On Thursday, December 2nd, we went to the City Club of Cleveland to partake in a First Friday Club Luncheon wherein the speaker was Dr. Ray Guarendi, Catholic Psychologist, Author, and Speaker.
From his biography, we read that “for over 40 years Dr. Ray has experience working with parents, families, educators, juvenile courts, substance abuse programs, mental health centers and a private practice.”
What’s more, we learned that Dr. Ray authored twelve books and has his own radio show “The Doctor Is In” as well as his EWTN TV series “Living Right with Dr. Ray.”
On this occasion, Dr. Ray talked with great feeling about how he once left the Catholic Church and joined a Protestant congregation only to ultimately return to the Catholic Church where he found comfort and peace.
Along these lines, he showed great compassion as he urged the parents of children who were raised Catholic but have since left the church not to be so hard on themselves because, chances are, they did their very best to chart a positive course for their families.
Before the program begin, we spoke to Dr. Ray for a few minutes and he told us that he has treated people who have immigrated to the United States in his private practice. To be sure, we were not surprised when Dr. Ray told us that newcomers sometimes have anxiety about the future in terms of having to re-settle in a new place as well as finding suitable employment and a safe place to live where they will not be plagued by gangs and drugs.
In addition, during lunch we shared a table with a nice guy who, upon learning that we worked for Ms. [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″], told us that he had a friend whose father (i.e. we’ll call him David) came to the United States in the 1980’s as a valued scholar seeking to enhance his education.
Unfortunately, after a period, David’s visa was due to shortly expire and it looked like he might have to return home as much as he wanted to remain in the United States.
The situation was successfully resolved, however, when David’s wife had a chance conversation with a dignified-looking gentleperson who just happened to be a United States Senator.
Of course, David got his visa extended so he could remain here. To conclude, David ultimately became a United States citizen and is now more than quite happy.
