Enough!

Enough of the bad news circling our region - it's time for a breather. Here's a series of hilarious Thai adverts selling Peppermint Field Gel (like Tiger balm or Bak Fa Yau). There're 5 advert clips beginning with "Hi Honey", "Trash bag", "It's so cute", "Fax the contract" and "Big Discount".



Here with all the bad news, we need Peppermint Gel bigtime!

Superior's anniversary

Another unsettling day as we receive news of 2,000 killed in Libya; and protests starting in Lebanon and Oman as well. The region is on fire. As Israel begins to lose Arab allies left and right (literally), it's beginning to find itself trapped at the negotiating table with Palestine. Even Europe is turning to support the left that is taking over the Arab nations; and Israel's rightist intransigence will be its own downfall unless an enlightened make-over is made.

It is terribly sad to read that racial hatred is still so tenaciously upheld here in the Holy City. Yes, arabs have killed/bombed Israelis. But now we read young Jews killing arabs because "they heard them speaking arabic". I think this is the only place in the world where one must be careful which language to speak when walking in which area and at what time. But there is always the ignorant, wise-guy tourist who will always flirt with death. Just two days ago I saw two Catholic priests/tourists escorting a group of America catholics in our church, wearing Jewish skullcaps and saying "shalom" to everyone they meet .... here, right in the heart of the muslim quarter. Muslim shopkeepers and christians around our area said if these two priests get beaten up by muslim fanatics along the way, they deserve it. Why can't they be proud to be Catholics? Why must they pretend to be Jewish? This is tantamount to apostasy. But christian tourists continue to do it anyway.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/teen-who-stabbed-arab-youth-in-jerusalem-indicted-for-manslaughter-1.346019

This morning our superior celebrated his 25th anniversary of priesthood. There was a solemn Mass at the Maronite chapel; our superior being a Lebanese Maronite. Then the Maronite bishop invited us all to lunch. It was a magnificent feast of simple Lebanese cuisine cooked by Lebanese nuns. A very delightful lunch and company, in a relaxed atmosphere ... with the regional turmoil far from our minds ... at least for that moment. Ad multos annos, Abounah Najib.

Distraction

You might have heard, read or seen in Youtube the famous UFO appearance over the Dome of the Rock Mosque on Jan. 28, 2011. If not, see http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/07/jerusalem-ufo-another-video-surfaces-to-spark-debate/

Well, the Dome is directly outside my window less than 300 metres away, and I sleep with my windowshades up; so if such a bright light had indeed appeared, it would have waken me up. But mind you, that doesn't explain several other events that I have seen with my own eyes in the skies over Jerusalem in the early mornings! Some of the other guys living here have seen them also and they say it's shooting stars. Anyway the attention given over this "UFO" is a (timely?) distraction over the fears and tension arising from the neighbouring political unrest. I won't bother over such hovering lights ... unless there's a bomb attached to it.

Unrest

The unrest in Libya has hit home. Yesterday Gaddafi not only accused Al Qaeda and Bin Laden of being the cause of the rebellion in Libya, he also accused Palestinians/Arabs. The Palestinian Authorities fear this might lead to a massacre of Palestinians who are living in Libya, numbering possibly a few thousand. The PA and Hamas have called other Arab countries to help Palestinians living in Libya to get out. And the accusation has only inflamed more anti-Gaddafi sentiments here in our country. I wonder what the Palestinians will do today during Friday prayers.

From a friend

WOMEN WHO KNOW THEIR PLACE

Barbara Walters did a story on gender roles in  Kabul ,  Afghanistan , several years before our involvement in the  Afghan conflict.

She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.


She recently returned to Kabul , and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow  of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to, and are happy to, maintain the old custom.

Ms. Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, "Why do you now seem happy with an old custom   that you once tried so desperately to change?"

The woman looked Ms. Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, "Land Mines."

No matter what language you speak or where you go, the moral of this story is:
BEHIND EVERY MAN, THERE'S A REALLY SMART WOMAN!

