Obamacare versus the Catholic Church

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops was surely blindsided by the HSS requirement that Catholic institutions such as hospitals and schools provide contraception, sterilization and abortifacients to employees.

For goodness sake, the Church has supported a program of universal health care and regards it as a basic human "right"; so what's with the knife in the face? Why is the hierarchy in the US Church being attacked, blatantly, by their leftist friends in the current administration?

Because, surely, team Obama really believes that providing contraception and abortion is good and that religious beliefs, whatever they may be, should be no obstacle in the path of something that is fundamentally right. 

And there we have it, it's all about rights. The Church, with doubtless the best of intentions, has for decades adopted the language of its secular counterparts; for example, Pacem in Terris (John XXIII's oddly Kantian pacifist encyclical) enumerates some 53 basic human rights, from employment to health.

the government loves you

But who is going to enforce these rights? In the absence of temporal power it's not going to be the Church, which leaves the State. 

Unfortunately for the Church and for Christians everywhere in this country, the State's conception of right and wrong is by no means synonymous with the values of Christendom. The Catholic bishops and prominent Evangelicals appear to have woken up to this fact and we'll see how Obamacare versus The Church plays out in the Supreme Court next month.

In the meanwhile, the time for naive trust in the beneficence of the Secular Power should be, for catholic Christians at least, at an end.

We'll have to see how many stand up and are counted.

LSP

Good Horse!

I love Texas

After an exhausting round of back to back pancake suppers and Ash Wednesday Masses with Imposition of Ashes, I figured it was high time to get out in the field and ride JB.

She was looking a little skinny, which is odd because she's being fed well enough. I wondered if she was being run off her food by another horse, or possibly her teeth needed floating. Then again, some think that the soil in her pasture is mineral deficient. Maybe all these aspects are conspiring together to produce a potentially bad result. Maybe, and a process of elimination will bring us to the truth, Viz. Move pasture, change diet, get teeth checked. The first and second of these things should/will be sorted out next week, after a small ten acre fencing project. But more of that anon.

In the meanwhile, I was impressed with JB's performance -- she's beginning to get the hang of neck reining and managed decent bursts of walk, trot, canter, with fairly well controlled gaits and cadence.

There was a time when those simple things would have been major breakthroughs. Now they're pretty much expected. A testament to the horse's temper and learning ability (she put up with me) and more than a few miles in the saddle.

Well done, horse.

LSP

Ash Wednesday - And so it Begins

Lent has begun and with it our Holy Mother the Church's call to penance, prayer, fasting and self-denial, leading to ever greater union with Our Lord's Passion. There are several ways to go about this.

Liturgists

The wrong way.

B16

And the right way.

But while we're reflecting on that, here's some verse from Amma Jo, who is "the barefoot rev. Wandering barefoot and amazed through the stuff of mystery and wonder that is real theology." 

Here we go now:

"This is Lent. Smearing our faces with ashes that puff and run and smear and will wash away and stick to our fingers and refuse to stay put. This is Lent, the gentle reminder that to be but a breathe, a puff, a thing here one moment and gone the next is not fearsome but freeing."

Well now we know.

I wish you all a holy Lent.

LSP

Shrove Tuesday

As we're on the eve Lent it makes sense, perhaps, to leave the bracing air of Valentine's Day bears and Lee Enfield projects behind, if only for a time.

Here's some Farrer to get the penitential spirit moving -- from The Crown of the Year.

"CHRIST broke his mysterious body and gave it to his disciples at the Supper without explaining at that time what the breaking and giving would mean. There was no need, the facts would presently make it clear. What, then, was done to this body? It was stripped, scourged, and nailed to a cross: stripped of all dignity and all possession, scourged with the stroke of penal justice, and nailed up like a dead thing while it was still alive. The body you receive in this sacrament accomplished its purpose by nailing to a tree. You are to become this body, you are to be nailed: nailed to Christ’s sacrificial will. The nails that hold you are God’s commandments, your rules of life, prayers, confessions, communions regularly observed. Let us honour the nails for Christ’s sake, and pray that by the virtue of his passion they may hold fast."

