Robert Royal: Today

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You may have heard of Robert Royal. For those who have not, allow us to introduce him. Robert Royal is a Catholic author and the current editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing, an online publication of essays and thought on religion in the modern world. He’s conservative and thought provoking. Like Royal says, “we make arguments; we don’t hold up the bible.”

The commentary written by Royal on June 15 is a reflection of the ongoing unrest which began in Minneapolis in response to the killing of George Floyd. By June 13, over 2,000 cities and towns across the United States and around the world saw protests, demonstrations, and widespread looting.

Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

The article is titled Today is Not That Day. We will give our loyal readers of this blog the courtesy of a simple link to the entire article, but are compelled to share more openly a small sample:

On some calmer day, I may write another column in which I’ll try to define terms like systemic racism, privilege, violence, crime, justice, so that maybe we can start to understand what we’re arguing over. Such words fly past us all, as if they were merely rocks you pick up to throw in a street fight, not things needing to be carefully considered.

But today is not that day.

Readers may recognize the phrase, Aragorn urging the troops into battle in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003):

Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!

Every day on Earth is a day of battle for women and men of true spirit against various evils – for Christians, that includes the evils lurking in our own hearts.

But not every day on Earth is a day for outward engagement, even to remedy historic injustices or to defend law and order. There are days of inner battle and silence as well, that may even be more important and more challenging than an outward clash.

Now, more than ever in recent times, is a moment for reflection. Public clashes are raucous – and on some days refreshing and invigorating for that very reason. Today is not that day.

From the Stewardship Foundation, we wish all our friends God’s peace and heartfelt prayer in these difficult times.

Did Coronavirus Bring Us Closer to God?

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In April, at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Americans who were already religious were polled with the question: Did coronavirus deepen your religious faith? Most say that it did, but because of the lockdown, there are no church attendance numbers to prove it. However, after 9/11 people packed the church pews! And after a couple of weeks passed, Sunday attendance settled back to milk toast numbers. 

Only time will reveal whether Dr. Anthony Fauci was right to bring on an economic depression with the lockdown or caused one of mankind’s most serious times of mental depressions in modern history. If the latter is true, we should all be turning toward God and not against our neighbor.

The Psalms of the Christian Bible remind us that God’s people struggled with both a sense of their world falling apart and their utter inability to deal with it during the time of King David. This young king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah is recorded in Psalm 57:2 to have said, 

Have mercy on me, God. In you I seek shelter.
In the shadow of your wings I seek shelter till harm passes by.

Many who have drawn closer to God during this unusual time have likely sheltered not “in place” or “socially distant” as much as they sheltered in the “shadow of God’s wings.”

Sadly, history also reveals that while disasters often restore us into the saving arms of our Creator, governments don’t let us stay there long enough for true life changing reflection and change. Instead, government seems to step in to provide relief from all physical, emotional and economic pain — often resulting in the loss of personal freedoms played out daily in the news. 

Taking God out of the economic component of our life is a fool’s errand. As you know, for this reason the Stewardship Foundation adheres to certain core beliefs that help to drive us toward a positive, life-affirming change in the world.

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness. [Matthew 9:35]

Financial Planning During COVID-19

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We are now entering another month of social distancing and 65+ special hours for grocery shopping. Some businesses are shuttering, more birthdays are being celebrated with drive-by parades, and face masks are becoming mandatory accessories. The ripple effect is a struggling economy sending shockwaves through our financial markets. 

The Fed has cut interest rates and created a slew of credit and lending programs to save the economy. The CARES Act was passed to provide economic assistance for American workers, families, small businesses and local governments, and helps industries to preserve jobs. 

The market volatility has taken a huge bite out of most investment portfolios, but may also offer rare estate planning opportunities.

  • Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from retirement plan accounts are waived for 2020.
  • Contribution to IRAs for 2019 can be made until July 15, 2020.
  • Charitable deduction limits are increased to 100% of Adjusted Gross Income for cash gifts to charities.

There are even more changes that could be meaningful for families who have experienced death in the family or who want to take advantage of low-interest rates and asset values to create new opportunities for gift planning.

Now is the time to connect with us at The Stewardship Foundation. No matter your net worth, the time is NOW to seek advice of a financial planning professional to help you navigate COVID-19 fallout and today’s volatile markets to your advantage.
Don’t delay; call us today. (614) 800-7985.