"Be careful what you wish for..."

There is oftentimes a lot of truth in old sayings. In a recent letter addressed to Cardinal Hoyos, prefect of the commission Ecclesia Dei, Bishop Williamson (of recent SSPX infamy) quotes the prophet Jonah. Interesting...

Your Eminence

Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:

"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

Sincerely yours in Christ

+Richard Williamson

"Roma locuta est..."

"Rome has spoken" but let's be certain that it won't be the last words spoken on the subject... The "causa" is far from "finita est." In an apparent attempt to address some of the concerns of many over the lifting of the excommunications of the four SSPX bishops last week, the Holy Father made the following statement at today's general audience at the Vatican: Read it HERE (you can also listen to it in Italian, for all you out there who are so adept...). Much of the uproar so far has centered upon the exceedingly ignorant comments of one of the four bishops concerning the holocaust of WWII. The report from Reuters, below, speaks to the subject. While many fundamental doctrinal issues remain a point of contention between the Church and the SSPX, this issue has understandably sparked an uproar. This is surely going to get more interesting as it goes along.

Now this is "P.O.D.!"

Roving the "blogosphere" I came across what is perhaps the mother of all "P.O.D." websites. Hold on to your birettas and click HERE!

Excommunicated no more...

Rumours have been circulating for some time, and as of this past Wednesday (21 January) it has become official. The 20+ year declaration of latae sententiae excommunication has been officially lifted. The four bishops, consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the "Society of Saint Pius X," and that group as a whole, have now taken significant steps in being officially reconciled to the Church. What an interesting development, which will undoubtedly lead to a complex discussion on the acceptance of the doctrinal nature of the second Vatican Council. This will prove interesting to all Catholics who are "attached" to the traditional liturgy of the Church, as well as those opposed to it. Since Summorum Pontificum, it has certainly been an interesting year and a half! Read an unofficial translation of the decree lifting the excommunications HERE.

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre:

Chaplains...

Thanks to a friend who passed along several great photos of military chaplains...



(note the 21 gun salute at the elevation... I suppose this is a great alternative if you don't have a set of sanctus bells...!)

"Change We Can Believe In?"

Today marked the first official "change" in pro-life policy by the new president, who so generously waited until the day after the pro-life march and the anniversary of Roe v. Wade to sign an executive order repealing the so-called "Mexico City policy." Read the story HERE.

The response by the Bishop's conference can be read HERE.

Will there be more "change" to come? Is this "progress?"

The Vatican on YouTube...

This is cool... the Holy See has set up it's own youtube channel to broadcast events of the Holy Father over the internet. Check it out HERE.

Chance for Immortality...

Here's a once in a lifetime opportunity: immemorialize yourself as a follower of The Ultramontanist by signing up through the link in the right-hand column : "follow this blog." Be the envy of your friends when they visit the Ultramontanist and see your name and image emblazened upon its pages! Share in the glory... the honor... the self-aggrandizement. It's almost too much to ponder...

The Annual March for Life...

Today was the 35th annual March for Life marking the anniversary of the Roe Vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. Every year draws well over 100,000 people in peaceful protest of abortion, and this year was no exception. This is particularly amazing seeing that the presidential inauguration was but two days ago and there was nary a hotel room to be had for fifty miles. Still, they showed up en masse.

I spoke at length with a Washington, DC policeman about the inauguration and how busy they have been this week and his impressions on both the inauguration and the march today. He talked about how the pro-life crowd is always the biggest of all the protests in the capital by far, and how peaceful a crowd it always is. Yet, somehow, the media always downplays this event, as if hardly anyone was here. As the pictures only barely begin to show, it's hard to imagine ignoring a crowd this large...

Mass for Life...

It impresses me every year I go to it, and I've been going since 1993. Every year there seems to be more: seminarians, priests, people. This year was no different. I would estimate (conservatively) 400-450 in the sanctuary (the procession into the church alone took nearly 40 minutes), who knows how many in the Church (certainly more than 5,000?), stuffed in every nook and cranny, filling the crypt, standing on the steps outside. Amazing. Uplifting. You get the picture. Speaking of pictures, here's one of some of the Louisville contingent (Archbishop Kurtz was vesting in the upstairs sacristy, so didn't happen to be around at the time of this photo...):

(from L to R: Fr. Hopper, seminarians Hardesty and Rhodes, yours truly, and Fr. Walker)


p.s. - for those of you who will undoubtedly note it, and then harass me about it: yes, it was a novus ordo, and yes I concelebrated... a rare foray into the vernacular for me these days...!

Inauguration day is upon us...

Well, the day has arrived. The city is pretty much shut down as throngs of enthusiastic supporters have descended upon the nation's capital. People arrived early outside our house this morning to park and walk to the mall, since the Metro system is filled beyond capacity. As I sit here in my room, merely three miles from where the events of today's inauguration will take place, I, like many others, struggle to put into perspective my thoughts on this occasion. One of the best summations of this that I have found is located HERE. Thanks to a canon law classmate for bringing this article to my attention.

Ahh, the idyllic life of seminary...

I don't know about you guys, but this is exactly what I remember seminary being like! The first few minutes of an interesting vocations promotion video by the Archdiocese of St. Louis from "back in the day..."

New Link...

Check out the guys over at the Institute of Christ the King. New website with a wealth of potential "P.O.D." shots... oh yeah!

This is one bad man...

ok, remember my wisecrack about "rainman?" This guy is for real... amazing. Thanks to "Goat Cheese" Chuck for passing this along to us...

A Dark Day for "Silver Streak" Fans...

Yes, it's a dark day indeed for fans of the great movie "Silver Streak" (1976). Yesterday Patrick McGoohan ("Roger Devoreaux"), villain of the movie, archnemesis of the CIA, a "real jet setter," "some big-wig with the art institute in Chicago...", passed away at the age of 80.

A favorite picture...

Some Pics From Last Summer...

It's summer 2008 and the Beach family is partying hard at Mike Linnig's...

"Bubba" Washington, DC's own Honorary Romanian Redneck

Teodore, who is from Romania and is studying at CUA, has never heard of a "redneck" before... We're doing our best to correct that.

Wild Turkey...

Okay, okay, the title refers to the place where these pictures were taken (The Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY) and not the people in the photos...

Happy Feast Day...

Today is the feast day of the patron saint of Canon Lawyers: St. Raymond of Penafort. Seeing that I can probably use all the help I can get, this post constitutes a plea for his intercession. St. Raymond of Penafort, ora pro nobis! Happy feast day...

Morning Mass...

OK, have you noticed here that I've figured out the whole video thing??? Here's this morning's Mass from the chapel.

Rainman...

One last hurrah at Knob Creek before going back to "la-la land..."



(sorry Joe, but I had to post this one...)



(the "block" in the "chip off the ol' block...")

Today's Mass...

For those of us at the TLM, today was the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (the date for celebrating the Epiphany is preserved and not transferred to the Sunday...). Here's a short video of the Mass. Note that I found a new, inconspicuous location for the camera...

New Website...

I've recently come across a great website for you fans of the TLM. Check it out here. They have a great collection of music that they have recorded from their Masses (they have a great choir...), and some of it is download-able. I am adding it to my list of links on the blog.

While we're at it, here's a P.O.D. shot too, since it's been a while since I've added one...


(The "TLM" at St. Paul Outside the Walls...)