Christmas Day

Let all my nothingness be drowned in the ocean of your mercy.

Narrator:  Then the Grinch heard a sound  Rising over the snow.  

It started in low, Then it started to grow. 

But the sound wasn't sad.  Why, this sounded merry. 

But it was merry. Very. 

Every Who down in Whoville, The tall and the small, were singing without any presents at all. 

He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came. 

Grinch: Somehow or other, it came Just the same! 

Narrator: And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, Stood puzzling, and puzzling. 

Grinch: How could it be so?  It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! 

Narrator: And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. 

Grinch: Maybe Christmas he thought doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. Max! Help me! I'm feeling!

Narrator: And what happened then, well, in Whoville they say, that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.

Dr. Suess, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

"Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist— and into them enters suffering, in order that they may have life. 

Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength— but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it.” 

 Léon Bloy

 

“Love endures everything, love is stronger than death, love fears nothing.  Help me, Lord, that my eyes may see all with mercy, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look deeper for what is good and beautiful in others' souls, and then come to their aid. 

Let all my nothingness be drowned in the ocean of your mercy.” 

Maria Faustyna Kowalska

 

"God bless us, every one!" 

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol 

 

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Implications of the Incarnation

 

"Only the humble believe in Him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that He does wonders where people despair, that He takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous.  

And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly.  God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings.  God marches right in.  He chooses people as his instruments and performs His wonders where one would least expect them.  

God is near to lowliness; He loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak, and the broken. 

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 solidarity with all mankind." 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

The markets will be closed until Monday. 

Merry Christmas! 

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Approaching Christmas Eve - Stocks and Dollar Wobble, Metals Higher

 

"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, as they have ever been of old."

Psalm 25:4-6 

 

"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice; show patience and consideration to all, for the Lord is always near.  Let nothing make you anxious; but with prayer, and by supplication, and with thanksgiving, let your needs be made known unto God; and the peace of the Lord, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 4:4-7 

 

"And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.' 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'  So they left in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a manger.  

After they had seen the Child, they spread the message that they had received about Him. and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

And Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart." 

Luke 2:10-19 

 

Stocks were off today with tech and the story stocks leading the way lower on profit taking it appears, with just a touch of the risk wobbles.

The Dollar edged lower once again.

And conversely, gold and silver were up a bit.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and the trading will mostly likely be light, barring any exogenous shocks. 

They will try to take it where they want it, and then the markets will close mid-day.

“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.”

John Henry Newman

 In the end, the only real tragedy is to serve yourself or the world, and not to keep struggling on, like those shepherds, to at long last be among His saints.

Come, let us adore and serve Him, with the little things done with love.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Not a Creature Was Stirring

 

“You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?” 

“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost.  “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?” 

Scrooge trembled more and more. 

“Or would you know,” pursued the Ghost, “the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself?   It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago.  You have laboured on it, since.  It is a ponderous chain!..."

“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

"Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The deals of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” 

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol 

 

The US Dollar rallied today, purportedly on statements that Fed Chair to be Yellen would like to see a stronger dollar. 

LOL 

Actions speak louder than words. 

This is a holiday shortened week, and shenanigans will be abounding until the end of the year. 

Gold and silver retreated a bit. 

Silver always shows more energy than gold when they are moving. 

Stocks were mixed at best. 

Have a pleasant evening.