Reflection on Today’s Mass Readings from the Old Testament and the Gospel

I was able to make it to the 12 noon Mass at St. Anne’s in Jersey City. We had a lot of snow this weekend and it was a big mess with parking. The Priest started mass by acknowledging the nature of the weather and how people still came out. Whether rain, shine or snow, our spirits are desperate for the Lord, I thought to myself after he acknowledged our commitment to the Lord. 

The First Reading: Isaiah’s Vision

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1, NIV)  

This moment came at a time of transition and uncertainty. King Uzziah’s death marked the end of an era, and Isaiah, likely filled with anxiety about the future, was granted a vision of God's glory. It was a reminder that no earthly leader, no matter how powerful, is greater than the sovereign Lord.  

The Gospel: 

"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8, NIV)  

Peter’s response reflects a deep awareness of his own flaws in the presence of divine holiness. Yet, instead of rejecting him, Jesus calls Peter to something greater, discipleship and transformation. Come and follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Profound. 

These passages then reminded us that divine encounters often happen in moments of crisis or self-awareness. In today’s world, many of us feel lost in times of political change, social upheaval, or personal failure, daily struggles with life. Like Isaiah, we may fear the uncertainty of leadership changes or societal shifts, yet God remains sovereign and we must always be willing to stand up and go when He wants us to. I wrote a piece about this earlier before mass. The challenges we are facing as a people cannot be fixed by mere mortals. It's bigger than any one political figure of our time. 

And like Peter, we may feel unworthy due to our sins, mistakes, yet Jesus calls us not to despair but to follow Him.  

These readings encourage us to recognize God's presence even in our brokenness and to trust that He calls imperfect people for His perfect mission.

May your will be done, Lord!

God bless you

Ronnie Law

Super Bowl Sunday 2025: The Game, The Spectacle, and the Shadow of Mass Gambling

Today is Super Bowl Sunday in America, a day that has become as much about culture as it is about sports. Every February, millions of Americans gather to watch the biggest game of the year: American football. Unlike the football known in Ghana and the rest of the world, which Americans call soccer, this version of the game is more hands-on, relying less on the feet and more on brute force. It’s a game of strategy, strength, and, unfortunately, high-impact collisions.  

The physical toll on players is undeniable. Head injuries, concussions, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are well-documented issues in the sport. The collisions are relentless, and while fans cheer for their teams, there’s an underlying reality that many of these players will suffer long-term neurological consequences.  

Yet, beyond the game itself, the biggest spectacle is often the halftime performance. The artist chosen for this coveted moment receives the undivided attention of an entire nation and beyond. For many musicians, performing at the Super Bowl halftime show is a career-defining achievement, a moment of peak global visibility and prestige.  

But the true elephant in the room, the one that inspired this piece, is sports gambling. Over the years, gambling has crept into America’s collective consciousness, growing at an astonishing rate. This year, legal betting on the Super Bowl alone is expected to exceed $1.4 billion. That’s just the money tracked by regulators, what about the underground gambling operations, the wagers made outside the legal system?  

Gambling is not just a game of chance; it’s a dangerous addiction. The losses are staggering, over $240 billion disappears annually in America due to gambling addiction. Yes, it’s an addiction, as real and destructive as any drug. Think of Las Vegas, the gambling mecca of the U.S., or Macau, the world’s leading gambling hub. Some believe that America is fast becoming the global capital of gambling, a place where fortunes are lost in an instant and where some people never recover.  

President Donald Trump is expected to make an appearance at the game, adding another layer of spectacle to an already eventful night. He will be the first sitting U.S. president to have attended the game. The man makes history anytime he breathes-not exaggerating. You know what Raph Nader thinks about the man, a failed Gambling Czar. There are a lot of brilliant things about Raph Nader. Try to check out some of his works. Regardless of political affiliations, Trump's presence at the game is bound to generate headlines and more talks for a while. 

As you enjoy the game with friends and family, I urge you to keep gambling at a safe distance. It has the power to destroy lives, and anything that has the potential to kill should be relegated to the back bench, permanently.  

