Sin Against The Holy Spirit

Please don't wag your heads and laugh us to scorn, all you Latin Mass and BCP trads, but here in the Missions we use the newfangled 1979 Lectionary. 

This means that Sunday's Gospel is from Mark, in which Christ is accused by the Scribes of a diabolical plot, of casting out devils by the power of the Ekronite demon, Baalzebul.

After exposing their absurdity, Jesus blasts his accusers with the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit. Why unforgivable? Because believing that Christ is satanic and rejecting the salvation offered through the Holy Spirit precludes repentance and with it, forgiveness itself.

John Paul II puts it clearly, in his Encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem:

Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable? How should this blasphemy be understood? Saint Thomas Aquinas replies that it is a question of a sin that is 'unforgivable by its very nature, insofar as it excludes the elements through which the forgiveness of sin takes place' (ST 2b:14:3). According to such an exegesis, 'blasphemy' does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. If man rejects the 'convincing concerning sin' which comes from the Holy Spirit and which has the power to save, he also rejects the 'coming' of the Counsellor...

If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this 'non-forgiveness' is linked, as to its cause, to 'non-repentance', in other words to the radical refusal to be converted... Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a 'right' to persist in evil—in any sin at all...

[T]he Church constantly implores with the greatest fervor that there will be no increase in the world of the sin that the Gospel calls 'blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.' Rather, she prays that it will decrease in human souls" (Encyclical Letter Dominum et Vivificantem ["The Lord and Giver of Life"] 46-47).

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a 'right' to persist in evil—in any sin at all. 

Well that's terrifyingly in the X Ring.

Ubi Petrus,

LSP

The Face Of The Anglican Communion

Thanks to Climate Change, it was cool and springlike this morning, a mere 23* and then BOOM, there it was, the Anglican Communion, parked outside of a Pick 'n Steal in asset stripped rural Texas.

No Driver

No one was driving this car, the driver's seat was empty, but the vehicle had a passenger. You could see it, grinning.

Look, I'm not saying the Worldwide Anglican Non Communion is a driverless yellow car carting about a crew of clowns to the nearest Pick 'n Steal, that's your call.

Turtle

After taking photos of the Anglican Communion, I went fishing. It was a bit slow, 6 catfish (one BIG), 1 large Bluegill, a bait Perch that nearly caught a Gar and a turtle. 

Little Fella

All went back to fight again another day.

God bless,

LSP

Black Lives Matter

No further comment except to say that Sharpton is a mountebank.

Well done, Kim.

MAGA,

LSP

The Grand Commander & Little Potato

The Chinese call President Trump "Grand Commander."

Chinese Women Laugh At Trudeau

They call Justin Peoplekind Trudeau "Little Potato."

A Little Potato Starter Pack

Perceptive lot, the Chinese.

God bless,

LSP

Inspirational Tunes (warning, graphic)

Good work, boys. All hail Detroit.

Carry on,

LSP

Yet More Crazy Fishing And A Hogg

You don't know what the water has in store, maybe something, maybe nothing but today it was all frenzied action and pretty much every cast a fish. 

Fish after fish hit my complex, scientific setup; split shot, worm on a #2 baitholder, and 12 Lb test on a cheap Shakespeare Lite-Pro Ugly Stick. And here's the thing.

A light setup's practical because it's sensitive, it's also fun because even a small fish feels like a decent fight and the fight's half the deal. There you are, like Ahab, reeling in the mighty, ahem, Perch. No kidding, on a light rod even a small sunfish feels important.

But today's fish weren't that small. A Gar rose from the depths, snatched the bait and leaped into the air in thrashing, predatorial fury. Time and again, Catfish pounded into the hook, diving deep and strong, rod bent double, drag playing out and fight-on.

That played out for an hour or so before quieting down and an alt-redneck pal came by. "I hear you been tearin' it up!" I replied that I had and promptly caught a Perch and a small Catfish, quod erat, sort of thing.

In other exciting news, the young 'un shot a pig. GOOD WORK, kid. 

Tight Lines,

LSP

It's An Oven, Get On The Fish

It was a typically chilly Texan 104* and I looked at Blue Climate Change panting in his fur coat, "Perhaps it's time to go fishing, Gar like the heat." 

The dog said nothing, he regards my Gar obsession as foolish. All he's after is a better argument for Sola Scriptura (sorry, dog, fail) and against what he calls "the Abomination of Desolation!" 

Inner Light

No, I tell him. Having a statue of the Blessed Ever Virgin Mary in your church is not a sin against the Holy Spirit or any other kind of idolatry. He refuses to listen and wanders off in search of fried pies.

So much for the dog. I went in search of space and found Gar, lots of them, but only closed the deal on two, along with one miscreant Black Drum and a couple of opportunistic Bluegill. 

Beat The Drum

The Gar, furiously, bit through the line as they were being hauled up to the pier for a photo op. 

Maybe a steel leader is in order.

