The Practical Parson

 In May of 2023 a 28 year old man in Baltimore, Maryland viciously assaulted 2 pro-life protesters outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in Maryland.  The suspect, Patrick Brice; claimed to the court that he was only seeking to debate the initial victim on the concept of 'sin', when he (in his own words) "Just snapped" and decided to tackle the 84 year old man and beat him up.  He then did the same to another man who attempted to stop him; the entire ordeal being caught on surveillance video for the whole world to see.  In most situations and other cases, such evidence and confession from a suspect would be seen as evidence enough to Garner a conviction that would lead to substantial incarceration; however this time was different.  Yes, this time both the judge and the jury seemed unable to determine that any really serious crime had been committed, despite evidence and witness testimony which supported the case.  The problem?  Both judge and jury s...

It is not enough for Man to say "I am free"; he must learn to say also "I am responsible." Man is free to choose his way in life; from all manner of little decisions to the bigger ones, such as marriage or employment.  Man has freedom to pray to whatsoever deity he chooses.  In a nutshell- Man is free.   But at what cost?  Can man truly be free if he forsakes all responsibility for his choices and actions?   A man who forsakes responsibility for his actions is no longer free; for he has made himself slave to passion, desire, anger, hatred, and the multiplicity of other emotions that plague the human race.  If we say that man has no ability to control himself, then we give him over to bondage to instinct and desire; degrading him from being a creature gifted with divine knowledge and free will, to that of a mere beast doing for the moment what feels good.  Man is not a mere beast; but a being created in the image and likeness of God.  ...

 As many Anglicans and conservative Christians have seen in the past couple of weeks, there is a cognitive dissonance between what is correct, and what is personally acceptable; summed up in the ongoing case of Rev. Calvin Robinson.   As I have touched on previously in Rev. Robinson's case, the situation of what transpired was centered entirely around his determined trolling of leftist, liberal ideologues, and their mistaken notions that everyone who thinks other than what they think is a Nazi/ fascist.  While Robinson's actions in and of themselves hold no true transgression against sense or a desire for conversation; they do transgress one of the most important duties of any ordained cleric: which is to defend the church against those who would destroy it, and to protect the people of God entrusted to our care.  While Robinson's actions have had the desired outcome he wished for in the secular scene (inspiring conversation, to some extent); they have had a neg...

Recently, the new president of the United States attended a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.  The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the District of Columbia decided a service of prayer was as good a time as any to public berate the new president for what she perceives to be his shortcomings on matters of social justice she clings to.  While it is certainly within her right to promote whatever message she seems appropriate, given that the current state of the Episcopal church seems less based on faith and more on social order or disorder; It is entirely fascinating to me that a woman who encouraged and promoted physical violence and destruction for the summer of 2020, denied the resurrection of Christ during her Easter sermon, and actively promotes anti-Semitic and anti-Christian ideals- should be the one to presume to lecture anyone about morality from a supposedly Christian position.   Is it not ironic that those who demand "mercy", are the leas...

Many millennia ago in Ancient Egypt, the Egyptians had a rather complicated and extensive system of belief; mostly in the area of what happened to the soul once the individual had died.  As one who has studied Egyptology on my own and read numerous books and watched countless hours of documentaries, presentations, and debates on the subject matter; there is one particular scene from the Egyptian book of the dead which describes judgement- that stands out to me in the 21st century as a Christian.  That scene was known as the weighing of the heart.   They believed that the god of the dead (Anubis) would take the heart of the deceased, and weigh it in a scales against the feather of 'truth', personified in the goddess Ma'at.  If the heart was heavier than the personification of truth, the soul was judged to be laden down with sin and guilt, and was thus destroyed by a monstrous demon called Ammit.   If the heart was lighter, then it was judged that the so...

 As an Anglican, it is incumbent upon me to hold to the tradition of the 39 articles of religion.  However one may hold to a tradition, while accepting that this text, which inspired may be; is not beyond reproach nor infallible or inerrant, since only the written Word of God holds that distinction.  As such, it is entirely possible to disagree with and oppose certain aspects of the articles, when they touch upon matters that the articles describe as repugnant to Scripture; which are in fact scripturally evident and proven matters.  Case in point:  Article 22 describes the veneration of relics (in a list of other items) as being "vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God."   A rather serious indictment, were it only true.  I would submit, for your consideration; that the preservation and veneration of relics is actually not only scriptural, but that scripture itself contains evidences that...

