Palm Sunday Wisdom

Tomorrow's Palm Sunday and it always seems, liturgically, to be a bit of a double cross. We welcome Christ as King, Hosanna in the highest, and the next minute it's Crucify Him. But it's in the Passion that Christ's kingship is revealed.

The late Fr. Crouse puts it well:

"Are you a king then?" asks Pilate. Yes, he is a king. "Thou sayest it." Yes, he is a king. But kingship is not what Pilate thinks it is; not what the world thinks it is. Yes, he is a king: "But now is my kingdom not from hence, if it were, then would my servants fight...but now is my kingdom not from hence." The ways of God's Kingdom are not the world's ways, and the glory of its kingship is altogether different. Its kingship is the kingship of a servant, its liberty is the liberty of free obedience; its virtue is humility. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." That is the essential message of this day.

Its virtue is humility or blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs, we learn, is the kingdom of heaven. By the grace of God.

Defeat the Turk,

LSP

Palm Sunday Prepper

"I've always been a prepper, because I've always been prepared, but some of these guys are too narrow. Their plan lacks perspective... I turn up at their fort with a canon and I start pounding that compound with hot shot. What then? Yeah, maybe they run out, perhaps they sally forth. I want that, I want them in my kill box." (From An Operator in Texas)

Don't get me wrong, I think it's right to be prepared but some ways make more sense than others, which is how the conversation flowed after Palm Sunday Mass #2.

"So how's the 'community'?"

"You know, there's a lot of people out there prepping for the least likely of all scenarios."

"Like the Hillary campaign getting honest?"

"Yeah, or an asteroid hitting the earth, whatever."

"Or some TAC guy turns up and starts shelling you with a trebuchet."

"Right. They're all concentrating on these never-gonna-happen outcomes."

Until, of course, that they do. But seriously, what's wrong with getting back to basics? Learning, for example, how to hunt, clean and cook your own food? Knowing, if you don't already, how to shoot, or being able to live because you sensibly know how to grow food and had the foresight to ensure that you'd have water if the grid goes down? 

And on. The point being, go off and learn all the AR 15 drills you can, and more power to you; become an ace shot, why not? Stockpile ammo, even, but more importantly, learn basic self-sufficiency. 

There just might come a point when that'll stand you in good stead, and it's a virtue in itself. 

Except, of course, when it comes to God. Then it's just wicked pride.

Prep On,

LSP

Palm Sunday

Listen up, you lot. It's Palm Sunday, time for some religion and none of your freakish liturgical dance Priestess of Baal religion, either:

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and taking up the Cross we all say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’

He who has heaven as his throne and earth his footstool, the Word and co-eternal Son of God the Father, having come to Bethany, showed his humility today on the colt of a dumb animal. Therefore the children of the Hebrews, holding branches in their hands, sang his praise and cried, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes, the King of Israel’.

Let us too, all the new Israel, the Church from the nations, come today and let us cry out, ‘Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion. Proclaim it, daughter of Jerusalem. For see, your King is coming to you, meek and bringing salvation, and mounted on the colt of an ass, offspring of a beast of burden. Celebrate with the Children. Holding branches in your hands shout his praise, ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes, the King of Israel’.

Buried with you through Baptism, Christ our God, we have been granted immortal life by your Resurrection, and we sing your praises, crying: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Mounted on the throne in heaven, Christ God, and on the foal on earth, you accepted the praise of the Angels and the hymn of the children who cried to you: Blessed are you who come to call back Adam.

Have a blessed Holy Week,

LSP

Sporterizing the Lee Enfield - Porch Project Pt. V

You know what it's like in the mission field, drive several hundred miles to say Mass and teach a Confirmation class full of inquiring minds. "Tell me, class. Just what is a Sacrament? And why do we have them?" They did well and we'll have more Confirmations at this one Mission than we've had in a decade. Result.

nearly there

Still, class over and it's time to fall back to the LSP Compound to get on with serious Gospel imperatives, namely sorting out one of the Lees -- on the porch.

porch vise

First things first, apply another coat of finish to the butt and notice that almost all of the grain is full. This is not a job for the impatient. Just sayin'. Woodwork done, stand it up somewhere to cure.

But that's not all, not by any means. The barrel of the Lee demands polishing. Get down to it, starting with 150 grit and moving up to 400. Use a block, sand along the barrel, then across the barrel, as if you were buffing shoes.

stamper

Give the receiver another going over with 600 grit and notice the cacophany of stampings. I especially like the Crown and BSA & Co marks. 1917 puts me in a somber mood; who knows what hells this rifle and its rifleman went through. 

Imperium

Ma LSP says, "Maybe it shot some bulletheads." She doesn't waste words. A Texan. Several hours later the job was done. Barrel sanded to 400; in the next installment I'll bring it up to 600 to match the receiver.

elbow grease

Maybe it's time to turn to the bolt... Have a blessed Palm Sunday.

All glory, laud and honour.

LSP