Uploads from SouthernBreeze, tagged guntersville

Sunrise over Lake Guntersville, Alabama - h

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:52:39 -0700

I happened to see this on my way to 0830 Mass.

For those whom may not know, Lake Guntersville is part of the Tennessee River. Be sure and check out the geotag data map for more detail.

Also, be sure and check out the EXIF data, too! Give particular attention to the GPS data.

Blessing of Throats on the Feast of Saint Blaise - h

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 09:05:06 -0800

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

Today is the Feast of Saint Blaise.

Seen here, Fr. Tim Pfander, parish priest & pastor of St. William Catholic Church, Guntersville, Alabama, is performing the ritual of Blessing of the Throats on the Feast of Saint Blaise. This blessing occurred after the 0830 Mass.

1623 "The blessing of the sick by ministers of the Church is a very ancient custom, rooted in imitation of Christ himself and his apostles."

1624 In the United States the annual blessing of throats is a traditional sign of the struggle against illness in the life of the Christian. This blessing is ordinarily given during Mass or a celebration of the word of God on February 3, the memorial of Saint Blase.

1625 Saint Blase was the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia during the fourth century. Very little is known about his life. According to various accounts he was a physician before becoming a bishop. His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages because he was reputed to have miraculously cured a little boy who nearly died because of a fishbone in his throat. From the eighth century he has been invoked on behalf of the sick, especially those afflicted with illnesses of the throat.

1626 The blessing of throats may be given by a priest, deacon, or a lay minister who follows the rites and prayers designated for a lay minister. If the blessing is conferred during Mass, the blessing follows the homily and general intercessions, or, for pastoral reasons, the prayer of blessing may take the place of the final blessing of the Mass. When the blessing is given outside Mass, it is preceded by a brief celebration of the word of God. If the blessing is to be celebrated at Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer, it is given after the reading and responsory (and homily) and before the gospel canticle.

1627 The blessing may be given by touching the throat of each person with two candles blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2) and which have been joined together in the form of a cross.

PRAYER OF BLESSING

1647 A minister who is a priest or deacon touches the throat of each person with the crossed candles and says the prayer of blessing. Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.

Each person responds: Amen.

This is My body - v146

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:13:32 -0700

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

We all have stories to tell.

Part of mine includes religion.

I grew up as a Protestant in the Methodist tradition, then transitioned through the "charismatic" movement, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, through a non/trans/inter-denominational church, then after a period of absence from corporate worship, into the Episcopal church, the Anglican church, and have finally arrived at home in the Catholic church.

Needless to say, in that process, I've seen, been to, or experienced just about every type of Christian worship that one could imagine... save snake handling. And, I suppose, I'd like to go there just to see what all the hoopla is about. I'm not much afraid of snakes... or anything else, come to think of it. But that's just me. Some folks would shit a brick just to see a picture of a non-poisonous snake, much less be near a living, breathing, writhing venomous pit viper.

Me? While not foolhardy, I've never been what Wall Street types call "risk averse."

Nevertheless... the point I'd wanted to share was this: "This is my body."

Those are the words of the Christ, who is also sometimes called Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus.

I've preferred to refer to Him as "the Christ," because the Greek word translated as "Christ" from the ancient Greek "Χριστός," transliterated as "Khristós," which means 'anointed' is a translation of the Hebrew word "מָשִׁיחַ," transliterated as "Māšîaḥ," meaning the Messiah, which is also used as a title for Jesus in the New Testament.

In other words, Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the anointed one sent by the Almighty to be not merely a prophet, but literally inseminated by the word of the same into the body of a young virgin girl - perhaps aged 13 or so - who was also betrothed to a man we know only as "Joseph," who, according to tradition, was a carpenter, and was likely some years older than Mary, his betrothed.

That miraculous birth - the virgin birth - is the genesis of the Christian account and faith, whose redeemer's arrival was prophesied in significant part by the major prophet Isaiah.

When He - Christ Jesus - was first seen by John the Baptist, He was called "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He asked John to baptize Him - a symbolic act representing the washing away of one's sin and wrong doing, and desire to do good, and practice holiness - even though He had done no sin, or wrong.

Acknowledging His role as Savior of all humanity, He proceeded to heal the sick, feed the hungry, chastise hypocrites, and preach good news to the dejected outcasts of society, which included prostitutes, drunkards, thieves, tax collectors, and more. That good news is, that the Creator of all that is loves everyone - without measure.

But because transgression requires punishment, one can't just get off "scot free," or without suffering some type of punishment. That is the requirement and demand of justice.

But Christ came to intercede - to take the place of - all of humanity, and to suffer for them... even though there was no requirement or justification for Him to do so, because He had done no wrong. That is grace and mercy.

In accordance with the Scriptures, the timing of His death was at Passover (Hebrew Pesach, or Pascha), which is the the Hebrew people's remembrance of their redemption and escape to freedom from under the oppressive government slave regime of Egypt's pharaohs - more commonly known as "the Exodus."

