End of holidays

Musrara night market goes on
as usual

Today is the last day of Sukkoth ... a solemn day whereby no work must be done. The streets in West Jerusalem are empty of traffic ... which is nice. But so are all the shops and offices. However the jewish crowds are flowing by the thousands toward the Wailing Wall for the close of this 8 day feast. Then once the final prayers are recited at sunset, they start another feast Shimini Ezret and another feast Simhat Torah ... 2 feasts on the same day. The autumn season can be quite a stress if you're celebrating all these feasts. The country has practically stopped for 25 days. But finally the holidays are over.

Salak from Indonesia

Tomorrow evening life will go back to normal in West Jerusalem. The Eastern part which is arabic is still with its hustle and bustle despite the tight israeli security cordon. Well let's hope the security will lessen and everyone get back to his routine. We all want to live peacefully. But of course there's Gaza in the south ... but that doesn't seem to bother us like before. There's warning of an impending war with Gaza and the border clashes yesterday was bad ... 7 dead if I'm not mistaken. Still we don't see any interest from the Jerusalem arabs. They don't want to be involved.

This morning after one month of preaching the conference/retreat to the MC nuns, I could finally sleep a little longer and steam some Singaporean kueh for breakfast. Then an Indonesian student gave me 3 salak that an Indonesian group brought for him. It was nice ... I haven't tasted one in 3 decades.

Something fishy is happening on my blog. The usual readership is 40 to 80 each day. But 2 weeks back it went up to 700 in one day. Then it went up to 1800 on another day. I think I'm being hacked. Or bugged. Or both.

Stromata

Sunrise over East Jerusalem

Yesterday saw violence at the Gaza border as tensions grow in the Strip. 4 killed including, as reported, 2 teenagers. I guess as the last and most important day of Sukkot approaches (tonight) - the last day of the 8 day feast - all the borders with Palestine and Jordan will be closed. Hopefully no trouble will boil over the borders.

Winter is upon us as the sun rises only after 5.30am and the nights are colder .... 18 degrees or below. Daytime is still hot but the days are getting shorter. Tomorrow on the last day of Sukkot, back 200 years when there was a Temple, the jewish priests would offer the water libation and prayed for rain. That's the beginning of the rainy season. Well we certainly hope it'll rain hard this winter. The rain and cold usually sees a stop to clashes and violence. The weather plays an important role even in war.

Dead climber

Despite the violence in the south, life in Jerusalem goes on as usual ... or as much as it can under the circumstances. I'll need to rest for a few days after the month long retreat / conference for the MC sisters. But I've run out of medicine so I'll have to go to a pharmacy in East Jerusalem to buy it. I'll also have to buy food for Buddy and Chilli ... the 2 boys eat alot now that they're grown. Buddy is 3 yrs old now and Chilli is almost 2 yrs. However Chilli is still chewing everything he can fly to ... unlike Buddy who's stopped his chewing phase. Anyway I'll have to do these chores quickly before the shops close. And I really do intend to sleep and rest after the intense month long talks. Soon I'll be due for my 2nd operation this summer and I need to be strong for a quick recovery.
2 weeks ago while workers were removing several low separation walls from out corridor in the courtyard, they destroyed the roots of 2 ancient climbers. These 2 plants have been there since as long as I can remember. Their old gnarled trunks twist and turn all the way up to the arches of the 1st floor and the green leaves provide nesting for lots of birds. Now they're dead and yesterday the workers came to remove them. Sad ... another piece of history gone.

Crowds everywhere

Full moon over Damascus Gate

Drums of war are beating louder and louder at the Gaza border. We got news this morning that gazans were warned of an imminent war with Israel. Gaza is at breaking point due to the Israeli blockade and the US cutting of funds to the UNHCR, and Fatah pulling out of Gaza hence there is no more source of money, food, medicine or even political leverage. The only way is to start a war with Israel in the hope of getting some concessions. Militants and arms are being moved to the border, I was told. The casualties in Gaza will be high ... as its people are already starving and dying without medicines. They have no place to run should Israel begin shelling the enclave.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-prepares-for-war-as-gaza-situation-worsens-report/

Crowded streets at midnight

Meantime Jerusalem, though tense, continues to be a playground for the Sukkot feast. People continue to fete till 4 or 5am. The noise they make are keeping residents awake. Crowds are everywhere ... looks like the whole of Israel is here in Jerusalem.  It will be a long weekend this week as the Sabbath begins tonight and ends on Saturday night but the last day of Sukkot begins on Sunday evening and into Monday sunset. So for 4 days almost all shops and offices will be closed. We'll have to go to East Jerusalem to buy our necessities.  

