The Marshall Plan and a Message to the Department of Defense, Labor Day, 2019:

By Anna Von Reitz

It is a strange fact that those who win wars wind up paying for all the destruction they cause. That is by international agreement and so, guess who got the bill for World War II? We did.

We were the only ones who could rebuild the world.

Obviously, the Germans were not in any position to pay anyone back for anything. They were too busy clearing their own streets of rubble.

The Brits were in similar condition, hanging on by threads.

So when it came time to rebuild Europe, Japan, and places as far-flung as Burma, who picked up the tab?

Mom and Pop back home in Des Moines.

This was accomplished by the Marshall Plan, yet another stroke of genius drummed up by our military, which should be permanently barred from having anything to do with accounting or finance.

Any organization that can lose trillions of dollars off their books, and turn around and find even more trillions of dollars of credit on their books that they can't account for, needs to be relieved of accounting duty.

Am I wrong?

This same organization is perfectly aware of the exact date and time that World War II officially ended, yet didn't bother to release millions of Americans from paying "Victory Taxes", either.

They are dropping their jaws and going, "What? What?"

So tell the General Accounting Office that military accounts are their responsibility again, and we are returning to carriage accounting, because "Double Accrual Accounting" leads to too much temptation and too many opportunities for guile.

Anyway, on to the Marshall Plan.....

The recovering nations were allowed to place debilitating tariffs against American goods and services, and to profit their own governments on those tariffs. The resulting income was more than sufficient to pay for rebuilding all the war-time damage to Europe, a process that was complete by 1970.

These same nations were protected by the American Armed Forces at little (we are talking 1- 4% percent) or no cost to them, so virtually all the burden of their national defense was footed by the Americans, too.

Good Old Joe.

All of that should have come to a conclusion around 1970-75, at most. The tariffs against American goods and services should have been quietly removed by all the various recipient governments and our own manufacturing and productive sectors of our economy should have been set free to thrive.

Read that --- The Rust Belt should not exist. Detroit should be thriving. Millions upon millions of American manufacturing and service jobs should have been cranking out a good future for millions of American families for the past fifty years.

Should have been.

But we have been letting the Pope and the Queen manipulate our government processes and promote their corporate elections while suppressing our lawful government and unlawfully usurping upon us in Gross Breach of Trust.

They happily sold us and our best interests down the river and continued to glut themselves for an additional fifty years--- and all in breach of International Treaties, in Breach of Trust, in violation of their commercial contracts.

Fifty years. Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter.... traitors all.

It's only now that the facts about The Marshal Plan and its gross mis-administration are coming to the attention of the American People and they are beginning to understand just how terribly they and their country have been mistreated.

Donald Trump is the first American President in all these years to have sense and guts enough to call a halt to it.

Of course, those who have been sucking us dry are disappointed.

It's important for the Pope and the Queen and all the other World Leaders who have been acting as leeches to understand that Donald Trump isn't the only American who has had enough.

There are, in fact, millions of us. Not everyone knows the details yet, but all our backs are up, simply because of the level of suffering and injustice we've endured without relief for fifty additional years of enslavement and taxation and tariffs under "wartime" mobilization.

We are not willing to be killed off in yet another mercenary war, just so they can avoid paying their debts back to us, either.

If we go, they go. For sure. That's the hidden double meaning of "WWG1WGA". And it doesn't depend just on Trump.

This message is for the American Military as much as it is for anyone else. You have been used, abused, sacrificed, lied to, and cheated by these same criminal European powers, betrayed by politically-motivated Generals, and ironically, have been used as the excuse for these abuses and also the muscle to impose them.

Ever heard of shooting yourself in the foot? That's what you do when you follow any "order" to harm any American in any way--- including economic harm.

"Harm" doesn't just happen in terms of blood. It happens in economic losses, in terms of lost time and quality of life, lost security and prosperity, lost rights and freedoms.

You are supposed to be protecting all of us from all of that, and you have failed your mission for fifty years. That's why Americans are suffering, including veterans.

You have been misdirected by foreign powers acting in Gross Breach of Trust and violation of their commercial contracts. And you have followed their Orders like so many ducks marching in order.

That's why our borders are being overrun. That's why American children are being snatched and killed by perverts. That's why American children are going hungry. That's why veterans can't find work to support themselves and their families. That's why this country sucks.

It all comes back to the military and being lousy accountants is really the least of your sins and errors. This country has been run as a military protectorate since 1863, so when the chips are down, who else is there to blame?

Fifty "extra" years-worth of The Marshall Plan? An extra 75 years of Victory Taxes?

DOD is responsible by its own admission for providing Americans with proper ID.

Instead, "the Brass" have been trying to set up our civilian population for identity theft and mis-characterization, depriving us of our rights, railroading us through Kangaroo Municipal COURTS. Using us as slave labor to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Genociding us on paper, while taking their paychecks out of our pockets. Trampling every standard of "honor".

Everyone from here to Bangkok is wondering what your claim to fame is?

Not being worth your salt? Nothing but criminal mercenaries? Idiots? Clucks? Clods? Shills? Accomplices? Treasonous worthless bastards?

Words fail to describe what has gone on here in "the land of the free and the home of the brave".

Millions of Americans have been robbed of their homes --- literally --- on your watch. Millions have suffered needlessly for the past 150 years, because you have failed your duty to us and failed to assist the actual civilian government of this country to assemble and reconstruct the Federal Government we are owed.

Entire generations of Americans have paid for your protection and instead have suffered as your prey.

Well, fellas, the tale is told. What are you going to do about it?

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Jackson Hole and You

By Anna Von Reitz

All I really need to tell you is that "G7" was a meeting of governments and Jackson Hole was a meeting of bankers, and you should automatically turn your attention to what went on in Jackson Hole.   

We have the Brits in their usual role as Agents of Destruction.

We have the Americans in their usual role as Savior Fall Guys.  

At least the Brits have admitted the logical necessity of vastly expanding their already completely insupportable credit bubble in order to keep afloat.  

I am reminded of a famous British Naval History saga in which a British ship in a Dutch port laden with a load of manure labeled "Ship High In Transport" was in danger of both sinking and exploding at once.  

The danger of sinking was caused by numerous leaks in the planking of the hull and the inability of the bilge pumps to keep up.  

