“Go, and Sin no More"-A Sunday Reflection from St. Anne’s Church

Today, as I like to do when I’m off work, I attended the Sunday Vigil Mass at St. Anne’s Church. The homily struck me deeply, not only because of the Gospel reading itself, but also because of the way the priest connected it to a very real and recent event in the life of the Church.

The Gospel reading was about the well-known story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). In today’s language, we might say she was caught “red-handed.” The Pharisees dragged her before Jesus, eager to trap Him, to force Him into choosing between the strict application of their law and the mercy for which He was known.

The priest began his homily by speaking about the late former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who was once one of the highest-ranking officials in the American Catholic Church. In fact, he was once the head of the Diocese, Newark. McCarrick also was laicized after multiple investigations found him culpable of numerous allegations in 2018, primarily of a sexual nature. He was removed from all clerical status and spent his final days in a nursing home in Missouri, where he recently died at the age of 94.

Interestingly, the priest noted that The New York Times published an extensive obituary upon McCarrick’s death. Even though he had been stripped of his title within the Church, the secular media still referred to him as a former cardinal — a reflection, perhaps, of the enduring public weight of his story.

But what moved me most was how the priest connected this news story to the Gospel.

When the woman was brought before Jesus, her accusers stood ready to stone her, a very painful punishment at the time certain that her sins warranted death according to the law. But Jesus intervened, saying, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.” One by one, her accusers slipped away, realizing their own sins disqualified them from passing ultimate judgment.

Then Jesus turned to the woman and asked, “Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” And Jesus responded with words that echo through the ages: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

The priest reminded us that while the consequences of sin are real, as seen in McCarrick’s removal from ministry and the damage caused, judgment belongs ultimately to God. Justice is necessary, but so is mercy. The balance between truth and compassion is at the heart of the Gospel.

He ended the homily by challenging us not to focus so much on the sins of others, public figures or otherwise, but to turn inward and confront the sin within our own hearts. Like the woman in the Gospel, we are all in need of mercy. And like her, we are all called to hear those same liberating words from Christ:

“Go, and sin no more.”

God bless you, and have a wonderful week and be a blessing to others wherever you go.

Pal Ronnie 

Markets April 4th 2025

 

Trump ‘Gold Cards’ Sold Out in 24 Hours, Generating $5 Billion in Revenue

By Ronnie Law

So this week, the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Thursday that a first batch of 1,000 exclusive “Gold Cards”  a Trump administration initiative offering permanent U.S. residency — sold out in just 24 hours, generating a staggering $5 billion in federal revenue.

Each card, priced at $5 million, grants the purchaser permanent residency in the United States. While recipients can eventually apply for citizenship, Secretary Lutnick noted that many may choose not to do so, due to the burdensome global taxation requirements that come with U.S. citizenship. This nuance makes the card especially attractive to ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking the lifestyle and privileges of U.S. residency without the full financial implications of becoming a citizen.

When this was announced, most people didn't think the president was serious. It amazing to see that this is being implemented and it's at work already. 

In more context, the concept of the Gold Card originated from a discussion between the 47th President, Donald Trump and billionaire investor John Paulson. The goal was to turn immigration into a revenue-generating enterprise by selling residency to the ultra-wealthy instead of giving it away. These people being attracted to the United States would be a big win for the nation. 

To be honest, this idea was seen as bold as it is simple: monetize one of the most desirable privileges in the world — the right to live in the United States and eventually a citizen. And it's working.

If just 1 million out of the estimated 37 million people worldwide who could afford the card actually purchase one, the initiative could theoretically generate a massive $5 trillion in revenue for Uncle Sam. Not bad for a plan once dismissed as far-fetched.

By and large, this development marks a significant shift in how residency, and by extension, immigration policy is being reimagined at the highest levels of American government with the business minded Trump in charge. Whether controversial or innovative, it’s certainly... interesting and worthy of our attention. 

God bless 

Are President Trump’s Tariffs Here to Stay?

Yesterday April 2nd, 2025, Trump dropped his big tariff on the world. Is this fair play? We won't really know, honestly. Time will tell with what he got going on. Now, he unveiled all of these tariffs, and the bottom line is: 10% for practically everybody—including Israel, the great American ally in the Middle East. They're on the list. All of these allies you’d think might have carve-outs? They’re all on the list.

So pretty much every nation on Earth is on this list. Everybody’s got a baseline of 10%. That’s what we’re going to charge you to import goods into the United States.

And then there are the rest of them—some of them are higher than 10%. Many of them, in fact. It’s reciprocal. The idea is: “Look, you’re charging us a lot—so we’re going to charge you back.” said Trump.

