In some places EPIPHANY is the big gift giving day, for obvious reasons. Please remember me when EPIPHANY shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon. Amazon remembers that you used my link and I get the credit. WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for next year), utilities, groceries, all the necessities. You get what you need and, at no extra cost, you provide important help for which I am grateful.
The (small) presepio at the Chiesa Nuova. Note the presence of Cardinals Baronius and Newman along with, of course, Pippo Bbono.
Meanwhile in Samarkand – sounds like the title of a novella – the World Rapid and Blitz Championships are taking place on 26-30 December. Big names are there. Huge field in the open section. Magnus: 4.5/5. But others are there with him.
Meanwhile, the Alireza “Boy” Firouza is not playing in an even in Rouen after failing to bypass Wesley So in the ratings in the cobbled up matches in Chartres. And now FIDE has issued last minute changes to tournament registrations. It’s chaos and it’s not pretty. Alireza is “playing by the rules”, but it just seems wrong.
Meanwhile, solve this… white to move, gain material and an eventual win.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE
The wonderful Benedictines of Gower Abbey have beautiful Christmas music albums.
In other news, bishops conference after bishops conference in Africa have repulsed FS. I thought it was just Americans that were the problem! I just read that the Hungarian bishops conference has done the same. Not a surprise. But think about how weird this is… cross the border into Austria and priests are pretty much obliged to give blessings.
Picture if you will. …. Hungary “no”, Austria, “priests must”. You are crossing the border into… THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
It will be interesting to see how this eventually tallies up…. or is it down?
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The presepio is magical! My wife bought me the biography of Baronius for Christmas, the one by Lady Amabel Kerr.
1. Nd4 Qxf4
2. Ne6+ Ke7
3. Nxf4
No matter how black responds, the queens are traded and white is up a bishop
“Picture if you will. …. Hungary “no”, Austria, “priests must”. You are crossing the border into… THE TWILIGHT ZONE.”
This is so evil, and it has been going on for a long time now, but it’s much more blatant and divisive- the chaos and disunity in the Church! We are ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC!!! I believe, Lord! Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, I trust in You!
Thank you for all you do, dear Fr. Z! Keep up the good work, AMDG!!!
I remember crossing the border into Austria from Hungary back in 2021; it went from friendly Hungarians (unmasked) to dudes with machine guns making sure we had our masks on as soon as we crossed the border (on a train, mind you).
I am appalled at the bishops (and conferences) that have basically said “you must”. FS on its own grounds clearly says things like prudence may allow a blessing…, which implies that sometimes prudence WOULD NOT allow a blessing. And to speak generically, “prudence” is the virtue by which we make on-the-spot determinations that could be yea or could be nay and the determination is made only in virtue of all of the circumstances involved. And this means you can’t make a bloody rule that says “yea” for all cases regardless of the circumstances. Sheesh!
One is almost led to believe some people in chanceries are reading FS in bad faith or something! Like they already know they don’t believe in what the pope says, even before they read it.