The danger of exploding was caused by the increase of methane gas that is released in greater quantities when the manure gets wet.  

So here we are at the bilge pumps, both parents working three jobs and at least 60 hours per week trying to keep the family in a house with a roof and food on the table..... and there are the bankers adding to the problem they created and suggesting that more of what caused the problem is what is needed to solve it. 

Just let us exponentially increase our debt bubble and keep insuring ourselves with your assets, at your expense, and all will be well.   

We'll just float a cashless currency on nothing at all, think up some new Big Words to dazzle the bystanders,  and continue to claim that a "dollar" of hot air is equivalent to a "dollar" of silver or a "dollar" of gold or a "dollar" of oil.... and no matter how many "hot air dollars" we issue, we maintain Value Parity.  

Here, specifically, is what the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney proposed at Jackson Hole ---- adoption of a "Synthetic Hegemonic Currency" which would be a "virtual currency" ---- that is, nothing but digits on a computer screen, a virtual currency in a virtual reality --- to replace the "US" Dollar, and of course, this completely baseless currency is to be issued "without constraint" by the Central Bankers. 

That is, they want to issue as many digits as they like, pegged against your labor and your resources, with no cost to them, no risk to them, and no limit to the credit they propose to extend to themselves and whoever their Cronies may be.  

I have a better idea.... but first, back to British Naval History and Adventures in Shipping High in Transit.... the First Mate and the Ship's Carpenter came up with a plan to enclose two side compartments on either side of the main cargo bay and completely seal them with pitch and caulking, and, taking a lesson from hot balloonists, fill these compartments with hot air so as to lift the ship up on both ends and suspend the reeking cargo in between these "Elevation Chambers" long enough to get the cargo ashore.      

Sort of similar to the "Synthetic Hegemonic Currency", don't you think? 

The use of such air bladders to perform a variety of repairs at sea was, at the time, the very latest in naval technology back then, just like cyber currencies are the latest financial technology now.  

The bankers are taking up a practice they learned during the New Deal, and which is clearly stated in the 1934 Emergency Banking Act.  The Perpetrators just arbitrarily declared that their paper "dollar" would be equivalent to an American Silver Dollar at a one-to-one fixed Exchange Rate.  

This allowed them to exchange paper for silver for the cost of printing--- and do this on an endless basis, at least, until the American Silver ran out.    

Now they propose to exchange mere digits in a computer ledger for a "hegemony" of actual, factual commodities, including silver, gold, water, wheat, rice and what-have-you.  

They are saving themselves even the printing costs of their scam and broadening the scope of commodities they can steal to promote it.  

This is how "the US" ran up a $23 trillion dollar National Debt.  A very real, very factual debt owed mainly to the Americans and plus another $4 trillion secondarily owed to the Chinese. 

Unfortunately, the rest of us are not asleep and not trusting the bankers this time around, so the idea that we should allow them to run up an infinite debt against us and keep all the profit for themselves causes a rising gorge reaction and a natural desire to hang them as pirates without the necessity of a trial.  

Just the fact that Mr. Carney would dare to voice such a prospect is indicative of his utter arrogance and disrespect for both the common sense of the issue and the people he is proposing to rob.  

We do have laws on the books that allow us to hang pirates.  

Back to the Dutch Port and the S.H.I.T. problem.... the British sailors risked life and limb to carry out the plan and pump hot air into the Elevation Chambers, but the additional buoyancy was not sufficient and the effort to off-load the cargo to Dutch Farmers was not proceeding fast enough. 

The Dutch Farmers had heard about the problems on board the ship and were familiar with what happens when you have wet manure in an enclosed space. Despite drastically reduced prices, they were not eager to come close enough to collect the manure off the ship.  

So, there the British seamen sat, waiting to sink or blow up.  Then as now. 

The frantic Dutch Harbormaster implored his Government to do something to get the British dung scow away from his pier and towed out of the harbor to no avail.  "What are the British doing exporting manure anyway? Certainly they need it for their own fields!"  

Some Members of Parliament, disturbed by the odor of a neighboring pig farm too close to the noble nostrils, came up with the scheme. 

Ah, well..... history repeats itself.  And now you know why the EU is so mad at Britain.  The Brits caused the problem, hauled their manure over to the Continent, and now propose to depart via a different route home, leaving "the problem" docked in Brussels and Berlin and as much as possible, Rome. 

The fact is that they have created a completely insurmountable Odious Debt and they all know it, but nobody is willing to take the paper loss.  They would rather off-load their problem onto the backs of the working people and the productive sectors of the economies of the affected countries, which is basically all of the Western World.  

This is also why they all have such a problem with Donald Trump.  He has other options and a belief (borne out by actual prior experience) that energizing the manufacturing and productive capacities of our country will expand the economy. 

If need be, the issuance of an "executive" national currency like Lincoln's Greenbacks or Kennedy's intended Kennedy Dollars, could be used to raise money for broad spectrum re-investment in fundamentals that would put people back to work, maybe even kick start a General Employment Program to hire people off the unemployment and welfare rolls to do work similar to the Depression Era Work Projects Administration.  

Even more "destructive" from the standpoint of people like Mark Carney, Trump might even fire the Federal Reserve and establish a new National Central Bank. 

Wouldn't that be a kicker in the knickers?  

Such a practical solution would be nothing at all  like the rose-colored limitless credit for the banks to pass out with no risk to themselves, as envisioned by Mr. Carney, with all their gambling and speculation underwritten and insured by the public, too, since the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the merger of so-called "investment bank" activities with standard commercial bank functions.

Yes, Mr. Carney and the Bank of England are envisioning Banker Paradise; I trust that we are all ready and willing to send them to Heaven or elsewhere, using other means.   

It's time for these banks to be taken over and nationalized.  All of them.  Beginning with the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.  

It's also high time to re-instate Glass-Steagall in the U.S. and similar protective provisions in other countries, too.   This makes it clear to the bankers that their self-protective sopping up of credit intended to go back into the General Economy isn't a viable long-term strategy.  It also tells them that their risky ventures and favorite boondoggles will have to be underwritten by other means. 

It's a hot day.  The Captain and First Mate and Ship's Cook and Ship's Carpenter have disappeared in the night.   Some lost-looking British sailors have begged places to stay with generous prostitutes, until they can find another ship.  The reeking, slowly sinking old British ship rides against the pier.  The Harbormaster despairs.  