I will soon finish the month long retreat conference with the MC sisters. It is very very exhausting. But I hope the 20 sisters gained something and most of all, rested here in Jerusalem.

March of the Nations

At Tsahal Square

Sukkot festivities are underway big time in and around the Old City. Damascus Gate park is set up with 4 tents for children's activities and Palm Plaza is now a jungle-gym challenge for kids (though lots of adults also join in). At Tsahal Square actors in costumes play music and take photos with children. Ands I'm sure these events are taking place all the way down to Jaffa Gate and the Artists' Colony, into the New City and into the suburbs. Sukkoth is the greatest feast for the jews and is marked with joy. However the activities at Palm Plaza and Damascus Gate area have drawn criticism that it's another attempt to "jewify" the arab east Jerusalem. Palm Plaza is surrounded by fences for these events and Israeli security is very heavy. Arabs who usually spend the summer evenings in the park now are afraid to go there. Arab youths who ride their bicycles there are unhappy they lost the only space they can play in. Arab kids who play in the fountain cannot reach it anymore because of the fence. So the arabs pay the price for the jewish feast ... at least that's what some people are saying.

Jungle-Gym at Palm Plaza

Anyway the whole place is packed with people. It's difficult to walk through the streets. Even our usually quiet alleys are full of groups of local israelis led by guides touring the arab section ... possibly with an eye to buy up property.

This afternoon was the Parade of the Nations ... or the Jerusalem March if you prefer. It's tens of thousands of protestants marching down 2 kms from Gan Sacher never the Knesset (Parliament House) down to the Old Train Station. These evangelicals and zionsit-christians believe they will fulfill the prophecy of the prophet Zechariah non-jews will come to celebrate Sukkoth with the jews and the Messiah will therefore come. This year the majority come from China and Brazil .... literally in the thousands, Right now the March is over and they're dispersing into our streets. Traffic has to stop as it's simply too crowded to even walk in the passkeys. People are spilling into the roads, blocking cars. One thing for sure ... restaurants are very happy. These people are hungry and thirsty after the March and want something to eat and drink.

With the tight security all around the City, there's been no report of any incident of clashes or violence. At least the police are not telling in order not to panic or cause a revenge attack. I'm ok with that. There's not much news on our borders north and south ... nor the region. Nobody wants to spoil the fun of Sukkoth.

Blessing

Jewish priests bless the people
(photo from JPost)

Today is the 3rd day of Sukkoth and the jewish priests gave the Aaronic blessing on the people at the Wailing Wall. This year it was an unbelievable crowd. It was so crowded there was really a danger of a stampede .... at worst a tragedy waiting to happen. We  were crushed on our way out as the bottle-neck angle saw an enormous flow people leaving and others coming in. There was alot of pushing and shouting and screaming as women and children were crushed. The police totally lost it. They just kept shouting and pointing for people to move. Utterly helpless.  I was lucky to squeeze out of it without an attack of asthma ... and the 19 nuns with me slowly got out behind me ... traumatized.

At the Blessing (photo from Jpost)

Nevertheless it's always quite an experience to be at the Blessing. The microphone almost broke down and the Chazzan (cantor) lost his voice twice. It was not quite like other years. I told our Archbishop I was going this morning and he encouraged me to go. And most of my jewish friends wrote to ask if I went or not .... They all know I never miss the Blessing every Sukkot. I met 3 of them on my way home from the Blessing and it was great to see them.  

Tonight there will be a series of events throughout the City. From Damascus Gate Park all the way into the New City there will be concerts, games and activities for the kids, light shows ... I have never seen Sukkot so well-planned. Then again I usually am not in Jerusalem for Sukkot as I try to avoid the violence that follow. I think this is the first year after many years that I am in the City for Sukkot.

Meantime not everything is fun and festival: news that Russia is arming Syria with lots of anti-aircraft missiles is causing jitters on our side of the border. It may just be saber-rattling .... but should they ever get used then it would mean an escalation of the war in our region. All this precipitated by Israel downing a russian surveillance plane last week.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Empty street on Sukkoth feast

It's the 2nd day of Sukkoth. Our streets are packed with jews ... some going to the Wailing Wall to pray, others join local tours to visit the Old City. These intermediate days before the final 8th day of the feast will be filled with festivals and events. That means the Old City and around it will be packed with people. It also means security will be doubly tight. I don't like it.