I remain your concerned friend,  

Ronnie Law

Our Modern World of Crisis: Greed, Struggle, and a Reflection from Work

Yesterday, during a coffee break, I ran into a secretary I had worked with before. As we caught up, I learned that she also works another job with Northwell Health. “Small world,” I thought. But before long, our conversation shifted to the state of healthcare, specifically, its excesses.  

We talked about how these massive health systems are always on a mission to expand. Then, we zoomed in on the ordinary employees, the nurses, the techs, the secretaries, the custodians, who seem perpetually unhappy. Everyone feels overworked and yet, underpaid, and or undervalued. Noticed I didn't include the managers, administrators and medical doctors.They belong to what Karl Marx called the managerial class in his seminal work, the Communist Manifesto. 

So I asked the question: What is going on?

If hospitals claim they can’t afford to pay their workers livable wages, how are they financing their constant expansions? This year alone, all of Northwell Health is migrating its various electronic medical record (EMR) systems to EPIC, a system that already dominates the market yet continues to swallow up more and more hospitals nationwide. Epic is doing that too. This by the way is not unique to healthcare but across all industries. 

Then she gave me a one-word answer: Greed.

I laughed and said, “Good answer.” Because in the name of greed, nobody is ever satisfied. Just like the grave, it is never full. Why is enough never enough for the greedy? Even EPIC, which dominates that market, is still growing

We laughed, but beneath the humor was a sobering truth: greed may be the symptom, but something deeper is at play.  

The average person working two or three jobs isn’t necessarily complaining because their pay is unfair. In another time, in another place, that income might have been enough to live comfortably. But in today’s America, things are far from normal.  

Inflation is out of control. People are losing their homes. The cost of living is skyrocketing. Winter is here, and for many, staying warm isn’t a given. These are serious, daily struggles. I was just talking to a young lady out there. She looked distressed, you could see it on her face like the dress she had on. The brief encounter I had with her revealed that she is losing her Indian roommate as their lease was up and she doesn't know what to do as she cannot afford one on her own. The trouble with being me is that when I learn of other people's problems, it instantly becomes mine . Now I'm burdened with just the thoughts of it. But that is to make the point. 

And the coworker who shows up miserable at work every day? They might be drowning in these very issues. But the real question is: How many of us actually care? Let's be kind to each other at work and out there in the world. 

Of course, when times get hard, people turn to the government. They place their hopes in political leaders, believing that the right person in office will fix everything. No politician has that power regardless of what we might be tempted to think.

Right now in America, those who voted for Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump, believe that if she had won, things would have been better. At least those working at USAID would have still been employed and everything would be business as usual. Meanwhile, Trump’s voters, who celebrated his victory since his inauguration, are beginning to see that their lives haven’t magically improved as they had wished. Some of them are already starting to criticize him for favoring the billionaire class, of which he belongs to, over the working class.  

It doesn’t matter that he has been in office for less than a month. This cycle never changes. Politicians make promises, then step into office, and wake up to the harsh reality that the problems before them are far bigger than they imagined.  

So is there an invisible force somewhere pulling the strings as many had asked? Running the system in a way that serves a hidden agenda? We may never know. 

And no matter who I talk to at work, there is a shared sense of struggle, exhaustion, and disillusionment among everyday people. 

That secretary told me our biggest problem is greed. But I believe it’s deeper than that. Our problem is spiritual. We are a people disconnected from what truly matters. I heard a priest recently said that this generation is the most sinful generation since the Biblical flood. Sad!

My recommendation? We need to do what the people of Nineveh did. When faced with destruction, they humbled themselves, repented, and sought God’s mercy.  

"When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it". -Jonah 3:10

If we, too, fall on our knees and seek the mercy of the Maker of this universe, perhaps we can begin to turn things around for us.  

God bless you, and Happy Sunday.

I remain your friend, 

Ronnie Law

A Farewell to Mr. Peter Taylor: A Life Well Lived

Today, February 6, 2025, I joined family and friends to bid farewell to a dear friend, Mr. Francis Peter Taylor: affectionately known to me and many as Mr. Pete. At 90 years old, he departed this world, leaving behind cherished memories and the lessons he so freely shared.  

I often think of life as a movie, where characters come and go at different stages. Some make brief appearances, while others play recurring roles. But through it all, the main character remains until the very end. It doesn’t matter when or how someone enters your story, what matters is the purpose they serve while they’re there.  

