Derby Day...

Anticipating Derby Day up here in Washington. Will be introducing the guys in the house to the wonders of the mint julep tomorrow afternoon...

Paper done...

Alleluia, paper done and turned in. Thirty one pages on the Sunday Mass obligation (its development from apostolic times to the 1917 code). Now it's in my professor's hands. Time to study for three exams next week. Thursday can't come fast enough!

Inside of the Library...

For all you smart-alecks out there: yes, I know what the inside of the library looks like! I've been spending far too much time there recently (on page 28 of the future thesis, though)...

Weekend...

Just getting back to Washington after spending the weekend at home. It was a much-needed break (albeit a brief one) from the studies. The trip was prompted by the fact that a good friend, Matt, was Ordained to the Diaconate on Saturday:





Matt will be Ordained to the Priesthood in May of next year. He will be a fine priest. I also had the opportunity to catch up with some friends while home. The guys got together on Sunday night for dinner and drinks, which was very nice (it's always nice to stay connected with your brother priests). Being away from the archdiocese for two years now has made that all the more important for me. On another evening my sister Katie, a friend of mine Joe, and I were able to catch a Reds game. They actually beat somebody too (the Dodgers):



And finally, I was able to celebrate the 12:30 Extraordinary Form Mass at St. Martin's on Sunday. It is always a treat for me:



Now it's back to the books. I have to complete revisions on my final paper of the semester and get ready for finals next week. I should be driving home next Thursday.

"Talkin' Baseball..."

The Reds are picking up right where they've left off since 1995 (the last time they reached the post-season). Fifteen years now! And just this afternoon they've been swept by the "no-account" Pirates, of all teams. It's been a long, long time since Reds fans have had anything to get excited about. For a Reds fan, memories are all we have...



Good ol' Riverfront. We haven't reached the post-season since we left it:


Some Louisville Redbirds memories:


Right behind the section where my dad and I always sat at the old Cardinal Stadium:

Congrats Fr. Yves...

Congratulations to Fr. Yves, a good friend and fellow here at the house who just passed his comps in semitic languages. He has been sitting at the dinner table muttering in Hebrew and Syriac for months now. I'm glad it ended well. Had a little party for him tonight:

"All work and no play..."

I need to bust my posterior tomorrow finishing off/cleaning up the last paper of the semester (20+ pages on the "Sunday Obligation" which is the seed of my thesis) so I can get out on Friday to catch some of the fishing action that has been heating up along with the weather around here lately. Nothing like a little motivation...

It's Baseball Season, Finally...

The weather has finally turned and baseball season is here again. Thanks be to God. Now all I have to do is find the time to get myself to some ballgames. Here's a little something to whet the appetite (there's just something about baseball that demands jazzy organ playing, no?):

Easter...

Holy Week is over. It was again a nice week of liturgies. Holy Thursday I concelebrated with most of my classmates and other student priests at the Shrine on campus. The Mass was celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Sambi. It was followed by a very nice dinner that the priests are invited to. Good Friday and the Easter Vigil saw me over at St. John's in McLean, VA. You can always count on good liturgy there. The vigil was done in the Ordinary Form, the canon in Latin. Finally, on Easter Sunday I was asked to help celebrate a Mass in the Extraordinary Form at a brand new parish in Manassas, VA: Holy Trinity. It was a sung Mass and well attended (I'm guessing around 500 people). The church was built only two years ago and was pretty well done. They have a regularly scheduled weekly EF Mass there (one of approximately ten that have popped-up across the Arlington Diocese). After Mass, the Justice and his wife were quite kind in inviting us over for Easter dinner. The lamb was excellent, again. Now only two more papers to go before the semester comes to a close...

St. John, McLean:


Holy Trinity, Manassas:

Life's Simple Pleasures...

A cigar and coffee while reading the morning paper:



On the Patio on a beautiful Spring morning:

Warmer Weather and Feeding Fish...

Can you tell the weather is warming-up? I was able to get out last week to enjoy the 70+ degree weather. Bugs were hatching, trout were feeding, and five were brought to hand. Here's a video of some clips from this past year: fishing along the Gunpowder River in Maryland.