MODERN FASTING CLOTH

A little while ago I posted some "Fasting Cloths" displayed in nearby churches during the Lenten Period. I also wrote about the various accepted reasons for their display.
In a small church near Althofen, Carinthia, I discovered a Cloth classic in style, but ultramodern in symbolism.
Please note the figures in the four corners on yellow background:

Below: Please  note the images in the four corners,

click on picture to enlarge !

Lions in Love

Ant, our guide, worries that there may be some more rain. We quickly erect the large canvas tent with enough space for two of us and Ant has a plastic fly for his mosy tent.

No sooner ready, than the rain comes back. We are well protected and slip into our bedrolls.

The rain drums an African pattern on the canvas tent.

Next morning, up bright and early and the country looks different: Washed and clean.

The many shades of green look brilliant.

Ant drives very slowly along the barely discernible track. There is a clearing in front with some tall trees spaced well apart. We leave the track and, driving even more slowly, we work our way cross- country.

Ant stops the Cruiser and joins us on top through the hatch.

We sit there and through my telephoto lens I see two Lions. A beautiful male and of the female we see only the back. She is lying in the grass. He rests, half reclined at the foot of a tree.

I start to take pictures.

The male rises and slowly, deliberately walks over to the female.

He stops and runs his nose up her spine. He does that again and again.

She rears up, turns her head to him as if in challenge.

Then she seems to wriggle her body as in readiness.

The male mounts her.

There are some quick thrusting movements.

He lifts his head and roars in his orgasm.

She turns her head to him and hisses. „Well done, good man!“ she seems to say.

We stay there and observe the pair. She simply remains in her prone position, seemingly waiting.

He has wandered over to his tree again. He sits there and looks at her.

15 minutes go by and he approaches her again. The foreplay is the same.

He clearly stimulates her by running his nose up her spine.

She wriggles her body into position.

He straddles her and then mounts her.

Again, the orgasmic roar.

Again, the hiss of satisfaction.

                              
                                   **********************

Bertstravels.

(excerpt from my book: Safari Africa, 2011) 

Quietly observing his surroundings,

this Lion relaxes between visits to his chosen love.

He approaches her for the tenth (or more) time this day.

His mate lies quietly... waiting...

He runs his nose up her spine.

...again..

...and again... 

...then he mounts her 

... after a few minutes...

...the orgasmic roar...

...she raises her head and hisses at him.

She seems to say: "Well done, Big Boy !"

While He, in good Schwartzenegger fashions tells her:

"I'll be back!"

After 10 or 20 repeat performances, 

even the King of the Beasts gets tired

and with a big yawn he indicates

 that now there will be a little rest.

"Love" is, 

 staying together.

 Even afterwards !

Friedrich also said:

"Did you think the Lion was sleeping
because he did not roar ?"

Friedrich Schiller said:

The voice of the majority is no proof of justice.

                             ****************

Fasting Cloths

„Fastentücher“, also called „Hungertücher“. (Fasting – or Hunger cloths )

are another one of the strange, but harmless customs of the Catholic, and, to a lesser degree, the Protestant Church. Practiced in parts of Austria and parts of Germany, it had its origin about the year 1000, or so historians claim.

These fasting cloths were originally of a single, drab colour, later brilliantly and artfully decorated, in some cases by renowned artists of the time.

They were used to cover the Altar and crucifixes and other images, commencing on Ash- Wednesday and staying in place for 40 days.

You may well ask: „Why would they cover and thereby hide from view these ornate images,

including the „tabernacle“, the entire altar, crucifixes etc. ?“

The period during which this practice is in place, covers the entire „Lenten time“ during which faithful Catholics are urged to give up some habit or other. They are urged, for instance, to eat less, stop smoking, drink less and in many ways adjust their lives positively.

It seems that about a thousand years ago the Church decided to punish its sinful parishioners by not allowing them to see the holiest of holies, and since, according to the R.C. Church, everybody is a sinner, the practical way was to drape the images with sack cloths throughout the Lenten period.