Serious business. 

LSP

Deadly Force

shoot it

The other week a helpful person decorated the parish hall of one of the missions by putting Valentine's Day bears in red tin buckets on all the tables in the church hall. They sit there, as centerpieces.

After Wednesday's Mass I sat there, grimly staring at the bears.

"I should like to shoot that bear," I announced to no one in particular.

maniac

"I just shot my sheep," replied one of the faithful. "Why'd you do that?" I questioned. "Because he was a maniac," came the response.

And that, my friends, is just the way it is.

LSP

Chaplain General

Everyone knows that priests aren't supposed to go around shooting people, except in World War II when the French clergy were given a dispensation by the Pope, allowing them to join the military as combatants. Perhaps the most remarkable of these recruits was a Dominican priest, Fr. Bruckberger.

Bruckberger served in the French Commandos at the start of the war, was seriously wounded, captured, escaped and served with the Resistance, over which he was appointed Chaplain. A fierce patriot and cineast(!), he welcomed De Gualle into Notre Dame de Paris as sniper fire rang out within the Cathedral.

After the war his superiors transferred him to the Sahara, where he became Chaplain General of the French Foreign Legion. Bruckberger later went on to America and wrote a series of reflections, One Sky to Share.

Here's an excerpt, on the Land in America.

"Here, the land has not yet entered into communion with man, and man has not penetrated the mystery of the immense natural forces that shelter him. This land is terribly in need of blessing. The land is perhaps the promised bride of man, but she is not yet his. Most often she refuses to give herself or submits against her will. The land and man do not know each other in the flesh and in the spirit."

I love that.

LSP

Mods and Rockers

some kind of sad nonsense

When you hold your Lee Enfield up admiringly and wonder why the stock rattles about like a mob of ill disciplined youth, you focus sensibly on the King Screw. This is the pivotal point of the stock's bedding, holding the forestock to the action.

thanks, milsurp, for the diagram

But sometimes the Lee's wood shrinks and the King Screw no longer holds the forestock snugly in place. I had this problem. So what do you do to fix it?

You can soak the stock in Raw Linseed Oil and hope it expands.

You can re-bed the rifle.

I chose the latter option and there's several ways to go about it (see the helpful forums at milsurp). As a first step, you can file down the bushing that comes with King Screw. With a bit of luck that should bring the stock tight, but I didn't want to do that because I'll be restocking the rifle and don't want the hassle of ordering/duplicating a bushing to fit an unshrunken stock.

collar shim

So I shimmed the top of the trigger lugs by 1/32", taking the measurement as a touch over one turn of the King Screw, which was the gap between metal and wood. A piece of plastic clerical collar cut to size fit the bill and the stock tightened up to the receiver nicely. The metal now rests on the stock's bearing areas and the dangerous movement is gone.

bed time

A cheap fix, I know, but bear in mind that it's temporary. When the new stock is finished I'll center bed it to the action as per the excellent, clear and useful instructions in Riflechair's Lounge.

In the meanwhile I'll take the beast out for a shoot and see how it performs.

Shoot straight,

LSP

King Screw

Greatness

As a first step towards realizing my goal of turning an old WWII bring-back sporterized Lee Enfield into a new school of old school (thanks SBW) sporting rifle, I did the sensible thing; I took it apart. Not a difficult job.

First you unscrew the front sight protector. Then you look down the forestock and see a largish screw that attaches the trigger guard to the action. This is the King Screw, or "screw, front, trigger guard." You unscrew that and notice that a washer and a small metal cylinder, the bushing or "collar", come out with it. Don't throw these two seemingly insignificant items away in a fit of carelessness. Keep them. That done, you notice that there's a small screw attaching the rear of the trigger guard to the receiver socket. Unscrew that and gently ease the forestock off the action, starting from the receiver socket first. This last bit is important. Do not try and brute force the forestock off from the muzzle end; it will damage the bearing areas around the Draws and cause all kinds of trouble. After that you can remove the buttstock by unscrewing it from its socket.

