#so my only recourse is provoking others to content
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first of all the amount of hugs in this episode alone? possibly unsurpassed in any star wars medium ever. second of all? exquisite
#someone pls pull out tcw and swr receipts and prove me wrong#i wrote this way too broadly on purpose#star wars#because i don't have the time to do my own hug comparison spreadsheet rn#so my only recourse is provoking others to content#obi wan show#obi wan#kenobi spoilers#spoilers#HE HUGGED LEIA TWICE!!!!#AND HE HUGGED ///BAIL///#i was literally on the edge of my seat to see if he would 😭#grace for ts
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Summary: Strauss storms up in Aaron's office with a smirk he doesn't like. She has something to announce and he won't appreciate the news.
Characters: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss (and Strauss and the BAU team)
Contents: angst with a bunch of comfort and fluffiness.
This text is a part of a "What if?" self-challenge named: Seven days only. The pitch is: "What if Aaron discovered all by himself that Emily was sent to France when she was under witness protection and decided to tell her the truth about his feelings for her?" I limited myself to seven texts for this AU in a nutshell. Hope you'll like it. :)
PS : English is not my mother language so they are necessarily mistakes. Sorry about that.
PPS: This is the longest chapter of the story.
__
“Hotchner!”
Aaron barely suppressed a gasp as his superior's voice boomed behind his back. He swiveled his chair to face her and was struck by the flashes of lightning in her blue eyes.
“… Chief Strauss?”
With her arms folded across her chest, the fifty-something wore a sneering grin that boded ill for the future. What followed proved him right.
“You're fired,” she announced, not hiding her contentment.
“Wh…? What? He stammered, caught off guard. But… why?”
Clearly, this wasn't the first time she'd openly threatened to kick him out of Quantico, but she'd never before uttered such a sentence. Let alone with so much confidence. A feeling that soon turned to cold anger.
“You really dare to ask me why? Well, I'll tell you: for serious offence, breach of protocol and endangering the life of one of your employees, she spouted, hammering each of these reasons, and then returned to her sly expression. Do I need to be any clearer?”
The profiler's brain began to cogitate at full speed. He tried to attach these blames to a situation or a word he had provoked or said during the previous weeks, but nothing came to mind. The day before, Emily had come to join him in his office at the end of the day and, where they had always been careful to avoid any sign of affection between them on federal premises, they had embraced and kissed. He frowned, confused. They were alone on that floor. Of course, there were surveillance cameras, but only above the bullpen area, the meeting room and in the corridor. All the other rooms had none. And yet…
And yet, everything matched what he was accused of. Their relationship was totally forbidden by the Bureau's rules and regulations, and because of his hierarchical position, he was even more at fault than his companion. The fact that she was pregnant, with twins no less, was the icing on the cake for the section chief, who had been dreaming of getting rid of him since he arrived. Aaron felt his heart racing and his insides twisting, but he showed nothing of his discomfort, displaying his most neutral air possible. Especially as he saw a potential way out.
“… Who took that decision?”
“The Steering Committee, after I'd explained the situation to them, replied Erin with some satisfaction. You have five minutes to pack before I call security.”
“Wait, there…”
The recourse he had been considering had suddenly closed under his nose. If the bigwigs had made this choice despite the agency's good results, it was because he'd had a target on his back for a long time. By trampling on one of the institution's most important rules, he had pulled the trigger himself. However, he couldn't let himself be buried without a bit of a fight. He had to find a way to bounce back.
“What about the job you offered me with the white collar task force?”
“Already provided, she retorted dismissively. And even if it had still been available, do you honestly believe that the Committee would have given you a branch management position again after what you've done?”
She looked at him with evident contempt. From her point of view, this form of lawlessness was the worst thing any could have done. She would have understood any act of violence to protect a loved one, keep a job to provide for a family or even climb the ladder of hierarchy; just as she would have turned a blind eye to possible bribes, but to spit on the rules for a few seconds of happiness was beyond her comprehension. He couldn't have disgusted her more than at this moment.
“… Our relationship is totally consensual, and I've never favored her over anyone else,” he said, dodging her gaze.
“I don't care, she snapped immediately. Your credential, your access card, and your guns. Now.”
He sank back into his seat, vanquished. After seven years of relentless battle with FBI brass, he had no choice but to concede defeat. He would have to leave his peers behind, and without the honors he had imagined for his departure. He would leave by the back door, without Champagne, without gifts, and without even a hug. Just a box with two or three odds and ends that had always belonged to him, and the angry glances of the agents on the sixth floor who would find, like Strauss, that what he had dared to commit was utterly disgraceful.
Jack's little head appeared in his mind and a vise tightened sharply around his torso, cutting off his breath. How was he going to reveal this to him? How was he going to justify that love could lead to this kind of disaster? The boy knew he had to keep his father's new relationship a secret – and he'd held his tongue to this day – but all the implications of this story logically escaped him. He was far too young to realize that loving someone could carry very heavy penalties. And it was out of the question for his sire to put it that way.
“You've got no right to do that!” cried a female voice.
Aaron snapped out of his reflections to discover that Emily had burst into the room and was glaring at her fellow. She didn't seem the least bit impressed by her shooting.
“Want to bet?”
“He needs this work! He's got a child to support!” stressed the ex-Interpol agent, one hand resting on her rounded belly.
He felt like intervening to point out that the director was perfectly aware of this detail and seemed to pay little attention to it. But he held back, realizing how much this remark would not be appreciated by his partner.
“Well, he should have thought twice before flouting FBI rules,” Strauss hissed, raising a defiant eyebrow.
“He didn’t take that decision alone!”
“Emily, please...” he interjected, sensing that this conversation was becoming detrimental to her as well.
“No! she cut him off in return, glaring. There is no ‘please’! She decided to do it out of pure revenge, without worrying about the consequences.”
“I'm still here, by the way,” grumbled her target, who didn't like it at all when people ignored her presence, let alone denigrated it.
The former prosecutor understood that Emily was so wound up that stopping her was going to be complicated. It felt like trying to stop a train with his bare hands.
“What would you have said if your husband had been fired just as you were about to give birth to his son? Huh?” she exclaimed, paying no further attention to the father of her babies.
“You knew the risks, it seems to me, reminded her much calmer opponent. So you’ve only got yourselves to blame.”
He saw the blood rise to his lover's cheeks and her jaws clench. Her level of fury was such that her arms trembled. He had to do something before this discussion got out of hand and they both ended up on the sidewalk with their belongings under their arms. This would be particularly problematic with three children to raise. He still had to find the right boarding maneuver.
“… You're gloating, aren't you? Squeaked the mother-to-be, barely loosening her teeth. You get…”
“Emily! Her partner thundered. Chief Strauss, may I speak with Agent Prentiss for a moment?”
The profiler gave him a dark look that he ignored. It was temporary. Her anger would subside with the departure of her opponent.
“… You have five minutes, said the latter, with a pinched air. Then I'll call security and you'll be led out of here by force.”
Which would please her far too much to grant her the honor. This didn't give him as much time as he would have liked, but he would do what was necessary to get out of here without the intervention of the security guards. The couple watched Erin leave, then the next ex-tenant rose to pull down the blinds. He wanted to talk to the one he loved without feeling all the stares of his employees. He then turned to Emily, who still looked like she wanted to claw his eyes out.
“Calm down,” he advised, trying to put his hands on her shoulders.
“How do you expect me to calm down?! She retorted, taking a step back. She just kicked you out when... when I'm about to give birth. And you just stand there without reacting.”
Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks and she stumbled over every word. Grief, fear, stress, and anger fought vigorously in her head and heart, and he wanted more than ever to take her in his arms. But he had to make her understand that the game was over for him.
“I've been accused of serious offence and of endangering the life of one of my men, and there's nothing I can do about it.”
She frowned, first from confusion and then from annoyance.
“I’m not in danger!”
“Pregnancy is not a trivial matter. And a twin pregnancy even less so.”
He would have liked to back up his words with a few telling statistics, but he didn't have Spencer's expertise in that domain. And even if he had, the adrenalin pulsing through his veins prevented him from gathering his thoughts.
“But... Emily hiccupped, before pouncing on the first bait her anguish-suffocated brain came up with. Someone saw us. Somebody ratted us out. We must find them and…”
“Emily, it doesn't matter who's responsible for this,” he lied, repressing his natural curiosity.
At this hour, however, he would have given anything to know the identity of the rat who had exposed them out, so that he could tell them his point of view on the matter.
“It must be very recent, continued his partner, who hadn't heard a thing. It may have been yesterday. It must. Strauss would never have waited several weeks to grant her dearest wish.”
He was impressed to see that, even under such high levels of anxiety, which made her talk too fast, she was still able to formulate reasoning that made sense. But she had to come back to the present time and be careful of what he said. Several minutes had already elapsed and he would not be entitled to any extras. He clutched his companion's biceps and caught her gaze.
“Emily, listen to me.”
“I don't want you to go,” she said, two tears running down her chin.
“I know. Me neither, but the Committee has made its decision and they're not going to go back on it.”
“But this is your agency, your baby. You can’t leave us like this.”
His throat tightened.
“You'll do just fine without me. In fact, you never really needed me.”
“Don't say that!” she exclaimed abruptly, freeing herself from his embrace.
She hated to hear him denigrate himself, he knew, but even if he sometimes more or less consciously distorted reality, here he was sure he had a rather realistic view of things.
“It’s the truth. Now that you're all here and know the mechanics, you can continue this adventure without my help.”
