And Jesus said ......

Went back to the doc at 4pm yesterday afternoon. It was 152 / 94. He said he didn't want to put me on medication just yet but wants to obsevre me for the next 2 weeks - that means seeing him at 6am every other day. So I went up to our infirmary this morning at 6am. Everyone says the climb up the hill (not quite 1 km) to St. Saviour's is enough to give anyone a high blood pressure. And at 6am! Anyway no coffee, no wine (so how am I going to celebrate Mass?), definitely no salt. The doc says the HP is probably a side effect of the years of taking steroids to control my asthma.

After the checkup which including a blood test, I went to the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass. The Orthodox are beginning their Lent so the pilgrim crowds are incredible. And on the way home at the 6th Station of the Cross, I met a wave of Jacobite Christians - well over 100 including bishops and priests. They're also called Mar Thoma Christians from India; they're not considered Orthodox.

Back home everyone at breakfast asked me how it went and offering different types of advice and medication. They're very nice here and I really appreciate this community. Some of the students were whispering "Happy Belated Birthday" because no one knew it was my birthday - only Giovanni Loche who told Fr Kaswalder. Since it's not celebrated in our monastery, no one wanted to make a big deal out of it, so the whispers.

Yesterday I tried to convince the Dean that I'm sick and need to go home (everyone was winking). I tried my "Jesus told me" line but it didn't work. Instead the Dean insisted I should spend one hour a day outside the monastery, taking a walk. He said Jesus told him so.