Choktaw Bingo

 

Per Wild, "It's a stone-cold miracle that Ray Wylie Hubbard has lived as long as he has." Good call, Mr. Wild. Me? Go, RWH, even if you are a nasty old hippie and a Dallas boy to boot. So how, like RWH, did Waylon get to live? Mirabile dictu or in other words, I dunno know, miracle.

Still, serious question; many of my pals didn't make it and they were fractions of all the above. Maybe they simply lacked the strength. Whatever, rest in peace kids, and may the blessed Ever Virgin Mary intercede for you, ad aeternum.

Then there's Oklahoma.

Salve,

LSP

The Feast Of The Assumption

 

It's the great Feast of the Assumption today, in which we honor Mary, the Ever Virgin Mother of God. Now, some people think that's idolatry, others don't think about it at all, but exorcists tell us with unerring consistency that the demons hate, fear and loathe Mary. For them, an Ave (Hail Mary) is like a "blow to the face." No wonder, her purity and faith stand diametrically opposed to demonic filth and disbelief.

No wonder, again, that she is Our Lady of Victories, not just at Lepanto but against all evil. Ask for her powerful intercession as we fight, and the fight is increasingly simple if not easy; it's Good v. Evil, Light v. Dark, Heaven v. Hell. A ferocious, heavenly struggle and Our Lady is our ally, and the Christ whom she bears to us is Life, Light, Good and Truth.

If you stand against that, which you're free to do, you will be relentlessly destroyed, like the Moors in Spain. Mark my words.

Ave,

LSP

The Feast of The Assumption

 

It's the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today and we offered the Mass outdoors on the front porch of Mission #1, St. Mary's. Check out the ever helpful New Liturgical Movement for some background to the Feast and, in the meanwhile, here's a prayer:

Omnípotens sempiterne Deus, qui Immaculátam Vírginem Maríam, Fílii tui Genitrícem, córpore et ánima ad caelestem gloriam assumpsisti: concéde, quáesumus; ut ad superna semper intenti, ipsíus gloriae mereámur esse consortes. Per eundem Dóminum nostrum.

 

And in English: 

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Son, body and soul into heavenly glory: grant, we beseech, that ever intent on the things above, we may deserve to be partakers of her glory. Through the same our Lord.

 

Amen and bless you all,

LSP

EPIC UTTER TOTAL FAIL

 

Where was our Commander-in-Chief  while the Taliban took over Afghanistan and Kabul? You know, the country we were at war in for 20 years. Good question. He was on... vacation. That's right, hidin' Biden.

Well it's not easy being a president, just ask Ashraf Ghani who fled Afghanistan in a chopper full of cash. Still, to be fair, our Puppet Prez did leave his Camp David hideout to give a presser blaming everyone but himself for this shameful, scandalous, Saigon-style defeat. He's back on vacation now. What a leader.

And what a disgrace, at every level. LL, who knows about these things, believes the whole Afghan operation should never have gone Big Army. Good call, but think of all the millions that wouldn't have been made. Here's Ron Paul:

The military industrial complex spent 20 years on the gravy train with the Afghanistan war. They built missiles, they built tanks, they built aircraft and helicopters. They hired armies of lobbyists and think tank writers to continue the lie that was making them rich. They wrapped their graft up in the American flag, but they are the opposite of patriots... The corruption is deep.

God, you may have noticed, expressed His disfavor by striking the Washington Monument yesterday. But I won't go on, words fail, this whole affair is jaw-droppingly wicked. What an epic, utter, total fail.

Have a blessed Feast of the Assumption,

LSP

What A Good Day!

 

Every day is a good day in the great Republic of Texas, but today was especially good. Mass #1 went well in an early morning kind of way, and the Senior Warden surprised me afterwards, asking, "What're we going to do for the Feast of Mary in August, because we're St. Mary's." I looked at GH and he looked at me, a man of few words.

GH's Dad, Rest in Peace

"The Feast of the Assumption?" I asked, "That's right, August fifteenth, I reckon we should get together for a cookout the day before. Hamburgers."  Easy decision, "Good idea, let's do it."