 Recently, I was in town.   The town nearest my home is in many ways the epitome of small town America; a town in the shadow of a former manufacturing plant for Tobacco, with a community that isn't the smallest, but where everyone still seems to manage to know most everyone and everything going on in town at a given time.   Indeed, it was even a stop for country music star Justin Moore almost a decade ago when he was on his "Small Town USA" tour.   I have lived here for my entire life, and know intimately the community and many of the people; all good sincere people who have always had a place in my heart.   Judge my shock and dismay as I have borne witness over the last 3 years, as my hometown community has been forced into a situation that I am reliably well-informed, is not unique; given the current political and economic climate of our nation.  There have always been poor people in our community, our Lord himself said "the Poor you h...

 As one who does not regularly watch the Olympics, I do not ordinarily hold much opinion about them as a general rule of thumb.  I mean, apart from the blatantly neo-pagan ritual they hold at Mount Olympus in Greece in order to light the Olympic flame, there isn't ordinarily too much for one to object to on a moral level.  Judge my surprise, when the sight of a bevy of Drag Queens mimicking and mocking the Last Supper was broadcast on international television.  Men dressed as parodies of women, posing about a table to mock the famous image of the Last Supper; with a nude figure in blue representing the ancient Roman pagan deity Bacchus (god of wine) on the table in front of them.  These blasphemers and God-haters don't even TRY to hide their contempt for religion anymore.  To top it all off, the cathedral of Notre Dame has finally been able to unveil its great spire and roof after 4 years, since being destroyed in a great fire; and THIS is how "the communit...

 Yesterday Evening, president Donald Trump was the target of an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania at a political rally.  While he himself escaped with relatively mild injuries, One attendee was tragically murdered by the gunman's fire, and 2 more are in critical condition at present.  The gunman himself was killed by return fire from secret service snipers.   After taking a brief moment in prayer for the deceased victim, we will continue. May his soul rest in peace. +++ Listen, my children, to the word of wisdom which has long been avoided in preference of outrage and intrigue:   When you consistently and constantly scream that an individual is "an existential threat to our democracy", and call for your followers and friends to "take him down", you forever abandon the right to act surprised or disturbed when someone makes good your demand.   You cannot constantly work to demonize someone, and then expect others less than yourself to wit...

There is currently a building campaign going on in the heart of Rural North Carolina, which strives to rebuild the church and Christendom; which have both suffered much loss as a result of the excesses of the past 50+ years. I will tell you all about this project from the fundraising site: The Missionary Diocese of the Sacred Heart was established in 2016, in response to the loss of faith that the Church has seen over the past several decades. Its mission is to provide truth to a fallen world, a home for those forgotten, and a place where all may encounter Christ at the foot of the cross in His holy sacraments. Our diocese is blessed to be experiencing growth and expansion of our missionary outreaches; and we seek to build physically so that the work we carry out in the name of the Lord may have permanence and a home. To this end, we are seeking to build a (relatively) small cathedral at our Bishop's seat in Ruffin, North Carolina; which will be the mother church of our diocese. It...

 Recently I have seen some clergy of different churches demanding that the church as a whole "modernize and cast aside outdated theological and sexual ideas".   They insist that the church needs to set aside any and all teachings, theological interpretations, and traditions which could be seen as even remotely "non-inclusive" of the Alphabet community (LGBT... and whatever the hell acronym they're adding this week).  Some going so far as to say that 'queer people should lead the way to showing the church how to love one's neighbor'.    First and foremost, the church does not exist for any age in particular; as she exists in and for ALL ages, times, and places.  So to say that the church needs to 'modernize' in order to better suit modern man, is no less than to say that what was good enough for millions of saints and blessed ones and even our own Savior; is no longer good enough for us.  The hubris of making demands of a gift that God himself...

 Today is Ash Wednesday, and the Christian world (especially here in the states) is plagued by a relatively recent innovation in church 'services' called affectionately by its proponents- "ashes to go".   I'll let the reader soak that in for a minute.   Yes, clergy will stand on street corners throughout the nation to administer ashes to people who happen by and want to receive them.  Many have argued that this extends the Christian message and Lenten observance to more and more people, but does it really?   Or does it rather cheapen the sign and symbol of what those precious ashes actually represent? The ashes we receive today are taken from burning the palms we blessed the previous Palm Sunday.  In that, they symbolize both the mortality of humanity's actions; as well as how quickly our voices of praise and celebration can turn to dust and be lost to the winds of time.  How loudly we exclaimed "Hosanna" to the savior, only to turn our ...

