Corpus Christi

The Archbishop with the Blessed
Sacrament in front of the
Empty Tomb

Yesterday was Corpus Christi .... but the diocese of Jerusalem chose to celebrate it on Sunday for pastoral reasons. Only the Holy Sepulcher, for status quo reasons, kept the original date of
the solemnity and solemn pontifical Mass was celebrated by the Archbishop and many clergy in front of the Empty Tomb. There was a small crowd of lay people and nuns attending the Mass. Moving around the Old City has become a tricky business as many streets are closed off due to the Ramadan crowds. As a result few christians want to wander about and go to the Holy Sepulcher.

Mass ended with the traditional procession around the Empty Tomb, with the Archbishop carrying the Blessed Sacrament under the canopy, which led to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for the Eucharistic Blessing. It was on the whole very nice and meaningful.

Procession around the Empty Tomb

But in the Muslim Quarter however, police presence intensified as Thursday evening approached. Greater crowds were expected to enter the Old City because it might be the last Friday before Eid el Fitri. You never know when exactly Ramadan ends as it all depends on the viability of the New Moon. If it's cloudy, then the feast might be postponed for the next night. On my way from work, I got not go before the entrance of Damascus Gate. Everything was at a standstill .... people couldn't move forward or backward. It was horrific. Some shopkeepers near me were shouting for the people to go through the back street to relieve the dangerous pressure of over-crowding. I was lucky enough to be near this back street and so made my way there .... but the journey was a trial in itself. It was a very steep flight of steps that had several downhill side alleys. One of them should lead to Ecce Homo convent near my house but I wasn't sure which one so I tried my luck. Made several turns and finally found The Nun's Ascent which is the alley down to Ecce Homo convent. It was traumatic.

This morning was even more traumatic as I could not even get out of my house ... such was the crowd of muslims in the streets. But I promised to meet the parents of one of my students so I had to fight through the crossroads in front of the 3rd Station and Austrian Hospice. Once I reached the first side alley I turned uphill and managed to escape from the crowds. The visit was very nice ... it was a Porto Rican family and the dad had lived and worked in Singapore before. Now it's 2pm and I cannot return home. Streets and roads are all closed to traffic and the muslims coming out of the Mosque from noon prayers number by tens of thousands. I cannot fight against the current to get home so I'm spending the afternoon in my office in West Jerusalem. Goodness knows how many hours I need to stay here till the crowds disperse. From experience and also advice from neighbors, the crowds should leave by past midnight. Good luck to me.