Just take it all apart

Well done. You've taken the stock-set off your Lee.

When you put it back together again, the forestock should fit snugly into the action, held tightly in place by the King Screw, which is the pivotal point, or fulcrum, in the stock's bedding. If, through some inherent wickedness on the part of the rifle, the Screw, the stock, or the Lee enthusiast, the King Screw isn't clamping the forestock tightly to the receiver, you've got trouble. Why?

King Screw

Because the forestock will rock and rattle and when you shoot and the recoil force can act to drive the stock backwards, causing it to split and splinter into your face.

My stock rattled. The King Screw wasn't right.

So how do you fix it?

Stay tuned.

LSP

More Guns Please

New School of Old School?

It's no easy task to brave I 35 for several hours but it was worth it to see Tom and collect a sporterized No.4 Mk.1. The next step is get the barrel crowned, trimmed and refinished/blued; express sights would be neat too. Restocking is another matter again. 

WW2 Bringback

Maybe get something from Boyd's and rework it to shape? It'd be an interesting project and not too expensive.

Pistol

Rumours of an old British battle rifle being test fired in the early hours are completely without foundation. Thanks, Tom, for the hospitality and the rifle.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Buy The Cider!

My old boss, MCP, poacher turned gamekeeper turned poacher again, left the high pressure lifestyle of corporate IT and guerrilla marketing for "Big Blue" to set up as a mole catcher. I promised to support his new campaign, so I am. You will notice the words "free," "offer" and "perfect." They are emblematic.

Here's an excerpt from the Moler's website:

"Until recently the traditional mole catcher had nearly disappeared. However, due to a trend to milder winters and the withdrawal of strychnine, the mole population has exploded. Trapping them is back in vogue. Old methods -- using modern traps -- has seen the return of the mole catcher once more stalking the land."

Son of the Soil

Help this man. Please. Buy the Cider.

LSP

Episcopal Church Genius!

What?

A curious new ad for The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been making the rounds. It says that TEC is against "fundamentalism."

Make of this marketing genius what you will, but I'd say TEC was fundamentally wrong. So here's a picture of an ape, to put things in perspective.

God bless,

LSP

Circle Y - Neck Reining

Circle Y

Had to reschedule picking up the Lee and a go on .375(!) pistolry, so I consoled myself with a stroll to the Gold Nugget Pawn and Gun, where I said a prayer over the owner, Miss Jane, and sprinkled some Holy Water about. Keeps the demons at bay.

Then I bought an old Circle Y saddle. It fits JB pretty well, though she needs a cut away pad because of her high withers. 

I like riding Western after a couple of years of English and find it gives a little more control, but maybe my horsemanship has improved... Regardless, we practiced neck reining and I was pleased to see her picking it up pretty quickly. 

The method, as I understand it, is pretty simple. Cue the turn with seat and legs, touch the animal's neck with the outside rein and show the creature the movement with the inside rein. After a while the horse starts to get what you're asking for and turns with a light touch to the neck and relevant cues from leg and seat.

On a cold gray misty morning

Some people think neck reining means yanking the horse's head around with a great left or right tug of the reins. 

I'd say that was wrong, not that I'm an expert.

I read somewhere that it takes around a 1000 rides to train a good horse. JB's a little over half way there; patience, I remind myself, is key.

Stay on the horse.

LSP

Anglican Church of Canada Attacks China!

ACoC

Readers may not remember ACoC (Anglican Church of Canada), the dismally small Anglican denomination that left earth for the icy void of deep space. 

But gone isn't necessarily forgotten, as large chunks of the little church rain down from space on unsuspecting Chinese villagers in Jiangxi Province.

Astronaut

"We thought it was an earthquake but it was just a broken old bit of the Anglican Church of Canada," said one visibly relieved villager.

Fortunately the ACoC debris fell harmlessly onto farmland, causing no injuries or damage to property. Next time the world may not be so lucky.

