Cold but sunny

Wet cold & deserted
Via Dolorosa

The sun is up ... it is bright and sunny today ... but it is freezing cold; in fact today is one of the coldest days this winter. Last night the temp. fell to 2 degrees and today the maximum is no more than 9 degrees. It will get down to 2 degrees again tonight. Forecast for the weekend is rain ... so Christmas will have it's feel but it'll be quite uncomfortable walking about in the mud and sludge.

I had a horrid evening because I was caught in the heavy shower that fell between 6.30pm and 7pm. I had just completed an important translation of a document and sent it by email before walking home from office in the heavy rain. Was wet through. As soon as I entered my room, I received a message that I had sent the wrong document and they needed it urgently in half an hour. So I ran (actually shuffled) up the hill in the downpour to resend the correct document and returned home. Was absolutely drenched. I thought I would get sick so I stayed in my room instead of going down to the freezing chapel for vespers. I think I was the only crazy guy out in the streets .... everyone else was probably indoors as the streets were deserted.

The sisters of the Silent Workers of
the Cross come to visit.

This morning the sisters of the Silent Workers of the Cross came to pay a visit. They have a convent and pilgrim hostel up on the Mt. of Olives, between Bethphage and Bethany. It's a very special congregation of religious priests and nuns ... most of them are disabled. It's the only congregation that accepts physically challenged people with religious vocations whom other congregations would reject. In their quiet way they work in projects for other disabled peoples in the various parishes around our area. It's a very brave apostolate which few people know about.

The attack in Istanbul that killed the Russian Ambassador and the Berlin truck murder shocked all of us. It's an extension of what is going on here in our region ... the ripples are extending to Europe. And it's not the first time. If the war does not stop in Syria, then Europe will have no peace either. It's dreadfully tragic.