Yesterday was the first day of Sukkoth and the streets were deserted on the west side of Jerusalem. All shops closed, all offices closed. The same will happen on the 8th day. But east Jerusalem is full of  life ... the arabs continue their daily routine. Thank goodness because at least you can buy necessities and medicine.

Chinese community at festive meal

Sunday evening the chinese religious met to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon is amazingly large and bright. Sukkoth and the Mid-Autumn Festival are celebrated on the same day. I bought some noodles and the chinese sisters cooked the rest of the meals. Matthias brought mooncakes. We all had lots of fun catching up as we hardly met for the last half year. Everyone was busy and couldn't meet up. In fact for the festive meal, 2 couldn't make it. Let's hope the rest of the year would be better and we can meet more often.

Well the festive spirit was not shared by everyone though. Ultra-orthodox demonstrators attacked a jewish woman in her car (presumably she was a secular jew) and had to be saved by 2 other ultra-orthodox men. Total implosion. This internal fighting will be the downfall of Israel ... not the arabs. The Israeli army can easily deal with the arabs, but it can't deal with the ultra-orthodox jews from within. This attack is evidence of this. The police never reached the victim despite her calling them.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5357888,00.html

Saturday

Sunrise on a tense morning

The tension in the Old City is palpable as Sukkoth approaches. It's the traditional time of the year when clashes occur because the jews believe their messiah will come during this feast and try to destroy the Al Aqsa mosque to precipitate this coming. Muslims of course will retaliate and clashes will result. Every year I move to Jaffa to avoid the rioting in our street ... but this year I'm preaching a retreat to the MC sisters so I'm stuck here at home. Though their convent is only 5 mins away, it will be impossible to reach it if my street were closed due to violence.

Meantime the weekly Friday clashes at the Gaza border have intensified with one gazan dead and one israeli soldier injured yesterday. The provocation instigated by Hamas is a coverup for its own failing authority in Gaza but the people fall for it because they're desperate ... lacking everything essential due to Israel's blockade.   https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Gaza-Strip-clashes-soldier-wounded-by-shrapnel-one-Palestinian-killed-567703

Anyway Sukkoth will begin tomorrow evening so we'll see how things work out. It's also the Mid-Autumn festival so I guess the chinese religious in Jerusalem will meet up.

My ankle and shoulder continue to be painful but I have no time to see my doc. But sooner or later I'll have to. It's causing sleepless nights and excruciating pain.

Tour

Desert express

Another adventure up in the north today ... to Nazareth, Cana, Mt. Carmel and Jaffa. It's a 12 hour tour  covering over 500 kms. The tourist crowd was dwindling ... it's autumn and the jewish feasts are currently being celebrated, meaning hotels will be very expensive and fully booked by jewish visitors. That means christians don't come to compete for rooms and services. The prices can be exorbitant.

Yesterday was a visit to the Sea of Galilee area; covering Capahrnaum, Primacy of Peter Church, 5 Loaves and 2 Fish church, Mt. of Beatitudes and the baptismal site at the Rover Jordan. When we got back to Jerusalem it was already 6pm and I was dead tired. Fell asleep immediately when I got home ... no dinner.

Cheeky birds

The weather has been incredibly cool though and excellent for touring. Even a brief stop by the Judean desert was pleasant ... the valley of Wadi Qelt and the desert monastery of St. George Kosiba. In the early morning the wild birds were fearless and cheeky, luring us along the narrow ledge to go further into the cliff. They are brilliantly coloured birds with long beaks ... like honeysuckers but too big and there are no flowers in the desert. I wonder what type of birds they are. Will have to do some homework.

Arriving home at Damascus Gate at 7pm we encounter a lot of military police in balaclavas and horses as well. They're expecting trouble from the arabs I guess. Well I was;y going to get caught in the middle of a scuffle that includes live bullets ... so I walked home through the eastern Herod's gate. I hope tonight and  tomorrow will not be disrupted with violence. We don't need that.

Kippur

Dinner with my volunteers

Yom Kippur has begun. But everyone's minds remain on the stabbing yesterday. Local arabs in the Old City are lamenting why it should happen at all. Nobody wants trouble ... but these people from outside Jerusalem come here and commit terrorist acts. The result is all of us living in the Old City are made to pay for it.