Tensions rise

The situation in Libya is spiraling out of control. While BBC reports that 600 are dead, arabs in our streets are saying 10,000 were killed. Air attacks have been the main cause. The heat in our streets is rising ... yesterday several arabs in front of our house were yelling for the blood of Gaddafi. And as the pressure increases, Hamas - apparently from Gaza - fired rockets into Israel, hitting the city of Beer Sheva and destroying several buildings. Israel responded by bombarding Gaza. This is the first attack since 2 years. Let's hope it'll not escalate. Fingers crossed.

The weather has turned summer. Very unexpected and many people are falling sick because of this sudden change. Not at all helpful in this political climate.

This week's readings are from Sirach; wise sayings gleaned from years of life experience. It'll worth your while to read them even if only for 5 minutes. A little refreshment for your soul.

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Yesterday's feast

Yesterday was the Feast of the Chair of Peter - an image of the Primacy or authority of Peter. The weather had surprised everyone: the day before was winter, cold and wet, yesterday it was summer, hot and sunny. I left early in the morning with the Custos to the Sea of Galilee. We went to the Church of the Primacy ("Tabgha") after a 2 hr drive to greet the superior and wish him a happy feastday. Then we went to Tiberias city for the festal Mass at the Church of St. Peter and the inauguration of Casa Nova Tiberias which is now runned by the Community of Koinonia of John the Baptist. A lovely buffet lunch was served to all who attended the event. Now visitors and pilgrims can live in the beautiful ambience of the Casa Nova directly next to the Sea of Galilee and right in the heart of Tiberias centre. The church of St Peter served as the centre of pilgrimage visits for many years until Capharnaum and Tabgha were excavated and themselves became pilgrimage centres. St. Peter's in Tiberias eventually fell into disuse until now. A statue of St Peter - identical to the one in the Vatican -  is situated in the centre of the courtyard of the church and it's right toe is worn down by thousands of pilgrims who once came to touch it in commemoration and prayed - exactly like in the Vatican.

The violence in Libya is reaching boiling point as we listened yesterday in utter amazement at Gaddafi's televised call to his supporters to attack and kill the protesters. He has practically incited civil war. What is needed is more high level defections to convince the military not to attack. Otherwise more people will die. Morocca, Algeria, Yemen and Bahrain are facing more protests. Practically the whole of the Arab world east to Israel is shaken by internal revolt - to the west of Israel, Jordan is in political tremors but the king is deftly managing the situation, to the south of Israel, Bahrain and Yemen is in turmoil. We stand in the middle of this political/social earthquake and fear the worse. When these arab countries try to unite its people and deflect home problems, they create an external common enemy - Israel. Nothing like attacking an enemy to unite the people, pull the economy together and reorganise itself. A war against Israel is quite likely in the coming future. We are praying it will not happen, but history seems to teach us a different lesson.

Let's pray for the victims of the New Zealand earthquake victims. There're still lots of people trapped under rubble. Hopefully all will be rescued. And there were earthquakes in the Philippines a short time later, and a Petaling Jaya (Malaysia) building shook, scaring people into the streets. What's happening to the world? And meantime a general strike is called throughout Greece after weeks of sporadic strikes by various sectors of its society. If you're visiting Greece, call it off. The airports will be closed. The country will be at a standstill.

Storm

We are being battered by a rain storm since early this morning. Gale force winds tear through the city and the rain is so heavy you cannot see 5 kms ahead. The streets are dreadfully slippery. Shops have closed early and very few people are in the streets. Unless you're crazy like me because I had to walk out 2 kms into the New City in this storm to get some photocopies done. Was soaked right through. The shopkeeper couldn't believe I walked through the storm just to get the photocopies and probably being the only customer for the day, he tried to charge me 5 shekels (almost US$1.20) a page! Daylight robbery.

Having experienced wet winters in the past, I'm preparing for blackouts in the city. That means getting candles and torchlights ready. It usually happens because the underground cisterns fill-up and cause short-circuits in the underground electrical system. In fact right now, the Internet wireless line is cut off. Have to connect with a line.

But the dry earth is quenched. The almond trees are soaking in the much needed water so it's first flowers may bloom. Anemones will begin to sprout in the wild, as well the cyclamen, poppies and mustard. It will be a lovely Spring. And it feels like winter again.