 I do not wish to brag, but the story made me smile- I had lunch with God today, I hadn’t seen him in a while. I was shopping out in town, and it didn’t cross my mind, I looked over to one side, and saw him in a bind. He’d been riding his bike all morning, and he was tired and hungry, So I sat down beside him, and asked “will you share lunch with me?” He smiled and said yes, so I brought out the food, Sandwiches and bottled drinks; simple, but it tasted good. We talked about the town, where we had both grown up; While busy shoppers, christians some, passed by with noses up. We sat and spoke a while about the world and people in it, While sharing food, which simple though, was more than most would give him. We finished lunch and parted ways, I bade him “God be with you”, But while I sat and shared my lunch, it was me God had been with too. Matthew 25:34-40

 Recently I have been made aware (albeit I was unsurprised) of an event that is set to take place in Canterbury Cathedral in February this year called "90's Silent Disco in the Cathedral".  I'll let you take a moment first to process that title of insanity.  The Cathedrals in England have played host, in recent years, to a number of wacky, bizarre, and often outright blasphemous art and social exhibits that express (contrary to the bishop's and chapter's heavenly expectations) just how far removed from God and reality some institutional churches have become since the 1960's.  Where we once held solemn acts of worship of the triune God; we now have women parading about as bishops proclaiming that we need to take down crosses from the church to make Muslims feel more welcome.  Where we once sang our hearts to the Father who created us all; we have art installations praising everything but God.  Where once we had the visible, physical statement of the true fa...

Many years ago in Mexico, there was a small girl named Pepita.  She was a good child, but from a poor and needy family; who often barely had enough food for dinner.  Though her family was poor, Pepita was happy; because Christmas would soon be here.  Each year, the parish church was beautifully decorated with candles and ornaments; and a beautiful nativity scene which was her favorite.  Though she was looking forward to Midnight Mass and celebrating the Christ Child’s birthday; she was sad to know that she would not be able to afford a gift to offer the baby Jesus this year.  As she and her brother were walking to Mass, she became sadder when thinking about how she had nothing to offer.  Seeing her sadness, her brother spoke to her and said “I’m sure that even the smallest and simplest gift, given by someone who loves him; will make the Baby Jesus very happy”.  Pepita was encouraged by this, and looked around to see what she could find; seeing only a m...

We preach Grace when we have offended. We preach repentance when we have sinned. We preach forgiveness when we have erred. We preach salvation when we have strayed. We preach acceptance when we have excluded others. We preach the Love of God while keeping it from others. We preach the truth of the Gospels while we hide it from the world. We preach the presence of Christ while denying others to it. We preach many things in our lives as Christians, as Priests, as Ministers; but do we do so honestly? The truth is nothing; unless it can change both the recipient, as well as he who carries it. -The Practical Parson

 Modern man believes money can solve past mistakes.  To do so, he impoverishes his neighbors to make himself feel righteous.  -Practical Parson This week, the head of the institution formerly known as the Church of England announced that he was earmarking 121 million dollars (100 million pounds) to address the Church's apparent past benefiting from the transatlantic slave trade.  This is a new step in the modern notion of reparations; one that ignores truth, while enshrining hatred as a foundational value of the modern church and hierarchy.   Were there people in the church involved in the slave trade?  Undoubtedly. Were there donations that came from the success of the slave trade?  Most assuredly.  The trouble with demanding that money today be spent in reparation for what those men did is that you are not taking money away from those who committed the act; but rather from your own neighbor.  It is akin to a judge sentencing a criminal...

 We've all heard it before, echoed every December 31st through the first week of January: "New Year, new me!"   I can think of no worse a motto to proclaim, but so great an indictment against modern sensibilities, than this.  People spend so much time and money constantly investing in this idea of New Year's resolutions, telling themselves they'll change and that "this year will be our year!".   Yet how many of them actually end up committing to any form of actual, lasting, change to themselves or their surroundings?  The reason for this is quite simple- these resolutions are based on passing, changeable, and often momentary fancies; which we consider of utmost importance.  We promise to lose weight, to be kinder, to spend more time with friends and family, to work less, to enjoy life more; but rarely do we spend time in introspection, to see what the cause of our perceived troubles truly is.  True change, when it is needed, is not something ...

  Those who claim to have no enemies, have even fewer morals.         -the Practical Parson To quote an age-old saying: you've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.  The nature of holding morals and standards for one's self will inevitably cause those who seek to use or lord over you to despise you; because it means there is something they cannot control about you.  This is why when wicked and manipulative people enter our lives, the first thing they assault are our morals and foundations of our standards.  Each and every human being on the face of the earth is unique, and uniquely blessed and gifted by our God with talents and abilities that others do not share.  Never sacrifice what makes you YOU in order to please someone who will be gone the moment you are no longer convenient for them.