Virtues And Gifts

Our diocesan retreat's over and the conferences were excellent. A classical exposition of the virtues, theological and cardinal, and their perfection under the impulse of the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. 

So for example, the gift of understanding perfects the infused virtue of faith, giving us profound insight into divine truth. And on; thank you Fr. Ward for bringing Aquinas to Texas along with the tried and true application of the matter in hand to the lives of the Saints, living icons of the Spirit's munificence.

It was all good but I was struck by this. The gift of fortitude or courage perfects the moral virtue of the same name, seen by Aristotle as courage in battle for the good end/telos of the city, elevated or "taken into a larger room" in the context of the Faith. Now we face danger or death for the good of the heavenly city as opposed to Athens or, say, Abilene.

Yes indeed and we can see how the gift of fortitude, and it is a gift, impels the martyrs and all heroes of the Faith. Stick with it, don't give up on your journey to the beatific vision. Obvious enough, if a mystery, and we can see why this bravery extends to all the virtues. But consider.

First Crusade. Result.

Fortitude applies to our earthly struggle. It's not easy to stick with the program when Pink Moloch strides like Behemoth across the land. No doubt, but the gift also extends to the heavenly. 

We need courage to face the next life, our moving on to something entirely, radically, utterly new and with it a total detachment from earthly things, all that we've known. That takes bravery and it's given us by the Spirit.

Thank you, Fr. Ward for the insight and many more. If you want to learn more about this and you should, see here and here and go from there. 

Not Fortitude

So don't give up, readers, like some kind of pathetic beta and run in panic for the nearest safe space, onesie or crying towel.

FORTITUDE,

LSP

Cuddle Party -- WARNING GRAPHIC

Thanks to Brietbart's reporting on the Cuddle Industry, we know that cuddle parties are booming, comforting people everywhere who are traumatized by President Trump.

A Typical Cuddle Party

According to professional cuddler, Anastasia Allington of Austin, Texas, cuddling is all about space.

I started thinking about why it would be that people would seek out this service after this particular election and I think it has a lot to do with space. We walk through our days and we wear all these hats: mother, sister, employee, then something like this happens where, for many people, they felt bereft and the world doesn’t stop. In the cuddle space, you can be where you are with whatever emotion you’re feeling and no one has any expectations of you.

 Cuddling

I won't comment about space but, No one has any expectations of you, are you sure, Anastasia? Regardless, here's some furries, cuddling.

Cuddlespace is centered in San Francisco and Austin. The number of Episcopalian and Church of England clerics who cuddle is currently unknown.

God bless,

LSP

AAAAAND HE WINS, AGAIN

It's official, Donald Trump has won 304 votes in the Electoral College over rival Hillary Clinton's 228, making him the 45th President of the United States.

Do you remember the risible attempts of the Hillaryites to derail Trump's historic victory? Burning, looting, Jill Stein's absurdly losing recounts, resurrecting the Cold War, the Russians did it! Really, the Russians did it? PR team, you're fired. There they were, throwing their cocoa out of the crib as they messed their onesies on the way to the nearest safe space.

Go On, Hurry Up Then

One member of the intelligence community compared the spectacle to the suspiciously "pink" 5 stages of grief. Anger, denial, depression and so on; well get over it, Libs. America's had enough of your rainbow riding antics and enough of 8 whole years of the dead hand of the Obama administration. What did that achieve?

Chaos in the Middle East, appeasement of radical Islam, the continued slide of our cities into urban hellholes, less real jobs, ever more debt and race tension at its highest point since the '60s. But not to worry, the Supreme Court turned the country gay and we got a broken health scheme. Not so good, unless with Joe Biden you think that transsexualism is the "greatest civil rights issue of our time," and weren't forced to buy useless Obamacare. Then there was the famous War on Weather, massive unemployment, and on, and on, and on. 

It's a pathetic track record, one that left normal Americans poorer, and the rotten bi-coastal, millionaire socialist elitocracy was given a deserved whipping at the vote. But will the golden towered Trump make America great again?

I sure hope so. Maybe part of that means defunding the baby parts selling abortion mill, Planned Parenthood. Maybe it'll mean working with Russia to crush ISIS and the Jihad, and rebuilding our manufacturing industry. Let's see.

In the meanwhile, he wins, again. Don't forget to #LockHerUp.

MAGA.

LSP

Hot Chocolate Onesies And Kittens

In Safe Space no one can hear you scream! Anonymous

You're proably wondering, scornfully, "Is LSP capable of serious thought?" Well, maybe not, but George Rutler is. Here's the Upper East Side onetime Anglican on the discouraging "safe space" trend:

"Professors who never attained moral maturity themselves, reacted by providing “safe spaces” for students traumatized by reality. In universities across the land, by a sodality of silliness in the academic establishment, these “safe spaces” were supplied with soft cushions, hot chocolate, coloring books, and attendant psychologists. More than one university in the Ivy League provided aromatherapy along with friendly kittens and puppies for weeping students to cuddle. A college chaplaincy invited students to pray some prescribed litanies that offered God advice in an advisory capacity.

"The average age of a Continental soldier in the American Revolution was one year less than that of a college freshman today. Alexander Hamilton was a fighting lieutenant-colonel when 21, not to mention Joan of Arc who led an army into battle and saved France when she was about as old as an American college sophomore. In our Civil War, eight Union generals and seven Confederate generals were under the age of 25. The age of most U.S. and RAF fighter pilots in World War II was about that of those on college junior varsity teams. Catholics who hoped in this election for another Lepanto miracle will remember that back in 1571, Don Juan of Austria saved Western civilization as commanding admiral when he was 24."

Don Juan was twenty four when he took down the Moslem sea jihad.  Ponder that and as you do, reflect on the West's cultural devolution. Who will save us? Rome? Moscow?

I'm not a betting man but I'd lay odds on the latter. Then again, all the polls were confounded last Tuesday so perhaps there's hope for the West yet.

Sink me, a Guinea on the Monkey.

LSP