Today is streets and roads are quite quiet .... not totally because the arabs continue to drive and life is business as usual. And contrary to what some travel agencies say ... the pilgrims and tourists continue to come. The Old City was never empty except for the Jewish Quarter. Tourists living in the New City wandered into East Jerusalem to look for food. So we're in fact quite crowded in our side of the City. The local arabs are very happy of course as they finally can earn a little more than usual.

Pilgrims making Way of Cross

Meantime the ultra-orthodox jews are tightening their control over Jerusalem. Another restaurant was forced to close for the Sabbath ... and the police are complicit. When secular jews counter-protested and lawyers were called in, the Municipality backed down and apologized saying it was a mistake. Despite that, we all know their ultra-orthodox grip is tightening and spreading and soon the whole of West Jerusalem will be affected.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5352817,00.html

I brought the MC sisters up the Mt of Olives. It was quite a walk uphill and then downhill to go home. We went to the Bethesda Pool, the Tomb of the BVM, the Grotto of the Betrayal, the Garden of Gethsemani and the Church of Dominus Flevit. It was quite fun as we discussed alot of the scriptural passages. My ankle continues to hurt but I'll continue the journey with them.

Trouble

At about 6.30pm as Yom Kippur began, there was a stabbing at Musrara outside Damascus Gate. I was on my way out to meet my volunteers when my security friends stopped me and told me not to go out of Damascus Gate as it's dangerous. They called out to their security centre if it was safe to go out and were told the Gate was closed. So they told me to go through the Old City and to New Gate instead. Luckily where my volunteer stays is inside the Old City so I went through the Suq instead to get there.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-police-kill-palestinian-attempting-yom-kippur-stabbing-attack/

Then there were scuffles in the Al Aqsa compound as muslims provoked jewish visitors to the site where once the Temple stood. We can expect more trouble the next 2 weeks when more jews will try to enter the compound and destroy the mosque so their messiah will come. So our peace is now broken. More police checkpoints and blocks.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/five-arrested-as-police-scuffle-with-muslim-activists-on-temple-mount/

Fried rice and chicken today

Today I brought the MC sisters to Bethlehem to visit the basilica and the Milk Grotto. But then I received news that because of Yom Kippur the border will be closed at noon. It was a great hurry to see everything and visit the MC convent in Bethlehem and have lunch there before rushing to return to Israel before the border closed. One thing though ... the simple food the sisters eat are very delicious. In Bethlehem they cooked fried rice with chicken. Yesterday lunch at the MC convent in nablus was rice with beef curry. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Beef curry and rice yesterday

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Capuchin friary in the Talbiye neighbourhood. The sisters returned home just before the stabbing took place at Damascus Gate near their home. They still have 3 more days of visits before they start their retreat on Saturday. Because of Yom Kippur, tour buses refuse to run fearing ultra-orthodox jews throwing stones ... so tomorrow we'll have to walk and visit churches in and around Jerusalem ... walking distances. I am very exhausted and need to re-energise for the next day. It's extreme.

Pruning time

Pruning the palm trees at Palm Plaza

Yesterday saw a dreadful stabbing of an israeli just south of Jerusalem by an arab terrorist. We've been having a tranquil time so far ... now this happened. There'll be retaliatory attacks and vendettas ... and the calm we've been having has crashed.

The weather continues to cool and the feeling of winter is creeping up. Autumn is quite a short season for us here ... just like Spring. But Winter, besides the cold, isn't what is was 20 years ago. No more rain, no more snow. The thunder storms, heavy rains and wet pavements are all things of the past. It rains so rarely now that when it does, children would come out of classrooms to play. They have never seen a thunderstorm in their life ... and the brief shower is a new experience always. The weather dept. forecasts lots of rain this winter though ... let's hope they're right. But they say it's not enough tor replenish the Sea of Galilee or make up for the past 10 year drought.

The palm trees are being pruned now. In Palm Plaza the dates are cut off and palm fronds as well to be given to poor jews who need to build the huts required for the feast of Sukkoth. Some houses already have their huts or booths erected on their balconies or terraces. However Yom Kippur begins tomorrow evening so no work can be done till Thursday.

Church in Taybeh

Today I visited the MC sisters in Nablus. They care for some 18 aged and abandoned women. One poor girl who's mentally handicapped was kept in a chicken coop so so long he had a twisted spine and legs that could not straighten. Now she's able to walk and came to the gate to greet us. It was so good to see her healthy again. Such treatment ... keeping a child in a chicken coop for years ... is an abuse and in any other country the parents would be arrested. But here in Palestine, people are uneducated, poor, laws are never respected and unfortunately religion keeps the people's minds closed. It's lucky the MC sisters saved the girl.

