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Welcome Registrant:
Lehstowe
HEY s******@christtheking.** My thank you note was kicked back by the server. New email?
In churchy news…
A live stream from Acton about the plight of Hong Kong Catholic freedom fighter Jimmy Lai:
You might have seen that The Pillar – seemingly eager to let people know – posted that Fr Carlos Martins was recently accused of “inappropriate conduct involving children” when he was on his tour with the relic of the Apostles St. Jude while he was in Illinois. This allegation came soon after the release of Martin’s book on exorcism.
Rod Dreher has posted a reaction to the news about Fr. Martins. I echo his thoughts about the case. HERE
I will add something on a personal note. Yesterday, having just ended a phone conversation with someone in the know about this, I moved to print out something which I needed quickly. As had happened before after talking with an exorcist, I got a message that I had no printer… no printers were installed. Wrong. Two printers are sitting a couple feet away and one of them had already been used . That meant a reboot and being late. Not a huge problem, but an indicative annoyance.
In other news…
The wonderful Dominican Sisters of Summit sent me candles for my Advent wreath!
Nice people! Great service!
In chessy news… HERE
White to move and mate in two.
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White to move and mate in two.
[NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.]
Game One of the World Championship HERE: HERE Judith Polgar and Danial Naroditsky comment. HUGH DEVELOPMENT!
DING!! With BLACK!
I had been an early and enthusiastic supporter of The Pillar. due to an exchange with its founders in early 2021, i have long since repented of that.
Qa6+, Nxa6
Bxb7#
Or
Qa6+, Ba7
Qxa7#
Ok, but hear me out: If printers actually DO work when you’re under time constraints, then that is evidence of supernatural interference.
An ignoble and faithless device.
After reading the description of the interaction between Fr. Martins and the young lady, described as an older student, I was stunned by the subsequent actions by her dad, the parish and the diocese in which they occurred. Calling it an over-reaction doesn’t do justice to how stupid it was. As I have prayed for Fr. Martins, some thoughts occurred to me. It has been over a half-century since I was even close to the age of the young lady, but I still recall the self-consciousness and low self-esteem of being an adolescent female. And in over 35 years of practicing as a family physician, I cannot recall how many adolescent girls I cared for and counseled.
First, though – GUYS. Do not touch a woman’s hair. Unless you are an immediate family member or their hairdresser, just don’t. Believe me on this one. Does that justify this reaction? Absolutely not. Again, just don’t touch the hair.
The young lady laughed with all the people around her when Father Martins was doing his chit-chat, but clearly she was embarrassed. Adolescent girls get embarrassed over silly stuff, especially comments regarding their appearance, no matter how innocent. She likely went home and told her Dad about whole interaction. Instead of telling her to just get over herself (as my Dad did when I had similar situations), he bought into her victimhood and we know the rest.
How would a better way have been to handle this than either my Dad or the young lady’s Dad did? He could have said “Sweetheart, I am certain Father did not mean to hurt your feelings or embarrass you. If he knew how you felt, he would apologize. So go ahead and forgive him.” When she continued to weep “me, me, me”, her Dad could have said “Imagine how Our Lady must have felt when it was obvious she was pregnant and the people in her village thought the worst about her. Even St. Joseph was concerned until an angel told him to not worry. Then the people in the village thought the worst about St. Joseph AND Our Lady. So when you’re embarrassed, ask Our Lady for help and go on.” And if she continued to whine, her Dad could have reminded her of the Passion of Our Lord and the insults he suffered.
Kind of like my Dad, only more words.
If her Dad had handled her feelings in that way, no doubt by now very few people would even remember the incident, and if they did it would be a little amusing. Now, the young lady and her Dad will be remembered by everyone at the school and parish, for a long time, and not in a good way. Her Dad has guaranteed she will face ridicule at school. The young lady will probably hear many comments about her Dad resembling some body part, using slang words instead of the proper anatomic description. All could have been avoided and given up to Our Lord in reparation for the affronts to His Holy Face. A Catholic way of handling it.
I will continue to pray for Father Martins and will ask Our Lord for forgiveness for the young lady and her Dad.
OK Doc,
Thank you very much for such perspective and wisdom!
I would never have thought of thinking from the young lady’s perspective.
Now it all makes sense.