I survived my 1st Sunday Mass! The night before I was all nervous. Luckily I got help from Osvalda "La Signorina di Gorizia" (The lady from Gorizia) to check through my italian homily. She's our librarian here for the past 18 years, and I usually can count on her to help me. Don't know where Gorizia is? It's in the north-east of Italy - go check a map on the internet!

Breakfast was non-existant this morning. I got up early (well I always do anyway - 4am!!!) - more accurately I went downstairs to the refectory for breakfast early and found the place empty! Usually Sister Pieta (another funny-hat nun) puts the breakfast stuff out by 6.15am but probably today being Sunday, she slept in. I was hoping to have breakfast quickly so I could go back practicing my homily - but NO BREAKFAST!!!!! Every single piece of bread was gone, the coffee was not boiled, ... I thought of Mother Hubbard's cupboard (Sr. Pieta looks like what I imagine Mother Hubbard to be - thin, small glasses at the tip of her long nose, big glaring eyes and no smile - even the cats are afraid of her!) I think she put the breakfast stuff out at 7am but it was too late as I had to prepare the church for 8am Mass. :( I was thinking of fried eggs, ham and all the other stuff we get back in HK; but of course these things don't exist here in our house. Breakfast is usually a cup of coffee and a piece of bread - maybe with butter, jam or honey from our apiary (nothing to do with apes, Charles!!!).

Well I presided at the Sunday Mass. The oldest professor Fr Ravanelli came up to me in the sacristy and said "We have a good shepherd to lead us at Mass today - make sure you preach!" and punched me on the shoulder. Only 5 students concelebrated, and they were all very supportive and wanted to help in the readings etc... (remember my two cantors ran away!). All the rest of the concelebrants were professors - the superior, the dean of faculty and all the noted scholars of my school. And we had a crowd for Mass as well. Osvalda came, and Arlette (a volunteer from Italy in our Jerusalem monasteries ), Sr. Geronima in her funny-hat (she started giggling in the middle of Mass and I almost started laughing as well!), a man with a big big beard, two koreans and some others. Anyway Fr Ravanelli sat next to me and served as 1st cantor while another doctoral candidate Fr Stefano Cavalli served as 2nd cantor. Mass was a hotch-potch of languages because besides italian, I sang in latin and the final hymn in greek. After Mass the superior Fr Carlo whispered "Was that chinese?" Fr Lino, our emeritus professor of Greek and Latin corrected the last phrase of my homily, saying it was not a quotation from St. Augustine but Luther! Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

After changing the vestments, I came to my room to avoid the after-Mass crowd - the people are invited into our refectory for breakfast. I just needed a breather and calm down. I'll stay at home today and do some reading - but food is occupying my mind. What a terrible distraction!

The Indonesians are here in full force - 500 pilgrims per day! A large group of Indonesian nuns and friars came to make the Way of the Cross early this morning before Mass started. And they made alot of noise. Sr. Pieta was not happy. But even she couldn't scare the Indonesians away.

But hmmmm food, food, glorious food .... I'll probably give in and walk up the Way of the Cross to the 8th Station and buy some buns. They have nice stuff there - buns with poppy seed is one of my favourites; also vanilla buns and apple buns. But I have to be careful because the owner overcharges me if I'm alone. I usually buy when some other arabs are in the shop so the owner wouldn't dare raise the price.

The bells of the Holy Sepulcher are ringing now - it means the Greek Patriarch is on his way there to celebrate Mass. The Old City of Jerusalem is filled with bell-ringing every Sunday - absolutely beautiful; something you'll never hear in HK. But the growling in my stomach is louder! I'll go to the kitchen now and hope Sr. Pieta is not there!!!