March 2022: Ides of March

Two years ago the COVID pandemic became apparent to the world, causing quite a reaction. We were at an Ides of March party at Thornton Place where Mom lives on Thursday, March 12, 2020. By the next Monday her place was on lock down, and the next day Kansas City began general lock downs. It has been quite a two years and many things are happening.

"If I shut up heaven, and there fall no rain, or if I give orders, and command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people: And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall make supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and will heal their land." (II Paralipomenon 7:13-14)

There is much speculation on the origin of COVID-19 and some interesting information circulating out in the world. For instance, the test for COVID was patented in 2015. In any case, no matter how it started and spread, God permitted this as a warning for all of us, which most have not taken to heart. In fact, among traditional minded Catholics, their reaction to COVID and their reaction to the reaction to COVID has made them worse, not better. Instead of advocating penance, which is always a good idea, they have decided to sin even more in their ranting and raving and challenging the reaction to COVID. As such, COVID spiritually speaking for most has been a failure. And this is sad, as COVID hit shortly after the beginning of Lent in 2020. We are now in our third Lent, and how many are advocating penance and prayer?

Instead of coming to Esdras (See last month's Pope Speaks), they have decided to rant and rave, when this is just about worthless. Penance, which includes repentance, and prayer are what we should be doing. And the proper reaction to COVID is spiritual. We should take our spiritual life more seriously than we did before. In fact, this is always good advice no matter what is going on. We should not wait for a wake up call. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." [2 Corinthians 6:2]

We are in the holy season of Lent, which should be a time of spiritual spring cleaning. What needs to come into our live, such as more time in Scripture, prayer, meditation and spiritual reading? What needs to go out from our lives, such as far less time on Facebook and the internet? What else needs to go or at least be greatly reduced? We should know by now, because of the two practices recommended earlier this year, tracking use of time and money. 

The End Of The World As We Know It

Shortly after the Ides of March in 2020, We realized that things will never be the same again. We will never return to normal. Actually if we would go to repentance and prayer, this would be a good thing, but this is not what is happening.

There is an undercurrent of distress among people, which has been there long before COVID. In July of 2021, We discussed the duty of employers to pay a living wage. Then the US government reacted to COVID and to the result of lock downs with stimulus, especially increased unemployment, people began accepting this and quit working. Many have not returned to work.

A simple look at some information explains what is happening to distress people, which explains their reaction. Back before Nixon finished detaching the US dollar and gold, it took 800 hours of work to pay for a new Ford F105. That is almost a half a year worth of work, which is 2,080 hours. Today it is over twice that, or almost a full year of work. In San Diego it takes 77 hours a month for people to put a roof over their head. That is over 40% of their 17+ hours, if they work 40 hours a week. In Miami it take 109 hours or almost two thirds of their working time. The result of this and other increasing expenses has caused the two income family to become a necessity, when this is totally opposed to morality.

Last year We discussed the immorality of the modern economy and the fact that we do not have true money, but a poor replacement. The modern economy was born to fail and at the Ides of March of 2020, the button was pushed that will cause a radical shift in the world economy in some manner. We have been studying economics for almost four decades in an attempt to understand where we are and more importantly where we are going. Shortly after the Ides of March in 2020, a flood of new information came in, some of which We were unaware of.

With the possibility of war, it is difficult to sort out just how the economy will collapse, be redesigned and/or a combination of both. We have an economy based on fraud (the creation of new currency out of nothing) and usury (and charging us for the use of this currency). The reaction to COVID gave governments a blank check to spend currency with little restraint. Much of this is still in the pipeline. For instance, the City of Topeka got $47 million dollars to provide for relief from the results of the reaction to the lock downs of COVID. It is still trying to figure out where best to spend this currency, so this remains unspent. Trillions of dollars might not yet be spent into the economy, so there has not been a reaction to this infusion yet. War will give them another credit card with no limit to spend as much as they think is needed to fight the war. We fear that the number of deaths that may come from a war will make COVID look like nothing in comparison.

The last pandemic over a century ago, the Spanish Flu, came at the end of World War I. This one appears like it may be followed by a World War. Someone posted recently that Apocalyptic literature has been moved to Current Events. Some prophecies have already been fulfilled: "And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)