She scanned him without saying a word, didn't seem to notice the new pearls that escaped along her cheekbone, then sat down on the nearest seat, trembling. He settled down opposite her, on the coffee table, and intertwined his fingers with hers in what he hoped would be a soothing gesture.
“… Wh… what are we going to do?”
“I’ll find a new job.”
“Which one?”
“I don’t know yet, he admitted, but I will. I have too, anyway. And you're going to stay here and take my place.”
“What?” she croaked, trying to get away again.
He held her back because it was crucial that she pay attention to the end.
“You're the one who's best qualified to take over this position. You know the team; you know the job and you're much more diplomatic than I am.”
No doubt if he had been less cold and more accommodating to his peers, the punishment would have been different. But political imbroglios and hypocritical kowtowing weren't really his thing.
“I'm going to give birth in the next few days,” she reminded him in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Derek will act as interim manager until you return from maternity leave, but then it's up to you to take over.”
Confusion flashed across her face. She was unsettled by this sensed answer, suggested with such ease at a moment like this. He'd never dare admit to her that he'd thought about this problem months before, so that one of them would be there to take care of Jack and the twins properly. He wasn't happy about leaving the BAU, but he wasn't young anymore and his body had already been through a lot. He no longer had the resources, physical and mental, to keep up with the pace imposed by their profession, and the children needed a parental presence. Later, he would suggest that she take on the administrative tasks of the post to limit the risk of premature death, but this was not on the agenda yet.
“Strauss never let me,” remarked a more composed Emily.
“You'll find the arguments to convince her, he assured her, confident in her negotiating skills. And, in any case, she can't make this decision alone. She'll need the Committee's approval, and they have nothing to hold against you.”
“My funeral cost thousands of dollars.”
“Yes, but you were unconscious all along. They know that it was not your idea then.”
She immediately realized that he had once again taken on the entire burden. She wouldn't have been surprised to learn that, according to his testimony, JJ had nothing to do with the whole affair.
“Aaron…”
“I'll be fine, don't worry,” he said, intercepting a tear that had just spilled from her eyelid.
She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the palm of his hand. She was hurting, probably as much as he was, but held back from letting herself go completely. It was not the time nor the place.
“HOTCHNER!”
They startled in unison, turning their irises towards the open office door.
“I've got to go; can you take care of getting my things together?”
She nodded, too upset to find the strength to speak. He wiped yet another tear from her cheek, squeezed her fingers briefly, stood up, placed a kiss on her forehead and, with a heavy heart, left the place for the last time in his life. He joined Strauss in a few strides, ignoring the spotlights on him. All the agents present stared at him, expressing a whole battery of different emotions. Most were baffled. Reid was overcome by panic and looked around for support. Dave was clinging to the railing that bordered the walkway, seething inwardly. JJ, who had gone to warn Penelope, looked as shocked as the analyst. Morgan was absent, preoccupied with one of the tasks he'd handed over to him after his rehabilitation. And a few others seemed far too serene to be honest. His dismissal was not bad news for everyone.
“Your badge, weapons and access card?” thundered the section leader, indifferent to the general unease.
“On my desk.”
She smirked, then led the way. He didn't dare raise his eyes in the direction of his team members. Not because he was ashamed, but because he feared he would collapse completely when he read the pain on their faces. His lover was right: this agency was his creation; and these profilers were his extended family. And he was forced to abandon them without a word of explanation, without even a goodbye. A crack opened in his chest as the elevator doors swung open to engulf him. He had to bite the inside of his cheek and dig his nails into his skin to keep from exposing to his enemy the pain that was devouring him at the moment.
Then he heard a scream, muffled by the glass plates marked with the FBI seal, which he recognized at once. Reaching out to activate the cabin's presence sensors, he leapt into the corridor, shouting:
“Emily!”
Several hours had passed since the stage was set, and the team was occupying some of the seats in the maternity waiting room that had followed Emily's pregnancy. Armed with their phones, and Penelope's laptop, the agents tried to get on with their work despite the confusion in their heads. Since their arrival, they had had no news of their colleague and friend, Aaron having disappeared at the same time as her. Derek suddenly appeared, finally free of his obligations, and he wasn't happy.
“Is it possible to know what’s going on here?!”
“Emily's water broke,” Spencer announced, looking up from his paper file.
“Yes, I know. I've received four messages with this information, he revealed, a little more calmly. I was referring to the rest. What’s this all about? Why did Strauss fire Hotch?”
“Because he’s the twin’s father.”
All eyes, wide with surprise, turned to JJ.
“What?” replied the group in chorus, Dave excepted.
The former liaison officer sighed and reached for her personal phone.
“Look at this photo, she advised, turning the screen towards them. It’s from Henry’s birthday.”
They all leaned in with intense concentration to see themselves dancing in the garden of the couple she formed with Will. It was dark, the lanterns were diffusing their warm light and the guests seemed to be having a good time. At first glance, there was nothing to suggest this.
“Yes, that’s us. So what?” asked her neighbor, puzzled.
JJ took back her property, enlarged a certain area of the image, and put it back under their noses.
“Look at the background.”
This time, behind the pixelated faces, they could see Emily and Aaron sitting side by side on a bench, deep in conversation. There was nothing wrong or abnormal about it. But, the way the manager's hand rested on his employee's thigh spoke volumes about the true nature of their relationship.
“How long have you…?” Penelope stuttered.
“It’s been weeks now, she confessed. I wanted to make a photo album for my mother, and while retouching some of them, I came across this.”
“And why didn't you tell us about it?” wanted to know Derek, offended.
“Because I wanted to discuss about it with them first. But the occasion never showed up.”
That and the fact that she felt it wasn't her role to make such a revelation.
A stony silence fell over the group, which took in the information as best it could. In other circumstances, they might have fun with it, but the context wasn't exactly a laughing matter. Derek was the first to recover his sense of speech.
“O… okay. They sleep together. Fine. But… in the end, they’re not doing anything wrong.”
The tone was more questioning than assertive. He needed to hear what others were feeling.
“FBI regulations clearly state that sexual and romantic relationships between colleagues are prohibited, and even more so when the two partners don't have the same status,” recited Spencer, in his usual professorial tone.
“I'm aware of that, Einstein, grumbled the ex-policeman, but the fact is, who cares? I mean, in all this time, Hotch hasn't benefited or disadvantaged Emily any more than us. He continued to run the unit as he always had.”
Penelope nodded vigorously in agreement.
“But that doesn't mean he has the right to be with her,” JJ reluctantly pointed out.
Like the other blonde in the room, she had no problem with the couple her friend formed with their superior – on the contrary, she'd never seen her happier than in recent months – but Bureau policy was perfectly clear on the subject.
“As if we could decide who we fall in love with! assented Derek, unable to sit still any longer. That’s ridiculous! Don't tell me this is the Committee's only argument for kicking him out.”
“He's been charged with serious offense, breach of protocol, and endangering the life of one of his employees,” repeated Dave, who had heard Strauss's words through the party wall separating his workspace from that of the unit manager.
“Wha…? His interlocutor choked, dumbfounded. And what? He raped her, maybe?”
“He may have used his influence as a high-ranking officer to obtain sexual favors from her.”
“Bullshit! We all know that it’s false!”
“Yes, because we know him, bounced JJ, who understood her colleague's morgue. But upstairs…”
The whole team knew that Hotch was the last person in the world capable of committing inappropriate acts against his subordinates. It was hard enough for him to put up with any of them hugging him – as friends – so it was highly unlikely that he'd perpetuate touching on anyone. As for abusing his authority to get something done, it would be to misunderstand him to think that he would ever stoop to such a level. More often in the background than in the limelight, he only played the agency manager card when it came to protecting his team. The rest of the time, he was just another federal agent. And then, since his divorce and then Haley's death, they'd all been able to note that his need for trifles was certainly what influenced his behavior the least. To not say that he doesn’t care at all. Except that, to find out, you'd need several years' experience working alongside him, which Management didn't have.
“’And endangering the life of one of his employees,’ said Derek, quoting Dave. And then what? Emily's in no more danger now than we are when we go out into the field to investigate.”
“The mortality rate among women pregnant with twins is three times higher than for single pregnancies. And for all pregnancies combined, the national mortality rate is 13.3 per hundred thousand, compared with 34.9 in DC alone.”
They all watched Spencer, eyebrows furrowed. They regularly thought they'd finally become accustomed to these outpourings of clinical facts, detached from any emotional aspect, but the youngest of the bunch still managed to surprise them. Which was not necessarily for their liking.
“Are you serious?” Derek thundered, far from amused.
“It’s the statistics.”
“But it's horrible! squeaked Penelope, paler than usual. Do you realize that you’re talking about Emily?”
“Okay. Stop, intervened JJ before the discussion could continue. Aaron is coming back.”
Indeed, he was heading up the corridor towards the waiting room, where he had been told a number of people were hoping for news. Someone had made that statement to him, but he couldn't remember who – surely a member of the hospital staff – or when – he didn't even know what time it was. Everything was upside-down in his head. He'd started the day by tumbling down the social ladder at breakneck speed, going from manager to unemployed in the blink of an eye. Then he'd been afraid for the woman he loved for far too long. He had stayed by her side as long as possible, holding her hand, encouraging her, bringing her everything she needed, ignoring the calls of his own body. He'd seen her cry, clench her teeth, writhe in pain, struggle with all her might, and fight the urge to give up. He'd heard her screaming, begging, moaning, praying, grunting, and huffing for an eternity. She'd crushed his hand, his wrist, his shoulder – everything she'd been able to hang on to in her agony had been subjected to an exceptional pressure that only people in her position were capable of deploying. He hadn't said anything, of course, because it was the last thing he would have the right to do. When it came to giving birth, only the mother-to-be mattered.