Beat the Jihad and Build the Wall,

LSP

Gun Girl Kaitlin Challenges Twig Arms Hogg To Arm Wrestle

Kent State gun girl grad, Kaitlin Bennet, has challenged teen anti-gun celebrity, David Hogg, to an arm wrestling match to decide the fate of the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms.

"C'mon twig arms, you win you take our guns, I win we keep the 2nd amendment," tweeted AR10 toting Kaitlin.

Puny leftist Twig Arms Hogg hasn't replied to Gun Girl Kaitlin's challenge. 

Twig Arms Hogg

Now, I'm not a betting man but I'll wager my fighting monkey against any three yes, three, of your priestesses that the 2nd Amendment's safe.

A Typical Gay Cake

In other heartening news, SCOTUS has ruled by a strong 7-2 majority that bakers don't have to make gay cakes. Per Adrienne's Catholic Corner:

Let's get something straight (no pun intended.) Businesses are not refusing to serve people who are homosexual. Christian-owned businesses are simply not wanting to use their art to participate in practices that are clearly wrong. That would include a baker refusing to make a cake with a Nazi symbol on top, or any other offensive depiction.

A Famous Fighting Monkey

Well said, Adrienne.

Gun rights,

LSP

Justin Trudeau Ready To Rumble!

Canada's manly Premiere, Justin Trudeau, has told the world and Trump's America in particular that Canada's not going to be pushed around.

Yuck

Canada, according to it's virile Suprema, is like an even tempered moose as opposed to the US elephant.

Seriously?

Does this mean Trudeau's getting ready to rumble?

Scary

We're quaking in our boots, Justin.

Cheers,

LSP

Melania Mondays!

Here at Melania Mondays! we're saddened by the spectacle of the lying, corrupt, self-serving, venal, hypocritical, elite mainstream media's unrelenting attack on America's popular and glamorous First Lady. 

This reached new lows today when David Frum, Senior Editor at the Atlantic, hypothetically stated via social media that Donald Trump had punched his wife. Frum's aggressively sly tweet was slammed by Melania through her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, as "disgusting."

Frum's disgusting tweet is part of a larger media campaign of smear and innuendo, suggesting that the First Lady had disappeared from public life following her kidney procedure on May 15 because of family and personal turmoil.

Melania spoke to that on her twitter account, saying that she's "feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people."

Part of this work involves hosting a reception for Gold Star families at the White House this evening. The First Lady commented:

Gold Star families have lost an immediate family member who was serving during wartime, and they are a unique and distinct category of individuals who should be cherished. These families have endured the ultimate in pain and sacrifice on behalf of our country, and I am honored to have spent the evening with them. My husband and I commit to always pay tribute to our active service military, veterans, and the families who love them.

Note to media, your unending attacks on Melania only serve to expose you yet further as agitprop shill drones of the LeftDem Hive Mind. The First Lady, on the other hand, only looks better and better.

Well done, Melania, for doing your part to make America great again.

MAGA,

LSP

Sorry, No Wommyn, No Liturgical Dance

Our Bishop visits the Missions tomorrow.

Normally, as Anglo-Catholic Anglicans, we'd be dismayed.

But not this time, this bishop is a Christian and a successor of the Apostles.

There will be no wommyn at the Altar and no liturgical dance. And there'll only be two genders, shockingly.

And that's just the way it is.

Sorry to disappoint you, 

LSP

I Fought The Gar And The Gar Won

Keen-eyed readers of this popular international mind blog will know that Gar fishing is in the air like some kind of obsession. One of the best things out there, get on the Gar.

Which I did, fishing for Gar and Gar only. It started off well, with the Triassic beasts taking shad baited hooks and running around the spillway pool. Big excitement, well done, then they'd drop the bait in disgust, just as you're about to set the hook. 

This went on for hours; moments of intense excitement followed by let down as the Gar swum off.

Some Guy With A Gar

I tried all kinds of presentations and half the time the dinosaurlike fish were receptive. They'd pounce on the bait, play with the bait, chew on the bait, snap their jaws on the bait and run with it, and then drop it after five or so minutes of surging around.

Neat to watch, less neat to see the shad dropped right at the moment you're about to close the deal. And that's just it, all I caught was an accidental Bluegill, no Gar.

The Bush War

So what went wrong? The bait was right, the hooks were right and the Gar were taking them. The failure, surely, lay in the hookset. Perhaps I waited too long, erring on the side of caution, afraid that the fish would drop their delicious shad if I moved too soon.

Well I didn't and they did anyway. Obviously a more aggressive approach is called for.

A Gar

Next time, allow the Gar to move into its second run and while its powering forward like a torpedo, lift the rod hard, driving the sharp hook into the Gar's teeth. Then you'll have a fish on and no mistake. It's doable, I know this from experience.

Saying that, why not rig up a tiny fly hook and tempt topwater? Therein, perhaps, lies madness.

I tell you, Gar, this isn't over. Not by a long shot.

Fish on or off,

LSP