Ironically, the Elevation Chambers are keeping the old wreck barely afloat, which increases the chances of a catastrophic explosion.  There's no way to tow the wreck out to sea.  The only possible ---and relatively fortunate outcome, would be if the ship just sank, straight down, beside the pier.  

After a few years the cargo would naturally degrade and except for the loss of pier space in the harbor and occasional noxious bubbles of methane breaking the surface, all could be endurable.  In time, the Harbor Master muses, there could be a dredging operation using cranes and pulley systems and winches to remove the wreckage.  Things could get back to normal with nobody getting killed and no great physical damage to the harbor.  

Acting upon this inspiration, the Harbormaster pays exorbitant sums to men willing to go below the water line on the old ship, and, with bits and braces, bore holes through the rotten planking on the hull, hoping to speed the ingress of seawater and sink the ship and its cargo beside the pier.  He sets up pumps to pump seawater into the ship toward the same end.  He even risks his own life to go aboard and open up the Elevation Chambers.  

All to no avail.  The old British ship stays stubbornly afloat, if only on a crust of barnacles.  It is sinking slowly, but the amount of methane is increasing every hour.  

The G7 can and will do nothing, because they are in debt to these Looters called Bankers.  The only people who can help them out of the jam they are in, are the same people they have plundered, pillaged, and defrauded for a hundred and fifty years.  

You see the problem?  

Finally, one hot evening in August, the Harbormaster clears the harbor.  He hires an expert archer with a crossbow to shoot a flaming arrow into the wreck.  The resulting explosion is heard in Paris. The Dutch pier is badly damaged.  The British Government refuses to pay for it.  The Dutch Government passes laws against British manure imports.  

How soon we forget.  

Now, this is a somewhat funny story, but the situation is desperate.  We absolutely cannot let the Bankers get away with what they are proposing. And the U.S. Congress which is insurmountably in debt to these same bankers cannot be allowed to act "for" us in this matter.  It is imperative that Americans wake up, assemble their States, and do their own mop-up.  

Run, don't walk ---- go to www.TheAmericanStatesAssembly.net and learn more. 

It is also imperative that President Trump be supported in his efforts and that he supports us.  Come what may, he has stayed the course and continues to make progress against the Swamp.  

The New York Federal Reserve CEO has threatened Trump with having to take the risk of an economic and financial meltdown right around election time---- ironically, a risk that the Federal Reserve and IMF have created --- if he continues to spar and bargain with China.  

This is because China has nailed the Fed for its debts to China.  The Federal Reserve wants us to be stripped naked to pay its debts to China.  And God forbid when the Americans wake up, because the Fed owes us roughly five times what it owes to China.   

Do you notice all the British Corporations upping anchor and beating for home?  BP just sold off all its interests in Alaska.  Care to take a guess why?  Because the Brits are afraid that we will find our compass and cajones and nationalize everything they claim to own.  

But heck, we can do that anyway, no matter where they roam or what name they adopt.  The world has become a smaller place.  It's no longer possible for them to just disappear over the horizon and escape the consequences of their actions.  

An end to the British manure trade is infinitely preferable to the solution proposed by Mr. Carney. 

Does anyone have a match?  And some rope?  

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No Pledge of Allegiance

By Anna Von Reitz

Generations of American school children have been pushed to learn (and recite by heart) something taught to them as "The Pledge of Allegiance".  They are never told what a "pledge" is, much less the hidden meaning of this odd observance--- and the fact that no American should ever recite it for any reason.  

A "pledge" is an ancient feudal act offering a promise of material interest and subservience to a monarch.  

It has nothing to do with America nor with our lawful government.  

This will come as a great shock to many, but The Pledge of Allegiance is literally un-American.

The only monarch seeking such pledges is the British Monarch, usurping upon our States and our People, and seeking voluntary conversion and subjection of ourselves and our property assets to the Queen. 

So that is what The Pledge of Allegiance is all about --- agreeing to act as a British Territorial "Citizen" and agreeing to subject yourself and your property to the mercies of the British Queen, instead of claiming your birthright as an American. 

The Pledge of Allegiance is just another filthy British scheme to get their hands into our pockets, and their names on the receiving end of our credit--- and that is all it has ever been.  

It's difficult to tell that to men and women who have, in mindless good faith and trust,  recited this "allowance" of unlawful conversion since childhood ---- but the facts are the facts.  

Getting you to recite "The Pledge of Allegiance" without full disclosure is just another excuse being offered by the Brits to the rest of the world, trying to build a case that we gave them our permission to seize upon us and our assets and that we voluntarily accepted British rule ---- when nobody ever told you what a pledge was, nor the affect of it. 

Look at it for what it is ---- "I" ---- this can only mean the Speaker, which is you, the man or woman reciting this. 

"Pledge" ---- ancient feudal act subjecting oneself to a monarch. 

"Allegiance" --- a status of subservience to a monarch; 

"to the United States of America"  ---- and which "United States of America" is it referring to?  Oh, the British Territorial version, of course. 

"and to the Republic for which it stands" ---- and since when do we have "a" Republic in this country?   We have fifty republican states, but that does not "a" Republic make.  

No, the only thing that can be construed as "a" Republic is the Washington, DC international city-state oligarchy, attempting to substitute its municipal government as the civilian government owed to this country.  

"one nation under God" --- but, wait a minute, our government observes strict separation of church and state!  What's going on here?  Turns out that it's a foreign government being represented, the Theocracy of the Roman Catholic Church running the Municipal Governments worldwide.  

"indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  --- but, wait!  Our States are independent States. Obviously,  they have their own character and government.   And what is this thing called "liberty"?  We are to inherit freedom..... not liberty.  

Liberty is what British sailors get when they reach port.  

The Pledge of Allegiance, far from serving any patriotic purpose, seeks to justify the undermining and dismantling of our own lawful government to benefit the Municipal United Government representing itself as "a" Republic and the British Territorial Government doing business under our Delegated Power and under our name as "the United States of America" --- Incorporated.  

These two foreign governmental services providers are seeking to benefit themselves at the expense of your lawful government and you, and every time that you or anyone else says this Pledge of Allegiance you are nailing yourselves and your country more firmly to this cross of European Fraud and Deceit.  

