i was trying to do my ons6 shot, had the camera on self-timer. it was in progress when i realized i didn't have my santa hat on so i turned to get it. it looked like i was praying so i thought might as well use it for the five plus two challenge this week which is religion.
which gives me the opportunity to tell you my mother's experience at the confessional. i like it when good opportunities present itself. now if only i'd win the lottery.
my mother always believed that when a woman is pregnant, her one foot is in the grave. and it must make sense, doesn't it, as that's how the term "giving life" got coined? in any case, during her first five pregnancies (she had ten, six came to being) she would go to confession days before she was due, just in case she didn't make it, she wanted to have had her last sacrament. so in her fifth pregnancy, about a day before she was to go to the hospital, she went to the church. she got there half an hour before the mass so she had plenty of time to do her confession. at the confessional, she did the usual spiel, blah-blah-blah, the unseen priest giving her blessings and all that crap. as she was reciting her sins, the priest interrupted her and asked her if she and my father had sex every night. she said she pretended she didn't hear the priest but when she continued, the priest interrupted her again and asked if they did the 'missionary' position or did she ever go on top of him. she said no. the priest then asked her if she had had sodomy with my father. oh, the poor woman! my mother never finished fourth grade but she wasn't exactly ignorant. she started to cry, quietly. then the priest went on to tell her that since that pregnancy was her fifth, she must know a lot about sex and that he had seen her earlier and told her how pretty she was and he could understand why her husband would want to "f" her every night. he did use the local word for 'f', and that he himself was aroused upon seeing her and would she want to go to bed with him, promising her he would be very careful not to hurt the child she was carrying!
my mother said she quickly got up and left the confessional. she did her usual rosary, lit a candle and left the church. from then on, during her subsequent full term pregnancies, she would just attend mass and ask for God's forgiveness in her mind.
i heard her telling this story to her sister but she also told it to me when i was already in high school.
Wow, just wow!!! I do thank my lucky stars that I was not brought up in the Catholic religion! At least Greek Orthodox priests could marry and have families (but, could not advance any further), and that way they were not as repressed!
What a horrible and terribly sad story. Shame on him ! I hate it when people use God in a dishonorable way. Evil has a way of getting through the cracks. When God uses people to spread His word, He is working with a faulty container. I like your picture and the mishap that came to be : )
Beautiful capture - the bokeh are lovely.
What a horrible story about your Mum though. People who breach positions of trust are a whole different kind of nasty.
The silhouette and bokeh are stunning! I love this shot! It is really heartbreaking the situations that your mother and her sister suffered at the hands of these Catholic priests. I think that there is a special place in hell for those that take advantage of their position.
gaaaaaah! ick! what a story! majorly creepy... the photo is quite glorious, however... and you could tag it both for the weekly theme (tradition lights or something) and shaped bokeh!
Wow, you are a great story teller, I love the tales you weave, you should write them down. It just shows how insidious organised religions can be. All holy than thou but meanwhile under the veil. I went to a Convent and even as a child I noticed the nuns and priest didn't exactly practise all the preaching. Great shot. I love this!
The photo looks brilliant, I love the bokeh, and you do look like you're praying! The story of the priest makes me angry, how dare he have said those awful things to your Mum. The pervert, he should have been reported.
Beautiful bokeh and lovely accidental shot. Another sad, sad, story. That parish really had its share of depraved priests. They should not have been allowed to represent God. Thankfully today more people report them which is certainly the right thing to do.
@olivetreeann - that priest in this story was a redemptorist father and the church is a 'pilgrimage' church in a city abutting the capital city of manila. my mother's story happened when she was about 25. my aunt's story happened when my aunt was about 15 years old, must be 1940's I reckon just at the outbreak of the Japanese occupation. i don't know the denomination of the priest running that catholic school in a then farming town which is about 100 km south of manila. i'm pretty sure there are a lot of abuses like this that happened to other people, and the Filipinos being "modest" or probably out of ignorance and fear, would have just kept it to themselves. it's sad and horrendously evil state of affairs.
The story just breaks my heart -- and angers me when priests abuse their "power" and position so --but don't have time for me to get up on that soapbox! Beautiful photo!
fav for this superb accident! oh the church - awful story but not a surprise in the least sadly - sounds like she dealt with it sensibly and he never managed to come between her and her right to speak to god - go directly has to be the best way!
geez........i want to punch the priest (was it the same one that said those horrible things to your auntie?!)........wow. that just sickens me......and your Mom's faith must have been VERY strong, for her to not let this affect her love of God and the church.
as for the "mistake" picture, i LOVE it!
@sticksandstones - no, not the same priest. 15 years apart, different missionaries, different churches, what we called "white" priests. i had also punched a priest myself. thanks, kiddo.
What a horrible story about your Mum though. People who breach positions of trust are a whole different kind of nasty.
on the other hand and nicely counterweighted, the photo is magic
@traceyhn - thank you, tracey.
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Fabulous pic though - I love how this little unexpected pose turned into such a pious looking, prayerful image. FAV
Awful story
as for the "mistake" picture, i LOVE it!