A Typical London Sunday

 

So whaddya do on any given Sunday in London, capitol city of the Sceptred Isle? Good question and there's many options, but here in LSPland we like to go down this route. 

Viz. Wake up, this is important. Then, ablutions complete, get dressed. Maybe this involves a Harvie & Hudson shirt, a regimental or club tie, and some kind of suit, two button, three button, double breasted. Your choice, there's no rule. Then polish your shoes, like a pro.

The Best Shirts? I Call Yes

Well done, you've got this far. Next step, walk with urgency to the nearest underground railway, picking up strong covfefe on the way. Two stops later you're in Knightsbridge, marvel at the hordes of tourists getting off at this stop and join them, where are they going?

Not to shop, because these are shut 'til Noon, so perhaps they're going to Mass, just like you. A few minutes later find yourself at the Brompton Oratory, right on time for the 11.00 am Solemn High, and guess what, this large church is packed with all manner of people. Young, old, rich, poor, English, foreign, you name it, there they are, all present and correct to worship God according to the Western Rite of the Mystical Body of Christ. But hold on.

Beautiful

Parse Western Rite as an oriented Solemn High with three Sacred Ministers, in Latin with English readings, and the order of the new(ish) Mass. In other words, an Eastward facing Solemn High Latin variant of the Novus Ordo, all set to beautiful music, think Tallis and all of that. Which, dear readers, is the way liturgical reform should have gone but didn't.

Well, the proof of the pudding's in the eating and the Oratory's packed while guitar playing nun, wymxn priestess churches aren't. So. Mass over, not that the sacrifice ever ends, stride out uplifted onto the Brompton Road. Gaze at Harrods on your right and reflect on the times you've been there since a child, but don't go in.

EIC - Most Congenial

Instead, catch a cab to the East India Club, it's not far away, just off St. James, and enjoy a drink before lunch. Maybe you want a Bloody Mary, a French 75 or a Martini, whatever, your call, then enjoy smoked salmon carved off the trolley, roast beef, perfectly medium rare, and a desert. My choice is this: A scoop of chocolate ice cream and a double espresso. You see, you can mix the coffee with the ice cream and it tastes like perfection, word to the wise.

Lunch evolution over, you can go upstairs to the comfortable and historic Waterloo Room or stroll over to the In & Out (Naval & Military) to enjoy the after party before heading back to SOHO. Yes, this is still a thing and doesn't seem to have changed so very much in thirty or so years. In fact, the place seems to be recovering after the UK's heinous COVID lockdown. 

Don't be Fooled, This Place is Always Packed

Whatever, Team LSP favors the FRENCH HOUSE and the COACH & HORSES. And that's how Sunday night finishes, mission accomplished, a job well done.

Cheers,

LSP

Cult & Culture

No Cult, No Culture, runs the slogan, along with Vatican Two Empty The Pew. The cult in question being the liturgy and worship of the Western Church which was eviscerated by liturgical geniuses in the late '60s, early '70s. And go figure, as the worship of the Church was destroyed so too was the culture from which it sprang. 

Here in Texas and around the world we're reversing this apostate trend. No guitar playing nuns, no priestesses, no liturgical dance, just the Altar against the East wall and the Mass done right. I tell you, it appeals to young people. And who can blame them?

Lex Orandi Lex Credendi,

LSP

High Mass - Low Mass

 

You see, readers, there's High Mass and there's Low Mass. The High can be very high indeed, and the Low can scrape the depths.

It's a thing. The Western world had a liturgy, a rite, a way of worshiping God which stood for at least 1000 years, maybe more. This was disrupted at the end of the Middle Ages, "smash it up" shouted the reformers and so they did.

Fast forward to today. We've had, what, 50 years of liturgical reform in which the "experts" dismantled, defaced and deformed the worship of the Western Church. And all in the name of making it more popular. But guess what, nobody came, and who can blame them.

It's a bit like wymmyn priest figures in the Anglican church, "If you don't ordain wymmyn no one will go to your churches!" shrieked the deformers and lo and behold, no one has even though the deformers did it anyway.

At the heart of this wickedness, whether Roman, Anglican or anywhere else, lies two-faced apostasy, disbelief masquerading as Christianity. Atheism in vestments, if you like. And I tell you this. The purpose of the Church, it's primary mission and objective is to worship God.

Let's reclaim that.

Here endeth the Lesson,

LSP

Good and Bad

 

Good and bad? You see, there's a difference. On the one hand there's good and on the other, there's bad. Sometimes the two different things masquerade as the same thing, we see this in politics and also in the church. Here, look at this.