I met Mr. Pete at St. Aloysius Parish in New Canaan one evening after daily Mass. I was drawn to the parish because of its 5:30 PM service and the beauty of the church. Whenever I had a day off, I would drive there from Norwalk for Mass, finding solace in its sacred space.  

One evening, after Mass, I encountered Mr. Pete. He was funny and quick-witted, introducing himself with a warm energy that was instantly inviting. When he learned I was from Ghana, he was intrigued, asking endless questions with genuine curiosity. From that moment on, we became friends. I told him about my grandma who was ill at the time. He also told me about his family and his lovely wife he had lost a few years back.

In no time, I discovered that Mr. Pete had a deep passion for finance and the capital markets and even had a professional background in it, a passion we both shared. He would send me emails of daily trade updates and earnings reports as soon as they were released for his major holdings. I remember playfully calling him "KLAC" after a stock he loved. Those moments, those conversations. I miss them all. 

One of the gifts of befriending an 88-year-old man was the wealth of unfiltered wisdom he shared. He had lived long enough to speak the truth without pretense, and I valued every lesson he taught me. I remember one evening after dinner when I instinctively reached for my wallet to pay. He stopped me. “No,” he said firmly.  

As we left the restaurant, he turned to me and said, “In life, when someone promises to do something for you, let them do it.” Then he added, “Save your money. If you’re not there yet, don’t show it.” 

That advice stayed with me. Having grown up without a father, I always treasured the guidance of those who cared enough to offer it. Mr. Pete was one of those rare souls who gave wisdom freely, with no expectation in return.  

Life took us in different directions. I had to leave my home in Connecticut for work, and he, too, wanted to moved closer to his son. Before we parted, in our conversation, he asked me a question, “If I die, will you come to my funeral?”  

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”  

Though I wasn’t able to attend his wake yesterday, the 5th, I made sure to be there for his funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s in Armonk, New York, and his burial in Valhalla despite the inclement weather. The music at Mass was superb. He had a great taste for life and surely would have loved how the mass and everything went. I’m so grateful to his son, John Taylor, for keeping me informed every step of the way.  

Mr. Pete always had a smile on his face, and as the priest said in his homily, he never took life too seriously. If you knew him, you would know that the priest nailed it. And that was one of the most important things or lessons I learned from him, to embrace life with humor, grace, and lightness.  

Rest in peace, my dear friend. You were a gift to this world, and I will always cherish the moments, whether it was in New Canaan, Norwalk or Stamford that we shared.  

Ronnie Law

The Tale of An Angry Patient: Healthy Choices or Donald Trump

During my rounds at work, I entered the room of a woman in her late 60s. She was watching CNN, and at that moment, the screen displayed the President signing an executive order. Immediately, I noticed her demeanor shift-360, her face tightened with anger, her body language tensed up. 

As the news segment continued, she muttered bitterly about how much she despised the President, even expressing relief that her sister wasn’t alive to witness what was happening. My years of work experience shows that patients of color, who like to refer to black people, are always comfortable sharing their political views with me. One thing I don't like about politics is the hatred it comes with. So her intensity as observed was unsettling, a raw display of deep-seated resentment. At that moment, it became clear to me just how profoundly hatred can consume a person. And here we are talking about someone in the hospital as a result of ill health. Imagine that. 

Trying to diffuse the tension, I gently reminded her that the President would be in office for the next four years, and if she allowed herself to be this upset every time he appeared on the news, it could take a toll on her health. I added that she should try to find one or two positive things about the president and stick to them. Like he's a husband to a wife, father to children, grandpa to this grandkids and they love him, and a boss to people making a living being around him who might not always agree with him. And importantly, one of God's creations. She looked at me and said you're right. Sometimes I'm fascinated that people don't think of such things. 

You see, Prolonged anger and stress, after all, can contribute to serious health conditions like strokes and cardiac events. Carrying such negativity daily is a heavy burden, one that she didn’t need to bear.  

She paused, reflecting on my words and finally admitted that I was right, again. While I can only hope she takes my advice to heart, I fear that if she doesn’t, her anger may do more harm to her than the politics she so much despises. 

Sometimes, letting go isn’t just about peace of mind, it’s about our very survival.