One example is Vietnam. Trump says they charge us 90% when we import American goods into Vietnam. So he says, “We’re going to slap a 46% tariff on Vietnamese goods.” And by the way, a lot of stuff these days is manufactured in Vietnam, no longer China. It used to be “Made in China.” But if you check a lot of stuff now, you’ll see it’s “Made in Vietnam.” So this could have a big impact on the things you buy.

Trump is saying it will be 46% on Vietnamese goods. And how could you possibly be mad? It’s half the price, right? That was some back and forth with Vietnam.

So who’s telling the truth? Who’s lying? I don’t know, honestly. There are a lot of economists on this.

What we did see was that the market took a hit today because of the tariffs. This is just market reaction. It was expected. I don’t think people should panic just yet. But it fell so hard as it did in 2020 during the covid shut down. The sad irony is that Trump was the driver of the economy back then. This is so strange and worth this piece. 

Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how this will all shake out. I understand Trump is taking a chainsaw—Javier Milei Argentina-style—to the government. There’s going to be immediate pain. Nobody likes change. That’s just fundamental to anything and everything: people don’t like change. I had a conversation with my people last week and the same was said. We all must experience this short term pain. At least some people understand this move. 

So when you make a change, people kind of panic. The average American looking at their stock portfolio today will not be thrilled, guaranteed. Trump is a deal maker first, president second. I'm sure he is watching these reactions closely. But it also might not work. The whole world is not doing well economically as evidenced by the widespread outcry of economic hardships.

No worries, most MAGA supporters are also going to feel this pain in higher prices of goods. Like they said, we will all feel the weight of this.

I'm not an economist but my limited time in those classes in high school taught me that, the tariffs paid are not directed at the nation, but on the people of that nation. 

You’re charging the American people. What you're trying to do is dissuade us from purchasing imported goods. 

Goods made in America are often naturally expensive. That is why most goods are always produced elsewhere and sold here. Labor in America is not cheap.

This is definitely a game changer no matter the outcome. 

So the economic pain on Americans? I don’t see that changing. I think the pain is coming. We’re going to have to readjust. The question is: will there be more jobs? Will the jobs pay better? Will we be able to afford the new price adjustments?

Maybe if our wages go up—or if the cost of other things that are draining us, like healthcare, college tuition, real estate—if those go down, then maybe it balances out. We’ll have to wait and see. I wanted to get a graduate degree in a medical specialty, I spoke with the university and the cost of the program for me will be $41,000.00 after all discounts. The point is that the costs of everything are off the charts. 

This is going to be a shock. This is very much shock therapy for the nation as a whole. 

So how are people going to react? How are companies going to react? We will see that fully in the next few months. 

Mega companies like Apple, are they going to bring back its entire manufacturing to the U.S.? Will they bring their hoarded cash of hundreds of billions of dollars home? What will the cost of the new iPhones be if that happens? An iPhone manufactured in America will definitely cost more by factoring in labor cost alone. 

Elon Musk is probably salivating over this thought—he’s talked about launching a Tesla phone in the past. Musk gained access to the government not by accident. He definitely wanted the wealth of data from the government. People think is generous by doing pro bono for the government. Well, if he can launch Tesla phones cheaper than Apple, when Apple brings its operations back home, that would be a win for an American company that already manufactures domestically. Competition is good. 

We are all willing to wait and see how this pans out. But I do think it’s going to be painful, and I have low confidence that prices are going to go back down. I think we’re going to see prices go up. The question is: will it level out at some point?

If we can bring American manufacturing back, it will help a lot of people with employment. From a national security and sovereignty standpoint,too, it’s not wise to rely heavily on imports like we do now. We saw that during the pandemic. It’s just not a good idea. Imagine a nation who doesn't like you is making your antibiotics and other vital basic products necessary for life. Bad idea. 

If this encourages us to buy local, buy sustainable goods, buy all American made —all of those are ultimately good things for the nation. 

So we will see how this works out. Trump said April 2nd 2025 was Liberation Day. We will see.

No matter what, we have to bring American manufacturing basw back onshore. It’s going to be painful, very much so. No matter how you slice it. We just have to ride it out and see what happens.

Are you ready? 

Stay tune and God bless 🙌 

Pal Ronnie

Today Is My Day Off

It’s my day of no work. It's also Street cleaning Thursday and that meant I had to move my car, so I ended up on Paterson Plank Road near a Dunkin’ Donuts adjacent to Tamer Pharmacy in JC. Pharmacies, liquor stores, and fast-food outlets seem to be the most common businesses wherever you go around here.  