That's the bishop figure of London, pretending to be something good, a bishop, which she doesn't believe in anyway. Bad. And here's a couple of clowns celebrating Yewkrist at Trinity Wall Street.

Sinister, don't you think? Go on, receive unholy communion from the clown; sorry about the children, they don't deserve such abuse. But it doesn't have to be this way. There are alternatives.

You can worship God without blasphemously clowning around. Good. It's been done for a few thousand years and's still going on today. Perhaps you need to search it out, it can be hard to find, but it's there and it's worth it.

I say worth it, maybe you'd prefer something else, something more attune to the spirit of the age, something like this:

Why? Because, you know, wymxn priests are gonna fill the pews. Speaking of which, church attendance in England continues to plummet.

At the time of writing, the number of old wymxn on the venerable Church of England's Bench of Bishops is unknown. 

Your Pal,

LSP

All Saints & Souls

You've probably been far too busy with the noble sport of unicorn hunting to get to church, but that's a mistake. You see, there's been a lot of feasting. On Wednesday we celebrated the Feast of All Saints and on Thursday the Feast of All Souls.

Powerful stuff, eh? And let's not hear any nonsense about "idolatry" or "soul sleep." Think instead of the miraculous efficacy of the prayers the saints, not least the Virgin Mary who destroyed the Moslem Sea Jihad at Lepanto. Well done, Rosary, you work.

May the Saints intercede for us and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

God bless,

LSP

The Saint Michael's Conference, 2017

Normally I'd be on the staff of the St. Michael's Conference for young people right now, overseeing the liturgical dance, teaching a couple of classes and leading discussion groups on UFOs, Cryptids and Why You Shouldn't Be A Thieving Hippy. But this year I took a break and sent a cadet instead. "I don't want to cramp your style," I told my son.

Still, I miss the event. It's an outstanding, immersive course in traditional catholicism as seen through an Anglican lens. Something like an Anglo-Catholic boot camp perhaps, and a lot of fun for the kids who don't seem to miss guitar playing nuns, wymin priests and all the other skulduggery of unpopular modern worship and watered down belief.  

At the Conference the staff don't peddle that, they do worship and teach according to the Faith which has been handed down to us by Christ through the Apostles. 

There is great, Spirit-filled converting power in this and in the end, when the ersatz versions of Christianity have run their course, it's this Faith which will be left standing against the gates of Hell.

Those, says Christ, won't prevail.

God bless,

LSP 

Say A Prayer, Heathen

Worship

Listen up, heathen. It's Sunday and time to feast but also to pray. Some argue the two go hand in hand, but I won't preach as I do enough of that, ahem, already.

Anyway, here's a prayer (Collect) for the day:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And for all you Latin Mass trads, here it is again, with a fuller doxoloy:

OMNÍPOTENS sempitérne Deus, infirmitátem nostram propítius réspice: atque ad protegéndum nos, déxteram tuæ majestátis exténde. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum, Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia s ǽcula sæculórum.

I tell you this, I prefer the Latin Mass but I like the Epistle and Gospel in English. I don't care either way about the sermon. 

God bless,

LSP 

Hope And Change

Hide That Paten

No clowns, no gender fluid priestesses, no goofy liturgical dancers, no progleft comsymp tomfoolery masquerading as Christianity, just the Gospel, the Faith once delivered and the our best shot at unleashing the power of the Western Rite.

Don't be a Hippy or a Witch, Kids

That's the St. Michael's Conference Southwest, and the kids love it, a lot. It's a privilege to staff it for a week.

God bless,

LSP

Anglo-Catholics, This One's For You. A Confession

I know it's terribly confusing, but there's a movement, or a shadow of a movement, within Anglicanism that asserts catholicity for our part of the church. Scripture, creeds, sacraments, apostolic tradition, piety, liturgy, salvation, the nature of the church herself, all these and more are viewed and believed in through a catholic lens.

Now, as a part of this movement, such as it is today, I have a confession to make -- and yes, make yours before Christmas, if you can -- there was a time, not so long ago in the greater scheme of things, when I felt that if I didn't have this:

St. Nicholas du Chardonnet

I wasn't somehow cutting it. But I got this:

Rural missions in Texas. Not shrines in Boston, New York, Philly, Chicago, or even Texas, for that matter. And you know what, I don't feel shortchanged for a moment.

Don't get me wrong, I love a Solemn High Mass as much as I loathe, scorn and despise liturgical dance, or the monstrous regiment of priestesses, women bishop figures and associated clowns. But here's the thing -- don't let yourself become that most ridiculous and pathetic of creatures, a church snob. God will surprise you. In my case, that's been for the good.