Then I paid a short visit to the desert village of Taybeh. That's where Jesus hid after the raising of Lazarus and before he re-entered Jerusalem to die on the Cross. Charles de Foucault spent some time living there as well. It's one of the 7 last villages that is totally christian.

Sunday at the sanctuaries

Silent streets on
Sabbath

It's Sunday ... which meant I woke up at 3am to prepare my breakfast. It's thawing out the frozen goodies from Singapore and then steaming them hot. It takes 3 to 4 hours but I managed to get it done and had my breakfast at 6am. Mass was at 4.30am so everything was on schedule. Then it was tidying up my room and doing the important chores before going to the Holy Sepulcher to guide the MC sisters. We had the privilege of going up to the gallery of the basilica and we saw the various liturgies celebrated below at the Empty Tomb. It was amazing.

In the afternoon we visited Mt. Zion ... which includes the Last Supper Room, the Dormition Abbey and the franciscan Cenacolino. We read the Scriptures and prayed at all the places. The sisters loved it ... some had come from Yemen and Syria ... from the war. It was a good break for them. They can sleep these few nights without the sound of bombings and sirens.

Sisters at the Cenacolino

I am very tired though ... as I have to arrange the visits and bring them around. It's been something I had not done for several years now since my operation. Am simply too weak to do this demanding job anymore. But the sisters have risked their lives serving in those war regions ... it's the last I can do for them. The sanctuaries have become a source of strength for them.

This morning we received news that the Russian Orthodox Patriarch cut off ties with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This has big ramifications for Israel as the 2 churches play very important roles in the Holy Land. We'll see what results from this.   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45529355#

There was violence at the Gaza border on Friday. There were deaths and injuries. Dreadful things that continue at the border and no ending of the tensions. Hope it won't influence the coming days when Yom Kippur is celebrated. The last thing we want is blocks and closures.

Ethiopic wedding

Abiba and Berhe exchaning rings

I had a late night last night ... didn't plan it that way but things happen. I had a wedding rehearsal to attend but the couple and the liturgy leaders, who came from Tel Aviv, arrived at my office only at 8.30pm. I don't understand amharic, and the couple don't know it either. They speak a dialect tigrina and so had difficulty reading the vows in amharic. Luckily I had my former student Girmay who did all the translation for us. I had to learn at least to understand the vows so that it would be a valid sacrament. We finished late and I got home to sleep just before midnight.

These few mornings I have to wake up early to open our gate. The lock is broken and can be opened only from the outside. So every morning at 5.30am I have to go out through the garage and open the gate 15 meters away from the street. If not the sisters and laity from around our neighbourhood will not be able to come for Mass.

Birdseye view of the
wedding

I then had the wedding at 8am. The little chapel of the Salesian monastery was packed with the local ethiopic community. The choir sung traditional hymns, with the thumping of the huge ethiopic drum. I like ethiopic songs ... they're very melodious and soothing. So parts of the Mass was in english and parts in amharic. Very interesting. The vows went well ... the documents were signed. So Berhe and Abiba are married. And one of my students was my deacon while Girmay was my acolyte.

Now it's back to work with the M.C, sisters. Then I hope an early night.

Pączki

Buddy steals my pączki 

It'a Friday and the usual crowds of muslims entered the Old City to reach the mosque. Police to have been numerous as well. But I doubt there'll be any trouble here. We've seen the general mood by now ... no one here wants trouble. So when 2 policemen came to our gates this afternoon, there was great distress ... police and soldiers are not allowed in religious buildings because they carry weapons. The doorman called me down as the police wanted to see me. When I got down to the courtyard, the police opened their bags and brought me chinese medicine from a druze friend from the north of Israel. These 2 policemen were from the same village and are stationed here in the Old City so they offered to bring the medicine to me. Everyone was laughing with relief.

The 7 fruit of the Bikkurim feast

This morning I completed an 8 day retreat/conference for the junior MC sisters. We studied the jewish feasts which the jews are celebrating these few weeks and its significance for us. At the end of the programme, the sisters prepared the 7 species of choice fruit which the feast of bikkurim require to be offered at the Temple. They did a simple paraliturgy which was very nice. The fruit are figs, dates, olives, grapes, pomegranates, wheat and barley.

The sisters made pączki (ponscki - the jam filled doughnuts) because I like it. One of the sisters is polish so she knows how to make it. Or so she thought. They forgot to fill it with jam!!!!! Now I'm eating it with a jam jar nearby ... one scoop of jam with every bite of pączki.