When people trot out The Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of any public function or meeting, they are --- knowingly or unknowingly --- serving Notice that you are in the right church, but the wrong pew.  Your British and Papist Public Servants are conducting your business "for" you, and when you recite their Pledge of Allegiance, you are subjecting yourself and your assets to their administration.  

You are agreeing to serve the Queen and the Theocracy ruling the Municipal Government of Washington, DC.  Both.  And pay taxes to both.  And when the rest of the world sees Americans stupidly reciting their agreement to all this, what is the rest of the world to think? 

If it is not your intention to give away your assets and subject yourself politically to the Queen and the Pope, then it is high time that you learned what The Pledge of Allegiance is and what it implies.  

Far from being American or patriotic or any kind of good thing at all for any American, The Pledge of Allegiance is a form of entrapment and Unconscionable Contract,  a power-grab and justification for the British Government and the Municipal Government --- the old, ugly "Holy Roman Empire" -- to come in here and pillage and plunder.  

Stop being your own worst enemies.  Wise up. Take a stand.  Declare your birthright political status.  Join your State Assemblies --- go to www.TheAmericanStatesAssembly.net  --- and learn what is going on and why.  

If you care about your future, the future of your children, your country, your world, or anything else ---- listen to what I am telling you.  And if you don't believe me, go take the time to look up the legal meaning of these words for yourself ---- then you will know for certain that the wolf is not only at the door, but in the house.  

After the small ceremony installing me as a Justice of the Peace, I went home to my hotel room and thought I would read my daily portion of the Bible before going to sleep.  Instead of the pages I intended, Psalm 119 presented itself to me.  

Yesterday, I went out to buy some used bookshelves for The Living Law Firm. It turned out that the seller was a Christian bookshop in the process of remodeling. That became my opportunity to look for a new Family Bible. In the evening, I sat down to read from it for the first time, and again, the book seemed to open by itself--- this time to Jeremiah 51. 

Jeremiah 51 is the Great Condemnation against the Chaldeans and Babylon, one after another.  First, the Chaldeans are chastised --- the Germans.  Next, the Babylonians are destroyed -- those who sit upon the many waters, the jurisdiction of the sea --- a worldwide hegemony.   

The Chaldeans survive, but Babylon is slated for utter and permanent destruction. 

Think about that.  There is only one glimmer of hope, and that is that they will repent their crimes and correct their government.  This was confirmed again this morning by Ezekiel 45:9, which rebukes the princes of Israel for their violence and plundering and tells them to "stop dispossessing my people".  

This is exactly what is happening here --- Americans are being dispossessed by fraud and guile, and it is being done via racketeers plundering us under color of law.  

As I look around the world, it's clear that the same thing is being done all over, in every country I can think of.  And all this violence is being driven by mindless greed, at the behest of men and women who already have more than they can ever spend in a hundred lifetimes. 

Psalm 119 is the lament of the Justices of the Peace confronting this lawlessness and falsehood.  Jeremiah 51 is the End Cap, declaring the end for these people if they will not repent and correct.  And Ezekiel is the Power of the Prophets come home to roost, telling them exactly what they must do: stop the violence and plundering and dispossession.  Or else. 

Please notice that they have choice.  God does not mandate their destruction.  If it comes, they choose it themselves.  This is a truth that applies to all of us.  

We are called upon this day to choose life, to choose sharing, to choose what is just and good.  Let us choose what is right with all our hearts and place our pleas before Our Father, because everything happens for a reason.  It is no happenstance that these scriptures have come forward to me.  

The hour is very late.  Those who have plotted in the darkness are well-known. Those who have murdered the innocent are seen.  The false leaders who have taught their employees to rob and steal, their names are written down.  Those who have dealt in treachery and guile to entrap the poor with words of art and deceitful practices like "The Pledge of Allegiance" --- these wrong-doers will be repaid and reap what they have sown--- and not by the hand of any earthly King, but by the Living God.  

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Instruction on the Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year

The Introit of the Mass is the prayer of a troubled soul, entreating God for assistance against its enemies:

INTROIT Incline unto my aid, O God: O Lord, make haste to help me: let my enemies be confounded and ashamed, who seek my soul. Let them be turned backward and blush for shame, who desire evils to me. (Ps. LXIX) Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

COLLECT Almighty and merciful God, of whose gift it cometh that the faithful do Thee homage with due and laudable service: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may run without stumbling to the attainment of Thy promises. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end, Amen.

EPISTLE (II Cor. III. 4-9.) Brethren, such confidence we have through Christ towards God: not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, who also hath made us fit ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit: for the letter killeth: but the spirit quickeneth. Now if the ministration of death, engraven with letters upon stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which is made void: how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather in glory? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more the ministration of justice aboundeth in glory.

EXPLANATION St. Paul speaks in the epistle, from which this extract is taken, of the conversion of the Corinthians, which he accomplished not by his own ability, but with the help of God, who made him a minister of the New Testament, a teacher of the true religion of Christ. The New Testament by the grace of the Holy Ghost recalls the sinner from the death of sin, reconciles him to God, and thus enlivens and makes him pleasing to God; whereas the letter of the Old Law, which contains more eternal ceremonies and fewer commandments, changes not the man, but rather destroys him, that is, threatens with death the transgressor of the law instead of freeing him from sin and reconciling him to God, thus permitting him to die the eternal death. St. Paul preached the true religion of Christ, which vivifies, justifies, and sanctifies man. If the ministry of Moses was so glorified by God, that his countenance shone, when he returned from Mount Sinai, where God gave him the law, how much more dignified and glorious must be the ministry of the New Law. Learn from this to esteem the office of preaching, and be humble like St. Paul, who trusted not in himself but in God, to whom he ascribed all honor.

GOSPEL (Luke X. 23-37.) At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them. And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But he said to him: What is written in the law? how readest thou? He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said to him: Thou hast answered rightly: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away; leaving him half dead. And it chanced that a certain priest went down the same way, and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine; and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him: and the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him, and whatsoever, thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee. Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among robbers? But he said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.

Why does Christ call His disciples blessed?

Because they had the happiness which so many patriarchs and prophets had desired in vain, namely: of seeing Him and hearing His teaching. Though we have not the happiness to see Jesus and hear Him, nevertheless we are not less blessed than the apostles, since Christ pronounces those blessed who do not see and yet believe. (John XX. 29.)

