More pics from the "field trip..."

A few more shots of the JCL I "field trip" last week, thanks to Fr. Vincent:

The most important piece of "luggage" is loaded onto the caboose:

The engine rolls onto the turntable at Frostburg:

Having too good a time? (note the "easy cheese"... oh yeah):

A few group shots:

A Great Man...

Brother taught my Latin class at St. X my sophomore and junior years. Everyone had to take a foreign language, and since I always wanted to be different I decided to take Latin. Everyone else took Spanish, or French mostly. While the school had Latin listed on the course roster, they must have figured that no one would sign up for it, because they had no one to teach it. Well seven of us signed up, and instead of telling us to choose something else, Brother John Joseph, at age 83, agreed to come out of retirement to teach us Latin for two years. Many stories could be told of that class, and the hijinks of fifteen and sixteen year olds... but suffice it to say that Brother was a tremendous influence. For Brother, Latin was an opportunity to teach us about more than just a foreign language. It was often about much more than that. History, music, language, religion. All these flowed into one subject. Brother was a great collector of holy cards, and would give them to us on a regular basis. One I keep to this day. On it is a quote from Fulton Sheen: "Measure your generosity not by what you give, but by what you have left." It's been a little more than seven years now since he passed away. A truly great man: Brother John Joseph Sterne, CFX. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

Gregory VII...

The more I study him, the more I like him... one of my new favorite popes: Gregory VII

"I have loved righteousness, hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile" -dying words of Gregory VII

JCL I "Field Trip"

As the "presidente" of JCL I, it is my primary duty to organize my classmates' social calendar... Friday we went on a "field trip" out to Cumberland, MD to take a fall foliage excursion on the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. We rented the caboose, and had it all to ourselves. It was certainly the way to go. Travelling in style...

Monticello (or "Montecristo"...)

Another adventure-packed day during Joe and Augie's visit. A Trip to Monticello (or "Montecristo," according to Joe)... The home of Thomas Jefferson. A familiar site for you fans of the nickel. Standing on the top of the mountain you can understand why Jefferson picked it as his home. The view is very nice. Also, as I guessed it, they were selling nickels in the gift shop. They were on sale... two for $14.00... what a bargain! We met up with Sam Aronhime (Manassas, VA) for dinner on the way home...

Visitors...

Some buddies of mine, Joe and Augie, are up visiting for a few days. Here's some shots from yesterday...

Bad Habits...

Last month ("Vocations Crisis?") I began what will be perhaps a recurring theme here at "The Ultramontanist." So, here's this month's installment of "Bad Habits."

The CLSA Convention, Trout Fishing, and Fall Break...

The (not so) Old Man and the Sea (or creek)

As you've noticed, there hasn't been much new here lately... with mid-terms and papers coming due, things have been busy the past few weeks. Thankfully, this next week is the annual CLSA convention, and classes for the Canon Law program are cancelled. This means a week to catch up on reading, time to write a fifteen page paper (the history of canon law from Roman times 'till about the 11th century reform of Gregory VII), host Joe and Augie for a few days, etc etc. Cabin fever has been pretty bad lately, so I decided to get out and go somewhere. Fishing...! Why not... So, it was off to Western Maryland early yesterday morning. A couple weeks ago I picked up some inexpensive fishing gear, read a couple books about Maryland trout fishing, and off we went. Maryland actually has some pretty good fishing, according to the books, at least... so what the hey? Went to the Casselman River yesterday morning, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from DC. A beautiful area on the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. Amish country. Spent the morning there, then headed an hour or so south to the Savage River Gorge. The scenery was stunning, and believe it or not, I actually caught a few fish. No records, mind you, but I was satisfied. My studying of those fishing books actually paid off. I found a place to stay the night and went back to the Savage River again this morning (with no luck, unfortunately). The leaves are beginning to turn their fall colors, and the temperatures were a crisp 40 -50 degrees or so in the morning until early afternoon. Every once in a while it's good "to evacuate the premises..."

The Casselman River:

The Savage River:

More from the Ryder Cup...

I came across some more pictures from the Ryder Cup...

While the Euros had matadors with them:

The U.S. brought Boo Weekley Fans (by far the most camoflauge and hunter orange ever seen at a Ryder Cup...):

Ryder Cup Weekend...

What a great weekend... Not only did I get the chance to go home for the weekend, but the U.S. beat the Euros at Valhalla. And I had a front-row seat for it, since I was marshalling the eighth hole with the guys from Persimmon Ridge. High-fived Mickelson (who promptly went on to lose a four-up lead... my fault?), heckled Nick Faldo, contemplated clothes-lining Sergio. All-in-all a great weekend. Met up with the guys (and gal... Jacque) at BBC for some APA and hot wings. "Separation makes the heart grow fonder," they say... (at least for the beer and wings...!)

A Window Into a Canon Law Class...

Here's a look into one of our classes this semester: "the history of Canon Law." This is one of the courses in the Canon Law School that is often taken as an elective by those in the law school (thus the laity in the class)... Click on the picture for more...

Future of the Church...

For those of you worried about the future of the Church, let me tell you about last night...

The priests in the Canon Law program were "hit-up" to help with the retreat for the freshman college students at the university. The freshman class consists of approximately 600 or so teen-agers. The retreat for freshman - which is completely voluntary - took place this weekend. They had approximately 250 freshman there! Nearly half the class... And this is completely voluntary! Not only did they not have to be there, they were giving up a whole weekend to do it. I don't know about you, but I was impressed by that alone. Part of their retreat, which took place at a small camp about an hour or so outside of the city, is the opportunity to go to confession (thus the need for us poor aspiring canon lawyers...). As we arrived, the kids were beginning Eucharistic adoration. We priests took up our places and one after another the kids lined up. Two hours solid we were there! I was tremendously impressed.

In the middle of the evening a big storm blew in dumping a lot of rain. As I was running to my car to leave, in the darkness, I couldn't help but stop and notice all the kids under the outdoor pavilion... all on their knees before the Eucharist singing the "Tantum Ergo..."

There is hope for the Church...!

Happy Anniversary, "Summorum Pontificum..."

Being the first anniversary of the promulgation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, I decided to visit a classmate of mine in the JCL program who lives at a parish (St. John's) just across the river in the diocese of Arlington. They have the Extraordinary Form Mass there. Talk about nice! They had a solemn high Mass to mark the feast. The pastor was the celebrant, and the two associates served as deacon and subdeacon. I forgot to ask what Mass the choir sang, but it was impeccable. Mass lasted nearly two hours. I was one of four priests (including my classmate) who attended in choir and helped distribute Communion. Even with five priests distributing, Communion took a good twenty minutes. The attendance was good among the laity, and the pastor preached a great sermon (very "Bishop Sheen-esque"). All-in-all, it was a great way to honor the anniversary of the motu proprio.

One interesting note, however. The church there was built in the 60's and is a "church in the round." I have to say, I never imagined a Tridentine Mass in such surroundings, but have to say that it was done well. Wish I had a picture to include, but this will give you some idea:

Vocations Crisis...?

Hello Tim...!

A buddy of mine was up in Washington today on business so we met up at (of course...) Shelly's! And a good time was had by all...

Interestingly, we spotted Bob Barr ('08 Libertarian presidential candidate) sitting at the table across from us smoking a cigar. Tim couldn't help but go over and ask him if he actually ate the cheese in the movie "Borat..."

He did...