Wednesday, December 11, 2013

St Nicholas - tired of nonsense

From Michael Greeney at JustThirdWay blog:





[Dec 6] is the “Feast” of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus, and patron saint of micro-lenders (i.e., pawnbrokers) and bankers in general. And of thieves, children, and unmarried women, so don’t read too much into the thieves and bankers coincidence. Pawning is, of course, a form of deposit banking, in which the borrower takes out a small loan at high rates of interest, leaving a “moveable chattel” as collateral. This is in contrast to “commercial” or “mercantile” banking in which the lender gives a promissory note for a bill of exchange issued by the borrower representing the present value of future marketable goods and services. Instead of “interest,” which can only be charged on existing savings, the lender accepts the bill at a discount determined by the risk and other factors. The difference between the face value and the discounted value (assuming the bill is redeemed or “paid” on maturity at the face value) is the fee out of which the lender meets his costs and makes a profit. If capital credit insurance and reinsurance is used to replace traditional collateral, classic commercial banking represents a feasible source of financing for widespread ownership using future savings instead of past savings. Thus, in a sense, Saint Nicholas could be called the patron saint of the Just Third Way. Oh, by the way, Saint Nicholas is also noted for punching out Bishop Arius for refusing to stop spouting nonsense during the Council of Nicea, A.D. 325. And Chesterton believed Aquinaswas thinking combatively. “Jolly Old Elf” my foot.




Fr Emmerich Vogt coming to Boise in January!

It is a pleasure to report that Fr Emmerich Vogt OP will be in Boise on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Fr Vogt will be at St Mark Parish to provide a parish mission.






FATHER EMMERICH VOGT, O.P.

Fr. Emmerich was born in New Britain, CT, the younger of two children. He entered the Dominican Order at St. Albert Priory in 1971 and was ordained a priest in 1978. He taught at Marist High School in Eugene, Oregon, Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles, and Holy Rosary College in Fremont, California. For many years he worked for Western Dominican Preaching, giving parish missions and retreats. For 24 years he has worked for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, giving retreats and seminars throughout the world. In January 2007 he was elected Prior Provincial and currently resides at St. Albert Priory in Oakland.

The 12-step Review: Christian Friends in Recovery, "Know the truth and the truth will set you free" - John 8:32, www.12-step-review.org
http://www.opwest.org/index.php/about-us/directory-of-friars/fr-emmerich-william-vogt-op