After that I went to work till 1pm and then I had 4 precious hours to rest before I meet an ethiopic couple to prepare them for wedding tomorrow morning. It's a bit complicated as they celebrate the ethiopic rite liturgy and I do not know the rite nor the language. Ethiopic seminarians will be helping me through the liturgy. Well I hardly rested for the past 8 days so these 4 hours I really wanted to sleep. Tomorrow after the wedding I'll start another 8 days of conference with another group of MC sisters from the war regions. Then after that another 8 days of silent retreat with the large groups of 20 sisters. It's all back-to-back so I am and will be exhausted. The only break I have is this 4 hours today.

Cats

Stray cats waiting for breakfast

I have gave a talk on Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Did alot of researching through jewish sources and talmudic teachings. It was very interesting. There were many aspects I still was not aware of. I learned alot these few days while researching. It was a good experience.

This morning at 5.30am I made my usual walk to the Ivrea convent for Mass. Nearing herod's Gate, I usually say hi to the Israeli security guys guarding a house ... most of them also work at the tunnel exit in front of my house so it's the same buddies.  This morning one of my best friends Baruch was working there. He saw me before I saw him ... he was shouting out to me and I had to look around to see where he was. Nice encounter of friends. Then at the next corner is the gang of stray cats ... there're a dozen of them. Every morning they gather just inside of Herod's Gate in fort of a shop. The owner always throws some food for them to eat. Walking through them is quite a hazard as the cats snarl and spit and scratch because they think you're stealing their food.

Extremist Jew dressed like muslim

Yesterday I visited Mt. Zion - the Dormition Abbey where Mary died, the Last Supper Room and the Franciscan Chapel of the Last Supper. Said a prayer for you all. All these churches noticeably had more security cameras and higher metal fences. Jewish attacks on these churches have increased, more anti-christian graffiti are sprayed  and more vandalism on church property. The rise of extremist judaism is very apparent in Jerusalem. Just yesterday evening I saw a woman dressed like a muslim ... totally covered ... with no eye-slits even. It's the Brevslau sect of Jews who are known to be extremely ultra-orthodox. Other sects and groups are aggressively anti-christian ... they spit at us and threaten us. Churches have been burned and religious have been attacked. Yes there is persecution of christians here .... it's just that no one wants to talk about it.

Midweek

Umbrella street in
the christian quarter

The days are getting shorter and the nights longer .... autumn is upon us. Last night was cold enough that I had to wear a light hoodie to stay warm while walking to the Ivrea convent for Mass this morning. The day is still hot though ... but you can feel the change in the season.

The umbrellas in the Christian Quarter are very nice ... they copy the ones in the jewish Nachalat Sheva but they're a lot nicer ... they're plastic transparent so they cast colored shadows on the ground at midday ... something that the Nachalat Sheva ones do not. A little summer fun.

Renovation and conservation works continue in our church and courtyard. The constant banging and chiseling can drive you crazy but luckily I'm out of the house working most of the day so I don't get to hear it. The mosaics in our chapel have deteriorated badly since it's installation in 1929. Now experts have come to refill the missing mosaics. In the courtyard the low separating wall between our courtyard and corridor have all been demolished so more crowds can enter. I'm not in favor of that ... but I'm a minority voice.

Re-paving the demolished walls in
our courtyard

Locally the demolition of the Bedouin village in Khan al Ahmar is heating up. Protesters have joined the bedouins by setting up tents around the village but the Israeli army began bulldozing them down. Several foreign protesters and human rights activists are there as well. However strangely no one in Jerusalem is interested at all. I doubt there'll be trouble in Jerusalem over this incident.

The feast of Yom Kippur is coming ... on Sept. 17th. Security will heighten once again in our area.

Bomb scare in Holy Sepulchre

Religious jew on
New Year day

At noon I received news that the Holy Sepulchre was evacuated because a suspicious package was found inside the basilica. Everyone is shocked that this should even happen ... in the holiest site of christianity. We have no news or followup. Let's see what happens in the next few hours.

The New Year holidays continue today. The Old City yesterday was flooded by migrant Chinese workers ... literally hundreds upon hundreds. They work in construction along the coastal cities and yesterday they probably organised a tour to Jerusalem. They had no guides and they floated from place to place in small groups, not knowing what they saw. Pity.

