Ash Wednesday

A member of one of the Missions attended Mass on Ash Wednesday and duly had the sign of the Cross traced on her forehead. It's a powerful symbol, reminding us of our mortality and the need for repentance as we "walk the way of the Cross" during Lent. After the service the parishioner went to Wal Mart to pick up supplies and, not being one to hide her faith, hadn't rubbed off the ashen Cross...

which evidently caused an uproar. A large man spotted the Cross and began to point and bellow, "The Mark of the Beast! The Mark of the Beast!" until he was taken out of the store by his partner.

The point of this story? Aside from the curious conversion of the minions of antichrist to the Cross? I'd say it was simple:

When there's no more room in Wal Mart the dead shall walk the earth. 

But don't get me wrong, I like their cheap ammo.

Have a blessed Lent,

LSP

Angels

Archangel Michaelerkirche, Vienna

Being an LSP isn't just about horses, guns and underhand attacks on the "agitprop abomination" (thanks Silverfiddle) that is TEC and the extra-planetary ACoC. No, sometimes it involves reflection on the Angels. What are these creatures?

If you're a dogmatic atheist the answer's simple - they're figments of overheated imaginations. Madeleine Murray O'Hair and Margaret Sanger probably thought that, but to the faithful they're something else again. 

Here's some basic background:

Being spirits, we can say that angels are invisible, immaterial essences and therefore not bound by physical constraints. However, we learn from Scripture that angels interact with the material world and can assume bodily appearance, for example, rolling away the stone of the empty tomb (Matthew 28:2; Mark 16:3-4).

O'Hair, not an angel

Likewise, they appear as messengers of the Divine will and harbingers of His judgement, notoriously so in John's Apocalypse, where they exercise power and control of the elements to bring about the consummation of the Kingdom. Possessed of intellect, emotion and volition and living in a permanent state of heavenly bliss, they act in harmony with the will of God against the forces of wickedness - not least that of Satan and his apostate angels whose end is destruction.

Tradition, relying on Scripture and the teaching of the Church Fathers, assigns nine ranks to the angelic host:  Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels, with each rank having a different function. Seraphim, for example, worship before the throne of God (Isaiah 6:2-3; Revelation 4:8), while the Archangel Michael leads the angelic army against Satan (Revelation 12:7).

Again, Tradition assigns each person and place an angel, from heavenly bodies to Airborne units.

Archangel Michael, Airborne Patron

 
And, if you want to learn more about angelic natures it's probably best to check out the Medieval schoolmen who devoted great mental energy to the thing. I find it interesting and suspect that the subjects of the inquiry served as vehicles for broader metaphysical speculation - but my preference aside, it seems abstruse  and fantastical to most people today.

So, granted belief, what are we to make of the angels?

On the one hand, it seems comforting to think that we have supernatural guardians, but when we reflect on their implacable goodness perhaps an element of healthy respect and awe is also in order.

Remember the Cherubim in Genesis 3:24 - they were possessed of a flaming sword. Not to be conjured with lightly.


God bless,


LSP

Bishops Pt. III - Sunni, Shia, Sufi, Schori?

Goofy

 

 

In a recent visit to All Saints of the Desert church in Arizona, Jefferts Schori, leaderene and "Boy Bishop" of The Episcopal Church (TEC) spoke out in favor of Islam.

Scary

“There are many strands of Muslims that share a great deal in common with the Episcopal Church. God will use us if we are willing to work closely with each other. There are great possibilities,” stated Schori to parishioners.

Zany

Great possibilities - for what? Interfaith pilgrimages to Mecca? Joint basket weaving workshops? Shared disbelief in the divinity of Christ? And just who are these multiple "strands of Muslims" who have so much in common with Schori's TEC? Would they be the ones that do the beheading, or the ones attacking Christians in Egypt and throughout the Middle East?

Violent

After her enigmatic comments on The Religion of Peace, Schori told listeners that, "Weapons of violence should not be freely available to just anyone who wants them.”

Evidently Arizona is a free firearms distribution zone. Who knew?

Well done Schori, you get a robust eight Alien Heads.

LSP

Alien Head, or ACoC?

ACoC?

Nasa's rover "Spirit" has sent back images from Mars where something that looks very much like the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) is shown.

Nasa scientists dismissed the image as a rock, however, but church analysts are not convinced.

"Their eyes are about 5cm apart, with a small sharp chin, just what you'd expect from the tiny church" said one expert.

UFOlogists dispute this, arguing that the small Mars object is a fossilized alien head instead of the tiny, lost, off-world denomination.

You be the judge.

LSP

Scouting

moving in the shadows

Set out after a relaxing ride, geared towards foundational work (walk, trot, control around obstacles), to scout out coyotes. Earlier that day I'd asked Bonnie if it was alright to setup and hunt them. She said, "Have at it!" So off I went to see where they were coming into the farm. Nothing like planning ahead, you see.

Coyote Crossing

I figured they were moving into the fields by way of a creek and sure enough they were; crossing the creek, then padding along a trail before heading left towards some cow fields. Probably after calves, or anything else they can sink their teeth into. There'd been a good rain the night before so it was easy to find fresh tracks in the mud.

Tracks

Took a rifle with me in case there were any 'targets of opportunity', which there weren't, so I contented myself with planning a couple of setups and generally enjoying an armed stroll in the countryside. That, in itself, is an excellent thing. I believe it's banned, for the most part, in England.

Will call the beasts in next week, and shoot them.

LSP

Just Riding the Dolphin

Bullets

For some strange reason the ammo has been flying off the shelves at the local Walmart; no .45 ACP, little if any 30-06, .308, .223, no 9mm and stranger still, a big lack of .22LR. Maybe the latter's not so odd - .22's a sensible round to stock up on, lots of bang for the buck, as it were. I felt myself lucky to snag one of the few remaining 'value packs' in time for tomorrow's target practice.

