Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Fr. Dominic is visiting us, helping out at the downtown parish for a week. I invited him to join me for supper at the Raphael Home (1st – 3rd grade boys). I saw aside of him unbeknownst to me, when Dominic saw a deck of cards and asked the students if they wanted to see a trick. Time after time he pulled the cards from the deck the children were looking for. They crowded around, quiet and mesmerized, begging him to show them “one more time.” The boys were convinced he was magical.
Besides seeing the boys at their excited best, he also got a glimpse of the difficulties of houseparenting. While we were at a table, two boys argued over who should have the parmesan cheese first; which led to name calling, hurt feelings and tears. The houseparents addressed the situation right away. We use the conflicts as teachable moments. Urging children not to fight, learn respect and cooperation is an ongoing battle. We adults need to be reminded of those same lessons too!