On the night He was betrayed - the night of Pesach, or Passover - "Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”"

Then, "He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words - I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”"

The tradition was to have smeared blood of a perfect lamb over the house door frame, and to eat that same whole roasted lamb in its entirety - innards and all - along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Originally, in the Exodus, the Angel of Death passed over the houses where there was blood, and the lives of those within were spared - including livestock. Because they were going to be leaving Egypt quickly, leavening - the rising agent in bread - was not to be used in making bread for that meal. Leavening became symbolic of the oppression of sin and wrong doing. Today, we would call that "flat bread," or a type of biscuit.

Shortly before Pesach (Passover), Christ Jesus had said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven."

Shortly after the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the church at Corinth that, "A person must examine himself and then eat the bread and drink from the cup, because whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That's why so many of you are weak and sick and a considerable number are dying."

Up until relatively recently, the Christian church - including Protestants - had held what Christ said to be true; that the bread and wine somehow, by and through the power of the Almighty, mystically and inexplicably transformed the bread and wine into His body and blood - not His figurative body and blood.

Note that He did not say 'I want to you imagine,' or 'I want you to pretend,' or 'I want you to think of it as my body.' No. He said "this IS my body."

The Catholic church still teaches and preaches that what Christ Jesus said was, and is true - that it IS His body (the doctrine of transubstantiation) - and within orthodox churches, it remains a cornerstone of the Christian faith to this day, just as it was in the days of the apostles.

Brick wall, stained glass window, wooden floor - h137

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:47:46 -0700

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

Taken after 0830 Mass.

Red carpet, steps, wooden floor - h147

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:47:58 -0700

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

Taken after 0830 Mass.

I'm not waiting on a lady; I'm just waiting on a friend. - v1261

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:16:09 -0800

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

Classic line from a Rolling Stones song. I was indeed waiting on such an one. Not sure if there's any undertones to that tune, or not. I was just goofing off a bit while she had excused herself. This view is looking out over the lake. The road is visible - somewhat - in the background.

It started as a foggy night. - v4780

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:27:51 -0800

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

The temperature differential - a warming trend - in combination with high humidity - in excess of 70% - led to a blanket of fog over much of the lower-lying areas of the Tennessee Valley in the later afternoon/early evening hours. A few hours later, the fog had all but dissipated, yet lingered in the upper elevations.

Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic, Guntersville, AL - h50 2

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:58:58 -0800

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

For all the so-called "ObamaCare" haters out there. Here's your "social medicine."

Soldiers, Sailers, Airmen AND their family all receive THE HIGHEST quality of care, bar none. And, their families don't go broke hoping they have enough to pay for the procedures, or medicine. The physicians and nurses all get the same rate of pay according to their specialty, time in service and rank. What a socialist idea! (Those damn socialists!)

Research continues to demonstrate that if American healthcare had a One-Payer system, costs associated with health care provision would be drastically lower. Why?

No money would go for excessive CEO compensation, Wall Street shareholders, excessive overhead expense, advertising, medicines would come through one outlet and be able to be purchased in bulk, and the invariable paperwork shuffle for so many different insurance forms that each physicians' office has to fill out for each and every different insurance company - from the largest, to the smallest - would be eliminated.

No... none of that bullshit would exist.

And yet, provisions of the so-called "ObamaCare" - which is properly titled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and is actually Health Insurance Reform - do precisely those things!

The law:
• REQUIRES insurance companies to use 80% of premiums to provide care,
• FORBIDS health insurance companies from denying coverage to children born with conditions (which insurance companies call "pre-existing"),
• FORBIDS denial of coverage or payment for procedure based on a misspelled word or overlooked item,
• REQUIRES insurance companies to justify premium increases,
• FORBIDS them from dropping your coverage if you become sick,
• REQUIRES hospitals to be accountable for efficiency,
• REDUCES hospital-acquired infections,
• ELIMINATES & PUNISHES fraud, waste & abuse,

...and much, much more.

And yet, because certain Republican radical extremists whom have hijacked the party - the so-called TEA Party - have collectively ~~sold a bill of goods~~ lied to the American public about what the law does and what it contains, effectively, most Americans DO NOT KNOW that those provisions exist.

Just think about those things.

See Healthcare .gov
and
Whitehouse. gov/RealityCheck for details.

PostScript/Addendum:
For you, loved ones, relatives, friends, neighbors or other eligible individuals:
This VA Clinic is located in Guntersville, Marshall County, AL.
www.Birmingham.VA.gov/visitors/Guntersville_cboc.asp

Guntersville Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC)
101 Judy Smith Drive
Guntersville, AL 35976
Phone: (256) 582-4033
Fax: (256) 582-4215

Hours:
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Monday - Friday

The Picture Taker - h444

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:34:42 -0800

SouthernBreeze posted a photo:

Jus' having a wee bit o'fun lakeside. That'd be "lakeside" as in Honeycomb Creek lakeside.

Got Google Earth?

Download the KML file of my jaunt!

The Holy Family - v26 1

nobody@flickr.com (SouthernBreeze) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:42:00 -0700

SouthernBreeze posted a photo: