Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Hidden Hand of God

 

"The Lord did not come to make a display.  He came to heal and to teach suffering humanity.  For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been to appear and dazzle the beholders.

But for Him Who came to heal and to teach, the way was not just to appear here, but to place Himself in the service of those who needed Him, and to be made known to them as they could accept it, not diminishing the value of His Divine presence by overwhelming their capacity to receive it."

Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word, 335 AD

"Wonderful providence indeed which is so silent, yet so efficacious, so constant, so unerring.  This is what baffles the power of Satan.  He cannot discern the Hand of God in what goes on; and though he would fain meet it and encounter it, in his mad and blasphemous rebellion against heaven, he cannot find it.

Crafty and penetrating as he is, yet his thousand eyes and his many instruments avail him nothing against the majestic serene silence, the holy imperturbable calm which reigns through the providences of God.  He makes a guess here, or does a bold act there, but all in the dark.  If even devils, sagacious as they are, spirits by nature and experienced in evil, cannot detect His hand while He works, how can we hope to see it except by that way which the devils cannot take, by loving faith."

John Henry Newman, Christ Manifested in Remembrance

“There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or of some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action.

The books which the Holy Spirit is writing are the living, with every soul a volume in which the divine author makes a true revelation of His word, showing it to every heart, unfolding it in every moment.

To escape the pain caused by regret for the past or fear about the future, this is the rule to follow: leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to His good Providence, and give the present wholly to His love by being faithful to His grace.”

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, L'Abandon a la Providence Divine

"Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; and I wait for you all the day. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and loving kindness for us, as they have always been of old."

Psalm 25:4-6

Well, today was an interesting day.

Stocks got hammered.

Gold and silver were body-slammed.

The Dollar was up slightly.

The VIX put in quite the impressive range, which no doubt was tied into the ghost of Y2K we experienced today.

Several of the online brokers were shut down for the day.

I'd be willing to bet that none of the pigmen were locked out of trading.

How did one Wall Street wiseguy put it, 'like shooting fish in a barrel.'

After figuring out that none of my orders were going anywhere I took the day off.  And I am glad that I did.

Life is too short.  And it's good to walk away from the game every now and then.

But the need to regulate and keep these jokers honest has never been more apparent.  

And quite frankly it isn't happening.

Need little, want less, love more.   For those who abide in God abide in love, and love in then.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Providence Is the Hidden Hand of God

"Wonderful providence indeed which is so silent, yet so efficacious, so constant, so unerring. This is what baffles the power of Satan. He cannot discern the Hand of God in what goes on; and though he would fain meet it and encounter it, in his mad and blasphemous rebellion against heaven, he cannot find it.

Crafty and penetrating as he is, yet his thousand eyes and his many instruments avail him nothing against the majestic serene silence, the holy imperturbable calm which reigns through the providences of God. Crafty and experienced as he is, he appears like a child or a fool, like one made sport of, whose daily bread is but failure and mockery, before the deep and secret wisdom of the Divine Counsels.

He makes a guess here, or does a bold act there, but all in the dark. He knew not of Gabriel's coming, and the miraculous conception of the Virgin, or what was meant by that Holy Thing which was to be born, being called the Son of God. He tried to kill him, and he made martyrs of the innocent children; he tempted the Lord of all with hunger and with ambitious prospects; he sifted the Apostles, and got none but one who already bore his own name, and had been already given over as a devil.

He brought into the world the very salvation which he feared and hated. He accomplished the Atonement of that world, whose misery he was plotting. Wonderfully silent, yet resistless course of God's providence! 'Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour;' and if even devils, sagacious as they are, spirits by nature and experienced in evil, cannot detect His hand, while He works, how can we hope to see it except by that way which the devils cannot take, by loving faith?"

John Henry Newman, PS 17


"Some may then ask, why did He not manifest Himself by means of other and nobler parts of creation, and use some grander instrument, such as the sun or moon or stars or fire or air, instead of appearing as a mere man?

The answer is this. The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering humanity. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been to appear and dazzle the beholders.

