In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all.
Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 1937
“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
C.S. Lewis, On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, 1966
"The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal.
In concentration camps we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. We can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning,
1946
“There are only two kinds of people in the end — those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.”
C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, 1945
"Proclaim the truth and do not be silent in fear. We have had enough pressure to be silent. Cry out with a thousand voices. The world is rotten because of silence.
You know that every evil is founded in the love of self. Self-love is a fog that takes away the light of reason, which sustains itself by the light of faith. Love transforms us into what we love.
Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire."
Catherine of Siena, 1376
The markets will be watching the Non-Farm Payrolls report tomorrow closely, and will react to any surprises, one way or another.
Tech, aka the Magnificent Seven, finished slightly higher with the broader markets unchanged to lower.
Gold and silver were under a bit of pressure but finished almost unchanged.
VIX continued to move lower. It is now in the area where some break in recent bullish momentum may be in the cards.
The geopolitical scene is highly unsettled, and risks as defined as uncertainty are abounding.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.
And what rough beast,its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.
That is what W. B. Yeats had to say in 1919, as he looked at an uncertain wave of historically significant events unfolding.
"The Lord requires you to act justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
Everything else is ornament and embellishment.
Have a pleasant evening.