What, besides faith, is necessary for salvation?

That we love God and our neighbor, for in these two commandments consists the whole law. (Matt. XXII. 40.)

Who is our neighbor?¹

Every man, be he an acquaintance or a stranger, poor or rich, of our faith or of another; for the Samaritan did not ask the one who had fallen among robbers: Who and whence are you? but considered him his neighbor, and proved himself as such by his prompt assistance.

How should we love our neighbor?

As we love ourselves, that is, we should wish him everything good, and when in necessity do to him as we would wish others to do to us, and, on the contrary, not wish nor do to him anything that we do not wish to be done to ourselves. In this way the Samaritan loved his neighbor, and in this he was far superior to the priest and the Levite.

How can we especially practice love for our neighbor?

By the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. [See instruction for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. http://www.paulstramer.net/2019/07/instruction-on-seventh-sunday-after.html] Besides which we must rejoice at the spiritual and corporal graces of our neighbor, which God communicates to him; we must grieve for his misfortunes, and, according to the example of St. Paul, (I Cor. I. 4.) have compassion for him; we must bear with the faults of our neighbor, as St. Paul again admonishes us: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ. (Gal. VI. 2.)

Why should we love our neighbor?

We should love him because God commands it; but there are also other reasons which should induce us to do so. We are not only according to nature brothers and sisters in Adam, but also according to grace, in Christ, and we would have to be ashamed before animals, if we would allow ourselves to be surpassed in the love which they bear one to another; (Ecclus, XIII. 19.) all our neighbors are the image and likeness of God, bought by the blood of Jesus, and are adopted children, called to heaven, as we are; the example of Christ, who loved us, when we were yet His enemies, (Rom. V. 10.) and gave Himself for us unto death, ought to incite us to love them. But can we be His disciples, if we do not follow Him, and if we do not bear in us the mark of His disciples, i. e. the love of our neighbor? (John XIII. 35.). Finally, the necessity of the love for our neighbor ought to compel us, as it were, to it; for without it, we cannot be saved. He that loveth not, says St. John, abideth in death, (I John III. 14.) and he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not? (I John IV. 20.) because he transgresses one of the greatest commandments of God, and does not fulfil the law. (Rom. XIII, 10.)

What is necessary to make the love of our neighbor meritorious?

It must tend to God, that is, we must love our neighbor only in and for God, because God commands it, and it is pleasing to Him. For to love our neighbor on account of a natural inclination, or self-interest, or some other still less honorable reason, is only a natural, animal love, in no wise different from the love of the heathens; for the heathens also love and salute those who love and salute them in turn. (Matt. V. 46.)

PETITION. O my God, Father of mercy! give me a loving and compassionate heart, which will continually impel me to do good to my neighbor for Thy sake, so that I may merit the same from Thy mercy.

What is understood from this day's gospel in a higher and more spiritual sense?

According to the interpretation of the Fathers, our father Adam, and hence the whole human race is to be understood by the one who had fallen among robbers. The human race, which through the disobedience of Adam fell into the power of Satan and his angels, was robbed of original justice and the grace of God, and moreover, was wounded and weakened in all the powers of the soul by evil concupiscence. The priest and The Levite who represent the Old Law, would not and could not repair this misfortune; but Christ, the true Samaritan, embraced the interests of the wounded man, inasmuch as He poured the oil of His grace, and the wine of His blood into the wounds of man's soul, and thus healed him, and inasmuch as He led him by baptism into the inn of His Church, and there entrusted him to His priests for further care and nursing. Thank Christ, the good Samaritan, for this great love and care for you, and endeavor to make good use of His blessings by your cooperation.

INSTRUCTION ON THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF
EXTREME UNCTIONHe bound up his wounds pouring in oil and wine. (Luke X. 34.)

The conduct of the Samaritan in regard to the wounded man may be viewed as a figure of the holy Sacrament of Extreme Unction, in which Christ, the true Samaritan, by means of the holy oil and the prayer of the priest, His representative, dispenses His grace to the sick for the welfare of the soul and often of the body, provided the sick place no obstacle in His way.

Is Extreme Unction a Sacrament?

Yes; because it was instituted by Christ, and by it grace is conveyed to the sick through an outward sign.

Did Christ institute this Sacrament?

He did, for He sent His disciples to anoint the sick with oil and heal them, as the Evangelist writes: Going forth they preached that men should do penance: and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. (Mark VI. 12,13.) We must believe that this unction was not invented by the apostles, but ordained by the Lord. This is confirmed by the Council of Trent, which says: (Sess. XIV. C. I.) "This sacred Unction of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord, as indicated by St. Mark, but recommended to the faithful and promulgated by the Apostle St. James, a relative of our Lord." "Is any man," he says, "sick among you? let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven. (James V. 14,15.) St. James could not have said this, if he had not known the institution and command of Christ: to it apostolic and uninterrupted tradition also gives testimony.

What is the external sign of this Sacrament?

The anointing with holy oil, which is blessed by the bishop on Holy Thursday, and the prayer of the priest.

What graces does this Sacrament produce in the sick man?

The Catechism of the Council of Trent enumerates the following: first, it remits sins, especially venial sins. Its primary object is not to remit mortal sin. For this the Sacrament of penance was instituted, as was that of baptism for the remission of original sin; secondly, it removes the languor and infirmity entailed by sin, with all other inconveniences. The time most seasonable for the application of this cure is, when we are visited by some severe malady, which threatens to prove fatal; for nature dreads no earthly visitation so much as death; and this dread is considerably augmented by the recollection of our past sins, particularly if the mind is harrowed by the poignant reproaches of conscience; for it is written: "They shall come with fear at the thought of their sins, and their iniquities shall stand against them to convict them." A source of alarm still more distressing is the awful reflection, that, in a few moments, we shall stand before the judgment-seat of God, whose justice will award that sentence, which our lives have deserved. The terror inspired by these considerations frequently agitates the soul with the most awful apprehensions; and to calm this terror nothing can be so efficacious as the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. It quiets our fear, illumines the gloom in which the soul is enveloped, fills it with pious and holy joy, and enables us to await with cheerfulness the coming of the Lord; thirdly, it fortifies us against the violent assaults of Satan. The enemy of mankind never ceases to seek our ruin: and if it be possible to deprive us of all hope of mercy, he more than ever increases his efforts, when he sees us approach our last end. This Sacrament, therefore, enables the recipient to fight resolutely and successfully against him; fourthly, it effects the recovery of health, if advantageous to the sick person.