Don't Teacup, Fool

In related news, I've reminded the bishop that it'd make a lot of sense to put a new rule in place regarding postulants for ordination. Viz. If you can't ride and you don't shoot, you can't get in.

That is all.

Your Old Pal,

LSP

Palm Sunday, 2015

I won't preach, because I've done that twice today already, but I will leave you with the Palm Sunday Collect:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a very blessed day and Holy Week.

LSP

St. Michael's Conference Southwest

One of the best things I get to do is help staff the St. Michael's Conference Southwest, which is a week long Anglo-Catholic event for young people held at Camp Crucis, in the Diocese of Fort Worth. 

Say the Mass the Right Way 'Round

Our primary focus is worship, and not the useless kind either, with goofy clowns, dancers and a sappy crew of frustrated pop musicians banging their amplified way through the "Yewkrist." No, none of that, just the power of the ancient Western Rite, as seen through the lens of Anglicanism. To help us do that, we have to fix up the chapel a bit, from this:

Before

To this:

And After

A marked improvement. We have incense too and it's strange to see that no one's weirdly allergic to it; odd, eh?

Kindly Old LSP

I was MC this year, which meant I had to coordinate the worship, and I enjoyed that. Quite hard work though, as there's a Solemn High Mass every day, along with the Offices (Morning Prayer, Solemn Evensong, Compline) and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Exposition on Wednesday and Thursday. You can see photos on Facebook here.

The Last Gospel

Almost all faculty and students make their Confession and Christ moves with great converting power during the week. It gives a huge boost to my vocation and the faith of all who go; a testament to catholic Christianity practiced unashamedly and without compromise. 

More of that, please.

God bless,

LSP

May Day Beltane

I celebrated May Day by driving to Fort Worth for a diocesan clergy day; we celebrated the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles, with a Solemn High Mass. I like that.

The Usual Hippy Goof-Off

Hippies wouldn't though. They're not down with the Mass on May Day, much less Apostles. They like Beltane instead, and when they're not too busy hustling for spare change and thieving, they sometimes band together and take over town centers.

Horned God

When they get there they usually just goof-off, maybe beat on some drums, dance around a bit, rip-off tourists, the usual. More together crews have a May Queen, a Greene Man and a Horned God, chances are they'll wig out to a fire rave too.

Wicker Man

Perhaps that seems innocent to you. I'll direct your attention to the Wicker Man, and while you're at it, if you have the energy, google Beltane Episcopal Church (TEC). Several stories if you care to write them.

Blessed May Day and Feast of Ss. Philip & James,

LSP

Church and State

St. Michael's Conference

Things have been busy lately, mostly with the St. Michael's Conference and various lit deadlines, to say nothing of Vlad "New Constantine" Putin's protection of surveillance-state enemy No.1, Snowden.

Introit

Perhaps you remember the olden days when we used to criticize the Russians for spying on their citizens and trying to ban Christianity? Odd how the State hates the Faith, especially the catholic sort that says abortion is wrong and marriage is between a man and a woman. Speaking of which, it'll be interesting to see how the clash between our secularist Administration and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops develops over Obamacare. 

strike incense

As I understand it, neither side seems willing to take any prisoners, which could result in the Church becoming the counter-cultural force she should be in this adulterous, sinful and disbelieving generation. "Get behind abortion or we'll fine you out of existence," says the State. "Bring it on," says the Church.

gates of hell won't prevail

Maybe that's the way it'll pan out and I guess we'll see the resolve of both parties when the first bishop is sentenced to jail. Hopefully it won't come to that; but if it does, the atheist State will lose.

In the meanwhile, I hope you've all come to terms with the fact that you're being spied on in our brave new world of conspiracy theory turned to conspiracy fact.

Cheers,

LSP 

Horse Worship

One of the things I like to do, when not browsing Russian nationalist websites in search of Bear Cav pics, is to go riding. It's good for mind, body and spirit, provided, of course, that you don't come off at a full-tilt gallop and break.

Speaking of which, I've been working JB at the slower gaits, walk and trot, around mesquites and small trails  in the brush. The objective being to build her fitness, confidence, response to aids and overall unity with the rider after a couple of months of not being ridden.

spurious target photo...

The principle's simple enough -- make it easy for the horse to do what you want it to do and hard for the creature to do the opposite. I guess you could translate that into church terms.

Say a Solemn High Mass and get a reward.

Say a Clown Mass and ________ Well, fill in the blank.

The Western Church has a liturgy, it just needs to use it.

LSP