Ride English

In a ferocious bid to break personal stereotyping I decided to go horse riding, Saturday being as good as any other day. I rode English for the first time in a while and really enjoyed it. Keep those legs down, LSP!

Simon and Pistol

Don't get me wrong, I like Western too, a lot, but maybe English -style forces you to work on basic equestrian skills. More contact, too.

Dzerzhinsky

Keen-eyed observers of the religious scene are speculating that Felix Dzerzhinsky and Anton LaVey are the two top contenders for the soon-to-be vacant position of Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

LaVey

Is there an outside contender?

Ride on,

LSP

It's Stepping Down

By now the whole world knows that Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, is stepping down. That's right, she's resigning after next year's General Convention.

Just Some Witch

Well that's great, isn't it. Or is it? As someone wrote, "She’s likely to be replaced by someone worse. You do realize that."

Typical Fighting Monkey

I'll wager my fighting monkey against any 3 of your priestesses that he's right.

Not that I'm a gambling man.

LSP

Friend of the Devil

You may have heard that some goof-off clowns are getting ready to hold a "Black Mass" in Oklahoma City's Civic Center. Despite being "sanitized", the diabolic parody of the Eucharist in question is evidently serious.

When asked about their Satanic Sunday activities, the leader of the devilish group replied that they meet every Sunday in an Oklahoma City-area home, going through a cycle of rituals and activities that include teachings, working on journals and workbooks, and meals together.

Dobby

One commentator couldn't resist the obvious: "Oh, it’s an Episcopal church."

Tip of the deadly assault rifle to Stand Firm.

More ammo, please.

LSP

Eschaton and the End of Time

I know. This kabob stand on the information superhighway is frivolous and shallow at best. So here's an apocalyptic vision to quicken up the pace:

“The image of the woman [the Church] before the altar in front of the eyes of God that I saw earlier was now also shown to me again so that I could also see her from the navel down. From the navel to the groin she had various scaly spots. In her there appeared a monstorous and totally black head with fiery eyes, ears like the ears of a donkey, nostrils and mouth like those of a lion, gnashing with vast open mouth and sharpening its horrible iron teeth in a horrid manner... Lo, the monstrous head removed itself from its place with so great a crash that the entire image of the woman was shaken in all its members. Something like a great mass of much dung was joined to the head; then, lifting itself upon a mountain, it attempted to ascend to the height of heaven. A stroke like thunder came suddenly and the head was repelled with such strength that it both fell from the mountain and gave up the ghost.”

Damian Anti-Christ

After describing the fall of anti-Christ and the woe of those who had been deceived by him, the Seer continues:

“Behold, the feet of the aforementioned female image appeared to be white, giving out a brightness above that of the sun. I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: ‘Even though all things on earth are tending toward their end, so hardships and calamities is bowed down to its End, nevertheless, the Spouse of my Son, though much weakened in her children, will never be destroyed either by the heralds of the Son of Perdition or by the Destroyer himself, however much she will be attacked by them. At the End of time she will arise more powerful and more secure; she will appear more beautiful and shining so that she may go forth in this way more sweetly and more agreeably to the embraces of her Beloved. The vision which you saw signifies all this in mystic fashion.’” (Scivias 3:11; Translated by B McGinn, Visions of the End, pp101-102)

I'll leave you to consider whether elements of this vision apply to the Episcopal Church.

The Seer is Hildegard von Bingen (of course), Katharine Jefferts Schori's new "ally."

God bless,

LSP

Katharine Jefferts Schori & Hildegard

Perhaps you remember that Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (TEC), has taken to quoting Hildegard von Bingen, 12th Century Sibyl of the Rhine. For Schori, Hildegard is all about viriditas (greenness), like a latter-day Gaia worshiping U.N. apparatchik.

Here's Schori, apparently oblivious to irony, referring to her new patron rebuking Barbarossa for fueling Church schism:

Listen to Hildegard the prophet: “He Who Is says, ‘I destroy contumacy, and by myself I crush the resistance of those who despise me. Woe, woe to the malice of wicked men who defy me! Hear this, king, if you wish to live; otherwise my sword shall smite you.”

And here's Hildegard again, preaching on the Cathar heretics:

"Diabolical seduction [by the Cathars] gives rise to criminals and seducers, the hate and the crime of the devil, brigands and thieves; but it is in homosexuality that the sin is most impure, the root of all vices. When these sins have accumulated among the nations  the constitution of God’s law will be torn, and the Church, like a widow, will be stricken."

Hildegard

Why didn't Jefferts Schori reference that, when preaching to her crew of greenist mountebanks in Taiwan?