The Middle East implodes

Civil war in Yemen, Libya and Bahrain. Growing violence in Jordan's protests. The implosion is a foregone conclusion after years of heavy-handed governance and the spread of social media that gave voice to dissatisfaction in an anonymous way, paving the way from fear to solidarity. Shiite vs Sunni, poor vs rich, progressive vs conservative, plebeian vs aristocracy. Is that necessarily good? Yes and No. I'm worried about the No part. Lawlessness and Islamic fanaticism will rule the streets, spreading more terror than before. Out of the dictator's frying pan into the fire of lawlessness and fanaticism.

Sadly I just received news from the Salesians in Jerusalem that a 33 yr. old Polish Salesian priest Fr Marek Rybinski was murdered in Manouba (Tunisia). His body was found in the school garden with the throat slit.  Earlier the Salesian community had received threatening letters.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/02/tunisia-protest.html

This is what I meant when I said earlier that the Church will suffer in these "ousters" of ME regimes. Tunisia's Ben Ali was ousted - now a power vacuum envelopes the country, lawlessness rules throughout the streets as there is no govt. to enforce law and order. And Christians are made to pay the price. The same will happen in Egypt and elsewhere.

Locally the Palestinian Authority is trying to nip this implosion in the bud by initiating changes to the govt.  Israel on the otherhand is watching helplessly as Arab allies and neighbours crumble in the implosion. I think this is one instance when Israel can stand firm as an example of stability and security in a region collapsing from itself. We can only pray that the chaos and violence will not enter our country.

Storm

Yesterday was a wet, grey day throughout the country. The drizzle did not stop and up in the north there were even sporadic storms. The wind was very strong. And it was (still is) very cold.

But the storms we had yesterday can't beat those political ones battering Bahrain and Libya. Last night military moved in to violently break up the protests there. We understand there are many injured. And talk about injured - Gattuso's (AC Milan) headbutting J. Jordan (Tott. asst. man.) is one storm everyone here is talking about.

I was up in Nazareth for my 2nd checkup yesterday. Caught in the storm. It was to finish the ultrasound check that I couldn't have done last week. Well, the sister in charge saw my report and called me to see the superintendent of the hospital - a surgeon. They decided to have two things removed from the liver. Not an urgent case, they said, but better to have them taken out. It should be a keyhole process. So nothing to worry about. I'll be due for the op. in a week's time.

Today's readings present the rainbow covenant of God to his creatures after the flood. All were killed in the deluge as punishment for sin. But in the Gospel we hear Jesus predicting his own death - he has now taken all our sins upon himself and will die for it, so that we need not be punished anymore. What a message of love - God no longer wants to destroy us but save us from ourselves. His Only Son took upon himself the punishment due to us.

Feast of the Prophet's birthday

Yesterday was the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. Prayers had began the evening before and continued throughout the day into last evening. Thousands of muslims had gathered at the Haram es Sharif (the huge esplanade containing the Mosque of Al Aksa and the Dome of the Rock), literally stopping all traffic at the 3 City Gates leading into the Muslim Quarter. A one minute walk out through Damascus Gate took 25 mins. in a human crush that miraculously saw no injuries. When I asked several muslims in the street what feastday it was, they said "muslim christmas".

There were thousands of children in the streets, eating sweets and carrying presents. Busloads of muslim pilgrims were brought into the City from all parts of the country. Hawkers made brisk trade in make-shift stalls at the City Gates, creating more obstacles for the human crush getting in and out of the City. Fairy-lights were strung all along the Gates and streets. The mosque near Ecce Homo convent/basilica held an all night koran recitation session. One notable observation - no Israeli soldiers were seen in the Muslim Quarter. They might have kept a discreet presence behind road corners and doors.

The day was extremely fine for the feast - sunny and breezy. It made everything enjoyable. But later in the evening a hamsin blew - pretty powerful, dry and cold with lots of sand from the desert. That didn't dampen the crowd's festive spirit.

And yesterday was Praveen's birthday as well. His sister-in-law who works in Tel Aviv came to cook Indian food for dinner; and Prav invited me over. But I declined as I had other things to do. Hope he had a nice celebration.

