Feast of St. Barbara (Eid el-Burbara)

Vivid photos of the worst bushfire in Israel's history. http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2010/12/world/gallery.large.israel.wild.fire/page.01.html?hpt=C1 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11901937  On TV, there's 24 hour news coverage. Tragic scenes of grieving families burying their loved ones or identifying them in the mortuary. Affected peoples inclide Jews, Druse and Christians. Now the news is reporting that there are smaller fires in lower Galilee. This is bad. The winds are too strong and no one can stop it till it burns itself out. I fear that fires will also start here in the south - in Judah. Everyone is just talking about water - if we had water, we would be able to contain the fires. But there is no water, no rain. Once again Mother Nature shows us that despite all the advanced technology, nothing can stop her earth, wind, water and fire. Only God who created nature can stop it.

Today the local church is celebrating the feast of St. Barbara (in arabic Eid el-Burbara). It's a big feast day - and is something like the Jewish feast of Purim or American Halloween. She is remembered as a martyr who suffered tremendously for her faith - her chief persecutor being her own father. Finally beheaded after a series of tortures, St. Barbara is the patron saint for those who suffer sudden death, providing them occasion to receive the Last Rites and Viaticum (Communion before death). Locally the christians bake a sweet called Burbara (Barbara) made from barley, anise, raisins and lots of sugar. Every year the sisters in Bethlehem bake this and send them to us. Perhaps St Barbara will intercede for us to stop the fires and send us some rain.