Yesterday, I met a lady who had just arrived in the U.S. the day before from India. She has a medical background, and it was nice talking to her about health. I can talk about the subject matter until “Thy Kingdom come”. 

We had a few of those easy, meandering conversations that make you pause and reflect on life itself. I can only imagine what life must be like in India—so different, yet in some ways, the same for us all. Welcome to America, my friend.

While on Paterson Plank, I sat facing the road, doing something I used to enjoy very much: watching people and trying to understand the human condition. Sophisticated stuff. But maybe that’s too lofty a desire—trying to understand humans. We’re too complex, too layered and extraordinarily dynamic. And I’m not just talking about it at the "software level," to borrow some computer science lingo.  

Looking out there, I saw people walking by, some on scooters, others on bikes. Cars passed, buses rolled through—everyone going somewhere. The question is: Where? And why? But we don’t really need to know that. That’s the beauty of free will. We are all free to gallivant, wander and stray wherever we want. At the superficial level though, that is what it likely means to be free, IMO. Yet, some people just stood by the wayside. I wanted to look around as much as possible to see if someone wasn't on their phone. I failed miserably. I wrote what you're reading on my phone too. We are all always on our phones. We are in trouble. I wrote about this and other technology in the past.

I digress, but the overall theme is that, all of us after all, want the same things: to be loved and love, free from all forms of bondage and to have our daily needs met. Nothing more, nothing less.  

Have a wonderful day and I remain your pal, 

-Ronnie

The Mercy of God: A Sunday Homily Reflection About the Prodigal Son

I attended Mass at St. Anne’s, and as always, the Scripture readings were beautifully connected—from the Old Testament to the New Testament and finally, the Gospel. The homily centered on one of the most powerful parables in Scripture: the Prodigal Son.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." – Luke 15:20

The priest began by pointing out an all-too-common misunderstanding in modern Christianity—not necessarily in the Catholic Church alone, but across many faith traditions. Many people believe that God rewards those who do good and punishes those who do bad. However, that is not what divine mercy is about. God's love does not operate on a simple transactional basis. His mercy is beyond our human comprehension.

The priest then delved into the Prodigal Son’s story with a fresh perspective. He reminded us that the son did not return home out of a sudden change of heart, a heart of penitence. He was driven by hunger, desperation, and the realization that even his father’s servants lived better than he did in this far away land. It was not a pure act of repentance but rather a practical decision born from necessity. Yet, despite this imperfect motive, the moment the father saw his son from a distance coming, he did not wait for him to arrive, kneel, or beg for forgiveness. Instead, he ran to embrace him, rejoicing at his return. Then He celebrated his Prodigal Son. It could be considered undignifying for the father to go after the son like He did. But that is how the mercy of God works. 

If God’s mercy were based on rewarding the good and punishing the bad, the prodigal son would have faced severe consequences for squandering his inheritance and disrespecting his father. But God’s mercy does not operate like human justice. Instead, it overflows with love, ready to embrace us even when we return out of need rather than perfect contrition.

This ties deeply into the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is often first to come to mind in relation to this Gospel reading. Too often, we think of confession as a place where we go to ask God for forgiveness, as if He has been withholding forgiveness until we repent. But in reality, God’s mercy has already been at work in us, and eventually drawing us back to Himself. It's possible that the father knew that this son was going to mess up in a matter of time and would end up coming back home.  

Confession therefore is not about earning His (the father's) forgiveness—it is about celebrating the forgiveness that has already been freely poured out to us.

God’s mercy to us is a mystery. It is beyond our human logic and fairness. Like the brother who was angry when he came home to a big celebration of his brother's return because he didn't understand. That is the mercy of God. It is bigger than our sins, bigger than our doubts, bigger than our failures and we will never fully grasp it. We may never fully understand it, but we are called to trust in it. To come home. To believe.

Amen.

Pal Ronnie 

Library Time

 

On Water: I Met a Patient Who Told Me She Doesn’t Drink Water 🚰

 

The other day at work, I had a patient who told me she doesn’t drink water, ever. And she wasn’t kidding. Her room was filled with different kinds of juices and sodas or soft drinks, and that’s all she drank. I asked her if she was serious, and she confidently said yes. Given her multiple health conditions, it wasn’t surprising. Don't forget by virtue of my professional training, I can be critical with my eyes aka assessment. 

While I was there, she accidentally knocked over one of her open bottles, spilling her juice on the table and the floor. The aide grabbed some paper napkins and tried to clean it up, but the drink left stains on the table and the floor. I pointed it out to the patient and it was a subject of education. I hope she paid attention. We can only always educate, but in the end, patients will always do what they want.  