I have learned to not let anything or anyone bother me. We all have our own burdens to bear including whoever happens to be the president. A lofty title with life and death decisions to make every day that they occupy that office. Hating them doesn't help with the job. 

God bless you 🙏 

Pal Ronnie 

The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord

 

Today, we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, a beautiful reminder of offering ourselves to God. Just as Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple, we, too, present ourselves before God daily, especially at Mass and in receiving the Eucharist. In this sacred encounter, we renew our commitment to Him, allowing His light to shine through us.  

May we, like Simeon and Anna, recognize Christ in our midst and embrace His presence with faith and joy. Let our lives be a continual offering to God, trusting in His divine plan.  

God bless you!

Pal Ronnie 

Your Guacamole is about to Get More Expensive

 

It's February 2nd, 2025, the Wall Street futures market took a sharp downturn as investors are reacting to the White House’s fresh tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.  

This was expected because it was part of Trump's inauguration and campaign promises. That’s the thing with Trump. He's not your typical politician who likes to backtrack on their speeches. He tend to follow through with most of his campaign promises. So this was expected except most people didn't think he was going to make it would happen. 

Now these 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, coupled with additional tariffs on Chinese goods, could significantly raise the cost of products Americans rely on daily. The markets responded last weekend swiftly to it, with analysts warning of a possible trade war in North America.  

Tariffs are essentially taxes on imported goods, and when imposed at such high levels, they tend to have direct consequences on prices for consumers. The U.S. economy is deeply and heavily connected to its trading partners, especially Canada and Mexico, and these tariffs could impact a wide range of industries, from agriculture to automotive manufacturing.  

Please consider these numbers:  

- The U.S. imports over $400 billion worth of goods from Canada annually, including oil, lumber, cement, and paper products.  

- Mexico supplies roughly 90% of the avocados and tomatoes consumed in the U.S., alongside a variety of other fresh produce. It's no surprise that the president of that country also threatened retaliation with tariffs over the weekend. 

- The automotive industry is highly integrated across North America, with parts and assembled vehicles moving between borders. Analysts estimate that these tariffs could increase the price of an average car by $3,000. Get ready. 

Additionally, since Canada is the largest supplier of foreign oil to the U.S., these tariffs could significantly impact gasoline prices. The U.S. imports four million barrels of oil per day from Canada, nearly four times the amount imported from OPEC nations. If tariffs are imposed on oil and gas, analysts predict that gasoline prices could rise by up to 50 cents per gallon, particularly in regions like the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains. Contrary to what people think, Canada and the U.S. need each other. 

The lack of clarity on exemptions is further fueling uncertainty. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt declined to provide specifics on whether oil and gas imports would be excluded. This uncertainty makes it difficult for businesses to plan, which in turn slows economic growth and increases consumer anxiety.  

But economists overwhelmingly agree on the impact of tariffs, 95% say that they will lead to higher prices for consumers. If these tariffs take full effect without exemptions, inflation could increase by 0.6 to 0.7 percentage points, pushing consumer prices higher across the board.  

Tariffs rarely go unanswered. That is why in response to the announcement, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that Canada is prepared to retaliate immediately. If history is any indicator, this could lead to reciprocal tariffs that harm American farmers, manufacturers, and exporters, similar to what happened during President Trump’s first term when Chinese retaliatory tariffs hurt U.S. agriculture and industry.  

North American trade is deeply interconnected, with Canada, Mexico, and China accounting for 35% of all U.S. imports. If tariffs lead to further restrictions, consumers will feel the pinch in higher grocery bills, home construction costs, and retail prices. 

While inflation has cooled since its peak last year, it still remains above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Housing costs and rising rents have played a key role in keeping inflation stubbornly high. Broad-based tariffs could exacerbate this issue, making groceries, cars, and gas even more expensive.  

At the end of the day, these economic shifts and tough talks among heads of states are felt most acutely by everyday people and Americans. Whether it's the price of gas at the pump, the cost of a new car, or the affordability of fresh produce, tariffs have a way of trickling down to consumers.  

So, as the White House finalizes this decision, one thing is clear, your guacamole is about to get more expensive. Buckle up.  

God bless us all.

I remain your pal, 

Ronnie Law

It's a Bright Snowy Night in the City