"The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.
Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy.
A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Such an economy kills.
The world tells us to seek success, power and money: our God tells us to seek humility, service, and love. Prayer, humility, and charity toward all are essential in the Christian life; they are the way to holiness.
The most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith.
Thanks solely to this encounter with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Evangelii Gaudium, 24 November 2013
"Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again! In his eyes, every life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.
What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants.
On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God.
There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.
May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenseless civilians and attack schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity."
Jose Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Urbi et Orbi, 23 April 2025
Truly if you do not have love in your hearts, you will not be able to remain standing in times of lawlessness and madness.
Not standing, but instead falling away.
The devil prowls the earth like a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Stocks were falling steadily today, with just a little bounce off the lows at the end.
There was remarkably little panic, and the VIX ticked only slightly upwards.
Gold rallied sharply, up over $100 to close at anew all time high.
Silver rebounded as well, but is being held back by its industrial correlations.
The risks in the economic and geopolitical orders remain elevated, and still underpriced.
The relentless rally in gold is trying to tell us something.
Most are not listening. To this and other messages and signs of the times.
And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of most grows cold.
Have a pleasant evening.