My brother's keeper

Today we receive news that Yemen, Iran, Bahrain and Algeria saw protest demonstrations. Let's hope there'll be no violence and deaths. There is great unease in our local scene as the unstable situation in Egypt would influence Israel; and now we hear that a liberal Egyptian politician has declared Egypt's 30 yr peace treaty with Israel "is over". Where is this taking us? Meantime the Palestinian cabinet has been dissolved today - an obvious reaction to what's happening regionally - in preparation for "massive changes'. Political earthquakes rocking across the Middle East. Could be a good thing - but nonetheless frightening for the rest of us.

Today's 1st reading is about Cain and Abel - a classical fraticide story. The popular interpretation is that Abel's murder was committed out of jealousy (God preferring Abels' sacrifice to Abel). But some rabbinic scholars claim it was actually a quarrel over women to be taken as wives. In the end, it boils down to religious strife - or rather our perception of religious practice. Both brought sacrifices to God possibly with the idea "My way to God is better than yours".* When "my way" is not better than "your"s, than I want to destroy "your way" so that "my way" remains the only way. Explains alot of the religious strife in our region. And Cain utters his famous words "Am I my brother's keeper?" Well ... are we?

Today we commemorate Ss. Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who went on to be great missionaries in Eastern Europe. They invented the Cyrillic script and made many other contributions in the intellectual and religious worlds. St. Valentine on the otherhand is a rather vague figure with scarce historical facts, but is more remembered today that the great missionaries Cyril and Methodius.

*http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/966629/jewish/When-Religion-Causes-Conflict.htm

God provides

As Cairo is reeling between euphoria and tension, we receive news that the Sinai peninsula is taken over by the bedouin tribes because the police/soldiers have withdrawn. Israelis are warned not to go there ... well, it goes for all tourists as well. We also receive news that protests in Algeria and Yemen are picking up. Here back home, no outward show of support for the Egyptians are expressed but people still talk about in the streets.

The weather has been playing up today - one moment sunny, the next cold and drizzly. In fact there was a heavy storm up in Mehane Yehuda 3 kms away from the Old City while it was sunny down in the Kidron valley. Strange weather. Many people are falling sick, to say the least.

Yesterday's readings were very interesting. The 1st reading deals with Adam and Eve's eating the forbidden fruit, while in the Gospel Jesus gives food freely to the crowds. It seems to say tyhat God knows what is best for us - He provides life-giving food and warns us against food that bring destruction and alienation. But I was thinking also about the theme of  work - in the 1st reading work was imposed almost like a punishment in which humanity would earn its food; in the Gospel, no one works for the food: it was freely given. Makes me think of God's providence in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for, when God freely provides for us: the gift of life, the gift of faith, the gift of friends ... and most of the time we work for things so transient such as money, power and we remain dissatisfied, disillusioned and unthankful.

Anemones

So Mubarak is gone ... now begins the greater persecution of Christians in Egypt. Right now I'm watching BBC and there's a muslim holding an open Koran professing loudly in front of the TV camera. It says everything that I fear. And now BBC is interviewing a "popular muslim preacher". Will the next domino be Yemen or Syria or Jordan? There was alot of jubilation here in our Muslim Quarter, and suddenly Israeli soldiers showed up in large groups at strategic corners. It's the start of the Jewish Passover and many Jews were passing by the street to get to the Wailing Wall, cutting right across the Muslim Quarter.

A fierce storm broke out at 3.30pm and it was very cold. I had to turn on the "hot air fan". I wonder if the Way of the Cross went ahead today despite the storm.

Here are some photos of the anemones blooming in the pots on our terrace. I planted them last autumn.

They were taken before the storm broke out. Now some have already snapped due to the strong rains. So pretty yet so delicate. Let's hope the democracy of Egypt is not like that.