There were so many emotions racing through his skull that he was trembling when he reached his men, who had all risen to their feet as he approached.
“So?” asked Penelope, clutching her bag.
The computer expert's voice seemed to come from far away, and he felt as if he had returned to the time when one of his eardrums was being rebuilt after the New York bombing. He hadn't really understood what she'd said, but there weren't many questions you'd ask in a maternity ward. Painfully, he gathered his wits, swept away the parasitic sensations, to formulate an intelligible sentence.
“… Uh… everybody is fine.”
All the agents around him raised their arms in the air, showing expressions of joy mixed with relief. They applauded, embraced each other, and fell joyfully on him one after the other. He didn’t know if he reacted. Words popped into his head, and he spelled them out without really being conscious of the tone he was using.
“Twins are all good. They are small, but alive. And Emily is exhausted, but she'll get over it, he asserted, sensing that his second state was beginning to dissipate. Look, I’ve got to tell you something.”
“We know.”
This collegial reply was enough to snap him out of his trance.
“… How… What do you mean?” he stammered, bewildered.
JJ handed him her phone, and he saw himself with Emily on a familiar bench, in an attitude that spoke for itself. He briefly regretted having had this moment of weakness, then told himself that perhaps it was for the best. He wasn't sure he had the energy for long speeches.
“Oh. Okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, he apologized, looking at them. We… we thought it was the best thing for the whole team.”
“It would have made things so much simpler if you'd told us the truth right away,” JJ pointed out, realizing now how much they'd had to do to keep her in the dark.
“We… we improvised, he confessed, embarrassed. This pregnancy was definitely not on the agenda.”
He hoped that his sluggish tessitura did not imply that this double birth was a bad thing. Because that wasn’t his feeling at all. He simply hadn't expected to become a father again so soon. Or just to become a father again.
“But how long has this been going on between you?” asked Dave, curious.
“Eight months, he said without blinking. I… I figured out from talking to JJ where she was and I... I did my research.”
The irises of his peers focused on him, transfixed.
“Did you find out where she lived without my help?” advanced Penelope, incredulous.
“… Yes.”
The profilers looked at each other, both stunned and fascinated. Somewhat like Spencer, but to a lesser extent, Aaron was an old school man, who handled new technologies with great care and a low average success rate. That he'd managed to locate someone on the other side of the ocean, in a country whose language he didn't understand, on the basis of a handful of words alone, was fabulous, to say the least. His passion for Emily had obviously given him wings. Dave burst out laughing and patted him on the shoulder, blown away by this mastery.
“As far as Strauss is concerned, I'm sure there's a way to make her reconsider her decision,” said Derek, who had fallen out of the general euphoria faster than the others.
“Look, I don't think it's such bad news after all,” Aaron countered, a shy smile on his lips.
“What?” shouted the group.
He had expected this outcry and so unfolded his plea.
“Yes, with three children at home, one of us is going to have to work slightly less flexible hours and be less likely to get hit by a stray bullet. And, of the two of us, I'm the older.”
“What should I say?” ironized Dave, who was ten years older than him.
“You don’t have any children to take care of.”
It may have been a low blow on his part, but it was the truth. An epicurean by nature, the BAU co-founder had mostly enjoyed life on his own, forming only fleeting relationships with women. A life choice like any other, in the end, but one that left him freer of his movements than Aaron or JJ – and now, Emily – who had to constantly integrate their offspring into all their decisions. David bowed without a snub.
“Okay, that's all well and good, commented Penelope, but the real question is: can we see them?”
“As soon as I get the go-ahead, yes.”
“Like, that go-ahead?”
She pointed to the nurse who had just arrived at his back and was waiting. He went closed to her.
“The little ones have been put into an incubator and your companion is with them,” she told him gently.
“Thank you.”
She smiled at him and then walked in the opposite direction. He returned to his people.
“We can go. Just one thing first, he said immediately, cutting them off. The babies are in an incubator so Emily can't hold them. So don't say a word about my eviction and try to make this day a good memory for her.”
He felt a little foolish asking them to do such a thing, but the agents' moved and benevolent expressions reassured him.
“Aye, aye, sir!” said JJ, leading the way.
The whole group moved to Emily’s room. They discovered her bedridden in a thin, pale blue blouse, her features taut and some of her hair still stuck to her face with residual sweat. Next to her was a large, transparent, enclosed structure in which two small forms were swaddled in blankets. Two tiny heads protruded from the ground, framed by fists a few centimeters in circumference, with caps placed over them. Each of different color.
“Congratulations!” cried the newcomers.
Touched, the mother of the family accepted hug after hug without holding back her tears. Aaron watched the show from the sidelines, restraining himself from reaching up to kiss and cradle her. He knew there was a lot of joy and relief in those tears, but not only that. However, he had given instructions and they applied to him too.
“Well done, honey! JJ congratulated her again. It couldn't have been easy, but you rose to the challenge with flying colors.”
“Thank you, replied her friend, her voice uncertain. Thanks for all your advice.”
“Bravo, bravo, bravo! They're magnificent! exclaimed Penelope, struggling to contain her own emotion. You've done a masterful job.”
Out of reflex, Emily turned her gaze to the pair of infants, from whom little could be made out. She herself had seen them only briefly, as the first had been quickly taken from her hands so that she could take out the second. The nurses then kept them with them to give them first aid. Aaron had been kicked out of the obstetrics block immediately afterwards, as was customary, although he knew perfectly well what procedure his partner had undergone at the time. But, unlike what had happened with Jack, he hadn't been allowed to hug his children, or even approach them. He had witnessed the usual battery of examinations through the porthole of a fire door, catching glimpses here and there of stunted fingers or a frail leg. In other words, neither he nor she really knew what their offspring looked like.
“Aaron had a bit to do with it,” said his lover, crossing his pupils.
The interested party smiled shyly.
“At the same time, with two bombshells like you two, they’re bound to be little splendors,” decreed the analyst, peering through the glass to see more.
“Please, I look terrible.”
“You look gorgeous, she contradicted immediately. Isn’t she gorgeous?”
“Objectively speaking, yes,” he replied, admiring the woman he loved.
She was exhausted, sweaty, and disheveled, but she was still the most beautiful creature he thought this Earth had ever borne. And her burst of laughter after this line of humor gave her an added charm. The former hacker was right: if the twins had taken after their mother, they were certainly beautiful. Emily wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Sorry for not telling you.”
“Who cares? Snapped Penelope, raising an eyebrow at her neighbors. The main thing is that you're well and those little monsters are healthy.”
This burst of relativism restored color to the profiler and warmed the unit manager's chest.
“What are they called anyway?” wanted to know Spencer, who craned his neck to try and see more than a bit of nose or fingernails as big as pinheads.
Emily and Aaron exchanged a knowing glance and a genuine smile spread across her lips. They'd been waiting for this question for weeks, eager to hear their friends' reactions. And the time has come finally.
“So, just so you know, Jack chose the middle names, he explained first. We chose the first ones.”
As soon as he knew the gender of the fetuses, the little boy expressed his wish to name the new members of his family himself. His father and the mother-to-be had offered him this deal, and he had accepted. They had feared for a moment that he'd be selecting surnames at random from a calendar or the TV program, but he'd thought very hard about this problem before making a suggestion. And the fact was that the jury agreed with his choices. All that remained was to see if the same would be true for their kinds. Emily took the initiative.
“So, the little pink hat is Louise – because we made them in France – Penelope.”
All attention shifted to the luscious blonde, who opened her mouth several times without making a sound. Jack adored the computer scientist, whom he found simply extraordinary. The fact that he wanted to pay tribute to her by naming his little sister after her didn't really surprise the parents.
“Pen... Me?” gurgled the young woman, bewildered.
“Yes, you,” confirmed Emily, delighted with her effect.
“Oh, it’s… it’s…”
Penelope – the adult – began to cry loudly, flapping her hands around her head as if she hoped this would close the floodgates that had just opened. The surrounding audience was tenderly amused by the situation. Or almost.
“You've managed the feat of nailing her, congratulations,” laughed Derek, hilariously.
His target struck him hard on the shoulder, eyebrows furrowed behind her glittery glasses.
“I'd like to see you in my place, she growled, before turning to face those responsible for her condition. You both!”
“It’s Jack,” Emily defended herself.
“Did I ever tell you that we should erect a statue to your son?”
“No, but he'd love the idea,” replied the man who'd been her superior just a few hours earlier.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much!”
She hugged them with unsuspected strength, while continuing to let her tears of happiness flow. The couple were happy to see her react so well.
“What about her brother?” inquired JJ.
“And the little blue hat, began Aaron, is Samuel Derek.”
All eyes turned to the Chicago native. Eyes wide with surprise, he'd lost his playboy-ish grin.
“De… Derek?”
“Yes, that way he's more likely to have big arms to protect his little sister,” justified the giant, repeating his offspring's words.
He saw the man who had been acting as his replacement swallow. The information was difficult to digest, and understandably so. The two men had always had a stormy relationship, alternating between mutual respect and sharp jabs, guided by the same propensity to defy authority and the same desire to mark their territory. And yet, despite all their clashes, the eldest had agreed that his second son would bear the first name of the man who coveted his throne.
“That's a mouthful, Mr. Stone-heart!” exulted Penelope, delighted by this sudden catatonia.
“Wow! he finally uttered, shaking his head. Thank you.”