Surely it's not the case that people are worried and feel the need to get prepared? Maybe they are, but in the meanwhile, the rival diocese of Fort Worth is busy 'waging reconciliation', when they're not suing Bishop Iker and trad Anglicans. 

Ohl Granola

TEC Bishop Ohl has organised a 'reconciliation liturgy' and asked people to bring things to it, such as "a piece of art – a drawing, a painting, a weaving, a sculpture, a piece of ceramic..."

I think I'll skip that particular drum circle.

LSP

Amazonian Guard

Mad as you Like

 I know you'll condemn me as sadly ignorant but I've only just become aware of the Colonel's (why still a Colonel after so long?) Amazonian Guard. I had no idea that Libya's crazed despot surrounded himself with a female security force until a friend sent me a link to a site accusing MG of being an "International Fashion Criminal", which he is, amongst other things. The Guards are hand picked by Gaddafi and have special training that turns them into killers. They're virgins, evidently.

Virgins

Will they die defending their Leader? Like crazed last-ditch Nazis? For that matter, will the youth of the Middle East "seize the future from the gnarled hands of old men" (thanks SBW), or will the whole affair turn into a Jihadwatch nightmare?

Disturbing.

LSP

Scary

Undead

I was going to post a short bucolic piece on the therapeutic pleasures of horse riding but got badly hijacked by Drudge and the ongoing scary saga of the Middle East. Will it all result in a new dawn of peace, love and freedom, like a big Woodstock in the sand? 

Freeloading Hippies

 Or will it be a disaster of epic, apocalyptic proportions?

Age of Aquarius

I'd say the vote was out. 

Lord have mercy.

LSP

Ice Age Eschaton - Pistol

Getting Warmer

Everyone knows that it's much warmer now, which is why it's colder, especially in Dallas, where I was stranded for a couple of days by the New Ice Age. And to think, all brought about by the planet getting hotter, but such is the logic of the Eschaton. But I'm not complaining, it was good to retreat to the Ice Cave and take a few days off.

GH Getting Colder

Then, I suppose, it got colder so everything melted and I made it back to the country and a visit to GH's farm. We took his new Dodge down-field to an impromptu hay-bale pistol range and had some .45 ACP fun (remedial for me).

Berretta

I have to say, thank God for Winchester White Box, which takes a bit of the financial sting out of a shoot - I find I have to go through several magazines before getting into the swing of things and decently on target. I tend to pull the trigger, sending rounds low left and forget to breath, thanks to excitement. Bad errors, but when corrected things swung pretty neatly onto the bull.

Calm Before the Storm

Shot from around 15 and 20 yards, with the best results from 20, oddly enough. Then it was back to GH's house to talk about the state of the Mission and TEC's iniquitous land-grab. A good day.


Now the clouds are lowering with ice and snow. Smart people are honing up on their firearms skills and stockpiling. We don't know how long the winter will last.


Shoot straight,


LSP

Vicarious Hunting

GWB's new dog, Jeb & ducks

One of the reasons there hasn't been any hunting posts on this blog for far too long is that I haven't been out hunting. Riding? Yes. Shooting? Yes, but not as much as I'd like, mostly .22 plinking, to be honest.

But I can live vicariously through my linguistic philosopher friend GWB, who made good use of duck season to get out in the field with his new dog Jeb and a cheap but cheerful Mossberg 12 pump action ($150 from Academy).

Good duck result, GWB! Inspired now to get out and hunt once the weather clears.

Speaking of hunting, check out Whitetail Woods - Rick's excellent blog.

Written from the Ice Cave,

LSP

Retreat

St. Francis Xavier

Just back from our diocesan clergy retreat at a Jesuit house on Lake Dallas. There was no liturgical dance, frightening Clown Masses, or bad craziness of any sort. There was a statue of St. Francis Xavier, which I liked and a neat sunrise or two - uplifted the spirits unlike...

Sun over the Chapel

the neo-brutalist architecture of parts of the retreat house, but that tends to go with the territory and was more than compensated for by the tranquility of the place.

The Halls of Rome

Even managed to get some reading in, "The 'West', Islam and Islamism", by Caroline Cox and John Marks. They pose the question, "Is ideological Islam compatible with liberal democracy?" and answer that it isn't. Read the book if you can, it's short and clear, not least about 'abrogation' and the "Verse of the Sword" in the 9th Sura.

Say no to dhimmitude,

LSP

Oh Dear.

Diocese of London

A UK member of the LSP research team managed to take some time off from Kandahar to send in this curious tale, from London's Evening Standard. Here's a quote:

"The Rev David Gilmore, rector of St Anne's Anglican Church in Soho, was removed from office a week before Christmas after church authorities received complaints.

Mr Gilmore, 40, who is gay, agreed to let two members of the Armed Forces stay at the rectory after a servicemen's gay rights conference in December 2009. The 30-year-old RAF member and a sailor aged 20, referred to as A and B, claimed Mr Gilmore plied them with wine and engaged in 'lurid' conversations, including details of his sexual conquests. They told the panel he made it clear they 'were not the first people he had tried to sexually lure, that he had never had a sailor before but soldiers were fun, and that he offered B to come and sleep with him in his bed'". 

But that wasn't the problem. No. It was Gilmore visiting the 'guestroom' the next morning without any clothes on. That did it for the mysterious 'A and B' who went to 'church authorities' in the diocese of London.

You just couldn't make this stuff up, except perhaps, sadly, you could.

LSP