Sunday Wisdom

 

"He who exalts himself will be humbled," says Christ, and "he who humbles himself will be exalted." To that end I sermonized on pride this morning. Avoid it, dear friends, like the plague it is, the deadliest of deadly sins. Yes indeed, and in that resolve hear this by Austin Farrer:

We never come to God without committing ourselves to him entirely, so far as in us lies, and in the present moment. It seems sometimes to be preached, however, that by a decision once for all made, we can commit ourselves irrevocably. But if this is preached, then it is not true. Today’s decisions cannot tie tomorrow’s hands. What I give to God today, such is my frailty, I may take back or withhold tomorrow. It is through this that God disciplines me, through this that he breaks my pride. The heart is sick and desperately perverse, even the redeemed heart: what it gave God yesterday it takes back today. Our wickedness is so great that we fail to do promised actions, which we had perfectly envisaged at the time of promising. But even if we had the virtue to keep our promise with God when the circumstances are foreseen and unaltered, we should still lack the power to commit ourselves on issues which cannot be perfectly felt or foreseen in advance. He who promises to be chaste, does well and may be perfectly sincere; but he has not by that promise dealt with the temptation he will face when he falls in mutual love with an actual woman, and cannot marry her. Our fences cannot be jumped beforehand, nor our battles won before the enemy appears. You promise fidelity to Christ today, and you are sincere; but it will spare you none of the agony of decision, if a day comes when political brigands hold to our heads the pistol of absolute power, and say, ‘Your religion or your life.’

No, we cannot commit ourselves in a day, because we cannot, merely by saying we will, put our whole trust in God. To trust in God is a thing which has to be learnt. We may stand up and make our profession of faith, clasp a missioner’s hand and say, ‘I have taken Christ for my Savior, I trust him for all.’ But we shall still trust ourselves to do our part in the new covenant we have entered. For we do not learn what dependence on God is, except through having our self-dependence broken in the mill of life, slowly and painfully. Many tears, much shame, continual repentance, this is the lot of those who pledge themselves to God. A paradoxical pledge; we learn to keep it by breaking it. True confessions, bravely and sincerely made to our confessor and absolved with the word of Christ, these are the means by which we learn distrust of ourselves, and trust in God alone. On every such occasion we affirm our self-commital. We bring to life every promise we previously made, back to our confirmation, back to our baptism when others’ lips promised for us, back behind that to the cross, on which Christ committed us to God by dying for us.

 

Such wisdom, and this stood out, "For we do not learn what dependence on God is, except through having our self-dependence broken in the mill of life, slowly and painfully. Many tears, much shame, continual repentance, this is the lot of those who pledge themselves to God."

We can add: The lot of those who take the lowest place at the marriage feast only to be called, "Friend, come up higher." Higher, to paradise itself.

God bless you all,

LSP

A Short Sunday Reflection

Here's a short Sunday meditation on supernatural inspiration; no small thing. Via Eclectic Orthodoxy:

Supernatural inspiration involves the infusion of knowledge from beyond the upper bounds of natural consciousness. In exploring this idea, Farrer finds it necessary to distinguish supernatural inspiration from “inspired wit” and from “preternatural” consciousness. He explains that “the excellence of the mind consists . . . of a conscious intelligence based always upon acute senses and riding upon a vigorous imagination.” He uses several analogies:

"The previous labour of the intelligence is thrown down into the imagination as into a cauldron, from which it emerges again fused into new figures and, it may be, enriched with materials from the subconscious sphere, which were never in distinct consciousness at all. . . . In inspired wit a spark leaps from intelligence to intelligence across a field of imagination: whereas in weird abnormal consciousness the spark leaps from the outer dark into imagi­na­tion itself, providing an image of which the intelligence must make what it can. (24-25)"

 

The infusion of divine knowledge and, surely, being; our Orthodox friends, I think, would call this divinization. Is this not what we're all about as Christians? Strive, my friends, to enter by the narrow door, the strait gate which is Christ Himself. Here endeth the reflection.