He tried to hide it, but everyone saw his shining eyes. Emily spread her arms to encourage him to come back and give her a hug, and he yielded to her call without a struggle. A simple pat on the back with Aaron is enough for the pack's two alpha males. JJ rolled her eyes to hold back her comment on this all-male prudery.
“And who was born first?” asked Spencer.
“Louise,” the couple replied in unison.
___
If you want, I can give you the name of the snitch. :D
Well, here are the most beautiful babies of the Creation! /o/
Next and last chapter >>
#hotchniss#criminal minds#aaron hotchner#aaron hotchner x emily prentiss#emily prentiss#criminal minds fanfiction#hotchniss fanfiction#fluff#seven days only#angst#bau team#jj#penelope garcia#derek morgan#spencer reid#david rossi#erin strauss
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‘Red Flag’ Gun Laws Get Another Look After Indiana, Colorado Shootings
On New Year’s Eve 2017, sheriff’s deputies in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch responded to a domestic disturbance. Before the night was over, four officers had been shot and Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Zackari Parrish III was dead.
This story also ran on U.S. News & World Report. It can be republished for free.
The gunman was a 37-year-old man with a history of psychotic episodes whose family had previously tried to take his guns away but found themselves without legal recourse to do so.
“We tried every legal avenue we could to not only protect him, but to protect the community,” said Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock. At that time, however, there was nothing more they could do.
That changed with the passage of the Deputy Zackari Parrish III Violence Prevention Act, a “red flag” law that took effect in January 2020. It gives judges the ability to issue “extreme risk protection orders” allowing law enforcement to seize firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
Colorado is among the most recent of 19 states to have enacted red flag laws. Connecticut was first, in 1999. Since then, the data has been mixed on whether the laws have prevented suicides and inconclusive on their power to curb mass shootings. The Connecticut law did not prevent the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, for instance, though proponents usually point to the laws as one tool for preventing shootings, not one that’s 100% effective.
But law enforcement officials who support the laws say they have clearly saved lives. A study published in 2019 looked at 21 cases in California in which extreme risk protection orders were granted from 2016 to 2018, and found that as of August 2019 none of the subjects of these orders had committed a murder or suicide, though it’s impossible to prove the orders prevented such outcomes.
The red flag law hadn’t been invoked in Colorado, the site of some of the nation’s most infamous mass shootings, when a gunman killed 10 people in a Boulder grocery store in March.
In Indiana, where a former FedEx employee shot and killed eight people at an Indianapolis facility before killing himself in April, prosecutors did not seek a court hearing under that state’s red flag law last year after the suspect’s mother reported to police that her son was suicidal.
Mass shootings may grab the most attention, but they are too rare to measure whether red flag laws help prevent them, said Rosanna Smart, an economist who studies gun violence at the Rand Corp.
The suspect arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder in the Boulder shooting had a history of violent outbursts dating back three years or longer, so it is hard to assess, while facts of the case are still being gathered, whether the red flag law could have been applied to him.
In 2018 the man pleaded guilty to third-degree assault after punching a fellow student at his suburban Denver high school in an attack the victim called unprovoked. He also was kicked off the school’s wrestling team after making threats of violence.
Police seized a shotgun from the Indianapolis shooting suspect after his mother reported in 2020 that she was worried her son, then 18, was considering “suicide by cop,” or deliberately provoking a lethal response by officers. An Indiana prosecutor told The Associated Press that authorities did not seek a hearing under the red flag law because they worried they would have to return the shotgun to him if they lost in court.
Most gun deaths in the U.S. are suicides, and Smart said about two-thirds of red flag cases regard somebody as at risk for self-harm.
Last April, Smart and her colleagues published a review of research on the effects of red flag laws and found ”very inconclusive” evidence that they’re effective as a means to reduce overall firearm suicide or homicide rates.
“I wouldn’t say it’s strongly one way or another,” Smart said.
Research by Aaron Kivisto, a psychologist at the University of Indianapolis, used a method called “synthetic control” to calculate that 10 years after the enactment of Indiana’s 2005 red flag law there was a 7.5% reduction in suicides compared with what would have been expected without the law, and the drop was driven exclusively by reductions in firearm suicides.
In Connecticut, the results were more of a “mixed bag,” Kivisto said. Initially, the effect was “negligible,” but the Connecticut law wasn’t used much until after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, in which a student killed 32 people and wounded 17. After that shooting, seizures in Connecticut rose fivefold and Kivisto’s group did then see a reduction in firearm suicides in the state, but they also found that those reductions were largely offset by increases in non-gun suicides. Still, taking all the studies together, Kivisto said, “The biggest takeaway is that the evidence supporting red flag laws as one means of reducing suicide appears to be consistently supported.”
Colorado’s suicide rates are among the highest in the nation, but it’s too soon to know yet whether the state’s red flag law has made a difference, especially given how unusual 2020 was in so many other ways.
From Jan. 1, 2020, to March 26, 2021, Colorado tallied 141 red flag cases. Extreme risk orders were granted under the law in 28 of the state’s 64 counties, including some of the more than 35 counties whose sheriffs or county leaders opposed the law and declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” where the law would not be enforced, said state Rep. Tom Sullivan, a Democrat. Sullivan, one of the bill’s sponsors, has been a gun control advocate since his 27-year-old son, Alex, was among the 12 killed by a gunman in the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting.
Where the red flag law has been used in Colorado, “it’s clearly saved those individuals’ lives. Those people are still alive, and their family members are still alive, and they’re not in custody for homicide,” Douglas County Sheriff Spurlock said. “I do think it keeps my officers safer, and it keeps our community safer.”
But the law still has numerous opponents. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams counters that situations like the one last fall in which an extreme risk protection order was approved for a 28-year-old man making plans to assassinate state Attorney General Phil Weiser should be dealt with using criminal charges, rather than a red flag law.
“Red flag, to me, doesn’t look like a primary way of dealing with a potentially criminal situation,” said Reams, who called Sheriff Spurlock a good friend with whom he’s repeatedly debated the issue.
As for people at risk of self-harm, Reams said he’d rather have better ways to get them mental health treatment than take their guns away.
Opponents of red flag laws say they’re unconstitutional, but a challenge to Colorado’s law on constitutional grounds filed by the group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and several Republican lawmakers was dismissed by a state District Court judge in Denver last spring.
Some opposition to Colorado’s law focuses on the execution, rather than the intent. Dave Kopel, an adjunct law professor at the University of Denver and an analyst with the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, has testified in favor of red flag laws in the Colorado legislature but is critical of the current law for what he says are weaknesses in due process.
“The accuser never has to appear in court or be cross-examined,” he said, and that means the judge may hear only one side of the case. “My view, as a constitutional law professor, is that you should write the law with strong due process protections at the start.”
But Spurlock, a Republican, said there is more due process in implementing Colorado’s red flag law than there is in police obtaining a search warrant. He said he supports gun rights but does not support allowing possession by felons or people who are a danger to themselves or others.
“That’s why I supported the red flag. And I will continue to do so. I know for a fact that it saves lives, and it’s not harming anyone,” he said.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
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Sorcerer Supreme
Title: Sorcerer Supreme
Summary: For the Gold children, it's a fight for honor: who is going to be the superhero of their choice for Halloween? Belle comes up with a solution.
Rating: G
Genre: humor, family, sibling rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Gideon, Rumbaby OC, Rumbelle
AO3 Link
Note: Set in the Golden Quartet verse
“Mummy! Tell Gid he’s wrong!”
Belle was still reeling from the heated argument between her twelve-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. They’d spoken so quickly that she’d caught only snippets as she entered the kitchen. Something about how girls should dress up as girls, that no, that’s not fair, Téa could pick any costume she wanted. No, Gideon had already picked and she should just pick another one.
With no ready answer to Téa’s accusation, Belle demanded that the yelling stop immediately and that the kids, who were glaring each other down over the kitchen counter, sit at the table.
“All right,” Belle declared once the children promised not to speak out of turn, “I want to hear both sides. Now, I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. Each of you pick a number. Whoever guesses closest goes first.”
Téa guessed four. Gideon guessed six. Belle’s number was five. This happened a couple more times before Belle picked nine. Téa guessed ten while Gideon guessed nine. Téa immediately whined, “I was gonna guess nine!”
“Well, you didn’t,” Gideon said, his voice bouncing with smugness.
“Gideon, don’t provoke your sister. Now, what are you and she arguing about?”
Gideon folded his hands on the table. He made sure to sit straight, gaining a few years on his countenance. He looked like a law student ready to deliver his opening statement at a mock trial. Belle didn’t doubt he put on a similar show for his school teachers. “We were having a conversation about our Halloween costumes. I mentioned that Robin, Neal and I had made a deal to dress up as superheroes this year for the school Halloween dance. I planned to go as Stephen Strange. That’s when Téa flew off the handle.”
“You stole my idea!” Téa cried.
“Téa.” Belle spoke low but punched the ‘T’ in her name. She’d worried in the early years that she’d never get the hang of being stern with her children. As it turned out, she’d become an expert, startling even Rumple with that edge of authority. “I said you could speak after Gideon was done.”
The girl squirmed in her seat. Her face started turning red, like she was trying to hold in a volcanic outburst.
Belle knew to get to the point of Gideon’s side before the explosion happened. “So, Gideon, you want to be . . . who again?”
“Stephen Strange,” Gideon said with crisp articulation. “Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.”
Téa coughed. Somewhere in that cough came out the phrase, “Comic books.”
Belle snapped a stare at her. Téa sat still, then glanced at her mother with feigned befuddlement.