Have you ever met someone who doesn’t drink water? For me, it was my first. I know people dont like to drink water but they do so with the knowledge of the benefits of water. Please let me know in the comments if you know anyone like this patient. I would love to hear it.

Live free, healthy and happy. 

I remain your pal,

Ronnie Law 

Food at Work: A Reflection on Diet and Health

Food is always a topic of conversation, and work is no exception. Recently, I found myself reflecting on this while a work with my patients, all of whom were diabetics. The youngest among them was a 46-year-old woman. That meant they were all living with type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes.  

We know that diabetes is directly linked to endocrine dysfunction, particularly when the pancreas struggles to produce enough insulin to meet the body's demands. In cases of type 2 diabetes, this dysfunction is often the result of dietary choices and lifestyle factors. In other words, what we eat or, perhaps more accurately, what we are fed, plays a major role in our health outcomes.  

Living in a consumer-driven society, many of us find comfort in food. Unfortunately, the cheapest and most accessible foods are often those with the lowest nutritional value and the highest potential for harm. Capitalism thrives on supply and demand, and the food industry is no exception. 

Producers ensure that there is always more than enough of what people crave. The problem? The body does not work the same way—it cannot endlessly produce insulin to keep up with excessive sugar intake.  

I am reminded of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly around March 18th, 2020, when stores were stripped bare, everything from groceries to toilet paper had vanished overnight. I remember telling a friend, "Just wait a week, and you'll see the shelves restocked beyond demand." Sure enough, I was right. The market is designed to ensure constant overproduction, whether it’s toilet paper or processed food.  

The food industry operates in a similar way. People are encouraged to eat and eat and eat, until they are sick. And that’s why I feel the need to talk about food today. Food can be medicine, but it can also be poison. 

It always bothers me to walk into a diabetic patient's room and see them feasting on pancakes drenched in syrup, bacon, coffee, and a banana—only to receive a tray of rice and other high-carb foods just a few hours later. It’s frustrating because I know how much diet affects their condition, yet the system continues to serve meals that worsen their health. To do my part, I just educate. 

My educated advice? Eat Mindfully.  

->Choose vegetables, lean proteins, and low-glycemic carbohydrates like quinoa over processed starches.  

->Avoid fruit juices—they are nothing but sugar water with chemicals that most people don’t even understand.  

->Remember this simple rule: If it doesn’t rot, it’s not real food.  

Not everything labeled as food is good for you. As always, I remain your favorite clinician and pal,  

God bless you 

Ronnie Law 

St. Anne’s On Transfiguration Sunday

Today, I went to Mass at St. Anne's again. It was a beautiful Mass said by the pastor. Most of the homily was centered on the Gospel reading where Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the mountain where He was transfigured. A voice from the cloud said:  

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)  

Peter, overwhelmed by the moment, suggested:  

“Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4)  

It was a beautiful day. Peter didn't want them to leave the mountaintop, but the mission was not there. They had to descend, for the will of God was to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.  

The pastor also reflected on the Old Testament reading, where God made a covenant with Abram, later named Abraham. God called him to leave his homeland and journey to a foreign land, promising:  

“Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” (Genesis 15:5)  

Astrophysics tells us that there are billions of stars in one galaxy alone, and we are just one of many galaxies—likely making trillions of stars in the universe. This helps us grasp the vastness of God's promise to Abraham. Unlike human promises, which can be easily forgotten or broken, God's word is steadfast and true. And did God fulfill His promises to Abrah? Resounding yes. 

There was a story of a young man who, after visiting his doctor and being diagnosed with a serious illness, pleaded and promised to donate a significant portion of his wealth to build a hospital if he was healed. The doctor did everything he could, and the man recovered and was healed. He had forgotten and years later, when the doctor reminded him of his promise, the man dismissed it, saying he would never have made such a commitment under normal circumstances. In short, I never made that promise. 

But “God is not like humans, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19)  

We must be people of integrity. We must honor our promises and obligations to others. 

As we journey through this season of Lent, we, too, need transfiguration, not just in appearance, but in our way of life. Are we too attached to TV shows, gossiping, smoking substances that can have a negative impact on our health, drinking, gambling? Whatever it is, we need transformation. Like Peter on the mountaintop, we may be tempted to stay in our comfort zones, away from the world's troubles. But God calls us to come down from the mountain and fulfill His purpose.  

May we embrace true transformation, trusting in the promises of God.  

God bless, and have a blessed Sunday.  

Pal Ronnie