We have been warned,

LSP

Good Horse - Evil Liturgists.

JB

After Morning Prayer I left the Command Post for a well needed ride on JB. She hadn't been out for a while  and did pretty well. 

Tack

We practiced figure eights, circles and serpentines around thorn bushes and Mesquite Trees. Just walk and trot, which was fine. I was pleased to see she stood still while I mounted; something of a breakthrough... In other news, the Manhattan Infidel has told me that priests are, in fact, allowed to "shoot people." Namely "liturgists."

Destructive

"But why?" You ask.

Menace

I'd say that was self-evident.

Off to load m'guns.

LSP

Open Carry?

After the second Mass of the day I enjoy talking with the congregation over coffee and I like the conversation which usually follows a pattern. Horses, the price of feed, fencing, theology (today it was transubstantiation and God's timeless omniscience), and guns; sometimes the odd military anecdote. Things nearly got a bit heated this morning:

LSP: Why is Texas so anti open carry?

Congregant 1: I don't know, maybe it's because of Austin and its hippies. Ask him.

LSP: Why no open carry here?

Congregant 2: This state legislature will never pass that! Too many illegals running around and we can't have 'em carrying guns.

Congregant 1: That doesn't have anything to do with it, they can't legally buy a gun anyway.

Congregant 2 (with heat): It'll never happen! It's a matter of safety!

Congregant 1: Safety! I call it tyranny!

LSP: Calm down gentlemen, please.

But it's odd, isn't it, that the Lone Star State should be so vehemently opposed to people carrying their firearms about openly. You'd think it'd be the other way around. And, if Arizonans and New Mexicans can walk about pistol on hip style, why not Texans? Similar number of immigrants, legal and otherwise. So, is our open carry ban a matter of big brother nanny state riding down duvet over our freedoms? Or some other thing?

Not that I have a dog in the fight -- priests aren't supposed to run around shooting people, you see.

God bless,

LSP

Speed Freak!

Lee Speed - note safety

The excitement builds as Monday draws close and with it the collection of a new Lee No.4 Mk.1. That in itself is a fine thing. Lees are good, unlike, say, Nancy Pelosi, or Jefferts Schori. But even better, for me, is the project of recreating the old No.4 into something like a Lee Speed.

Express

Dark wood. Serious checkering. Express sights. A new trigger. Maybe a re-barrel and, you never know, there's always the option of .375 Flanged Nitro Express. 

Greatness

SBW (top blog) also recommends a shotgun style safety; he thinks it's more "Sandhurst" and I have to say I'm inclined to agree...

Now some of you might say, "Don't be silly LSP, just go out and buy one." But that's not the point, is it.

Keep pulling the trigger and, as always, have a blessed Sunday.

LSP

Well Done, Jonathan Baker.

Pusey House

The retreat's over, more's the pity; it was led by an old friend from years ago, Jonathan Baker, the newly consecrated Bishop of Ebbsfleet. He's also chief of Pusey House, Oxford. Baker's meditations were outstanding and were themed on the Feasts of Our Lady.  

Assumption - Titian

All very uplifting and, for me at least, a welcome reminder of the role of Mary in showing us the meaning of the Christian life. Baker also quoted Hans Urs Von Balthasar, a great theologian whose writing I'm guilty of neglecting. Here's an excerpt on beauty to help make up the deficit:

"Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking them along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance. We can be sure that whoever sneers at her name as if she were the ornament of a bourgeois past--whether he admits it or not--can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love."

Blake - Crucifixion

I like that and, of course, the beauty of the Lee.

God bless,

LSP 

Clergy Deployment

Once a year the clergy of the diocese of Fort Worth go on retreat at Montserrat, which is a Jesuit house on Lake Dallas. It's a silent retreat, except for the first evening, which features the civilised custom of a cocktail hour followed by supper.

I sat with the bishops and suggested a new deployment strategy for incoming clergy. It went like this:

LSP: Bishops! I have a new deployment strategy for the diocese.

Bishops: Yes?