Hospital day

Exhausting day. Got a classmate to drive me to Nazareth for my "regular" checkup which I missed for 3 months. You can't believe the sheer inefficiency of local people here in hiring a car and getting a public carpark to open on time for the car to come out. First we got tricked into believing the carpark was open 24 hours (had to pay a huge fee), only to find out this morning at 6am that the carpark only opens at 7am. At 7am we couldn't get the car out of the carpark because the lady at the toll/barrier came to work only at 7.20am, smoking and drinking her coffee, sauntering slowly. A living nightmare for efficient, customer-service world of Asians.

Anyway we managed to get to Nazareth ... 2 hours late for my appointment. On the way, we stopped at my "secret forest" to see the annual spectacular flowering of wild anemones. Today it was still too early in Spring but many blooms have already emerged albeit small short. They lack the intense colours that they assume later in Spring.

At the hospital, Sr. Marie-Therese was as usual super-efficient. Got my papers all in order and got the lab to prepare for my tests. But with the crowd this morning (our own Fr. Pedro Tome and another priest of the Patriarcate were also there) and because we were late, I only managed to get my blood tested. The ultra-sound will have to wait for next week ... which means another nightmare of hiring a car, get through the carpark .... The superior of the hospital - a John of God friar (fatebene fratelli) also came to see me and invited us for a drink in the moanstery after the tests but I declined. Instead we went to the Annunciation Basilica to say mass, then stayed for lunch at our friary before visiting the Synagogue Church and Mensa Christi Church (see photo), and then spending the rest of the afternoon at the Carmelite nuns' monastery to talk to some of the nuns. It rained cats and dogs there in Nazareth. It was very cold.

Got home at 8.30pm utterly exhausted and sick - dizziness, nausea, chest-pains. Realised I forgot to take my heart pills this morning because I needed to fast for the test.

Hail

Yesterday afternoon saw a sudden shower of hailstones - really big ones, bigger than last year's. It lasted no more than 5 minutes but it was quite a sight. And for some who were outdoors, like our Indian student Linson, he got hit on the head by the hail. No major injury but certainly an unpleasant surprise. The anemones that were flowering in the pots outside were battered.

Walking in the streets is now quite a feat. The daily drizzle that comes in the afternoon cover the well-worn flagstones of our Old City streets, making them extremely slippery. Older people walk slowly with canes and sticks, while younger folk plant each foot firmly on the ground before lifting the other foot. Occasionally you get some over-confident people who try to strut the streets ... and watch them fall!

The 1st readings of this week come from the Book of Genesis. It's the story of the creation of the world. From darkness and chaos came order and light. Yesterday I had an awful day which upset me terribly: turned to depression bingeing - ate an entire 1.5 litre tub of ice cream! Joseph aka Tim should be happy to hear that: it's what we call the "fat boy syndrome". But then I received an email from a friend in Singapore saying he dreamed of me and I appeared very happy in the dream. Well, like after some reflection, I thought it's like the creation story. Light comes out of the darkness, joy out of sadness. That gives me a little hope. Now I'm waiting for the happy part to come.

Meantime we received news of more muslim attacks on churches in Indonesia. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12393075   Apparently it was sparked (again) by the blasphemy law of the muslims. I wonder what will happen if Christians impose a blasphemy law on others. But of course that would go against the "turn the other cheek" exhortation. So it's back to being the underdog/victim again.

Another day

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day as was this afternoon. But by evening a cold wind was blowing and the drizzle continued. The anemones I planted have flowered - lovely large blooms of white and pink. Everyone is delighted with them. But the wind and drizzle has damaged several of these delicate flowers.

Strangely the groups of tourists have returned. Presumably the strike by Foreign Ministry workers have ended and the backlog has been cleared.

The ironical of Australia - flooding in the east, drought fires in the west. More earthquakes around the world. I've been reading a couple of articles on the Book of Apocalypse for another student who has trouble with english. Interesting themes ... makes me think about all these natural disasters and the prophecies.

Pretty uneventful day except for the fact that I spent 4 solid hours with my thesis moderator going through word by word of my analysis. Disaster. Now I have to correct all the mistakes. It's giving me a headache literally. But I must trudge on ahead.

