Ascension

 

Look, cryptically named 'LSP,' you can't hit people with an evil gang music sonic attack on the Feast of the Ascension, even if it does make for an interesting musical parable of civil war and associated wickedness. 

Thus spoke the voice of reason over morning coffee on the back porch and I hit delete, such is the miracle of technology. Then the kid called in from Camp Humphreys in Korea, where he's getting ready to leave for Fort Hood in a month or so.

Part of the "out processing" involved a J&J Covid shot on Sunday, which caused such an allergic reaction that he ended up in hospital. He's recovered, thank God, and it's more than tempting to go on a rant about the evil chicanery that's overtaken us in the name of health and safety. But I won't, here's a prayer for the day instead:

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

 

God bless,

LSP

Fishing Ascension

It's important to have a plan, and this one was elegant in its simplicity. It went like this, drive to the marina, catch small fish and then use those very same fish to catch large fish. Compelling, eh?

And it worked well, initially. Cast into the depths with a small hook, a chunk of worm and pull out a little perch. Circle hook the perch under its dorsal and cast it out into the wider deep, and while you wait for a monster strike have fun catching more perch as you look at all the boats you don't own.

So far, so good. But the monster never struck, except once, when the light rod bucked and jumped as some ferocious predator snatched at the hapless baitfish. Big excitement, drop your amusement rod and head over to the real deal, which I did, and foolishly in the heat of the moment tried to reel in too aggressively. The big fish sensibly dropped the little fish.

Still, I lost count of the bluegill and kept a few to use as bait. If they'd been a little bigger I'd have kept a few for dinner too; so tasty, fresh bluegill out of Lake Whitney. I like them beer battered and served with fries, but pan fried's good too. Delicious.

Well, that'll come in a week or two. In the meanwhile, every blessing for the Feast of the Ascension and remember, plans are all very well but as with the apprehension of truth itself, rise and fall to the extent they're in harmony with that which is. The equation of mind to thing, say the philosophers. In this case, Leviathan Bass, maybe stripers, striking small perch at the marina, or not.

Fish on,

LSP

Ascension Reflection

On Thursday we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension and, here in the Missions, carried the theme on to Sunday. Christ rises to heaven, Victim and Victor, taking his resurrected body up to glory, the glory that is the life of God himself. 

But how can anything corporal be assimilated by God who is pure Spirit (John 4:24)? Surely there's an unfathomable divide between the two. Perhaps this is helpful, by Romano Guardini:

...by comparison with the Holy Spirit, body and soul, matter and spirit, person and thing are all “carnal.” Between all these and the Living God lies not only the distance between Creator and creature; not only the distance which divides life in grace from life in nature; but also the infinite gulf between saint and sinner which only God’s love can bridge. Before this bottomless ravine, the difference between earthly body and soul shrinks into insignificance.

That God pardons the sinner and accepts the creature into his holy presence – this is the new and overwhelming message of Christ. Once we have assimilated this truth, the additional incomprehensibility of God’s accepting not only created spirit, but also created flesh, no longer seems great. His salutary love is directed not exclusively towards the “soul” but towards man in his entirety. The new, saved man is founded on the divine humanity of Jesus, and this humanity, begun in the Annunciation, was fulfilled in the Ascension. Not until Christ has entered into the intimacy of the Father, is he the perfect God-man.

What a scandal to our blinded and earthly sense, but what a cause for awestruck joy that humanity in Christ should be elevated above the angels to the life of God himself.

Here endeth the lesson,

LSP

The Ascension

You're probably still in a state of shock from the Rainbow Bear Creed. Who knew that the Blessed Ever Virgin Mary was a "bad-ass womanist liberation theologian," as opposed to a pure Virgin and the Mother of God. 

So, to put the record straight, here's St. John Chrysostom on the Ascension of Christ:

God ascended with a shout, the Lord with the cry of the trumpet, He Who is the Creator from the ages, Who brought all things into being, Who fashioned Adam, Who generated human nature, Who translated to life Enoch who pleased Him, Who preserved Noah together with the world, Who called Abraham from the land of the Chaldeans, Who made Isaac to be a sign of the mystery of the cross, Who granted Jacob the twelve-pillars of offspring, Who granted Job patience, Who made Moses to become the leader of the people, Who filled Samuel with prophecy from his mother's womb, Who anointed David as king from the prophets, Who granted Solomon wisdom, Who took up Elias in a flaming chariot, Who instilled the prophets with foreknowledge, Who granted the apostles gifts of healing, and Who cried to them: “Take heart, I have overcome the world.”

This is the Lord of glory Who is ascended into the heavens with a shout, and is seated on the right hand of the Father. Under His authority are angels, and dominions and powers, and it is He Who receives our pained prayers, and makes us victors over the pirates of this world. Under His dominion is every rank of the unclean spirits, as He says to us: “Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon snakes and scorpions.”

Unharmed and spotless, healthy and whole, preserve us in soul and body and spirit, filling us with the fruits of righteousness and fruitfulness, You Who are the God of all, You Who didst make us worthy to gather to celebrate this feast, for to You belong all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

There's triumph in that, and what can I say? Hail the day that sees Him rise.

Climb the Holy Mountain.

God bless,

LSP 

Ascension

Listen up, you lot. It's the Feast of the Ascension today so you'd better get to Mass. Here's a prayer, and none of your newfangled nonsense, either:

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

It's also Cinco de Mayo and the commemoration of Mexico's great victory over the Frenchmen. I'd say that was cause enough for a double celebration.

God bless,

LSP

Feast of the Ascension

Today is the Feast of the Ascension, the last act in Christ's saving drama of redemption. Anglicans, at least, have mostly forgotten this Feast. That's too bad, it's important. Our Lord takes recreated humanity to heaven on this day and, at the right hand of the Father, intercedes for humanity as our great High Priest for all eternity.

Hope you all got to Mass on this Holy Day of Obligation. Whatever the case, here's a prayer.

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.Amen.

God bless,

LSP

I Need Bullets, Hillary's Totally innocent

I need more ammo

There's been precious little about shooting on this site lately because ammo prices have gone through the roof, if you can get any at all, which is difficult. Vicious rumors that the DHS is busy doing an end run around the 2nd Amendment are baseless and entirely without foundation. And Hillary Clinton is innocent. Very innocent. Here's a picture of her, looking innocent.

I'm so angry that you think I'm not innocent!!

Here's another.

I'm thiiiiis innocent!

And another!

Whaddya mean I'm not innocent!!

And what's this?

I'm so very bored of you thinking I'm not innocent.

Have a blessed Feast of the Ascension.

LSP

Hail the day that sees Him rise

After an invigorating evolution of strong coffee, Morning Prayer, and cantering about on the horse, I set my mind to the Feast of the Ascension. I liked this, from Austin Farrer's 'Crown of the Year',

“All his life long Christ’s love burnt towards the heart of heaven in a bright fire, until he was wholly consumed in it, and went up in that fire to God. The fire is kindled on our altars, here Christ ascends in fire; the fire is kindled in the Christian heart, and we ascend. He says to us, Lift up your hearts; and we reply, We lift them up unto the Lord.”

Farrer was, to my mind, genius and a holy man with it.

Have a blessed Feast,

LSP

PS. Some people have rashly supposed that this site is against Mr. Steyn. That is not true.