“Yes, he’s a comic book character,” Gideon said, as though it wearied him to explain what to him was a self-evident fact.
“All right,” said Belle. She faced Téa. “Now it’s your turn.”
Téa gripped the edge of the table like the reins of a bronco. “I want to be Doctor Strange for Halloween! I told Gid a long time ago that he’s my favorite character!”
“I’m your favorite character?” Gideon quipped.
“Shh,” Belle hissed.
Téa grinned, showing off a gap in the row of her upper teeth. “Ha!”
“Téa,” Belle said, “just because Gideon wants to be Doctor Strange for Halloween doesn’t mean you can’t be, either.”
“We can’t both be him!” Téa looked outraged by the notion. “Everyone will think I’m copying Gid!”
“Because you would be,” Gideon said.
“No!” Téa lunged over the table. “You’re copying me!”
Belle held up her hands at them both. “Enough! Gideon, not another word until I say it’s your turn. Understand?”
Gideon sighed and leaned back in his chair.
Téa poked her tongue at her brother. She flicked it fast enough that it slipped back into the safety of her mouth before her mother saw. There was a shadow of imitation in her wiggle to sit up straight and her tightly clasped hands.
“Téa,” Belle continued, “can’t you make a . . . Doctor Strange costume in your own way?”
Téa tried to keep her tone as plain as white bread at first. “I want to be Doctor Strange, but I can’t be a good Doctor Strange when my brother is Doctor Strange, too. He’ll look exactly like him. He doesn’t even care about Doctor Strange that much. He likes Batman, but Neal is going as Batman. Now he’s taking out his disappointment on me!”
Gideon grit his teeth together. “I’m not—” He stopped himself just as his mother directed a sharp glance at him.
“Then Gideon said I shouldn’t be Doctor Strange because I’m a girl! He said I should be Catwoman or Wonder Woman!”
“Those wouldn’t be so bad,” Belle said.
“But it was my idea to be Doctor Strange! It’s not fair!”
Gideon raised a finger. “May I speak?”
Belle sighed. “You may.”
“I didn’t say she had to be Catwoman or Wonder Woman. There are superheroines with magic powers. Zatanna. Scarlet Witch. The Enchantress.”
“The Enchantress is a bad guy! I don’t really know Zatanna or Scarlet Witch. I shouldn’t have to be someone I don’t know!”
Gideon laid his hand over his heart. His expression mockingly softened. “I’m helping you learn more about superheroines. You should have more female heroes to look up to. Mom agrees, right?”
The call-out caught Belle so off-guard that she could only guffaw.
Téa anchored herself on her elbows. “Yeah? Why don’t you dress up as Scarlet Witch?”
Gideon’s face twisted in a blend of confusion and repulsion. Belle hid a snorted giggle behind her closed hand. Clearing her throat to chase the laugh away, she regained her neutral frown. “Anyone here is free to choose what hero they want to model themselves after, regardless of gender. So, Téa, you may dress up as Doctor Strange. And yes, Gideon could dress up as Scarlet Witch.” Her aside look at Gideon came with a half-hidden smile. “If you’re comfortable.”
“Mom,” Gideon cut in, “you know why she wants to be a superhero for Halloween so badly. She wants an excuse to hang out with Robin and Neal.”
“Oh?” Belle checked with Téa, who grimaced but said nothing to deny the claim. “Well, why not?”
Gideon nearly jumped out of his seat. “Why not? She’s in second grade! The guys don’t want to hang out with a second-grader! Besides, we’re going to the school dance. We’re going to do more grown-up things.”
“Grown-up things?” Belle inched toward him with intensified parental interest. “Like what?”
“Uh . . .” Gideon retreated and tried to find anything to look at but his mother’s insistent stare. “N-nothing all that . . . nothing bad. I swear.”
“I can’t believe you trust him to babysit me.” Téa shook her head with precocious disapproval.
Belle coughed out another laugh, collected herself, and like her children joined her hands in solemn contemplation of the dilemma. After a minute in this pose, she said, “I think you should both be Doctor Strange.”
“No,” Gideon said.
Téa gaped at her mother. Then, as though succumbing to the braindead condition her expression suggested, she slumped forward and thumped her forehead on the table.
Belle raised her eyebrows. As far as childish gestures went, Téa’s display bordered on a performance piece. She graced it with an impressed, only partly sarcastic, “Wow.” Then she addressed Gideon. “If neither of you is willing to pick another costume, that’s the only compromise we can reach.”
“I’m not going around Storybrooke as ‘twinsies,’” Gideon said.
“Me neither,” Téa said.
As neither was ready to budge or see reason, Belle saw no immediate recourse. However, her curiosity sent her on a little research binge to learn more about Doctor Strange and other comic book superheroes. Inspiration struck. She confided her plan to Rumple, who initially expressed some puzzled trepidation. As he came to understand the plan, confusion transformed into enthusiasm.
On the afternoon of Halloween, the kids returned home to two Doctor Strange costumes standing on mannequins in the living room. One fit Gideon; the other fit Téa. Despite the presence of the one intended for her brother, Téa oohed and aahed over the faithful recreation of the Master of Mysticism’s outfit. The capes even levitated! Clearly her father had put his magic touch into the costumes.
“But they look exactly alike,” Gideon pointed out with a sigh. “Twinsies.”
“Maybe it won’t be that bad,” Téa said, still marveling at the cape that playfully twitched when she petted it.
“Don’t worry,” called their mother’s voice from the staircase. “We have a solution in mind.”
The kids whirled around. Gideon gasped, almost choking on air while his face drained of color. Téa spit out a stream of air that bloomed into laughter.
Belle sauntered down first, head to toe in black spandex with a bit of yellow trim, including the bat symbol on her chest. Her hair hung loose under the mask with the short, pointed bat ears. Behind her came Rumplestitlskin in a green and gold cloak over a black and gold armored tunic. His head was adorned with a golden helmet. Two, long horns curled out.
Gideon coughed out, “You’re not going out like that, are you?”
“Why not?” Belle said, not at all bothered.
“You guys look awesome,” said Téa, having found air and words again.
“Why thank you, little mortal.” Rumple completed his descent and knelt before Téa. “Now, Batgirl and I have consulted on the matter of your . . . contention. So, the alternative.”
He snapped his fingers. Téa’s regular clothes were swept up in a magic cloud. In their place appeared a wild costume of green and black. The onesie was simple, but the cape arched from her shoulders and billowed out in strips like octopus tentacles. The mask covered her head, just like Belle’s, but the black, zig-zagging extensions vaguely resembled elk antlers.
“Whoa!” Téa touched her mask. “Who am I?”
Rumple summoned a hand mirror. He held it far away enough that she could see most of herself. Téa squeaked. “I’m Hela! Oh, that’s so cool!”
“All right, good.” Gideon inched toward the mannequin with his Doctor Strange outfit. “Then I’ll just change into this—”
“Oh, no,” Rumple sang as he stood. “You have an alternate, too. Either you both go as Doctor Strange, or . . .”
Another snap. Gideon started and looked down. His body suit, like Belle’s, was nearly all black. Whereas her outfit had a yellow bat and gloves to provide contrast, his had the blue silhouette of a bird.
“Nightwing?” he asked.
“Oh, I get it!” Téa gestured at him and herself. “I’m Loki’s daughter! Nightwing and Batgirl are in the Bat family. Family costumes!”
“Oh. Great.”
“Doctor Strange is still an option,” Belle reminded him, “but you both must wear those. Now, who’s ready to go trick or treating?”
Téa jumped up and down, making the tendril-like antlers on her mask bounce. Her cape fluttered behind her. “Me! Me!”
“But the sun is still up!” Gideon glimpsed at the Doctor Strange costumes.
“You have that dance to go to, right?” Rumple sidled up to him. His smile matched his costume entirely too well. “If we all go now, that will give you ample time to meet up with your friends at the dance. Perhaps we’ll run into them on our route!”
“O-okay, okay, Téa can wear the Doctor Strange costume! I’ll stick with Nightwing but please, please don’t make me go trick-or-treating like this!”
Rumple tilted his head. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Dad, my two friends are eighth graders. The costumes are cool, but matching costumes with my parents? I’ll never live it down!”
“Pfft,” was all the commentary Téa deemed necessary.
Belle joined Rumple’s side. “Well, we wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But if you’re willing to let Téa—”
“Yes, I’m fine, I’m fine with it! Go have fun!”
“I don’t know,” Téa said, giving her Hela costume further consideration. “This is nice, too.”
“I don’t care, just leave me out of it!” Gideon zipped past his parents and up the stairs. His thumping feet faded within a few seconds.
“Wow.” Téa put her hands on her hips. “He should’ve been the Flash instead.”
Belle and Rumple didn’t need to know who that was to appreciate the remark. They laughed, as did their little girl. Rumple waved his hand. The Hela costume and Doctor Strange costume swapped places.
“Yes!” Both of Téa’s fists pumped up. “I am the Sorcerer Supreme!”
“For today,” Belle reminded her. She helped her daughter twist her long hair into a bun. The ‘do prevented any interference with the high cape collar that was already attempting to lift her off the ground. Rumple placed a jack-o-lantern bucket in one hand while he took the other. He told her how to command the cape so it didn’t take off against her wishes.
“Will we be back in time to see Gideon leave for the dance?” Téa asked as they headed out the door. “I want Neal and Robin to see my costume!”
“We’ll make sure they see it,” Belle said.
“Even with magic, both your costumes took a good deal of effort,” Rumple said. “We might as well show them off.”
