Works of Mercy

Corporal Works of Mercy

Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to the bodily needs of others. They are given by Jesus himself in the Gospel of Matthew, in the famous sermon on the Last Judgment. They are also mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. The seventh work of mercy comes from the Book of Tobit and from the mitzvah of burial, although it was not formally added to the list until the Middle Ages.

The works include:

• To feed the hungry.
• To give water to the thirsty.
• To clothe the naked.
• To shelter the homeless.
• To care for the sick.
• To visit the imprisoned, and ransom the captive.
• To bury the dead.

"A certain student of the law stood up and tested Him, saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”

And the lawyer answered Him saying, “‘Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’”

And Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you shall live.”

But the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

And Jesus answered him saying, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his belongings, assaulted him and departed, leaving him half dead..."

Luke 10:25-30


"This is how we know who are the children of God and who are the children of the Satan: anyone who does not do what is good is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their neighbor."

1 John 3:10


"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

James 2:26


"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts

"A great number of those working for liberal causes are not only shy but borderline collusive.  They want change to happen nicely, and it won't.  They want decency to come about without anybody suffering or being embarrassed, and it won't.  And most of all they want to give many of the enemies of open government the benefit of the doubt, and I don't.  It's not just a difference of approach, it's a complete schism in our respective philosophy.  You can't go about disclosure in the hope that it won't spoil anybody's dinner."

Julian Assange


"His crime has been to make sense of dark times.  WikiLeaks has an impeccable record of accuracy and authenticity which no newspaper, no TV channel, no radio station, no BBC, no New York Times, no Washington Post, no Guardian can equal.  Indeed, it shames them.  That explains why he is being punished."

John Pilger

Gold is continues to be price suppressed, with silver following a bit.

Stocks reached for new highs again today, but pulled back into the afternoon and the close.

There will be a stock market option expiration on Thursday.

The markets will be closed for Good Friday.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Fat Lady Is Warming Up - Citi's Traces in the Gold Sell Off

"Stock buybacks were illegal until Reagan's SEC opened the gates. Nobody willing to stop it now because that would crash stock markets. But it is cannibalizing much of our industry and must be ended in next crisis."

Harald Malmgren

Stocks were surging higher today, but pulled off substantially into the close.

If they do this a few more times, we might see the beginning of something here.

Gold was slammed again this morning as the same manner as yesterday.

From the clearing report, it appears like Citi had a hand in this large change in gold positioning, with the 'customer' over at JPM being the receiver.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Management of Savagery - Stock Option Expiration on Thursday

"Restore our fortunes, Lord,
     as streams renew the desert.
Those who sow in tears
     shall reap with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their crops,
     but they sing as they return with the harvest."

Psalm 126

Gold, and to some extent silver, were hit today in a fairly obvious and expected bear raid.

Silver managed to hold its positive close and gold recovered most of the day's decline.

The US Dollar did not cooperate and was lower, so making the price declines stick were a bit difficult.

Stocks were down sharply during the day, but managed to take back most of their losses into the close.

There will be a stock option expiration on Friday.

The 850 year old Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was devastated by fire today.  The queen and I visited it some years ago.  It is sad to see such an iconic and majestic example of religious art and architecture destroyed.

My mentor, and my son's godfather, had told me the story of his bicycle trip around Europe when he was a young man during the summer of 1939.  He had just graduated from college and was taking some time off. He visited the Île de la Cité of course. While he was there he saw workmen piling sandbags around the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle, the smaller church on the island, which has spectacular stained glass windows. He asked the workmen what they were doing, and the workman replied, "C'est la guerre." He caught the boat back to the States shortly thereafterwards.

This was another example of 'the management of savagery.'

I picked the quote for this posting yesterday afternoon.  I left it, since it seems fitting.

Have a pleasant evening.