And so we  have a plan. Just so you know, GH raises Polled Hereford's on the side and is a good man. I've spent many a happy hour shooting pistols with his father (RIP), against hay bale berms and shooting dove in season on their land. Big fun. Setup in a treeline behind some Mojo decoys and wait for the avian acrobats to brave the flak barrage of #8 shot.

Typical Texas Country Pistol Scene

Mass #2 went well too, with lots of kids, a mercifully brief LSP homily on the remarkable, moving, powerful miracle of Jairus' daughter being raised from the dead, maiden, arise, and then an outstanding potluck after the service. Slow cooked ribs, turkey, pulled pork and more sides than you could count. All delicious. Just a really enjoyable country church lunch after a spirited Eucharist.

Then, as everyone was enjoying themselves, the heavens opened and rain shot down with frontier intensity on the parked rigs of the faithful and the baked Texan land. Seriously, it was pretty much zero viz for an hour or two. 

A Random Firearm

It's raining now, though less furiously, and I like that, cools things right off and smells good to boot. You see, sometimes our old adversary The Weather is our friend. But Climate War aside, what a good day.

God Bless,

LSP

The Feast of the Assumption

It's the great Feast of the Assumption today, which some people object to because "it's not in Scripture." Neither is Sola Scriptura of course, but apologetics aside, I found this reflection helpful. Via Domini res gestas:

Today the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Theotocos and Christotocos, is taken into heaven to that court where the King of kings sits upon his starry throne. While angels and saints rejoice together with Christ, it is fitting that we too celebrate and rejoice with them today. Our true Solomon, the King of Peace, seats his Mother, the true Bathsheba, at his right hand today in the heavenly Jerusalem above all the choirs of angels. Today the ark of the covenant of the Lord is brought into the temple and placed in the Holy of Holies. This is the same ark that John saw in the Book of Revelation. Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen in the temple.  After writing this at the close of Chapter 11, as if to clarify the vision, he follows it immediately with the opening verse of Chapter 12:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Without doubt this woman is the Virgin Mary, for John adds that she gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all nations... Her child was caught up to God and his throne. (St. Laurence Brindisi)

Note Serpent and Crescent crushed underheel

A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. I should be very wary of going up against that, to say nothing of her child. But here's a closing hymn from the Benedictines of Notre Dame de Fontgombault, Ave Maris Stella, Hail Star of the Sea:

Some say the Faith's dead. That's not true, though perhaps it's hiding, for a time.

Ave,

LSP

Assumption

It's the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so take a break from pondering the iniquities of Agent Sztrok, Wacky Dog Omarosa, Russia Hysteria Syndrome and consider this instead.

From Pius XII's encyclical Munificentissimus Deus:

It is to be hoped that from meditation on the glorious example of Mary men may come to realize more and more the value of a human life entirely dedicated to fulfilling the will of the Heavenly Father and to caring for the welfare of others. We also hope that while materialistic theories [such as Communism] and the moral corruption arising from them are threatening to extinguish the light of virtue, and by stirring up strife, to destroy the lives of men, the exalted destiny of both our soul and body may in this striking manner be brought clearly to the notice of all men.

The value of human life, I'd say that's under attack right now at pretty much every level, not least from the nihilists who are working feverishly to destroy what's left of Christian culture in the West. 

They won't succeed but in the meanwhile...

Ora pro nobis,

LSP

Down by the River

Visited 'Red's' sister's place, which is just off the Detroit river in downtown(ish) Windsor; it's a converted attic with a neat deck overlooking the rooftops and trees. Beautiful and remarkably lush after Texas.

She shares it with her 13 year old son, Thomas. He's been learning a kind of 'Britspeak' in my honour and says "Good Lord!" after hairy scrapes on Halo 3. I've taught him that garage is pronounced garridge. We'll see if that sticks.

Regardless, a few more days here then it's back to Texas, the countryside and searing heat; it'll be good to get back though I have to say I'll miss Canada -- a bit of a cross between England and the U.S., I always think.

Cheers and belated blessings for the Feast of the Assumption.

LSP