Religious jews flooded the Damascus Gate area to get to the Wailing Wall for prayers today as well. I noticed most of the men wore white. Secular jews came on tours to visit the Old City. With the chinese and other groups .... our streets were packed with people. Another pilgrim group that was numerous was the Ukrainians. 100 of them made the Way of the Cross at 5.30am yesterday in front of our door. I couldn't get out to celebrate Mass at the Ivrea convent. Nightmare ... luckily I was given the key to our backdoor a day before so I could get out.

New chalice and
paten from India

I met up with some of my ex-students who returned from their summer holidays .... mainly Indians and Sri Lankans. I had asked them to help me buy chalices and monstrances because the sisters of M. Teresa needed them for their convents in Gaza and Nablus. And happily several people in Singapore and Hong Kong offered to sponsor the sacred vessels. Thanks a million for your generosity. The chalices and monstrances are cheaper in India than from Europe ... as much as one third of the european price. Of course the gold plating isn't as heavy as the european ones ... but it's ok for us. We can't afford the european prices. Well one set of chalice and paten arrived last night with one of my students. I'm expecting 2 more chalices and one monstrance.

Locally there's a growing tension as the demolition of a bedouin village near Jericho goes underway in order to build houses for jewish settlers. There's fear that anger and violence might spread from the desert to the cities.  3 arab east jerusalemites were also arrested for suspected arson ... burning a large area of nature reserve along the Dead Sea.

New Year 2

Pomegranate season

It's the jewish New Year today ... the country came to a standstill. At least on the western side of Jerusalem. All shops and offices closed, no public transport. But in the east, life goes on as usual. Religious jews have been congregating by the thousands to the Wailing Wall since dawn. Security was equally high in and around the Old City. Shofars (ram's horn) were blown and will continue to be blown by jews throughout the next weeks till Sukkoth (feast of booths). In fact the Bible never calls the New Year "Rosh haShanah" but the "Feast of trumpeting" (blowing the horn). The pomegranate is the traditional symbol of the New Year ... firstly because it ripens at this time, and secondly it's many seeds symbolise the abundance of good things that will come in the New Year.

I on the other hand was busy preaching the retreat to the MC nuns and bringing them around the Old City to visit the Holy Sites. This afternoon we visited the foot of the Mt. of Olives. That included the Sanctuary of the Stoning of St. Stephan, the Tomb of the BVM (Assumption site), the Grotto of the Betrayal (Judas's kiss) and the garden of Gethsemane.

Adoration at the hermitage chapel

The superior there was kind enough to let us enter the Hermitage behind the Basilica. We spent an hour and a half in eucharistic adoration plus an hour of lecture in the Hermitage Chapel. It was a great experience for all of us. There's still another week of this retreat, then another retreat for 8 days and then another retreat for another 8 days. It's all back-to-back. I will be very very exhausted by Sept. 30th.

New Year 1

Rain clouds in the morning

The weather has continued to be dark and damp this morning ... well in a way it should be getting like that but only after the feast of Sukkot, ie after the autumn harvest. The last day of the feast was once (2000 yrs ago) celebrated with the offering of the water libation and the prayer for rain. And after 10 years of drought, we really need the rain. The municipality workers are preparing for it because for the past week they have been clearing out the drains. I certainly hope it'll rain very hard this winter ... never mind if it floods ... we need the rains very much.

Soon kueh and Ku Chai kueh

I sprained my back muscle very badly early this morning ... or rather it was cramping very badly. And it hurt very much. I could not get out of bed or stand. I wonder what happened. I just woke up and the right back muscles spasmed. I cannot reach back to put ointment so I just had to live with it all day. Disaster. It was 4am and I wanted to warm up so Singapore breakfast .. as I have done every Sunday in summer. It's a little consolation for me as I don't get a vacation from work. This morning I managed, with much pain, to steam some Soon kueh and Ku Chai kueh. That's bamboo shoots and garlic chives respectively. It was really very nice ... and a little comfort for the pain in my back.