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Short Take: Free Speech, But Not So Loud Speech
Andrea J. Coleman is an attorney who offers her services as a divorce mediator, a gentler way of resolving disputes.
She has worked with many families undergoing difficult situations and is familiar with and sensitive to their needs.
So why do her neighbors hate her?
A Brooklyn judge has ordered a divorce lawyer into a padded room.
The jurist ruled that the loudmouth lawyer has been terrorizing her neighbors at her ritzy condo building so much — blasting classical music and shrieking things such as “Obama is a murderer!” and “Rape!” around-the-clock — that her pad has to be soundproofed.
She was ordered to turn the volume down from 11, but apparently just couldn’t manage to control herself.
“The screaming and yelling begins as early as 6:30 a.m. and recurs throughout the day and often as late as midnight,” her next-door neighbor, Craig Spolsky, said in an affidavit.
Her “voice can be clearly heard from inside my apartment. She uses words like ‘murder,’ ‘rape,’ ‘killing’ and ‘killing myself,’ and has apparently even mentioned my name in the same breath as these threatening words,” Spolsky said.
“ ‘Obama, the murderer in chief’ — that’s a phrase that she often says,” Spolsky added. “The horrifying nature, tremendously loud volume, and upsetting substance of [Coleman’s] yelling are present nearly every single day.”
It’s unclear whether she’s unaware that Obama is no longer president, or the allegations are old, but either way, it appears her refusal to abide the court order and continued screaming has pushed a judge to test the limits of property law.
Coleman had initially been fined $31,000 for disobeying a court order to keep quiet.
Justice Edgar Walker then came up with an alternative: He would drop the fine if Coleman allowed the board’s acoustical engineer to soundproof her fifth-floor pad at 1 Grand Army Plaza.
If she refuses, the judge has given the board of the Richard Meier-designed tower permission to install the soundproofing “by forcible entry.”
It’s one thing to fine her. It’s another to authorize forced entry of a private party onto someone else’s private property, as much as her conduct seems to demand some recourse for the quiet enjoyment of her neighbors. After all, this is a condo, not a co-op.
As for Copeland, she argues that the problem isn’t her screaming about Obama, but they just don’t like her.
At a court hearing in January 2017, Coleman claimed that her neighbors have provoked her behavior. She said they want her out because her unit is in foreclosure. She did not return messages seeking comment.
The divorce mediation biz doesn’t appear to be as vibrant as the flowery language might suggest. But her unit being in foreclosure, even if this also means she’s not paying common charges or it’s the condo association getting burned by non-payment, such that the other residents have to carry her weight as well as listen to her, doesn’t explain why that makes her scream about Obama.
While many have raised “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a manifestation of the suddenly woke and unduly passionate losing their shit hourly, it’s important to remember that people aren’t unhinged only because of Trump, and there were crazy people before, just as there will be after.
Whether she’s motivated by conservative or hyper-progressive fury is unclear, but either way, she’s making too damn much noise. As it has been firmly established by the twitter scolds that a woman can’t be called “unhinged” because it’s misogynstic, can it at least be agreed that Copeland has severe impulse control issues? Then again, it may well be asked how anyone who screams about Obama could have been admitted to practice law at all.
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Short Take: Free Speech, But Not So Loud Speech republished via Simple Justice
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THE PROPHECY OF SOPHONIAS or Zephaniah - From The Latin Vulgate Bible
Chapter 3
INTRODUCTION.
Sophonias, whose name, saith St. Jerome, signifies "the watchman of the Lord," or "the hidden of the Lord," prophesied in the beginning of the reign of Josias. He was a native of Sarabatha, and of the tribe of Simeon, according to the more general opinion. He prophesied the punishments of the Jews, for their idolatry and other crimes; also the punishments that were to come on divers nations; the coming of Christ, the conversion of the Gentiles, the blindness of the Jews, and their conversion towards the end of the world. (Challoner) --- Some editions read, Ezechias. (Haydock) --- But this opinion is not well grounded no more than that of the Jews, who assert (Calmet) that all the ancestors mentioned by the prophets were endued with the prophetic spirit, for which reason Amos specifies none, as he was not the son of a prophet, Amos vii. 14. (St. Jerome) --- Sophonias appeared a little before Jeremias, Ezechiel, Baruch, and Daniel, foretelling the captivity and return of the two tribes, the destruction of various nations, the conversion of the Gentiles, and of the Jews also towards the end of the world. (Worthington) --- Many of the promises regard only the Christian Church. (Calmet)
Chapter 3
A wo to Jerusalem for her sins. A prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles, and of the poor of Israel. God shall be with them. The Jews shall be converted at last.
1 Wo to the provoking and redeemed city, the dove.
Notes & Commentary:
Ver. 1. Dove. Jerusalem is upbraided, and then comforted. She had been treated like a spouse, a dove; and yet proved faithless. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "Woe to the famous, and defiled, and oppressing city." Septuagint agree with us, if we only exchange famous for provoking. (Haydock) --- After being redeemed from Egypt, the Jews ungratefully follow idols, Osee vii. 11. (Menochius) --- Jerusalem having been freely chosen and favoured above other places, and still provoking God, cannot escape a severe chastisement. (Worthington)
2 She hath not hearkened to the voice, neither hath she received discipline: she hath not trusted in the Lord, she drew not near to her God.
Ver. 2. Lord. She had recourse rather to the princes of Assyria and of Egypt, which proved her ruin.
3 Her princes are in the midst of her as roaring lions: her judges are evening wolves, they left nothing for the morning.
Ver. 3. Evening. Septuagint, "Arabian," Habacuc i. 8. Such was the state of the kingdom before the reform of Josias. (Calmet)
4 Her prophets are senseless, men without faith: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have acted unjustly against the law.
Ver. 4. Senseless. Protestants, "light," or (Haydock) windy and inconstant. There were too many false prophets (Calmet) during the minority of Josias. (Haydock)
5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity: in the morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it shall not be hid: but the wicked man hath not known shame.
Ver. 5. Morning. Speedily he will punish the guilty before all. --- Shame. He is hardened. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "and not injustice for victory." Grabe substitutes contention. God is just, (Haydock) even when he takes vengeance. (Calmet)
6 I have destroyed the nations, and their towers are beaten down: I have made their ways desert, so that there is none that passeth by: their cities are desolate, there is not a man remaining, nor any inhabitant.
Ver. 6. Towers. Literally, "angles," (Haydock) the chiefs, or to the very last, Job xxxviii. 6., and Zacharias x. 4. The nations have been punished for an example. But you do not take warning. (Calmet)
7 I said: Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction: and her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have visited her: but they rose early, and corrupted all their thoughts.
Ver. 7. But. Septuagint, "be prepared, rise early, all their grapes are corrupt." (Haydock) --- I had reason to expect an amendment, when so many nations had perished before their eyes. (Calmet) --- They however sinned out of malice, and strove to provoke me in all their ways.
8 Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms: and to pour upon them my indignation, all my fierce anger: for with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured.
Ver. 8. To come. Septuagint, "for a witness." (Haydock) --- About forty years after Christ's resurrection, the Jews for the most part continuing obstinate, Titus ruined their city; which is a figure of the world's destruction, and of the eternal punishment of the wicked. (Worthington) --- After the resurrection, the Church was to be gathered from all nations. Christ will rise again at the last day to judge all. God threatens his rebellious people with captivity, and then promises to shew mercy, ver. 9. Thus the prophets often subjoin promises to threats.
9 Because then I will restore to the people a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and may serve him with one shoulder.
Ver. 9. Chosen. Symmachus, "pure." (Calmet) --- Idols shall not be mentioned. (Theodoret) --- All people shall know and adore the Lord, which was verified only after Christ's coming. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "for then I will change again for the peoples, language to its own kind," (Haydock) which Origen, (contra Cels. viii.) and the Jews in St. Jerome, explain of the days of the Messias, when the confusion of Babel shall cease. But this is forced: it suffices that people unite in faith and obey the Church. --- Shoulder, like people carrying a burden. Septuagint, "under one yoke." After the captivity the Jews were more obedient and faithful, as the more corrupt remained behind the Euphrates, or were cut off in the last wars. Yet the synagogue was never so pure as the Christian Church, even in the worst times. (Calmet) --- All nations shall worship God in unity of faith, and courageously submit to the gospel. (Worthington)
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, shall my suppliants, the children of my dispersed people, bring me an offering.
Ver. 10. Ethiopia. The Nile arises in that country, and runs through Egypt and Arabia, which is often styled Ethiopia or Cush, Isaias xviii. 1. The Jews came from Egypt to adore at Jerusalem, even after the building of Onion. Yet this literally regards Christ's Church. --- Offering. The Jews performed this after the captivity, coming or sending the half sicle to Jerusalem annually, from all quarters of the world, Numbers iii. 46., and Matthew xvii. 23. (Calmet)
11 In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt no more be lifted up because of my holy mountain.
Ver. 11. Doings. Literally, "inventions," of religion of thy own choice. (Haydock) --- Thy past offenses shall be obliterated, and thou shalt commit nothing of the kind any more. Those proud spirits who caused thee to dislike my law, and who set up idols in my temple shall disappear. --- Mountain. The temple shall be destroyed, that all may know that I am attached to virtue alone, (Calmet) and not to any edifice or place. (Haydock) --- They trusted too much to the temple, Jeremias vii. 4. (Menochius)
12 And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people: and they shall hope in the name of the Lord.
Ver. 12. Poor in spirit. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "meek and extenuated," who trust not in themselves. This is the character of true Christians. The few Jews who remained in the country, or who returned from Babylon, might well represent them, being poor and dependent. The disciples of Christ contemned riches, and were resolute only where virtue was at stake. (Calmet) --- They were instructed by poor fishermen taught by God. (Menochius)
13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed, and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid.
