He came to Mary | Catholic Daily No. 125

Saturday's Gospel, Luke 13:1-9, Ambrose in the Catena Aurea, St. Anthony Mary Claret, and Friday's close

Today's Gospel ends with a fig tree that has one more year. Ambrose counts the visits the owner made, and the third one is Mary.

Gospel: "And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things? No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem? No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground? But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it. And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." — Luke 13:1-9

The Latin of the warning is sed si poenitentiam non egeritis, omnes similiter peribitis.

The first reading ends on growth. Ephesians 4:15-16: "But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity."

In the Catena Aurea, Chrysostom says why some suffer and others are spared: "he does not punish all in this life, giving them a time meet for repentance. Nor however does he reserve all for future punishment, lest men should deny His providence." Theophylact says who the fig tree is: "each one of us also is a fig tree planted in the vineyard of God, that is, in the Church, or in the world." And Gregory counts the visits: "our Lord came three times to the fig tree … by waiting, admonishing, visiting."

Ambrose, in the same Catena Aurea, reads the owner's three years as three visits: "He came to Abraham, He came to Moses, He came to Mary, that is, He came in the seal of the covenant, He came in the law, He came in the body." The third visit is the Incarnation, and Ambrose names her.

The Church keeps the memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret today, and he built his work around her. He was born in Sallent, Spain, on December 23, 1807, and ordained a priest on June 13, 1835. The Claretians' own history says that as a child he prayed the rosary with his sister Rosa at the chapel of Our Lady at Fussimanya. On July 16, 1849, in a cell of the seminary of Vic, he founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Queen Isabel II chose him as her confessor in 1857. He died on October 24, 1870, at the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, near Narbonne, in exile from persecution in France. Pius XI beatified him on February 25, 1934, and Pius XII canonized him on May 7, 1950.

The Catechism (971) gives the Church's reason for the devotion Claret lived: "The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an 'epitome of the whole Gospel,' express this devotion to the Virgin Mary." The same paragraph says what that devotion does: it "differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word" and "greatly fosters this adoration."

Friday's close: SPY $759.83, −0.6% · Nasdaq 100 −0.1% · Russell 2000 −0.3% · tape BULL, regime correction · new longs still paused by the two-loss warning

Friday opened lower and stayed there. The S&P 500 fund gapped down 0.5% to $759.88, touched a low of $758.68, and closed at $759.83, down 0.6%, after a high of $763.44. That is 2.5% below the six-month closing high of $779.10 set October 6. The Nasdaq 100 fund opened 0.3% lower, at $702.15, and closed at $704.21, down 0.1%. The Russell 2000 fund fell 0.3% and the equal-weight S&P 500 fund 0.8%. Only three of the eleven sector funds rose: energy led at +2.6%, technology gained 0.5%, and real estate 0.1%. Consumer staples were the weakest at −1.9%, then communication services at −1.8% and consumer discretionary at −1.7%.

The two-loss warning is still on: the system takes no new long until SPY closes above $779.37, and Friday's close was $19.54 short of it, 2.5% below. The tape turns, and the system sells every long, only on a SPY close below $629.29. By our own count, 6 of the last 25 sessions are distribution days for the S&P 500 fund and 8 for the Nasdaq 100 fund. The scanner's list holds twenty-eight names at or near their 52-week pivots, and none triggered.

The house account holds no stock positions today, and no orders were placed Friday. The seven puts cost $18,426 and were worth $25,024 on Alpaca's marks, up 35.8%, which is what they are for. The account closed at $998,041. The idle-cash sleeve is in commodities (DBC) and short-term Treasuries (SHY).

The Federal Open Market Committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday, October 27-28. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment on Wednesday at 8:30 AM ET and the Employment Cost Index on Friday at 8:30 AM ET.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

In Christ,

Jonathan Simmons

Enoch Capital LLC

Catholic Daily goes out Monday through Saturday.

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