CNY 3rd Day

3rd day into the New Year. The sky is dark and it is very cold. Yesterday it drizzled the whole day and I got sick again because I had to go celebrate Mass at the Sisters of Ivrea a km. out in East Jerusalem. Got all wet and shivering from the intense cold despite pullovers, jackets and raincoats. And the street had no lights - terribly frightening. Got a fever so went to bed early with no dinner.

The situation in Egypt is sheer anarchy. I think it's foolish to call for Mubarak to leave immediately - it's a gut reaction based purely on emotions and not reality. As it is we already saw sparks of civil war which will become full scale when there is a power vacuum. The country is rolling downhill real quickly ... and I pity the Christians because whatever regime comes to power, they'll bear the brunt of the blame.

One good news though - my friend Diana is finally married. She is Mrs. Kattan now ... not that it makes a big difference because she was Ms. Kattan before. She looks so pretty in the photo taken at the wedding banquet.

CNY dinner

For the Reunion Dinner, Ah Ling from the Chinese restaurant asked me over since I have no family here. Por Por and her husband were there, and Ah Ling and her Israeli husband, and all the workers (muslim) of the restaurant. It was a nice and quiet affair. I took some dumplings which they had just made - fresh and full of meat ... really good! Then there was fish soup. But I was really tired and cold and went home after that.

Last night, being the 1st day of the New Year, I organised a little dinner at Ah Ling's restaurent. Simple food, great company. We had the usual rice and noodles, veggies with Fat Choy, sweet-sour pork (that was everyone's favourite), Peking Duck (brought from Beijing by Fr Johannes a day before). It was a nice group but unfortunately Osvalda our librarian was sick and couldn't come. Also Fr Vincenzo is in Cairo and couldn't come. Both were regulars at my previous CNY dinners.

This year I had Fr Johannes Zong who came in from China the day before, Sr. Maria and Ting Ting - both living in Israel, the community of Koinonia (Sinead, Lioba and a newbie who came in 2 days ago. Didn't get her name), Fr. Johnny, Agostino, Ilie and Basile (two Rumenian students of ours). It was a nice dinner and we enjoyed the night, ending with everyone singing a song. The Rumenians did a beautiful song in 2 voices and Sinead sang a lovely Celtic song. Ah Ling took our photo and insisted everyone put up two fingers to represent rabbit ears.

Happy New Year

May the Year of the Rabbit bring you health, joy and success!

News from Musky

Finally I have received news from Fr. Vincenzo in Musky (Cairo).

Only now is the Internet connection reactivated after 10 days. The situation in our area is quiet after the demonstration of last Friday. There was only some tension in the night when groups looted jewelry shops, electrical appliances , supermarkets etc… Then the locals organized [vigilante groups] to patrol their own quarters once the police disappeared from the streets. Even this morning I saw youths stopping a police car to check if they were real policemen. The military spokesman has called for caution because weapons have been stolen and distributed. Now it leaves to see what will happen this Friday. It's said that there are troublemakers who want to re-ignite clashes. For some people, these troublemakers are from the Muslim Brotherhood; others say they're from the old/new authorities. All these are rumours that should be interpreted in the light of what will happen next. It's strange to see Cairo in total silence even when the curfew is not observed by all. There are always some cars that run over pedestrians. At this moment there are cars and demonstrators that cause trouble in support of Mubarak.

Feast of the Presentation

Today is the last day of the Year of the Tiger. Most of you would have gathered for the Reunion Dinner. It's time to close the year by thanking God for all He gave us last year - the good and the bad. And a time to put aside our differences of the past year by eating a common meal - a very biblical tradition. "Reunion" is precisely that - a union that once existed, was broken and now is restored: "re"+"union". Let's all begin the Year of the Rabbit with precisely that last note - to be restored spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, socially; to be restored in relationships that were broken during the year, relations with God and neighbour.

The Feast of the Presentation that we celebrate today is not merely a passive offering of the Christ child to the Temple as being the first-born. In the words of Simeon, the Presentation is a moment when Christ becomes the "Light to enlighten the gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" - an active mission to the world. Perhaps this is the perfect message for us as we begin the New Year - to restore unions that once were broken, we need to be a light to others - a sign of hope and comfort; and we need to be the glory of all humanity - a sign of optimism and joy.