Ver. 13. Israel. They shall be more submissive, and afraid of yielding to idolatry. Yet the synagogue was far from the perfection of primitive Christianity, or even from that of many pious souls in these days of relaxation. --- Afraid. The Jews were not much molested till the time of Epiphanes, nor was the country ravaged as it had been, Micheas ii. 12. This peace is however of a spiritual nature, granted by Christ to those who fight against their passions, John xiv. 27. (Calmet) --- They shall feed on the word of God and on the blessed Eucharist. (Menochius)
14 Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad, and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Ver. 14. No explanation given.
15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, he hath turned away thy enemies: the king of Israel, the Lord, is in the midst of thee, thou shalt fear evil no more.
Ver. 15. Judgment, or "condemnation." Septuagint, "iniquities," (Calmet) nailing to the cross the handwriting that was against thee. (Haydock) --- God does not treat thee with rigour. He will be thy king. The Jews had no king for a long time. But the true Israel, of whom the prophet speaks, is continually ruled and fed by Jesus Christ, who imparts his graces abundantly. (Calmet)
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not: to Sion, Let not thy hands be weakened.
Ver. 16. No explanation given.
17 The Lord, thy God, in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise.
Ver. 17. Silent; constant. (Menochius) --- He will accuse thee no more. Can this be understood of the Jews, who have been cast off till the fulness of the Gentiles enter the Church? [Romans xi. 25.] To the latter all this must be applied. Few prophets inveighed against the crimes of the captives after their return. (Calmet) --- But this must be deemed a punishment, unless the crimes were also removed. (Haydock)
18 The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together, because they were of thee: that thou mayest no more suffer reproach for them.
Ver. 18. Triflers. Literally, "trifles;" nugas. Hebrew nugi, (Haydock) which is almost Latin. (St. Jerome) --- These vain nothings, (Calmet) men who were of light dispositions, scoffers at Christ, shall be converted and honour him. (Worthington) --- Septuagint, 17. "he will renew thee in his love, and will exult over thee in joy, as on a festival day: (18) and I will bring back thy bruised ones. Woe to him that has reproached her." Aquila likewise renders by woe, or eju, oh, oi, using it as an exclamation, though not of sorrow. Yet the term signifies, they were. (St. Jerome) (Haydock) --- Hebrew literally, "I have gathered those who were in grief for a time. They were of thee. Shame was upon them like a heavy load;" or, "they were grieved on account of the festivals disused. They were like an offering rejected," with disgrace. (Calmet) --- They lamented that they could no longer observe the solemn festivals, and this was to the pious a most intolerable burden, while libertines seem to feel as great a misery in the observance.
19 Behold, I will cut off all that have afflicted thee at that time: and I will save her that halteth, and will gather her that was cast out: and I will get them praise, and a name, in all the land where they had been put to confusion.
Ver. 19. Cut. Septuagint, "do in thee, for thy sake at," &c. (Haydock) --- Halteth, and have no children, (Micheas iv. 7.) denoting the Gentiles. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "squeezed out," like grapes, being in distress. (St. Jerome) --- Where. Septuagint, "and they shall be ashamed at," &c.
20 At that time, when I will bring you: and at the time that I will gather you: for I will give you a name, and praise among all the people of the earth, when I shall have brought back your captivity, before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Ver. 20. Bring. Septuagint, "do good to you." (Haydock) --- Praise. All shall speak well of you who have been lately dishonoured, when I shall take both Gentiles and Jews for my spouse after the captivity, which seems present, (Calmet) it is so certain. (Haydock) --- Captivity, under satan and sin. (Menochius)
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Psalm 38 - Interpreted
Daily Plenary Indulgence
Per Vatican II, one of the ways to gain a daily plenary indulgence is to read Scripture for ½ hour per day. For Pamphlets to Inspire (PTI), the Scripture readings that inspire us the most are the Psalms. Reading the Psalms and understanding their meaning can sometimes be challenging. In an attempt to draw more individuals to not only read the Psalms, but to understand their meaning, PTI has found an analysis of their meaning by St. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine. The method that will be employed is to list the chapter and verse, and then provide an explanation of that verse. Your interest in this subject will determine how often we will chat about this topic. The Bible that will be used is the official Bible of the Catholic Church and used by the Vatican, that is, the Douay-Rheims or Latin Vulgate version.
A just man’s peace and patience in his sufferings: considering the vanity of the world, and the providence of God.
1. I said: I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I have set a
guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me.
1. “I said: I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me.” David, in his solicitude not to lose true happiness, deliberated and firmly resolved to use great circumspection in all his acts, so that, if possible, he should not sin, even by word, as if he heard the apostle saying, “walk with caution;” or another apostle, “He that does not offend in word, he is a perfect man.” He commences, then, “I said.” I resolved with myself, made it a law, determined “I will take heed to my ways;” that I will most cautiously walk in the way that leads to life, that I will take great care where I put my steps, for fear of falling into a pit, or knocking against a stone, or choosing the slobbery instead of the clean path, or the crooked instead of the straight road; in one word, I resolved and determined to consider and reflect upon all my actions. And, as nothing is easier or more dangerous than to fall into sin through our tongue; for from the inconsiderate use of it, arise “strife, contentions, quarrels,” and other evils, so numerous, that St. James said, “the tongue is a world of iniquity;” the Prophet, therefore, emphatically says, “that I sin not with my tongue;” that is to say, in this respect especially, “I will take heed to my ways,” “that I may not sin with my tongue,” for thus I will escape in calculable evils. “I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me.” There is no time we are in greater danger of transgressing through our tongue than when we are provoked by detraction or by insult; and, therefore, the Prophet says, “I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me;” that means, when any ill-conditioned person should irritate me by detraction, reproaches, or injurious language of any sort, then, especially, “I set a guard on my mouth,” for fear of giving expression to anything I may afterwards regret.
2. I was dumb and was humbled, and kept silence from good things: and my sorrow was renewed.
2. “I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good things: and my sorrow was renewed.” He tells us what guard he put on his mouth. “I was dumb,” I was as silent as if I had been dumb, “and was humbled;” kept my patience in the greatest humility, “and kept silence from good things,” forbore even my just defense, and equally just reproof of those who offended me; “and my sorrow was renewed,” because I did not defend myself. Such is the explanation of St. Augustine.
3. My heart grew hot within me: and in my meditation a fire shall flame out.
3. “My heart grew hot within me: and in my meditation a fire shall flame out.” He tells us the effect of the sorrow so renewed. “My heart grew hot within me;” from the sorrow so conceived, my heart began to warm into love, and then I began to meditate on the misery of man, the mercy of God, man’s ingratitude, and the overflowing love of God towards all classes, even towards the ungrateful and the wicked. "And in my meditation a fire shall flame out,” such a fire as that of which the two disciples said, “was not our heart burning within us whilst he was speaking in the way, and opened to us the Scriptures?” Careful and attentive meditation on spiritual matters is the ordinary way to light up within us the fire of the love of God.
4. I spoke with my tongue: O Lord, make me know my end, and what is the number of my days: that I may know what is wanting to me.
4. “I spoke with my tongue: O Lord, make me know my end; and what is the number of my days: that I may know what is wanting to me.” In consequence of that internal heat, “I spoke with my tongue,” not with the tongue, as we understand it, but in the tongue known to myself. “O Lord, make me know my end, and what is the number of my days;” we are not to imagine, for a moment, that he asked to know how long he had to live; that would have been a sinful and an idle curiosity; and, therefore, he prefaced it by saying, “I spoke with my tongue,” in language of my own, with a meaning of my own. He meant then to convey that the life of man is extremely short, and next to nothing. But as very few seem to know such truth, however clear and confirmed by experience, he prays to God not to let him fall into the error so many have fallen into, of looking upon that to be lasting that was so very transitory. For why are the greater part of mankind so intent on amassing riches? Why do they fight and contend for them so fiercely? Why do they neglect and despise the future so entirely, but because they either do not think, or do not believe that the present life will fly away like a shadow? He says, therefore, “O Lord, make me know my ends.” By thy grace enlighten me, that I may know the end of my life cannot be far away; “and what is the number of my days,” that by deep reflection I may see how few they are, and how short is my term here below. The following verses will prove this to be the true explanation. For though he was heard by the Lord, he does not say how long he had to live; but he endeavors to prove, in various ways, that the term of human life is very short, especially when compared to eternity.
5. Behold, thou hast made my days measurable: and my substance is as nothing before thee. And indeed all things are vanity, every man living.
5. “Behold, thou hast made my days measurable: and my substance is as nothing before thee. And indeed all things are vanity, every man living.” Having got the knowledge he asked from God, he states “his days are measurable,” so short that they can be easily measured; and, not satisfied with telling that so plainly, he adds, “and my substance is as nothing before thee.” What signifies the shortness of my days, when “my substance,” my very essence, my existence, is nothing in thy presence. It may be something in the sight of man, who sees the present only, but “before thee,” who beholdest the future, who seest eternity that hath no bounds, it is absolutely nothing. For, what are a few years, that glide away so quickly, compared to boundless eternity? “And, indeed, all things are vanity.” He explains more fully, and endeavors to persuade us of the truth he saw himself so clearly, not only in our life extremely short, but even “every man living,” be he king or monarch, whom all admire, and to whom all look up, he too, is all vanity, for, whatever health, strengths, beauty, riches, dignity, or power he may be possessed of, is all frail, fragile, and passing.