God bless,

LSP

Happy New Year!

 

Well here are at the start line of 2023. What will it bring? I'll wager the fighting monkey on any three of your non-binary trans priestesses that we're in store for more bad craziness. Witness the presumably unironically named SATANCON 2023 scheduled for Boston in April. Boston, curiously, is home to Harvard, Satan's Vatican.

But don't worry, devotees of the Pit, you may be heading for Hell but at least you'll be vaxxed and masked up while you're at it. Conference organizers stipulate, "Satancon attendees must be 18 or over and have proof of COVID vaccination. Attendees must wear an N-95, KN-95, or disposable surgical mask. Gaiters, bandanas, and cloth masks will not be allowed." Not dissimilar, when you think of it, to entering the US and Canada last year.

So yes, all kinds of demonic insanity's doubtless heading our way. But let's not forget that today's the Feast of the Holy Name, Jesus, God Saves. Only He unites our nature to God, illumines us with the fullness of divine truth, dies on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins, rises victorious from the grave and ascends to heaven, taking perfected, risen humanity to the throne of glory. Only in Him do we find union with God and life itself, salvation.

Stand fast in the power of the Name and be sure that the gates of Hell will not prevail, even in 2023. With that, have a happy New Year.

God bless you all,

LSP

God's Judgement

 

Here we are, running out our few score years until eternity and judgement. How will that fall? Are you good, bad or somewhere in between? Somewhere in between, probably, and that middle ground, neither hot nor cold, equates to being spat out because heaven doesn't admit imperfection.

What can we do, then, but fall down and beg for mercy like the tax collector. God hears this prayer, from a humble and contrite heart, and lifts us up, exalts us to union with Himself. And herein lies divine judgement.

You're either for God or against Him, for life, beauty, truth and all that's good taken to absolute perfection, or you're not. To put it another way, you're either for that which is or that which isn't. Your call, and lest there be confusion, if you go against reality itself, God, it won't go well for you. Judgement. So, on which side of the baseball bat of reality do we fall?

There's only one answer, cry out for mercy, and here we find great hope. The Prodigal is embraced by the Father, the tax collector justified, the thief on the cross lifted to heaven, the sinner redeemed. Reality itself, God, is yes, implacable but Reality reveals himself to be personal, loving and merciful. Judgement, reminds Farrer, runs out into mercy.

Point being? There's hope for us all. See LL for a solid homily on judgement.

Transpontine,

LSP

Sunday Reflection - Discipleship

 

As Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem he calls a man to follow him: 

And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “[Lord,] let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-60)

 

Christ's words sound callous at first glance, but surely it's the business of those whose home is the world and walk according to the flesh, who are spiritually dead, to attend to the end of their condition. The disciple on the other hand is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, life itself,  a proclamation which demands total "assent to Jesus' summons" to follow him as Lord and Savior.

Benedict XVI comments:

What is made clear to us here is that assent to Jesus' summons has priority and demands totality.  That means it takes precedence and demands the totality of our being.  One cannot simply offer a piece of oneself, a portion of one's time and one's will.  In that case one has not answered this summons that is so great that it really demands and fills a whole life, but only fills it if it is offered totally.

This also means that there is a moment of Jesus Christ which one cannot put off and calculate and say: "Yes, I want to all right, but at the moment it is still too risky for me.  At the moment I still want to do this and that."

One can miss the moment of one's life, and with prudence gamble away the real worth of one's life never again to be able to recover it.  There is the time of being called in which the decision is present, and it is more important than what we have thought out for ourselves and what is in itself quite reasonable.  The reason of Jesus and his summons have precedence: they come first.  This courage to defer what seems so reasonable to us in favor of the greater thing that he is, is decisive not only in the first moment but continually on all parts of the way.  It is only in this way that we really come close to him.

 

This courage to defer what seems so reasonable to us in favor of the greater thing that he is, is decisive not only in the first moment but continually on all parts of the way.  It is only in this way that we really come close to him. Amen to that.

