Advent

Advent's here, when we look to the past for the first coming of Christ, when the Word was made Flesh, and to the future, when He will come to judge the quick and the dead and the world by fire. Also to the present, as Our Lord arrives daily to His faithful people.

So let's get serious by way of this quote from FJH:

"The old world is destroyed and a soulless world takes its place. Art is subsumed within the abstract because there is nothing concrete worth portraying. Music becomes discordant or banal for lack of spiritual harmony. Theatre devotes itself to the absurd and television to a perpetual portrayal of sexual relationships that produce neither children nor lasting friendship. No longer believing he is made in the image of God, Western man is suffering from an identity crisis he is unable to resolve. He is being persecuted by an uncontrollable ideology of his own making."

I'll leave you to draw the correlation with John the Baptist's call.

God bless,

LSP

No Bishop No King

No, No, No

People wonder about the politics of this "site". Some think that LSP's Putinist. Others think it's Falangist and others again Stalinist Liberal, or even GOP.

Yes, Yes, Yes

No. I'm tempted towards Lockean Liberalism, but with the caveat that the "the Devil was the first Whig" I have to say I'm interested in Monarchy.

Result

It's Biblical and it's awesome. "Awesome!?" you say. I'd have thought that was obvious.

Vivat.

LSP

Russians Force Madonna to Cover Face!

Bear Cav

Aging pop icon, Madonna, has been given the thumbs down by outraged citizens of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Illuminati Witch?

Provoked by the threat of the once youthful singer revealing her time ravaged body, angry Russians took the Material Girl to court in an attempt to prevent her from appearing on stage. 

"I heard at the concerts on this tour she pulled off her tights, and we will not have that here. We warn the organizers of the concert so that everything goes well. Otherwise they will face the harsh laws of St. Petersburg," said a concerned member of the public, Vitaly Milonov.

Forced to hide her face

Described by some plaintiffs as a "degenerate Illuminati witch", Madonna failed to appear in the closet sized St. Petersburg Court and was acquitted by Judge Vitaly Barkovsky after a 5 hour hearing.

Mistress Chronos frowns upon Madonna

However, the pint-sized former beauty was forced to wear a balaclava to cover her face during her performance. 

It is unclear whether further charges will be brought against the Michigan born singer.

Kick out the jams.

LSP

I Hate Strip Malls

our new town center

In the olden days, when the Cause was living memory, the trains went to Hillsboro and business flourished in the center of town. Then things changed. Passenger rail went out of style as people took to the highways in their motors and business moved out of town, leaving it a hollowed out, semi-derelict wreck.

another town the yankees wrecked

But look, all's not lost! We have a new town center, sprung up strip mall style on either bank of I35. That's going out of business too.

the old station, now a "visitors bureau" whatever that is.

I like to escape our merry little rural dystopia by driving out of town a short way to see my horse and go for a ride, preferably at great speed.

Powerful therapy and, you never know, maybe a useful skill.

Happy Feast of St. Andrew. 

LSP

The Bishop's Father

Gavin Welby, born Bernard Weiler

According to some newspaper(s), the new Archbishop of Canterbury's father was a Jewish feather merchant from Ruislip, which is a kind of London suburb, who emigrated to New York during World War I. He reinvented himself as a liquor salesman while hinting at a fictitious aristocratic pedigree. Then, during the evil days of Prohibition, he prospered as a kind of bootlegger and made his way back to England where he had several adventures, including marriage to Winston Churchill's secretary. He was sued by a Baronet, apparently, and died pretty much alone in an apartment in Kensington. 

grey space creature

His Archepiscopal son thinks his father was "alcohol dependent" and claims to be shocked at the revelation of his "secret life."

anglican bishop

Well look, Welby's Guv'nor was a rogue but at least he wasn't possessed by the spirit of a Grey Alien space creature. And he was interesting. And he managed to send his kid to Eton.

Eton was a seminary of sorts, before the protestants got their mitts on it.

I'm off for a ride now. Carry on.

LSP

Tree Hippies

One of the things that hippies like to do is live in trees. They want to get away from the "Man" so they climb up trees and make these shelters, where they live.

shake the hippie out of the tree

French police are trying to shake the hippies out of the trees because they're making a mess. When the hippies are gone the French will build an airport and the forest will be gone, as will the hippies.

dancing hippies

I like the last part of that equation.

Here in Texas we're working pretty hard to transport the hippies out of Austin and into California. San Francisco, to be precise, where they belong.