What intentions must the sick man have, in order to gain these graces?

Since the Sacraments work the more powerfully the better the preparation made by those who receive them, and since by this Sacrament those sins are remitted which we have forgotten, or have not sufficiently known, the sick man should, therefore, receive beforehand, if it be possible, the holy Sacrament of Penance and the blessed Eucharist; or if this cannot be done, he should make an act of perfect contrition, and have the wish to confess if possible. He should, therefore, not defer the reception of this Sacrament to the last moment, when the violence of sickness has already taken away the use of his reason and senses, but he should ask for this Sacrament whilst yet enjoying the use of reason, so that he may receive it with devotion and salutary result.

Is this Sacrament necessary for salvation?

No; yet we should not neglect in case of sickness to partake of the excellent fruits of this Sacrament since the Council of Trent teaches: "To despise so great a Sacrament would indeed be a great sin, an insult to the Holy Ghost." (Sess. XIV. C. 3.)

Can we receive this Sacrament more than once?

We can receive it as often as we are in danger of death by sickness; but we must bear in mind that we can be anointed only once in the same sickness.

Why is this Sacrament called Extreme Unction?

Because among all the Sacraments which our Lord and Saviour ordained in His Church, this one is the last we are to receive. But from this it does not follow, as so many believe that one who receives this Sacrament must die soon, but it will rather become a means of salvation for their souls, and if it be for their eternal welfare, will also restore their bodily health.

What does the priest do when he enters the house of the sick person?

He wishes peace to the house, and prays that God may send His angels to protect its inmates, that He may drive away the enemy, console the sick, strengthen and give him health.

Why does the priest sprinkle the sick person with holy water?

To remind him that he should implore of God the forgiveness of his sins, with tears of contrition, in order to dispel the influence of the evil spirit.

Why does the priest exhort those present to pray while he administers the Sacrament?

That God may grant through their prayers whatever may contribute to the welfare of the sick man's body and soul.

For what does the priest pray when he imposes his hands on the head of the sick person?

He begs that God, through the imposition of hands and by the intercession of all the saints, may take the sick person under His protection, and destroy the power of the devil, who attacks one particularly in the hour of death.

What does the priest say at the anointing with oil?

He begs that God, through this unction and through His gracious mercy, may forgive the sick person all the sins which he has committed with his five senses. At the same time the sick person should, in a spirit of humility and with a repentant and contrite heart, implore of God the forgiveness of all his sins.

Why does the priest present the sick person a crucifix to kiss?

To remind him that, like Jesus, he should suffer with patience, and place his whole confidence in the infinite merits of the Crucified, and be willing to suffer and die for love of Him. For this reason the crucifix ought to be presented often to the dying person.

What should the sick person do after he has received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction?

He should use all his remaining strength to thank God sincerely for the benefit he has received, commend himself to the wounds and the blood of Jesus, and meditate with quiet recollection on death and eternity.

How consoling does our holy Catholic Church appear in the continual use of this Sacrament! Having, like a tender mother, received man by holy Baptism under her maternal care; by holy Confirmation given him the necessary weapons against sin, heresy, and infidelity; by the holy Sacrament of Penance purified him from stains and sins; and by the blessed Eucharist nourished him with the bread of life, enriched him with virtues, and secured him against falling, she does not desert him even in the last, all-important moment of death. In that dangerous hour when the dying person, forsaken by all, often by his most intimate friends, or looked upon with fear, lies on his bed of pain, when behind him time ceases and before him a certain, though unknown eternity opens itself, when Satan brings all his resources into play, in order to ruin his soul, and the thought of the coming judgment makes the heart tremble, - in this terrible hour the faithful mother, the Catholic Church, does not abandon him; she sends the priest, her servant, like a consoling angel to his couch, to encourage the sufferer and strengthen the fearful with the divine word, to cleanse the sinner and reconcile him with God by the Sacrament of Penance, to fortify the weak and nourish him with the bread of life, to strengthen the combatant with the holy oil, thus providing him with all the means of grace which Jesus obtained for His Church, to conduct his soul before the face of the eternal Judge, there to find grace and mercy.

Considering this, dear Christian, should you not feel happy to be a member of this Church, should you not thank God continually, and adhere faithfully to a Church, in which it is indeed not so pleasant to live, as in the bosom of irreligion, but in which it is good to die!

---

1. A detailed Instruction on the Love of God may be found under the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. Here we treat only of the love of our neighbor.  

http://www.paulstramer.net/2017/10/seventeenth-sunday-after-pentecost.html

United States Collapse! Everything about to go dark?

This video was removed from YouTube but someone else captured it and put it back on line.

I put it back here so you all could find out who is doing this but I don't know how long it will be here.



Someone also uploaded this video to BitChute and here is the address.

https://www.bitchute.com/video/VmmiWiJTKjhF/

For Young People

By Anna Von Reitz

One of the watershed moments of my life and career came this week.  I received a thank you note and a one dollar donation from a child.  That is astonishing, but even more astonishing, the accompanying note made it clear that they knew what they were supporting: their government, their country.  

Good job, Mom and Dad! 

When I am home, I wake up every morning staring at a portrait of me when I was seventeen.  I have gotten better looking as I've aged.  It's not a flattering picture: my nose soars above the flat oval of my face like a granite ridge, and my expression, though sweet, is also supremely calculating and intense. I am considering something..... considering it very carefully.  

What would I say to her, this much younger version of myself?  What would I tell her about the road ahead?  ---Even knowing that she wouldn't believe any of it?  

Oh, yes, you are going to finish school and roam the world and end up after years of knocking about, in Alaska, and you are going to marry an accomplished artist, yes, an oil painter..... 

And I wondered this morning, can I give back something to my child donor, from the life I have led?  Some bit of insight to help them navigate besides --- "Keep a close eye on the government!"  

How have I gotten through Life with my heart and Shinola Sensors intact?  

