sat down on the floor, took the cat in her lap and stroked it gently.

After several moments of staring at the manger and its earsplitting occupant, the cat leapt from Mary's lap and landed gently at Jesus' feet and began kneading its paws in the deep straw. Mary gasped with surprise; it was fine for a cat to sleep on her lap, but she wasn't certain about one sleeping with her infant. As she reached for the brown tabby cat to place it back on the floor, it curled up in a soft furry ball in the manger and began purring, softly at first, then steadily louder. Mary stopped, unable to remove the contented animal.

Baby Jesus opened his eyes wide in surprise and stared at the noisy creature sharing his crib. He stopped crying and listened as the barn was soon filled with the calming cadence of the cat's purr. The soothing sound seemed to echo off the old stone walls, and the cows, lambs and donkeys who shared the stable begin matching their own breathing and chewing to the cat's rhythm, until all were as one. Jesus' breathing slowed and soon he fell fast asleep. In the ensuing stillness, Mary relaxed and whispered a "Thank you" heavenward. She pulled her rough cloak tighter around her thin shoulders and finally drifted off to sleep. Jesus slept peacefully through the rest of the cold night with the cat's furry warmth at his feet and its tranquil purr in his ears.

As dawn's first sunbeams pushed through the old barn doors and landed brightly on the peaceful manger scene, the refreshed and grateful mother leaned down toward the attentive cat, still in the manger with her sleeping son.

"Thank you, Cat", she softly whispered as she stroked the silky head. "How can I ever show my appreciation? I have nothing to give to you." The cat merely blinked its large eyes slowly and purred contentedly from the warm bed.

"Oh, I do know something I can do. I can ask God for a blessing on you." Mary reached down and gently traced her first initial, the letter M, on the cat's forehead while praying, "May the Lord bless you, most loving and sensitive of animals. May you and all your children carry this outward sign of the kind and gentle heart that beats within, and may all who see this mark reward you with loving kindness." The cat looked up at Mary and gave her a toothy grin and a joyful meow.

Today, all Tabby cats wear the letter M proudly on their foreheads as a sign that God sends extraordinary help in some very ordinary ways.

Copyright 2001

Lorraine Aho is the founder and CEO of www.SacredHome.com for the art and soul of your home ®, an online retailer of inspirational art and fine crafts. She lives in Sonoma, California with her husband and two cats.