End of Summer...

The summer is quickly coming to a close, and I will be returning to Washington, D.C. (aka "la-la land") in but a few days. I am looking forward to getting back and getting the new semester started. I'm even looking forward to the nine-hour drive. It has been a great summer: I have made a few road trips, enjoyed filling-in at several parishes around the archdiocese, and have been working at the tribunal office. One goal for the summer was to do some research into finding a possible thesis topic or two, and I think I've settled on one that interests me and will be do-able. I'm sure it will be refined and more focused by a faculty member's review.

The return is softened, as well, by the fact that it will only be a month and a half until I'm back home, since this year's Canon Law Society annual convention is in Louisville and I'll be helping the archdiocesan tribunal play host to the event.

Returning to Washington also means the chance to get some fishing in between classes at CUA at the Gunpowder River in Maryland:



Before I leave, however, I have this last weekend to fill-in at my "old stomping grounds" in Meade County: St. John's and St. Martin's. Next post from Washington, DC...

Another Video of Mass...

Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The choir really outdid themselves with a beautiful Mass setting. Enjoy:

5 Minutes of Torture...

5 Minutes of torture... otherwise known as a vacation video from our Colorado trip. Check it out:

Requiem Mass...

The Colorado trip is over, and the return to Washington is getting closer and closer. Today I was the celebrant of a Requiem Mass for a member of the Latin Mass community here in Louisville who just passed away. I always have liked the sequence for the requiem: the "Dies Irae." It, along with the use of the color black for funerals, is often "poo-poo'd" as being too harsh for our modern spiritual sensibilities, but I disagree. I think it touches upon many of the emotions which are too often overlooked or dismissed at death. People are touched by sadness and grief at the death of a loved one. While it would be unrealistic to be too focused on grief and loss, I also think that it would be too unrealistic to do nothing but sing "alleluia's." It seems to me that some balance needs to be struck: maintaining that our faith ultimately gives hope in the face of death, while also admitting to the very real fact that the family of the deceased is experiencing grief. It reinforces as well, in my estimation, the need to pray for the deceased as they face the judgment seat of God. Just my thoughts...

"Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. May perpetual light shine upon her."

Durango & Silverton...

A video of a train ride last week on the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad in Southwestern Colorado. An absolutely fantastic ride through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. A real highlight of last week's Colorado trip...

Colorado, day III & IV...

Fly fishing the Gunnison and Animas rivers in Southwestern Colorado. Spectacular scenery, and I actually caught a few fish (rainbow trout). Unbeleivably scenic, especially the Black Canyon area of the Gunnison River near Montrose, CO. Check it out:





A decent 10" Rainbow from the Gunnison River:

Colorado, day II...

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad:




Silverton, Colorado:

Colorado...

Am currently in Colorado on a trip with the guys. Fly fishing, seeing the sights of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Yesterday we came across this view. Pretty spectacular:



Another shot of the mountains:

Metropolitan Tribunal Conference...

Just getting back from spending a couple of days in Covington, KY at the annual meeting of the Tribunals of the province of Louisville. Fr. Phillip and I drove the hour and a half to Covington, and couldn't help but laugh when we passed this bakery truck. Check out the picture:



Yes, the name of the place is "Bimbo Bakery." Amazing. We had to get a picture as we drove by. You'd have thought their logo would be something more exciting than just a bear wearing a baker's hat... oh well!

Smoky Mountains National Park...

For several years now, a group of us - all Ordained around the same time - have been taking a week's trip together during the summertime. The purpose was originally to go whitewater rafting, risk our lives, and live to tell the story. However, with age comes a certain amount of wisdom... Now that we're getting older, the focus of our summer trip has shifted. Once it was about "staring death in the face," but now it's more about getting away: taking a break from our pastoral assignments, relaxing, and fostering priestly fraternity. Instead of paddling through class V rapids, we're taking things a bit more slowly these days.

Such was the case this past week. For our yearly trip, we rented a cabin overlooking the Smoky Mountains National Park. With an abundance of good fishing opportunities, two of us (Fr. John and myself) took to the rivers and creeks of the park in search of rainbow trout. We found ample numbers, with Fr. John taking the first (and largest) fish of the trip: a 15" rainbow that was hiding under the first rapid we cast to. Our guide Brad, from Smoky Mountain Angler, ran us up and down the river: over boulders, through rapids, and across the mountainous terrain to find a good number of beautiful rainbow trout. It was a week of beautiful scenery, good food, and good company. I'm already looking forward to next year...

Summer Road Trip: Wrigley Field...

Summer is now a bit more than half over. With my canon law classes taking the summer off, I have been keeping busy with several things here at home: working at the Tribunal office, filling-in at various parishes (Immaculate Conception in LaGrange last weekend...), and various other activities. This past Spring, thinking about what I would like to do over the break, I came up with a kind of "bucket list" for my Summer. Being a baseball fan, one item was to take the opportunity to catch a few baseball games here and there. So far it has materialized into one trip to Cincinnati (Reds lost to the Phillies) and one trip to St. Louis (Cardinals beat the Royals in interleague play).

