Feast of Peter of Alcantara

Matt and the capital

The Cardinal will coming for dinner tonight. Well it's going to be a tight fit for me because I have classes from 2.30pm-4.30pm, then adoration and confessions from 4.30pm to 7pm. I will be very exhausted by then. I told the house that I might not be back home in time for dinner. Let's see how it'll work out. To say the least the events of the past 3 days have tired me out.

Our talented archaeological restorer Matt has been working on a couple of ancient capitals (the tops of columns), cleaning out 2000 years of dirt and patching cracks. After months of painstaking work ... and lots of jibes from us who laugh at him ... he finally completed the task. And what a surprise I got! What I thought to be 2 capitals turned out to one ... one was the top of the other! Now it makes sense how the 2 fitted together. It belonged to one of King Herod's palaces near Bethlehem. Good work, Matt!!!

8 European countries are demanding Israel to pay for the demolition of school structures which they erected in Palestine for arab village children. Israel claims the structures are illegal even though the land is in Palestine. Israel claims juridical control over these parts of Palestine. Of course Israel will not pay. There will be some angry spats especially in the UN but Israel has already decided to withdraw from UN agencies so dialogue is now not even possible.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/In-a-first-EU-member-states-demand-Israel-pay-them-back-for-demolished-W-Bank-structures-507814

And what is this I read? An article claiming that chinese herbal medicine causes liver cancer. Some people are saying it's fake news and tactics of western pharmaceutical companies trying to kill off chinese medicine.  http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/across-asia-liver-cancer-is-linked-to-herbal-remedies-study-9322508?view=DEFAULT

Buddy wants to read

The weather has suddenly shot up again. Last night was hot enough for me to turn on the small portable aircon. I could even wear a T-shirt in the morning without feeling cold. In the afternoon it was hot. Tel Aviv was 30 degrees! But I think it will flop back to cold weather during the weekend. It might even rain on Monday. Let's hope so. I really want it to rain. The drought this year is awful. The earth is parched and plants and animals are dying. Today is the feast of St. Peter of Alcantara, our very austere and mystical spanish franciscan. Maybe he can work a miracle and send us rain.