The sun is now high over Rome and it rose at. It will be less high soon, for I write near noon, and it will set at 20:37.
The Ave Maria Bell is still pegged at 2100.
Today is the Vigil of Pentecost, at long last. It seems like a long time that we started with the pre-Lent Sundays. On the other hand, Paschaltide has really flown. For me, at least.
What shall we look at today?
First, I had a nice bowl of spaghetti with clams yesterday evening.
I’ve gotten this one down.
Shall I show you some views of the beautiful flowers in church right now? What a difference they make.
I know. I know.
“There goes old Fr. Z again, raving about the parish. Let’s get on to more CHESS NEWS! That’s what we really want!”
If only in these Roman churches in the Centro the priests or brothers would get off their lazy asses and start sweeping and cleaning and putting things into right order for a Roman church! Instead, they put non-sensical and usually banal idiocies, lots of junk, use the side chapels for anything other than a sacred purpose. It’s maddening.
If you are going to put some flowers on an altar, do it right!
Clean the floors! Take out the junk! DRESS THE ALTARS! Get some LIGHTS on!
Do something that people will long to see and experience again, rather than the same ol’ same ol.
In the background is the veiled baptismal font that some of you readers helped to pay for!
It isn’t rocket science. Make sure there is something going on! Make sure there is something beautiful to attract the heart and mind when eye rests upon it.
Our eyes. We tend to desire what we see. That’s why it is important for us to guard our eyes from what we should not want and direct them to things through which we can encounter goodness and truth.
And now for chess.
I’ve been talking about getting your kids (yourselves) into chess. This is a great story.
In chess news, Nodirbek Abdusattorov won Division I of the Champions Chess Tour ChessKid Cup on Friday. Going into game 4 of the Grand Final with black and an even score, he defeated Fabiano Caruana. Whew.
Here’s a puzzle.
White to move. Mate in TWO.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Please visit the site of the Summit Dominicans.
Also, your chess needs will be met here.
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When it comes to flowers in the church, I always say that dead flowers are way worse than no flowers.
You’re right, and I never noticed that before. The flowers really do make such a difference. The colors, the fact it’s a living thing, and somewhere in your head you think, it’s important, somebody cared enough to put flowers there as a tribute. Not to mention the fragrance.
I don’t know how to name the squares but the rook on the far right needs to come down to the square even with the King. The black king will have to move up/north. I would then relocate the queen to directly below the king. There will no longer be any square to which he can go that is not covered. If he takes the knight, the bishop gets him, if he takes the Bishop the rook or the queen will get him. If the king stays put the queen will get him.
1. Bb2 (forces only possible move) Kd3
2. Rd4#
About the pictures: Beautiful flowers! Spaghetti with clams looks delicious! Thank you very much for posting pictures, Father! We feel a little bit as if we were in Rome.
Bishop B2
King D3
Rook D4
In this queenless endgame against a bare king, it is the bishop that needs to come down even with the king so that Black has only one legal move. If the rook on the far right does, the king can escape further down toward the edge of the board, and the knight no longer has support. The upper rook, supported by the bishop, finishes off the game for White.
1. Bb2 Kd3 (forced)
2. Rd4#
We had the 1954 Vigil of Pentecost liturgy-3 hours long. The 6 prophecies were sung before the Holy Mass began. There was an adult baptism, confirmation and First Holy Communion and another who was confirmed. Pentecost water was blessed. Then after that liturgy a newborn was baptized. It was quite glorious.