May God grant us such courage,

LSP

Sermon Time

It went well at the Missions this morning, in a country church kind of way. We heard Christ in the Gospel tell the world that he came to bring a sword instead of peace. And so he does, the world is confronted by Jesus, divine reality who claims to be the way, the truth and the life. To which side of this do you fall?

An aggressive, vocal minority in this country rejects it all out of hand. They hate Christ, Christianity and the culture of the Faith, the culture of the West. That's why they're intent on destroying its monuments and symbols.

Make no mistake, this is a prelude to destroying the Church herself. The same creed, Marxism, with its utter hatred of Christianity isn't content with destroying statues of Columbus, Washington and Lincoln. No, it wants to overthrow, root up and destroy the foundation itself. That'd be Christianity.

Go on, let's see you.

I tell you this. The moment one of those Red fools gets on the porch is the moment they'll wish they hadn't.

Sayn,

LSP

Rest in Peace

I said a Requiem for a friend and strong churchman today. He was a good man, and I don't say that lightly, who'd fought cancer for 4 years, a brain tumor no less. 

That in itself is something of a miracle and, if anything, the disease seemed to make his faith stronger. Sorry, problem of evil "philosophers." Also, until the very end he was able to live an active life; I thank God for that.

I can also say, with confidence, that he'd made his peace with God before he died, which is no small thing.

So, may JA rest in peace and rise in glory. And all you many heathen that read this lighthearted blog, reflect on this. What god do you worship and what hope does it give or offer you.

The world, the flesh? With no thought for eternity? And what comes after those two objects of adoration. Oh yes, the Devil.

I'll resist the temptation to refer you to John Podesta and the ravening elitocracy that seeks to devour the whole world.

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Sure and certain hope.

LSP

Divine Humor?

According to the UK's left-leaning Guardian, churches in Europe are experiencing growth from an unlikely quarter, converts from Islam.

A growing number of Muslim refugees in Europe are converting to Christianity, according to churches, which have conducted mass baptisms in some places.

Reliable data on conversions is not available but anecdotal evidence suggests a pattern of rising church attendance by Muslims who have fled conflict, repression and economic hardship in countries across the Middle East and central Asia.

Complex factors behind the trend include heartfelt faith in a new religion, gratitude to Christian groups offering support during perilous and frightening journeys, and an expectation that conversion may aid asylum applications.

At Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts, according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers at municipal swimming pools.

Well, you can't blame them, especially the women, and I'd imagine Christianity would be liberating after Mohammedanism. But perhaps there's an element of divine irony at work here, with the very people you'd most expect to destroy and supplant the Church riding, against all the odds, to its rescue.

No one, either on the right or the left of the Christianity v. Islam debate, has predicted this or would even dare to; it seems too implausible and upside down. But so does the Gospel, in  which death is overcome by death and the last are first.

Let's Have This Back

There would be a kind of divine justice, perhaps humor, in Christianity's perennial enemy, Islam, turning out in the end to be its lifeline, at least in the enfeebled churches of the West.

I hope this encouraging trend continues and let the reader understand, Muslim converts are known for the fervency of their faith. I'll resist the temptation to comment of the Church of England's Bench of Bishops.

God bless,

LSP

Jesus Isn't Your Imaginary Friend

Here's a helpful message for Advent. Maybe you think Jesus is some kind of imaginary buddy, in your mind. Well He's not.

At some point in our history, we began to attribute a merely mental reality to anything that was not an object and reduced the importance of objects to what they could contribute to our mental reality. We live in a sea of psychology. Things, we believe, are only what we think they are. My “relationship” with you means nothing more than the set of inner experiences and dispositions I have towards you. In many ways, a very good version of “virtual reality” is just as good as “reality” itself.

You can read the whole thing here. And while we're at it, let's have Hagia Sophia back.

Maybe you think I'm kidding about that last bit.

LSP