"I was being called to surrender the very citadel of my self. I was completely in the dark. I did not really know what repentance was or what I was required to repent of. It was indeed the turning point of my life. God had brought me to my knees and made me acknowledge my own nothingness, and out of that knowledge I had been reborn. I was no longer the centre of my life, and therefore I could see God in everything." Bede Griffiths
"Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est." Where kindness and love are, God is there.
4th century antiphon, melody 9th century
"Hear now this, O people, foolish and without hearts; who have eyes and do not see; and have ears, but do not hear."
Jeremiah 5:21
"And there appeared a great wonder in the heavens, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."
Revelation 12:1
Gold and silver caught a big today, even as stocks continued their slanted push up against trend resistance.
I have some optimism for the price of gold here, as it seems to draw the usual rally off the Non-Farm Payrolls bottom, all other things being equal. There is intermediate trend resistance at 1340 that may prove to be quite a test for any breakout attempts. Silver is moving with gold in this. If at some point it becomes a flight to safety, I am not sure how well they will pace each other. Otherwise, silver remains more 'lively' than gold in its movements.
As I recall we are entering a December contract period which may have some energy behind it, especially if we have already passed the late seasonal low for precious metals.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the sixth apparition, and the 'miracle of the sun,' in Fátima, Portugal on October 13, 1917.
"Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all."
Edmund Burke
“And in the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Henceforth any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all that bears a human form.
Through fellowship and communion with the Incarnate Lord, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
"For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?"
Mark 8:36
Stocks were off a bit today, while the precious metals remained steady.
The markets were perturbed a bit by the geopolitical events, as well as some new domestic disappointments with the triumph of corporatism in the form of tax relief at the expense of the working and middle class.
President The Donald has apparently figured out that the GOP Tax Reform proposal was going to provide extravagant benefits to his wealthy colleagues, while placing the burden for this most squarely on the middle class, not to the mention the weak and the poor through cutbacks to basic healthcare.
And even he blanched at this, although one might question his lack of understand of the basic tenets of US taxes, since he considers himself an expert in even the more arcane areas of this system.
But what excuse could there be for the House GOP and their fellows in the political establishment, on both sides of the aisle, who know exactly what it is they are doing, to whom and for what, over and over again. They are playing a game at which they imagine themselves to be masters, that ironically enough they do not understand at all. And therein lies the tragedy, and they bid you join them.
And because of the increase in wickedness, the love of many will grow cold.
"Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. Lacking any other purpose in life, it would be good enough to live for their sake."
Garrison Keillor, The Prairie Home Companion
I spent much of the afternoon picking up my in-laws from Ohio from their cruise up the East coast. So I missed some of the antics, in New York and Washington.
They were on a 'fall foliage' cruise that left a couple of weeks ago from Port Liberty, but this year the leaves are turning late. If they are falling here it has been from a recent lack of rain. And they tell me that they did not see the leaves turning color on the cruise until they reached Quebec. Even in Maine, in the coastal cities at least, autumn's paintbrush has not yet been unleashed.
We loved to visit Quebec City. We used to drive up there by car every other year or so. The city is beautiful and the people are cordial and most often kind. And the drive up to Montreal was always a nice one particularly in the autumn. We often stopped for an overnight at Lake George.
I have literally never been to Maine. Their cruise stopped in Portland, Rockland, and Bar Harbor. They had a nice time at each place, and again, the people and the atmosphere is wonderful. And apparently the price and quality of the lobsters is equally impressive. For that I miss my days as a computer science student in Boston.
When I was a little boy I kept my 'treasures' in a small cedar box with Bar Harbor Maine on it. It was a souvenir from my parent's honeymoon. The queen and I had intended to take a long drive that way after retirement, but it never really worked out that way. As Thomas à Kempis noted long ago, man proposes, but God disposes.
Stocks were rising today, but I won't call it a rally so much as a quiet rising in a quiet market. Gold and silver also caught a bid and managed to creep back towards the resistance levels from which they were recently turned back.
I have been thinking of how gold and silver might react if there were a seasonal downturn in the stock markets, perhaps in reaction to some catalyzing event. I think it will depend on the cause and nature of the decline. This presupposes of course that there will be a decline. I am sure we are comfortable with forecasts of permanent prosperity.
Blaise Pascal observed that “All of humanity's problems stem from a man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Someone should have that made into a plaque, and place it prominently on Donald Trump's desk. Or perhaps at his bedside, or wherever it is he decides to put his fingers to the keyboard.
Let us pray for those whose hearts are hardened against His grace and loving kindness by greed, fear, and pride, and the seductive illusion and crushing isolation of evil.
We pray that we all may experience the three great gifts of our Lord's suffering and triumph: repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness. And in so doing, may we obtain abundant life, and with it the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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