LSP

Black Friday

Being in a mood to live out my own small slice of the American Dream, I figured I'd better go out and buy something on Black Friday. I wasn't sure what to expect, maybe there'd be fierce Drudge inspired mobs of people in a shopping frenzy, getting ready to "kick off", as some of my English friends might say.

So I went to the local Dallas Best Buy to find some action and sure enough, there were plenty of people buying things. No riots though, even the cops standing guard at the door seemed full of good spirits, as were the shoppers. I tried to find a Digital Audio Converter (DAC) and failed, then browsed around the hi-fi -- audio's really moved on in the past few years, leaving me sadly out of date. Maybe I'll save up the money and upgrade the stereo, I thought to myself, and didn't buy anything.

Puchaseless, I cruised around the barrio in the truck, wondering at the Lexus in front of me. Redistribute the wealth, yo.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and, of course, Feast of St. Clement.

Cheers,

LSP

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Mayflower Pilgrims were Calvinists, escaping from Stuart despotism in England in order to start a new life in a new world. I suppose they gave thanks to God on the first Thanksgiving for their escape from the evils of bishops and kings, perhaps too for their assurance of final perseverance and election to heaven. 

I abhor Calvinism and find it strange that Christians who believe God to be a loving and merciful Father should ascribe a wickedness to Him infinitely in excess of the worst imaginable human parent. Viz. From all eternity he chooses some for damnation and others for salvation. Nasty bit of work, the Genevan devil-god and so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that  the Pilgrim's New England descendants turned Unitarian within a century or so of landing in America.

That aside, have a great Thanksgiving. I'm off to the Dallas compound to beat up on some turkey. 

Cheers,

LSP

Priesthood

You probably think that LSPland is this spurious mix of aliens, apes, Cossack Bear Cav, horses, guns and not particularly subtle attacks on hippies, wimmin priests and their lib friends. Perhaps you're thinking "LSP is incapable of serious thought."

some goof in a bad miter

Well, you might have a point, but here's something different. An excellent description of priesthood which I've lifted from Fr. Michael Gollop's thoughtful blog, Let Nothing You Dismay. It's written by Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith for the U.K.'s Catholic Herald.

"The priesthood is not a caring profession as such; it is a rather different line of work. In fact it is not work or a job at all. The priest exists for one thing and one thing only; all his other activities are icing on the cake; the priest is there to climb Mount Calvary and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He is there to say hoc est enim corpus meum (“This is my body”). That is his one purpose, though he may fulfill many others as well. But amid the multitude of tasks, the centrality of the Eucharistic Sacrifice must not be lost sight of."

"... the priest is there to climb Mount Calvary and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

I'd say that puts it perfectly. You can read the whole thing here, if you like.

God bless,

LSP

Blood on the Floor of the Synod

It's not easy being a senior female clergyperson in the Church of England these days. You want power, real power, not the pale imitation that comes with being an Archdeacon, or even a Dean. No, you want the real thing, you want to be a bishop.

consecrate!

And it was so close, so very, very close. Friends were knitting presentation vestments, you've spotted that ring, the gold one that you've always wanted, and Watts has sized you up for a miter. The Episcopal Palace has been redecorated at least a dozen times, in your mind. You almost live there already!

living the dream

Then, today, the dream came crashing down. The Church of England's House of Laity said no. Maybe, in 5 years time, when the Measure resurfaces, you'll be retired and the Christian world will heave a sigh of relief.

a woman "bishop"

Well done, Laity. Bad show, Bishops and Clergy.

COE, you've dodged a bullet. But remember, Hell hath no fury...

LSP

On the Road

LSP drives into Town

It seems to me that Dallas was faced with a decision, probably after World War II. "How and where do we want to live?" the City Fathers asked themselves, "In a city, or on a road?" City, Road? That was the question and the answer came back emphatically. "Road!" they chanted and roads they got.

It came as a culture shock after England, where people still, I think, walk about their towns and cities. But regardless of the ways of what used to be Great Britain, I find myself spending an awful lot of time on the road. 

Speaking of which, Jack Kerouac was a Mass-going catholic, as was Andy Warhol. Apparently Warhol was a daily communicant, amongst other less pleasant things. I'd never have guessed.

Drive safe,

LSP

Gun Safety

I'm all for 2nd amendment rights, obviously. But some people shouldn't be allowed to have guns, or shoot them.

You see?

LSP