There are a number of other explanations which I won't go into here.

I will show only some of the churches which follow this practice

and their "Fasting cloths"

The church of St. Margaretha 

in the town of Lieding, near 

Strassburg, Carinthia.

There seems to be a contradiction:

The tabernacle, containing the Host is still plainly visible.

The Crucifix and other images (sculptures)

are covered with a cloth, beautifully decorated with

the Crucifix and other figures.

 The Side Altars

are also covered with beautifully painted scenes

out of the tortured life of Jesus.

But this is what the Christian Church is famous for:

Torture and Mayhem.

Below:

In the church of

St. Nikolaus in Straßburg

1 Above and 3 Below

The Church of St. Nikolaus

The famed local artist, Ferdinand Penker

painted this cloth.

as you may have noted: It depicts nothing discernible in the panels

but biblical writings in the red frames.

Below:

The famous "Fastentuch" in the Cathedral of Gurk.

Created in 1458 bei the local artist, Konrad von Friesach.

details of the Gurk cloth.

The twin steeples of Gurk

Last, but not least, the beautiful cloth of the Monestary Church 

of Millstadt.

There are many many more churches 

featuring such Fasting Cloths, 

The above should give you an idea.

There are also several explanations for the reasons.

1.) During the Lenten period the church wanted to show

the suffering Jesus and not the triumphant one, as he was shown

in many Pictures.

2.) Punish the Sinners, one and all, by denying them the sight of the Altar. ( the most likely reason! The Catholics are big on "Punishing"

3.) Illiterate  parishioners could learn from the pictures. 

( an unlikely reason, since the first fasting cloths were without any pictures or other decoration.

Braunau, pictures from another time. ( May 1945)

Just a few posts ago I showed some pictures of the town in which I grew up: Braunau am Inn.
I received some lovely responses. Particularly moving was the comment made by my son who spent almost a year there. This old town seems to have made quite an impression on him.
Originally I had planned to show some more images of Braunau, and I may still do this.
Right now, however, I will post some images which I did NOT take.
These photographs were taken by somebody else and I photographed the pages of a book, which, unfortunately I no longer possess.
The  pictures were taken on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day of May 1945. Then I was 13 years old and did not own a camera. 
All of it I witnessed and recollect every detail, as an old man recollects his youth.
Many years ago I wrote a series of short stories which deal with this time and this place and this happening.
I may even publish these stories here... someday...

The pictures above and below are some of the final signs  of the lunacy which caused World War II.

The image above shows the ruins of the vehicular and pedestrian bridge connecting my home town Braunau with the smaller town, Simbach in Bavaria, Germany.

The picture below depicts the railway bridge crossing the Inn, just a few 100 meters down river.

Remember, the War officially ended on the 8th of May 1945.

On the 30th day of April of the same year some fanatical lunatic thought it would be a great idea to blow these bridges up.

Was it "just for the fun of it"?

At that time the Western Allied Forces, lead by the USA had occupied (liberated) all of what later became West Germany, and stood at the borders to Austria ( which was then part of Germany).

Russia's Red Army approached Vienna with almost no opposition.

It had to be obvious to even the most fanatical steel helmet

that this war was over.... lost... the enemy had won.

The symbolism of these images is undeniable:

above:

The destruction caused by Hitler's Regime

below:

the efforts to rebuild a devastated Europe.

My best friends, Hermann and Kurt and I sat on the river's shore and watched with utter amazement the speed with which American Pioneers laid a pontoon bridge 

across the fast rushing waters of the Inn. 

It seems to me that it took not more than 3 or 4 hours, maybe less

for the first foot soldiers to cross.

This is what I saw

but, unfortunately, some one else photographed.

This too is part of 

Bertstravels

Early Spring ???

There are s nowbells in our garden !

Although they must have been there

for a few days,

I only noticed them today.