Matthew Monday: Florida Beach

As I mentioned we were on vacation down on the Florida Panhandle at a town called Ft. Walton Beach.  Most people who go to Florida for vacation don’t go to the Panhandle area.  It’s a bit removed and it’s culture is more Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana than Florida.  The root purpose of our trip was to attend a wedding, but we extended our stay there for a week since we as a family haven’t had a real vacation in a while, especially with Matthew. 
 

I really liked the Florida Panhandle.  It’s not crowded, there’s good food around, there’s a good bit to do, and the beaches—did I mention the beaches?—the beaches are beautiful.  Close by were a strip of islands that are connected by bridges to form a beach front strip that’s no bigger than a quarter mile wide and in some places fifty yards wide.  That’s right, you can go from the bay on one side to the Mexican gulf on the other in less than fifty yards.  And the sand on the beaches is literally white as snow.  The first time we drove through there was a spot with sand dunes that seemed to have a dusting of snow on them.  But then we looked carefully and it wasn’t snow.  It was sand.   

Here are some pictures of Matthew on the beach.   

 

Yes, that’s the sand, and it was really fine.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen sand as fine and white as what we found there.  It was almost like baby powder.  Here's Matthew trying to build a castle, or is it a mountain?

 

And then sinking his arms into it.

 

We had sunny days throughout (except for the first and last days) and the temperatures ranged 70 to 75F (21-23C).  The water was a bit cold.  Not too many people ventured in.  It's still early in the season. 

The gulf water gets to be as warm as bath water by mid summer.  But the water was clear and wonderfully sea-green.

And finally Matthew burying his legs to the knees.

It was great to get away from this horrid winter we've had.  

 

 

Faith Filled Friday: Agnus Dei

I was on vacation down in Florida last week and into this week.  Unfortunately I wound up missing mass on the first Sunday of the trip since it was the travel day.  But on the second Sunday of my trip I did find a Catholic Church.  The section of Florida was on the pan-handle, up close to Mississippi and Alabama, which is a very different culture than here.  I rather enjoyed it, and I’ll eventually post some pictures. 

One thing I did notice was how much better dressed people were for mass down there than up here.  Men wore jackets and ties and women conservatively stylish.  Even the young were not dressed as if they were headed for the playground.   For the record, I was at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ft. Walton Beach, a lovely church and seemed like a vibrant parish.  The large church was completely full.
 

In addition what struck me was that they sang the Lamb of God in Latin, which was a nice change.  I enjoyed it and would like my parish to take it up.  While I’m not a fan of the Latin Mass (see this post)  adding a touch of Latin makes it more interesting.   

Here is the Agnus Dei  chanted.

 

 

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

In English:

Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.