The Beginning of a Long-Expected Correction - Or Just More Doldrums?

Stock price action has gone south in recent days. Is this the beginning of a long-expected correction, or just more of those summer doldrums? We'll skip the drama and cut to the chase: so far, more doldrums.

Look at the recent price action and you see a rather controlled, easy drift downward. Nothing dramatic there.

But wait. We do have SPY (an ETF that tracks the S&P) crossing below its 50-day moving average. An early sign of trouble? Maybe. Then again, the 50-day remains firmly above the 200-day - bullish technical. Still, one can wonder.

But while a few waves of wonder gently wash over our perhaps troubled minds (or not so troubled), we might spend our time more profitably. On our end, there's been little reason to make any changes to portfolios, though a couple of "watch" positions may require some attention, if not action, this week. Other than that, our non-working hours are better spent on more beneficial endeavors. 

We've all got these - or should. There's the endeavor to build and maintain a healthy body: diet and exercise. Check. Or the desire to keep the mind active and flexible in its interests: reading good literature, taking up a challenging project like learning a language, and so on. Check. Then there's matters spiritual. Our souls are that part of us that will live on after Sister Death comes to take us by the hand and lead us into eternal life. We'll leave our bodies behind as our souls meet our maker.

My Catholic religion teaches that we will face what is termed our particular - individual - judgment. The nature of this is beyond the scope of a simple post like this, but basically we'll meet Our Lord Jesus Christ upon the soul exiting this world. Our entire life will somehow pass before us with the appropriate evaluation of how we did in following God's commandments, which can be boiled down to loving God and loving our neighbor. If we failed across the board, look out below. If we succeeded as the saints in heaven succeeded, we enter into the Presence of God and infinite joy for eternity. If we somehow fell short of true, full sanctity, we need to be "purified" of any sins for which we did not or could not make reparation during our life in this world. That purification takes place in Purgatory - again beyond the scope of this post, but quite real and - for many of us - daunting to contemplate.

Why bring all this up in our little blog that spends much of its space talking about financial markets and matters related to the economy? Well, the general theme has been trying to make sense of, well, whatever. And the point here is that making sense of markets and the economy is only a small part of what we need to make sense. Indeed, it's frankly a minor part. 

None of what we learn about markets, the economy or any matters related to the material world will matter a fig during our Particular Judgment. Jesus won't be pleased that we could read a chart, make money in our investments, give good advice to others about same. The only thing that might enter into the evaluation of our lives would be whether we were good stewards of all that we were given.

(And, as an aside, all that we have is given to us by God. If we believe we have somehow created anything of true value on our own, without God's help, or without His permission, we're kidding ourselves.)

So with all that in mind (and I could go on), here's a passage from a solid Catholic spiritual writer that qualifies as spending time on more important matters than markets and the economy. It comes with a warning: this guy's a serious thinker and writer. So this isn't the sort of foo-foo that passes for "spiritual" these days. You may want to skip it if your mind couldn't even concentrate on everything you've read so far.

But for those willing and desirous of getting more out of life, and of seeking make sense of greater, more important matters related to their lives and their salvation, try making sense of this:

“The ordinary mark of true love is that the lover espouses the interests of the beloved. These interests he makes his own. What is an object of desire to the beloved becomes such to the lover. The latter seeks it as ardently as if it were an object of longing for himself – though it is with a view to placing it within reach of the beloved. The happiness of the beloved becomes the object of the lover, so that he pursues, with ardor, all that makes for or contributes to that happiness; what the beloved wills that, too, the lover wills. So it is between God and the soul. The soul loves God when it wills what God wills and pursues the objects of that Divine will. God, in regard to His creature, desires and wills that creature’s happiness and the perfection which is a means to that happiness. In this is involved the willing of all that makes for the creature’s perfection. The perfection of the soul is proportioned to its likeness to God. Hence, when the soul is so disposed towards God that it shows itself prompt to embrace what the divine will determines in its regard, it loves God. In this promptitude it manifests the sign of pure love which, for the lover, consists in making the object of the will of the beloved the object of his own will. Love of God lies in making God’s interests and objective the soul’s own interests and objective. It is an identification of the soul’s desires with the desires of God. It is making God another self. To seek the object of God’s will is in final and ultimate analysis to seek God Himself, since God cannot seek but Himself. Hence great promptitude in embracing and fulfilling God’s will is the indication of a great love of God. To act for the sole motive of contenting God by our actions is to act in the spirit of love of God. This love of God is not dependent on feeling or emotion but on the firmness of the act of the will and its freedom from admixture of any other motives but the motive of the fulfillment of God’s will.” (Fr. Edward Leen, C.S.Sp.)

And that, in the midst of our continuing summer doldrums, ideally serves as some substantial but delicious meat to chew on while the markets make up their mind in the coming weeks.