St. Miriam Bouardy

Altar of the Milk Grotto

Yesterday was another very busy day ... it's all work and datelines and meetings. I wonder if that's how I'm going to end my days ... working. Luckily the weather has cooled a lot so heavy work like moving boxes of books are so difficult.

The muslim feast of the Sacrifice "Did el Adha" or you may know it as the "Haj" should take place tonight but I hear it's been postponed to Friday night because the moon cannot be seen ... I think. Well the feast will be very welcomed because then all roadworks will stop. Day renovations in our house will stop so there'll be less dust and noise. And night roadworks will stop that means we can sleep. The last week has been harrowing ... with 24 hour noise of jackhammers ... literally 24 hours. I had to spend time sleeping in the library of the other monastery otherwise I'd be without sleep for a week.

Relic of St. Miriam
on the altar

Well to make up for the sleepless days and nights, I got to visit the Milk Grotto (away form the noise)  in Bethlehem. The relics of St. Miriam Bouardy, the first arab carmelite nun and foundress of the 4 Carmelite monasteries in the Holy Land, was placed at the altar there for the next few weeks. It will then be brought to other churches and shrines in a pilgrimage through the Holy Land. The relic consists of a cloth with the blood of St. Miriam's stigmata.

Well for the good news: Israel's Rambam Medical Center has discovered how to treat Parkinson's tremors. And the Cheesecake Factory may start its first shop here in Jerusalem .... really looking forward to that!!! And the really Israeli summer thing about going crazy .... there are so many protests and demonstrations about everything that a social media site played a joke by calling for a demonstration in support of a TV character in "Friends" ... and there were actually crowds coming to demonstrate!!! This is Tel Aviv!!!!!  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Dozens-of-Israelis-stand-up-for-Friends-Ross-Geller-in-Tel-Aviv-protest-503537