"Anger and fury are abominations, yet a sinner holds them close in his heart. The vengeful will face the Lord’s justice, for he has a strict account of their sins. Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be forgiven when you pray."
Sirach 27:30-28:1
"Spiritual pride blinds us to our own faults. But even worse, it leads us to magnify and fix ourselves upon the faults of others. We become full of the law, and harsh judgement, and the trappings and ornaments of worldly observance, and finally, ourselves. It is a sickening romance with the self, unto death."
Jesse, On Being Human, 20 August 2017
"Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be. Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them. Without love deeds, even the greatest, count as nothing. Our Lord's love shines forth as much in the simplest of souls as it does in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no refusal of His grace."
Thérèse Martin de Lisieux
"Then the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their extravagance and splendour. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will fall down and worship me.’ And Jesus said, ‘Begone, Satan. For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”’ Then the devil left, and angels came and ministered to him."
Matthew 4:8-11
"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 familiarity with all mankind."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
"And because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But those who endure to the end will be saved The gospel of the kingdom of God will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come."
Matthew 24:11-14
The numbers for the Non-Farm Payrolls report were remarkably in-line with expectations.
But the revisions lower in the prior months cast a pall on the outlook.
Still, its just a question of the magnitude of the Fed's next interest rate decision not the direction, which is lower.
Stocks sold off hard, and went out near the lows.
Gold and silver were sold.
The Dollar rose slightly.
VIX is wandering around.
Let's see if next week brings any clarity. Today looked like the usual technical trading gambits we see on event days such as this.
How far have we fallen from the ideals embodied in the oaths our leaders and public officials take to uphold the Constitution.
Have a pleasant weekend.
