Happy Easter!

Storms, adventure, the silvery light, just another April morning in Texas at 3 am, as lightning split the sky, thunder crashed from the heavens and the house shook at the sheer, board-quaking fury of it. Well, it woke me up, I can tell you. A few hours later it was time to walk Blue PsyOp and get the show on the road, Easter Day style.

We strolled by the Meth Shack, the Pick 'n Steal and then back to base and picked up a server. He helped set up for Mass on the front steps of Mission #1. It went well,  the people staying in their cars at the curb of the thing. Next step?

Drive to the lake. No, not on some kind of fishing expedition, this was all about the second Mass, celebrated in the car park of Mission #2. It went well under a pop-up, though the audio part of "AV" was annoyingly imperfect. 

No matter, the Sacrament was confected, the people fed and there it was, Christus Surrexit. We even had a cop to make sure no one got rowdy or outta line. He used to run Dallas SWAT, good man. Carries a SIG, curiously.

Then, mission accomplished, I visited some churchpeople for lunch. What a good crew, descendants of Ranch 101 and rodeo stars to boot. Consensus 'round the table was that China's made an act of war, and that we should kick their butt 'round the block and six ways to sideways. Like no dam foolin. 

Here's the thing. Hitler and the Rising Sun mistook US forbearance for weakness. Big error, right, so watch out, Xi. Keen-eyed readers will note a ChiCom ship caught fire in dock the other day. Sorry, does this lack NYT CCP nuance?

Happy Easter! In Christ we have the Victory,

LSP

Devil Went Down To Georgia

Thanks for the infographic, LL, and while we're at it here's the song:

Speaking of Georgia, the Private's doing well at Ft. Gordon though he tells me Chinese Plague's disrupted the training schedule and assignment to units. There's one civilian contractor in quarantine at the base hospital. So. 

God bless,

LSP

Lazarus Come Forth

Here's a short reflection on today's Gospel:

We see Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This is terrifying because it confronts us with our own mortality, like Lazarus we're destined for death. As Ash Wednesday reminds us, "Remember, O Man, that thou art dust and to dust thou shall return."

Rather than face this unsettling truth we're inclined to run from it, to pretend immortality, and the culture around us bolsters the myth. We live in a world which has pushed death to the sideline, as if by denying it we will by some strange alchemy remove its specter. "You will not surely die," says the snake, eat of the apple "and you will be as God." (Gen. 3:4-5)

Satanic deceit and DFTR aside, the recent crisis has punctured the bubble of our supposed, godlike immortality. A disease looms over us which can be fatal, we must thank God that it's not more so, and over which we have little control, there is no cure. 

No wonder, then, that society around us is panicking. Our mortality, the very thing we've imagined out of existence, stares us in the face, the bubble is burst. Today's Gospel confronts us with the reality and tragedy of the thing. Lazarus is dead, Jesus wept. But consider.

Lazarus is dead and can do nothing about it, he has no power to help himself in the grave and neither do we. Christ, however, does.  He raises his friend to life, "Lazarus, come forth!" and Lazarus returns, alive, after four days in the tomb. 

We see that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, has power over death. He defeats it himself, dying on the Cross only to rise again, triumphant over Hell, and he will raise us up too, his friends, his faithful, as he raised Lazarus.

So, in the words of our Lord who walked over the waters to his disciples, "be not afraid." (Jn. 6:20) Have no fear, we live in Christ, we are his friends, and neither the grave nor Pit has any power over us. We share in his victory, alive in him, to  everlasting life.

Take courage and rejoice in the mystery of our salvation and may God bless, preserve and keep you all, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Here endeth the Lesson, 

LSP

Majestic Melania Addresses The Nation

pic.twitter.com/3KXrAP0A35

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) March 19, 2020

America's First Lady offers the nation timeless words of advice and consolation at this time of crisis, as the storm is upon us. Melania's love of children, life, and country are as self-evident as her majestic, elegant simplicity.

Elegant Simplicity

Here at the Compound we join with loyal Americans everywhere in giving thanks to God that patriots are in control. You can imagine, perhaps, what the outcome would have been otherwise.

Behold Satan

We will, as America's popular and glamorous First Lady reminds us, survive this ordeal and emerge stronger, more unified and better able to face the threats that beset our constitutional democracy. 

A Beautiful White Hat

And they're manifold, not least a transnational cabal of sociopath, corrupt, venal, alien, consumed by greed, nihilist traitors who care nothing for God, country and people.

Stay strong, keep the faith and thank you, First Lady for doing your not inconsiderable best to keep America and by extension the West, great. 

God bless,

LSP