Yesterday we checked another one off that list: the Cubs beat the Braves 4-2 at the "friendly confines" of Wrigley Field. I had been there before, back in high school on a family trip, but I forgot just how cool Wrigley Field is: quaint, old-fashioned, representing everything that is "good and holy" in the game. The fans armed with their gloves, standing along Waveland Avenue just beyond the left field wall waiting to catch homeruns during batting practice; the people wearing t-shirts decrying the evils of night games; the cool breeze coming-in off Lake Michigan and thinking that the term "southpaw" was coined on that mound. Babe Ruth stood at that plate in 1932 and called his shot! Why, O why, did baseball ever abandon such places for Astroturf and the designated hitter?

-Catching batting practice homeruns along Waveland Avenue with the classic hand-operated scoreboard in the distance:


-A pre-game beer at Harry Caray's:


Wrigley, unlike other parks, isn't as pricey as you'd first think (it ain't as cheap as Cincinnati, though). 30 bucks bought a seat directly behind home plate on the lower level, not more than 100 feet from the plate - and there was only one support beam that just barely blocked my view of the right field corner. Concession prices weren't outrageous either (like St. Louis!): a beer and a dog cost $10. Heck, they even have a well-organized score card to keep track of the game with (I'm getting back into the routine of keeping score during ball games this summer - a practice I had quit). I have to hand it to Cubs fans too (as much as I would prefer not to...). While they can be a bit obnoxious, you have to say that they are truly fan-atical. I forgot just how loud a Wrigley Field crowd is. They pack the park for a Monday evening game, and it seemed that every single one of them was dressed in some Cub paraphernalia. No doubt - they are into the game. And I assure you, unlike most other parks I've been to, not a soul left that game until the final out was made. Even with my allegiance as a Reds fan, Wrigley has my vote as baseball heaven.


-The Classic Wrigley Scene; A Classic Baseball Scene:


-"The Sign" Cubs Win:


With roughly another month and a half of the summer left, where will I end up next? All indications are that I will probably be catching a Rockies game while on an upcoming trip to Denver, as well as a Red Sox game at Fenway with my sister Katie.

Hats, Hats, Hats...

I have always liked to wear a hat... just a habit I've gotten into, I guess (covering my increasingly bald head). Lots of people have noticed, and I've gotten a lot of hats as gifts: mostly baseball hats - which I normally wear - but every once in a while I mix it up a bit. A straw panama during the summer; a black fedora; and don't forget the biretta for ecclesiastical wear!



Well, check out this website recently recommended by a friend (thanks, Fr. John...) featuring a most disturbing collection of ecclesiastical and academic head wear. Hold on to your biretta and click HERE! It helps if you can read German...

The trusty old fedora:


The "Biretta Padua" (an apparent variation upon the trusty old biretta):


You're a monsignor and want to wear the house cassock and biretta to the ballgame? NO PROBLEM!!!

Life at the Tribunal...

Fr. Philip showing the signs of extreme physical and mental stress after a hard day's work at the Tribunal... Is this a sad glimpse into my future?!

"It's a Twister!"

My assignment, before my "canon law odyssey" began, was as pastor of two parishes about thirty miles from Louisville in Meade County, KY (St. John the Apostle in Brandenburg and St. Martin of Tours in Flaherty). Two wonderful parishes with wonderful people. Brandenburg is known locally as Kentucky's version of "tornado alley." It seems that whenever there is nasty weather, it is nastiest down that way. Something about the location on the Ohio River, people say, funnels (no pun intended) all the bad weather right there. This reputation was well-earned with the tragic tornado outbreak of Spring 1974, which literally wiped the better part of Brandenburg off the map.

Well I came across some video I shot the morning of Ash Wednesday of 2008, when a relatively small (estimated F1 - F2) tornado struck again. Hiding in the basement with my dog "Sadie," I thought the roof was coming off at one point, which makes me imagine what going through a big tornado must be like. We lucked out: no one was hurt and the only damage the town sustained was that which could be repaired (LOTS of roofs needing to be replaced and LOTS of trees needing to be cleaned up). A few buildings were completely destroyed. Check it out:



Well, all these memories were sparked by a recent impressive photo that a former parishioner sent me that was taken of a funnel cloud over Brandenburg in a storm that hit earlier this month. Check it out:

Vintage Base Ball...

My sister Katie and I drove up to French Lick, Indiana (home of basketball legend Larry Bird) to the newly restored West Baden Springs Hotel. A beautiful old hotel built upon a mineral spring that was once the hangout of Chicago mobsters the likes of Al Capone, and others. It was the site today of the "Vintage Base Ball World Series" - a series of games played according to the rules of base ball in force in the mid-19th century. That means no gloves, no strikes, vintage uniforms, outs are called "hands," and runs are called "aces."