What we give to the poor for Christ's sake, is what we carry with us when we die."
Peter Maurin
"Continue to love one another. And do not neglect hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have unknowingly entertained angels."
Hebrews 13:1-2
“Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system. People say, 'what is the sense of our small effort?' They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions.
The mystery of the poor is this: that they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for Him. It is the only way we have of knowing and believing in our love. The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love."
Dorothy Day
"And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8
The message of the gospel is simple, clear, and straightforward.
We are not things meant for the use and pleasure of another.
We are made for joy, with all the life and fulfillment that it brings.
So we are to love our fellows as ourselves, in harmony with the love of God, whom we love above all.
But the words of life that have been planted in our hearts are suffocated too often by the worries of the world, or seduced by wealth, and twisted into barrenness with pride.
So we make the gospel disputatious and complex, because the evil in us loves to hide the light with complexity.
It is a way to blind our eyes and harden our hearts against the two great commandments.
A hollow, lifeless pride in the superiority of our form of worship and ritual observance is the leaven of the Pharisees.
The jobs JOLT Report came in light on job openings, and big name layoffs continue to cool the ardor of the bulls in the belief of a perfect landing for the economy by the Fed in their inflation fight.
As if.
The Dollar fell.
Gold and silver bolted higher, making a serious stab at a bull breakout.
Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday.
Have a pleasant evening.