Of course, there's The Ten Commandments.  I learned those early and well, thanks to my parents carefully and repeatedly finding occasion to discuss each one of them.  As I look back, adopting them as a basic Life Code has saved me (and others) no end of misery, so yes, remember The Ten Commandments, and not just by rote.  

You have to internalize these commandments, so that they become part of you and your responses to Life.  To the extent that The Ten Commandments enter your life, to that same exact extent, you will be spared misery and doubt and shame in your relationship with the True God and in your relationships with other people.  

The Ten Commandments taught me to live a life of justice, and if you will listen, they will do the same thing for you.   It may not make sense right now, but by the time you are my age you will look back and know how many, many  times these simple rules made all the difference. 

I recommend that children start with The Ten Commandments, because the Commands of Jesus, though supremely wise, are more subtle, and require a much greater understanding of self and greater life experience.  

The Golden Rule to love others as ourselves, doesn't make much sense until we arrive at the point of really knowing ourselves and being at peace with ourselves so that we can love ourselves and so, create the standard we are supposed to observe in dealing with others.  

The same thing applies to the command to "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your...."  Before you can do that, you have to have had enough life experience to be aware of the Presence of God, to know God, and have a relationship with God.  

To know God is to love God; so that part is easy as falling off a log.  That part is natural.  The hard part is developing the discernment to become truly aware of God, and that takes time and attention.  

We are talking about connecting to an invisible and mysterious and benevolent Being, that is our source of life and the natural compass of our hearts.  To do this is not easy for people who are focused 95% of the time on external sensory data.  

Many people never get this far. The Ten Commandments are hard enough.  

But to my children, and to yours, I can give no better advice than to spend the time seeking to know yourself and love yourself and  make the effort to know the True God who is the Author and Sustaining Power of Life

Observe him at work in the world around you and in the small miracles of every day. 

These Higher Commandments bear the wealth of the Spirit and do far more than keep us out of trouble or spare us the miseries and embarrassments of committing crimes and gaffs we regret.  

These Two High Commandments of Jesus, when mastered, give us peace and gladness.  These are the ones that make life so much easier to bear, and which fill life with joy.  

So begin with The Ten Commandments, but don't stop there.  Pursue the Higher Commandments, knowing that it will take years before you truly know yourself and years before you can joke with God and recognize his hand on your shoulder. 

The best things in life take time and effort, and the struggle to truly know and love yourself and to know and love the True God go hand-in-hand.  Both are a matter of closely observing the unfolding revelation which is your own life.  

If you pay attention and ask for guidance, you won't be disappointed.  As the years go on, you will feel the years accruing ever-greater richness and meaning. While your heart will be hard toward the evil in the world, it will remain soft toward all that matters and all that is good.  

In this way, you will protect yourself and those you love from harm, and come to rest in your own place in the great scheme of things, at peace with who you are, knowing and being content that you are part of All That Is. 

Beyond these spiritual quests and standards, there a few other things I can offer simply as a matter of life observations:  

I am the kind of Grandma who does her own dishes, and when she gets to the end of a bottle of dish soap, she rinses it out to get the last drops. If I am somewhere where I can recycle, I toss the empty dish soap bottle in the plastic recycling bin.  

I am thrifty and make it my aim not to waste anything.  There is a reason for that.  Think about it.  Why would you waste, what you struggle to earn?  You had to work and pay for that soap. Get the most out of it.  

As for recycling, that makes sense, too. When the bottle is done being a dish soap bottle, it can be re-molded into many other useful things.  Would you throw away bricks and lumber needed to build a house?  So why throw away plastic and paper, either?  

I am also the sort of grandma who does all the unpleasant chores.  I de-scale the coffee pot.  I de-frost the refrigerator.  I scrub the cat food dish.  I dust the ceiling fixtures.  I clean the toilet bowl --- up under The Rim.  Don't try to avoid the unpleasant little tasks of life.  Face them head on.  Make each one a conquest.  

Yesterday my youngest son asked me about the fine points of toilet bowl cleaning.  I showed him.  Then, curious, I asked why the sudden interest?  

When he gets married, he doesn't want his wife to have to clean the toilet bowl.  

Girls?  Hear that?  The line forms to the rear.... 

I quirked and raised an eyebrow.... "Oh, you don't want your wife to clean The Bowl, but it's okay for your Mother to have to do it?"  

The look on his face was priceless, but I smiled.  It's okay.  Learning to be honest and accepting what's true is also important. 

This Grandma has also known what it is to be poor.  Very poor.  She worked and learned and didn't stay that way, but she isn't afraid of being poor and neither should you be.  

Being poor teaches you things you could never learn any other way.  It has a wisdom of its own, and though it isn't exactly "pleasant" to be broke or nearly so, it forces you to realize what you truly need and what you merely want.  

These are good lessons, not bad.  Seeing what you can do with almost nothing is a worthy creative challenge, too.  When you have nothing, the world becomes a world of endless opportunity.  

Someday, if I live long enough, I am going to write The Starving Artist's Cookbook and share the tricks of the trade.  Because my husband has been successful as an artist we often have young people who aspire to be artists asking for advice.  

They want to be artists or writers or musicians, but they are afraid of being poor. Their parents and friends have told them its not practical, not possible, they'll starve, they'll sail over the edge of the horizon and not come back.  Sure, other people have done it, but no, it's not possible for you..... 

Follow your passion.  Don't be afraid of being poor.  There's always a way forward when you are honoring the truth, and equally, there is no way to be happy or content if you are not honoring what is inside of you.  

So make up your mind to live life on your terms come what may, and learn to look for the doors and windows that open for you.  

Another place where young people need advice is simply this: take care of your body.  Many young people are careless or reckless or just plain ignorant when it comes to taking care of their bodies.  

Your body has to last you a lifetime.  You have, for example, only two knees.  What happens if you blow one out doing something stupid?  You've got 32 teeth for this long journey; why aren't you brushing and flossing?  

I know a great many people who are half my age who are in worse physical shape than I am.  I know, because I regularly out-perform them doing tasks as simple as shopping for groceries. 

It's not an accident and its not the result of having good genes that I am healthy and energetic at my age.  I didn't let myself sit in a chair and get obese.  I am a little overweight, but not grossly so.  I get exercise every day doing honest work around the house and yard, which benefits me and benefits my family.  