We'll return to Hildegard and her apocalyptic visions later. In the meanwhile, KJS, be very careful when invoking the Teutonic Seer.

Mind how you go,

LSP

Clean Up That Mess.

One of the things I like to do on Thursday after saying Mass is clean guns on the porch. It's relaxing and you know what they say, "A clean gun is a happy gun." As opposed to a gopping, miserable piece of non-working liability.

With that in mind, I snaked out my old SMLE Mk.III sporter and felt good about it. That rifle's proved itself handy in the field and at the range and I'm proud of an amateur 'smithing project that went right.

Speaking of guns, I just read The Red Circle by Brandon Webb, in which Webb describes his time in the SEALs and, especially, his work as a SEAL sniper. It's an easy read and when I put it down I thought, "LSP, this guy's forgotten more about shooting than you're likely to ever know."

Humbling and at the same time an incitement to learn more. Excellence in all things, not least shooting, being the catchphrase.

Mind how you wave that saber.

LSP

Duchess of Devonshire, Rest in Peace.

Debo, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, and last surviving Mitford sister, has died.

May she rest in peace,

LSP

Katharine Jefferts Schori Goes Soylent Green

The Episcopal Church's leaderene, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has discovered a new virtue, viriditas, or greenness.

Here's what she had to say to her fellow climate change warriors at the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops meeting in Taiwan:

"Where do you meet viriditas? Where is joy and wonder in the world around you? What creative ferment engages and transforms you? All are signs of expanding possibility, divine creativity, and new green shoots emerging.

Typical Greens, Goofing-Off

Then, after referring to Christ as the "Green Man", Schori went on to state:

"This Episcopal Church is in the throes of creative ferment, yearning to find a new congruence that will discover emerging life in new soil, and refreshed growth in the plantings of former years. Our gathering here will offer opportunities to learn of greenness in different pastures, and God willing, transform us to discover abundance and possibility in more familiar ones. 

"Hildegard’s vision motivates all healers of creation who understand the green web of connection that ties creation together in Wisdom’s body. Creation is sacrament of God – the outward and visible sign of the green and growing, creative expression of God who is the origin of all life and liveliness. Viriditas begins in wonder, and emerges to motivate constructive, healing connection between air and ocean, carbon and crops, hunger and floods, Ebola and economic inequality."

The Presiding Bishop concluded by referring to the viridic power of the Apostle Paul:

"As Colossians puts it, be at peace, let the creative word of God take root within you and bear new branches, discover viriditas and truth, and be not afraid. New life is springing forth – be thankful – and pray for the gift of joy and wonder in God’s good, green, creative possibility."

Resisting the urge to ask how much fossil fuel was used to fly the Episcopal hypocrites Bishops to Taiwan, I'll simply direct attention to the dystopian classic, Soylent Green, in which humanity survives by eating people. 

Call it recycling, if you like.

LSP

Yes. It Could Be Worse. Much Worse?

I present this AI to you without comment.

Thanks, ZeroHedge.

LSP

Semper Latte

As if to mark the Autumnal Equinox, or "Mabon", America has launched air and seaborne strikes against targets in Syria. I guess that means we're at war again, although it's not entirely clear who with and for how long, other than a "very long time."

Martial

Here's our war leader, the Commander in Chief, returning the salute of two Marines.

Inspired to fight and win? Neither are we.

Semper Latte.

LSP

The Ballad of East and West

This one's for LL. The Ballad of East and West, by Kipling.


Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border side,
And he has lifted the Colonel's mare that is the Colonel's pride:
He has lifted her out of the stable-door between the dawn and the day,
And turned the calkins upon her feet, and ridden her far away.
Then up and spoke the Colonel's son that led a troop of the Guides:
``Is there never a man of all my men can say where Kamal hides?''
Then up and spoke Mahommed Khan, the son of the Ressaldar,
``If ye know the track of the morning-mist, ye know where his pickets are.
At dusk he harries the Abazai---at dawn he is into Borair,
But he must go by Fort Bukloh to his own place to fare,
So if ye gallop to Fort Bukloh as fast as a bird can fly,
By the favour of God ye may cut him off ere he win to the Tonuge of Jagai,
But if he be passed the Tongue of Jagai, right swiftly turn ye then,
For the length and the breadth of that grisly plain is sown with Kamal's men.
There is rock to the left, and rock to the right, and low lean thorn between,
And ye may hear a breech-bolt snick where never a man is seen.''

Read the whole thing here, if you like.

It ends like this:

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgement Seat;

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the earth!

Chesterton hated Kipling and I like Chesterton lot. I also like Kipling.

Rumours that I charge about on a horse around the Compound with a saber may or may not be true.

LSP