But for Him Who came to heal and to teach, the way was not merely to appear here, but to place Himself in the service of those who needed Him, and to be made known to them as they could bear to accept it, not misappropriating the value of the Divine appearance by exceeding their capacity to receive it, to make use of it.

Moreover, nothing else in creation had erred from the path of God's purpose for it, save only man. Sun, moon, heaven, stars, water, and air, none of these had swerved from their place in His order, but knowing the Word as their Maker and their King, remained as they had been made.

Men alone rejected what is good, having cherished nothings, demons and men, instead of the truth."

Athanasius, On the Incarnation

What could be less intimidating to the dark powers of this world than a baby?  And one born to poor people answering the command of an earthly power to travel to a place where they had no home and no welcome?

Do not be afraid, do not despair in not understanding all things and fully, for this is both our nature and our necessity. Be serene and happy in the grace to know the next step, but none further. For this is a part of our protection against the forces of darkness of this world.

We know what to do next, having been told plainly and many times by His messengers and the promptings of our conscience. We are to love the Lord our God, with our whole hearts, our whole minds, our whole soul, and our whole strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.

This is both the heart of the law, and the rule of our warfare.

The mystery of Providence is a grace that gives those who accept it a power that is incomprehensible to the calculating mind of this world, that knows only what it can see and measure according to its own pride and willfulness.

And it confounds the ever-fading powers of the restless servants of wickedness in high places. This is the love of God, which is inexplicable and cannot be seen, except in cherished glimpses and with a limited understanding, by those who are already His through their continuing faithfulness.

He speaks to us in our hearts, if we will but listen.  And those who do not hear Him, cannot even begin understand what appears to them to be mere foolishness.

This is no complacency, no retreat from the world, no quiet acceptance of evil, but rather a call to action. We are directed not to linger, to watch and wait for ever more signs and wonders, gifts and consolations, not an endless menu of comforts so that we may be carried effortlessly to heaven, but to bear up with what we have been given, and to do His work, with love.

We are called to a love which is transformative when it is living for others, but a vain preoccupation and a kind of twilight of lingering misery and despair when it is not.

His call occurs, and for our part we must rise and follow. His yoke, though gentle, both constrains our natures, and at times leads us through the desert, those inevitable periods of dryness and self-denial.  But as we may need them, unexpectedly, there are consolations, His gentle kindness and tender mercies.

We will contemplate the face of God in the next world, but in this, we are called to action and His work in His creation and among His creatures.  This is the implication of the Incarnation.

Nothing is wasted in God's economy. He knows us, and He knows what He is about.

Providence Is the Hidden Hand of God

"Wonderful providence indeed which is so silent, yet so efficacious, so constant, so unerring. This is what baffles the power of Satan. He cannot discern the Hand of God in what goes on; and though he would fain meet it and encounter it, in his mad and blasphemous rebellion against heaven, he cannot find it.

Crafty and penetrating as he is, yet his thousand eyes and his many instruments avail him nothing against the majestic serene silence, the holy imperturbable calm which reigns through the providences of God. Crafty and experienced as he is, he appears like a child or a fool, like one made sport of, whose daily bread is but failure and mockery, before the deep and secret wisdom of the Divine Counsels.

He makes a guess here, or does a bold act there, but all in the dark. He knew not of Gabriel's coming, and the miraculous conception of the Virgin, or what was meant by that Holy Thing which was to be born, being called the Son of God. He tried to kill him, and he made martyrs of the innocent children; he tempted the Lord of all with hunger and with ambitious prospects; he sifted the Apostles, and got none but one who already bore his own name, and had been already given over as a devil.

He brought into the world the very salvation which he feared and hated. He accomplished the Atonement of that world, whose misery he was plotting. Wonderfully silent, yet resistless course of God's providence!  'Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour;' and if even devils, sagacious as they are, spirits by nature and experienced in evil, cannot detect His hand, while He works, how can we hope to see it except by that way which the devils cannot take, by loving faith?"

John Henry Newman, PS 17

Do not despair in not understanding all and fully, for this is our nature and necessity.  Be serene in having the grace to know the next step, but none further.  For this is a part of our protection against the forces of the evil of this world.