LSP: It's very simple.

Bishops: Good.

LSP: Yes.

Bishops: Well, what is it?

LSP: If you can't ride and you don't shoot you can't get in.

Bishops: Ah.

The assorted prelates seemed to like the wisdom of my plan and I look forward to its implementation in the coming years.

Stay on the horse and shoot straight.

Cheers,

LSP

For The Bushwacker

SBW

Despite the often frivolous content of this blog, with its emphasis on the ridiculous ACoC, fighting apes and come as you may horse riding, I do take some things pretty seriously. Namely, admonitions from the Suburban Bushwacker - who by sheer creative energy went "from fat boy to elk hunter" in one fell swoop of finger to keyboard.

SBW had this to say:

"Very pleased to hear about further riflery. If anyone should by law be

required to be in possession of a sporterised 303 it's you (LSP). chop chop,

get on with the first one."

BSA Lee Speed

Bushwacker was and is right. I have no choice but to get on with the first one. That means getting a Lee that's already been sporterised, because I'm not about to desecrate a rifle in original condition. It means bluing the barreled action, upgrading the wood - Black Walnut with plenty of checkering. The barrel will have to be trimmed and crowned; it'll have to be optics ready and in possession of a new front sight. It must, of course, reflect its owner - a Brit in Texas.

That's the project and thanks to Tom a start's been made, a No. 4 Mk. 1 sporter at a very reasonable price. I'm looking forward to collecting that in a week or so and getting right down to it.

Thanks, SBW, for the mandate and serious attention to detail.

Good shooting,

LSP

Steenson Loves Schori.

Steenson

The United States now has an Ordinariate in which Anglicans can convert to the Roman Catholic church while keeping elements of their heritage. The newly minted leader of the U.S. Ordinariate is Geoffery Steenson, former TEC (The Episcopal Church) Bishop of the Rio Grande.

In a recent article in The Living Church, Steenson had this to say about his former boss, litigious abortion advocate, Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.

“One of the people I’m still very grateful for is Katharine Jefferts Schori. She was absolutely wonderful... I could not have asked for better pastoral care from my presiding bishop.”

Absolutely Wonderful!

Resisting the urge to say "let's all break out the cuddly toys and go hug a tree while trying not throw up," I congratulate Fr. Steenson on his new appointment. 

Someone's Parker Hale awesomness

All you need is love and a custom Lee Enfield.

I love Lees.

LSP

Oh Canada!

Don't get me wrong, I love Texas. But sometimes I get the urge to travel into the icy vastness of Canada, which is what I did on the Feast of the Holy Innocents. 

Stephen Ave - Alright By Me

I like Calgary; you can walk about downtown, go to restaurants, shops and relax under the bison head at the Hyatt bar. I always think it's a cross between England and the U.S., except of course that it's an oil and gas boomtown.

Shops

But whatever, you can also visit Pro Line Shooters in Inglewood. It's a small gun shop on 9th Ave in Inglewood, not too far from the center of town and distinguished for its barbershop. This means that you can get your hair cut and then buy a gun. Back in the day the barber was a communist called Doug and we got on well, despite divergent politics. He was a great character but died a year or so ago, may he rest in peace. They sell Sigs there, which the owner told me he didn't much like. We swapped stories of Browning Hi Powers and the force of large caliber battle rifles. He was very against the 5.56 and thought it was introduced to suit the small stature of our one time South Vietnamese friends. That was new to me.

What's that huge new NSDAP structure in the background?

Speaking of Inglewood, St. John's church, which left the bizarrely tiny ACoC (Anglican Church of Canada) to join the Roman Catholic Church, has been allowed to keep its buildings. 

If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I wouldn't have wagered my fighting monkey on the odds of that. Well done ACoC for doing the right thing. Then, all too soon, it was back to Texas and the mission field.

Fighting Monkey

Good city, Calgary. Visit if you can and say a prayer for St. John's, Inglewood. Well done them for keeping their buildings and avoiding a lawsuit.

Cheers,

LSP