6. Surely man passeth as an image: yea, and he is disquieted in vain. He storeth up: and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things.
6. “Surely man passeth as an image: yea, and he is disquieted in vain. He storeth up: and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things.” The Prophet, seeing mankind buried in such a profound sleep, in spite of the forcible language he had hitherto used, has now recourse to more forcible language, in the hope of rousing them. As it may be objected to him that man’s life, after all, cannot be said to be nothing, when we see so many abounding in wealth, honest, health, strength, and the like; the Prophet now asserts that such things are not real blessings, but the image and the shadow of true blessings; and, therefore, that men are fools in being troubled at not having them, or in losing them when they have them; just as a king who would fret and grieve for the loss of a toy kingdom, while he had his real kingdom. “Surely man passeth as an image.” Man walks and passes through life in the image, not in the reality of things, having before him on his journey, not the realities, but the images and the shadows. This life is but an image of the happy life that alone is the true one; the health of this life is only an image of the immortality that alone deserves the name of health; the beauty of this world is only the shadow of the beauty with which we will be clothed when “the just shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” The riches of this world are no riches, the are merely the image of the riches we shall have when we shall need nothing; for then God will be all unto all. The same may be said of wisdom, glory, grandeur, and everything else we call blessings. “And he is disquieted in vain.” Man, in his anxiety for keeping what he has, or for acquiring more, is troubled. In vain does he rejoice when he gains, and deplore when he loses, as if all those things were valuable, solid, and permanent; while they are but imaginary, frail, and perishable. “He storeth up, and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things.” By one argument, he proves how idle men are in laboring to acquire, increase, and protect the wealth of this world. People think they are storing up for their children and grandchildren, who will greatly revere the memory of their parents; while it not infrequently happens that those children die in early life, and the inheritance passes to a stranger or to an enemy. Often these very heirs, in a few years, squander and dissipate the savings and gatherings of the long life of the parents. Often an ungrateful heir comes in, who, instead of revering the memory of his parents, never ceases to damage and vilify it; and had all those things been foreseen, the owners would have sought to lodge their treasures in heaven, and certainly would have had a happy life of it here. See Ecclesiasticus, chapter 2, 4, 5 and 6.
7. And now what is my hope? Is it not the Lord? And my substance is with thee.
7. “And now what is my hope? Is it not the Lord? And my substance is with thee.” Looking at the shortness and the vanity of this life, so clearly demonstrated, the Prophet determines on putting his hope in God alone. “And now,” in this state of things, “what is my hope?” What do I hope for, ask for, wish for? “Is it not the Lord?” Is he not my hope, my desire. Turning to the Lord, then, he says, “and my substance is with thee.” My life, my riches, are with you; I hold all things created as nothing, I desire you alone beyond everything, because in you alone is everything.
8. Deliver thou me from all my iniquities: thou hast made me a reproach to the fool.
8. “Deliver thou me for all my iniquities: thou hast made me a reproach to the fool.” As he said he despised all things earthly, looked to God alone, and “put all his hope in him;” he, in consequence, adds, that his only trouble is for his sins, and not for the reproaches of men, “deliver thou me from all my iniquities.” They are the only things that can come in the way, and keep me from you; and, therefore, I earnestly pray you deliver me from them, from all of them; the past as well as the future, by blotting out the one, and preventing the other. Here we must remark, that the most perfect, though they despise the world, and seek God with their whole heart, have always something to ask forgiveness for; and, therefore, that they should be always sure to pray to God daily for pardon of their daily sins. “Thou hast made me a reproach to the fool.” This part of the verse has reference to the following verse, and is thus connected with it. Thou hast made me a reproach to the fool, and I was dumb, and open not my mouth. He means to convey, that by reason of his having said that all things earthly were vain and despicable, and that we should put our hope in God alone, he was derided by the fools, who did not understand the things that pertain to God. As the Gospel says of Christ our Lord, “the Pharisees, who were all avaricious, heard those things, and scoffed at him.”
9. I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it.
9. “I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it.” When I heard the fool reproach me, I neither answered nor defended myself; “I was dumb;” as if I had lost the use of my speech, nay, more, “I opened not my mouth.” I behaved as if I were deaf, and heard none of their reproaches, for those who are dumb, without being deaf, open their mouth, and attempt an answer; but those who are deaf and dumb, neither speak nor make an attempt at it; and he assigns the reason why he did so, “because thou hast done it;” it
was you who caused those reproaches to be cast upon me; it was you who held me up for derision. He assigns the very same reason for bearing the railing of Semei with so much patience, 2 Kings 16; “let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bid him curse David: and who is he that shall dare say, why hath he done so?” It must, however, be noted that God did not command Semei to rail at David, so as to make his obedience therein a meritorious act; for we know that Semei grievously sinned by so persecuting David, and that he was severely punished by Solomon fought it afterwards: but God is said to have commanded Semei therein, because he saw his bad and evil dispositions, and made use of them to punish and correct David.
10. Remove thy scourges from me. The strength of thy hand hath made me faint in rebukes:
10. “Remove thy scourges from me. The strength of thy hand had made me faint in rebukes.” “Remove thy scourges from me.” I willingly submit to the scoffs and reproaches of the fool, knowing them to proceed from your fatherly correction, for my humiliation; but I cannot stand your scourges, and I beseech of you dispense with them. By his “scourges” he means the racks and torments which God, in his anger, has recourse to; not as a father or a physician, but as a judge, in the spirit in which David already said, “Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger.” Such scourges of blindness of intellect, hardness of heart, a reprobate sense, and damnation itself, to everlasting fire. “The strength of thy hand hath made me faint with rebukes.” The reason he is so extremely anxious to escape the scourges of God is, because he has had experience, both in himself and in others, of their severity. As to himself– I have felt the force and “the strength of thy hand,” blighting and withering me, so “that I fainted” in thy rebukes, when you cruelly and fearfully “rebuked me in your anger.” That he did when he suffered him, for his sin of adultery, to fall into the greatest sin of murder; and into such blindness, that he did not come to himself for many months; nor know his state, that is, the loss of his soul: for no punishment is more grievous than when one sin is punished by the commission of another. The apostle, Rom. 1., teaches us that sin is sometimes punishment of sin, and a dreadful punishment; more to be feared than any other known punishment. “Because that when they had known God, they have not glorified him as God. Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, to uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies;” and again, “for this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections;” and again, “and as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient.” The Prophet then says, that in addition to such cruel punishment, “thou hast corrected man for iniquity; and thou has made his soul to waste away like a spider.” For the sins just named you have corrected the sinner in your wrath, and wasted away his soul like a spider, whose whole time is taken up in weaving webs to catch flies, and is, in the meantime, itself dried up and perishes. Thus the souls of the carnal, by the just judgment of God, are perpetually laboring in acquiring the things of this world, and in such labor waste all their understanding and intellect, whence the soul becomes so dried up and exhausted of the moisture of divine grace, as never to think of its salvation, or to be moved by the slightest desire of eternal happiness; as an antidote against which aridity the Prophet asks, in Psalms 62, “let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness.” He concludes by saying, surely in vain is any man disquieted. Any man whose soul wastes away like a spider, is disgusted without cause, labors in vain, is needlessly troubled, for “what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his soul?”
11. Thou hast corrected man for iniquity. And thou hast made his soul to waste away like a spider: surely in vain is any man disquieted.
11. “Thou hast corrected man for iniquity: and thou hast made his soul to waste away like a spider: surely in vain is any man disquieted.” No explanation given.
12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my Supplication: give ear to my tears. Be not silent; for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were.
12. “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication: give ear to my tears. Be not silent; for I am a stranger with thee, and sojourner as all my fathers were.” He concludes the Psalm by praying to God with great affection. The matter of his prayer will be explained presently; but we have to remark here, that by the word “prayer” is meant the simple petition; and by “supplication,” earnest, vehement, loud petition; by “tears” are meant the affections, that had more effect with God than any words. “Be not silent.” He again demands to be heard, without telling what he wants; but he speaks to him who knows what the spirit desires. “Be not silent.” Answer your petitioner, despise not his entreaties; for he who is silent on hearing a petition, is supposed thereby to refuse to grant it. He assigns a reason why he should be heard, “for I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.” For you know that I do not belong to this world, that I am “a stranger and a sojourner” in it, and, therefore, a citizen of Jerusalem, the city above, though I may wander here for a while. You have, then, a right to hear one of your own citizens, in his exile, crying to you from his wanderings. St. John Chrysostom remarks how great and spiritual a man David must have been, when, at the head of a kingdom, and abounding in riches, he so truly avows he is nothing more than a stranger and an exile.
13. O forgive me, that I may be refreshed, before I go hence, and be no more.
13. “O forgive me, that I may be refreshed, before I go hence, and be no more.” He now explains what his prayer is, that of which he says in Psalm 31, “for this shall everyone that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time.” He asks, then, “with a strong cry and tears,” for pardon of his sins, that, his conscience being at ease, he may return in joy from his wanderings to his country: and, in fine, he asks for grace and glory; a petition put up to God, by those alone who seek him with all their heart, and despise the world and its vanities. “O forgive me;” be not a harsh creditor; press me not for payment of the debt; seek not to recover what I have foolishly squandered; “that I may be refreshed before I go hence;” before I leave the world; for, if you do forgive me here, I will not go to rest, but to prison; therefore, “say to my soul, I am thy salvation,” before you order it to leave my body, “and be no more” “a stranger or a foreigner,” but “fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestic of God.”
End of Psalm 38
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