We surely and clearly know what to do, having been told plainly and many times by His messengers and the promptings of our conscience. We are to love the Lord our God, with our whole hearts, our whole minds, our whole soul, and our whole strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.  This is the heart of the law, and the rule of our warfare.

The mystery of Providence is a grace that gives those who accept it a power that is incomprehensible to the calculating mind of evil, that knows only what it can see and measure, according to its own pride and willfulness. 

And it confounds the ever-fading powers of the restless servants of this world and their wickedness in high places.  That is the love of God, which is inexplicable and cannot be seen, except in cherished glimpses and with a limited understanding, by those who are already His through their continuing faithfulness.  He speaks to them in their hearts, if they will but listen.

This is no complacency, no retreat from the world, no quiet acceptance of evil but a call to action.  We are directed not to linger, and to watch for more signs and wonders, gifts and consolations, not an endless menu of comforts so that we may ride comfortably to heaven, but to bear up with what we have been given and to do His work, but with love. 

We are called to a love which is transformative when it is living for others, but a vain preoccupation and a kind of twilight of lingering misery when it is not.  His call occurs, but we must rise and follow.

His yoke, though gentle, both constrains our natures and leads us through periods of dryness and confusion, which are often put most heavily on those called to lead.  And as we may need them, unexpectedly, there are the consolations, His gentle mercies.

We will contemplate the face of God in the next world, but in this, we are called to action and His work.   Nothing is wasted in God's economy.   He knows what He is about.

 

Reading for The Weekend

“We are slow to master the great truth that even now Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us to follow Him. We do not understand that His call is a thing that takes place now. We think it took place in the Apostles' days, but we do not believe in it; we do not look for it in our own case.

God's presence is not discerned at the time when it is upon us, but afterwards, when we look back upon what is gone and over. The world seems to go on as usual. There is nothing of heaven in the face of society, in the news of the day.

And yet the ever-blessed Spirit of God is there, ten times more glorious, more powerful than when He trod the earth in our flesh.

God beholds you. He calls you by your name. He sees you and understands you as He made you. He knows what is in you, all your peculiar feelings and thoughts, your dispositions and likings, your strengths and your weaknesses. He views you in your day of rejoicing and in your day of sorrow. He sympathizes in your hopes and your temptations. He interests Himself in all your anxieties and remembrances, all the risings and fallings of your spirit.

He encompasses you round and bears you in His arms. He notes your very countenance, whether smiling or in tears. He looks tenderly upon you. He hears your voice, the beating of your heart, and your very breathing. You do not love yourself better than He loves you. You cannot shrink from pain more than He dislikes your bearing it; and if He puts it on you, it is as you would put it on yourself, if you would be wise, for a greater good afterwards.

There is an inward world, which none see but those who belong to it. There is an inward world into which they enter who come to Christ, though to men in general they seem as before. If they drank of Christ's cup it is not with them as in time past. They came for a blessing, and they have found a work.

To their surprise, as time goes on, they find that their lot is changed. They find that in one shape or another adversity happens to them. If they refuse to afflict themselves, God afflicts them.

Why did you taste of His heavenly feast, but that it might work in you—why did you kneel beneath His hand, but that He might leave on you the print of His wounds?

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission -- I may never know it in this life but I shall be told it in the next.

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught.

I shall do good, I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.

He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about.

He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me -- still He knows what He is about.

Let us feel what we really are--sinners attempting great things. Let us simply obey God's will, whatever may come. He can turn all things to our eternal good. Easter day is preceded by the forty days of Lent, to show us that they only who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Contemplate then yourself, not as yourself, but as you are in the Eternal God. Fall down in astonishment at the glories which are around you and in you, poured to and fro in such a wonderful way that you are dissolved into the Kingdom of God.

The more we do, the more shall we trust in Christ; and that surely is no morose doctrine, that leads us to soothe our selfish restlessness, and forget our fears, in the vision of the Incarnate Son of God.

May the Lord support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.

Then in His mercy may He give us safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at last.”

John Henry Newman

This is a collection of quotatons woven into a whole thought by Le Proprietaire as a young man for a small circle of friends.