There's always something to do, if you want to do it.  If you don't have any chores of your own, go borrow some.  Help out your neighbors.  There are always elders in need of an extra set of hands, dogs to walk, toddlers to chase. 

Work, and you will soon learn to enjoy working.  You will see how it is part of the joy of living and being powerful, being able to make a difference. 

People who sit around on their thumbs are missing the boat. 

I chose not to put noxious chemicals into my body.  I chose not to drink bad water.  I chose not to eat horrible processed food and bread akin to marshmallows.  I chose not to smoke, do drugs, or drink too much alcohol.  

These choices add up to better health, more strength, greater agility, less stress, less expense ---and the dividends pay forward, just like a pension plan.   

Make good choices for your body, beginning now, and you will remain powerful and competent in your old age.  Pay attention to what you eat and drink.  Learn about good nutrition and follow what you learn.  You won't be sorry.  

Never pass up an opportunity to learn a skill.  I don't care what it is.  If someone offers to teach you, learn.  Maybe it's knitting or car repair or fence building. Learn.  Learn.  Learn.  You never know when the skills you pick up along the way are going to come in handy, save you money, or even save your life. 

More often than I can count, skills that I have learned have helped and saved other people, too.  My friends and my family have all benefited from things I have learned and skills I have developed.  

Don't let yourself get stuck in a dead end job.  I know many people who have led miserable lives because when they entered the work force, they were adrift and just took whatever work they could get--- and then stayed in that job because it was secure and they developed family responsibilities that kept them plodding away year after year like hamsters in a treadmill. 

Employers like to get good steady people to perform at a specific job and the nastier the job is, the more relieved they are to find someone competent to fill it.  That's wonderful for them, but if you are not happy, its not so wonderful for you. 

Here's a typical example --- a younger man I know went to work for a grocery store chain and worked his way up to be manager of a store.  He wasn't married, so they tagged him to go to a remote store location where they had all sorts of problems --- logistical problems, personnel problems, store maintenance problems. 

He solved all those problems, and then, guess what?  The managers wanted him to stay there forever, in this remote, inhospitable, difficult place-- and they didn't want to give him a raise or any special support.  They just wanted him to be a store manager like any other store manager in their chain forever and ever.  

They were very happy with his performance, and he was happy that he showed what he could do, but also surprised when performing all those miracles got him nowhere but stuck in a place he never wanted to be in the first place. 

He can plow his way out, and find a different job with a more enlightened company----which he will do, and that is the whole point.  Don't let yourself get stuck in a job you don't like, even if you can do it well, even if it is secure, even if the bosses love you. 

Finally, and this is the Real Biggee: don't have children until you are ready for them.  I know more people than I can count who made the mistake of rushing in and having children before they were ready, and both they and the kids have suffered.  

The timing of being ready for a family of your own varies widely, and yes, it involves many factors.  Having a loving relationship with the right mate is Number One.  

Being emotionally fulfilled and mentally stable and ready to settle down is Number Two. Some people are ready at seventeen.  Some won't be ready for a family at seventy.  You have to know yourself well enough to know when you are ready, and if the answer is no, let it be no --- for your sake and everyone else's.

Other people are always ready to make your commitments for you.  Don't let them.  

There is a general time clock and schedule to life.  You bloom, you go to seed, and you die.  But not everyone follows the same time clock.  Many young people feel pressured to fulfill expectations related to a  pre-ordained template: graduate high school at 18, graduate college at 22, go on to graduate school or, get a job and get married.... or, maybe where you live, the template is to drop out of high school in your Junior year and go to work at the local steel mill.  

Whatever the template is for your time and place and community, there is a template by which people seem to schedule their lives, whether it really fits them or not. 

Whatever the expectations are, don't just accept them.  And don't let your decision to start a family be dictated by them, either.  It's going to be your family.  Your responsibility.  Your life.  

Having a child of your own is the most wonderful, but also the most demanding experience you will ever have.  Prepare yourself for it, like you'd prepare to climb a mountain.  Think deeply about not only taking care of yourself, but taking care of and providing for a mate and a child.  

Or two, or three, or..... 

And I am saying this to women as well as men.  Many women assume that they are going to get married and their husband is going to take care of supporting them and any children they have.  That's not a safe assumption.  Most men make an honest effort for their families, but men are not gods.  Men get sick. Men have accidents.  Men lose jobs.  Men, like women, and for whatever reasons---- fail.  And then what?  

Then Mom has to step up to the plate, and she'd better be prepared to do so. 

You may find yourself having to take care of a disabled spouse and children.  Be aware of that fact.  It happens.  Prepare, so that if you ever face such a dire circumstance, you're ready to go on loving and shoving, because that's what it takes. 

Yes, from your own experiences growing up, you will have some idea of what it takes to be a parent and even some opinions about what it takes to be a good parent, but this is one of those things that you can't fathom until it happens to you, and nobody including me can quite describe it.  

So be aware and be serious-minded enough to know that of all the decisions you make in your life, choosing a mate and choosing when to have a family, are the two biggest decisions most of us ever make, and are they are the decisions that have the most impact on what kind of life we live, and the satisfaction we have in living.   

As I write this, forty percent of babies in America are being born without Fathers in evidence.  Part of this is people avoiding medical costs, because the State will pick up the maternity care and birthing costs for unwed mothers, and  part of it is men avoiding responsibility.  Either way, this is having a terrible impact on our whole country and on the world we live in.  Children need their Fathers and men need to be men.  

There is an aspect of self-respect and self-worth involved here.  As tough as it can be to stand tall and deal with life, there is a glory in it, too.  

And the alternative is to be a slave to the State, which is how we got into this whole discussion in the first place, 

Sometimes we all get into situation that are beyond us, that we can't help, that we can't change, that we can't deal with.  Know that.  It's part of the way life is, that there are times when we all fall down and can't get up without some help.  That's to keep us honest.  

But we can do our best to know ourselves and plan ahead and make good decisions for ourselves and for the babies we bring into the world.  We owe that to ourselves and to them.  

May God bless you and keep you safe in the crook of his arm; may you never feel alone and never forget to count your blessings. Keep your Shinola Sensors turned on "High" and a smile on your face.  When sadness comes to you, remember that it will pass.  When challenges come, know that it is for your betterment.  

And never, ever, despair about anything.  Ever. 

Love, Granna. 

----------------------------

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