The jewish New Year begins tonight and we expect alot of blowing of the ram's horn as stipulated in the Bible. The City will stop for 24 hrs and resume daily routine only on Tuesday. Not all tough ... the more religious ones will stay closed as it's days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur in 10 days time. Apparently there were plans by terrorists to disrupt the feast days but were thwarted by the israeli military.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-weve-thwarted-terror-attacks-in-recent-days-meant-to-disrupt-new-year/

And in the south, trouble in Gaza is seen as ongoing though Israel understands the gazans themselves are tired of war and don't want trouble. Nevertheless the army chief expressed support for building a port in Gaza so the livelihood of the gazans would be improved. Now that's humanitarian.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-southern-chief-says-quiet-in-gaza-isnt-in-the-cards-but-a-port-might-be/

And up in the north the army is in active drill in case of a war with Lebanon. It's pretty unlikely but flexing the muscles once in a while reminds the enemies what potential resistance they will face.   https://www.janglo.net/index.php?option=com_adsmanager&page=display&catid=99&tid=452905

Frankly despite all these posturing, no one is serious a war will break out. No one wants one.

Birthday of the BVM

St. Anne & Mary
in the Church

It's the birthday of the BV Mary ... and the centre of the celebration is just down my road at St. Anne's Church ... the traditional spot where the birth has been venerated for over a millennia. Today over the grotto stands a Crusader church and a distance away there is the gospel Bethesda Pool. There was solemn Mass there this morning and at 3pm I made a visit there. Said a prayer for you all. Crowds of pilgrims kept pouring into the Church all afternoon and our street was packed with people. I'm glad the  Municipality has decided to limit traffic of cars and vans to only residents of our street so the congestion between vehicles and tourists are cut down.

Basilica of the birth
of Mary

Morning Mass though was in the Empty Tomb with an overcrowded group of 50 people. It was a crazy sardine-packed Mass inside the small Tomb but I survived it. Groups are returning to visit the Holy Land and will increase in 3 weeks when the Feast of Sukkoth is celebrated. Protestants will fly in by the thousands for the Jerusalem Parade because they believe their presence is a fulfilment of the Prophet Zechariah's oracle that non-jews will come to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkoth.

Last evening I felt the cold ... like I needed a thick hoodie to keep warm. I was walking home from work at 10pm and usually a T-shirt would have been enough ... but last night it was cold. And this morning the sky was overcast with rainclouds ... and by 12pm it started drizzling. Unbelievable.

Mangoseens form Sri Lanka

I was up at the Ratisbon Chapel this morning to rehearse a matrimony that I have to preside next Saturday. On the way home it drizzled quite heavily. Anyway the matrimony will be in Eritrean so I have to know something about the Ethiopic Rite and language. I had received the authorisation from the Patriarchal Vicar to preside as their regular Ethiopic chaplain was on leave. I'll need to study up real fast. This morning the chaplain Fr. Medhin introduced me to the congregation and the couple. The liturgical assistant who will help me was my former student from Ethiopia, Girmay ... I hadn't seen him in 2 years. He looks so much healthier and happier. And on my way home I met another student who just returned from Sri Lanka last night. He remembered what I like and brought me 6 mangosteens!!! Brilliant!!!

Not all quiet

Quiet Friday streets

It's Friday again and it's noticeably tense with lots of police stationed in and around the Old City especially in my Quarter. I noticed more arab youths were being stopped and searched this morning more than the rest of the week. I guess it's also because this Sunday evening begins Rosh haShana (jewish New Year). But being Friday, coming home from Mass at 7am is nice because the streets are empty ... everyone would have gone home to sleep after their early morning prayers at the mosques. I rather enjoy going out at that early morning ... the air is fresh and cool ... the grass is wet with dew and the olive trees smell of its perfume. The occasional jasmine is overpowering overpowering with its perfume. There's this house that I have to pass every morning to the Ivrea convent, it has a jasmine plant which is so sweet each time I walk under it I think of the cannonball trees and it's incredible flowers.

Galaxy Note blew up

Burst capillaries is my biggest health problem these 2 weeks. Opening a door, carrying a plate or a book ... and immediately a capillary bursts in one of my fingers. The pain is awful and the swelling is bad for a couple of days. I might have to wear finger guards (again ... I used to do that when the bursting was frequent) to keep the capillaries in place. That's one of the side-effects of too much cortezone use ... for my asthma. And the shoulder pain persists so I hardly sleep. It's dreadful having only to sleep 3 hours a day with a whole day's work lasting 16 hours. No lunch breaks. Dinner usually means 10.30pm when I get home. And my fingers swell with burst capillaries when I take food from the fridge. They just burst.  

My Galaxy Note 5 blew up yesterday. Luckily it was not in my pocket and it didn't catch fire. Just blew up. Lost all my data. Depressing. Well all wasn't well around the southern border today as well .... there were clashes at the Gaza border. A 17 yr old gazan was killed. We hope it'll all pass ... except the lurking fear that the jewish High Holidays is in 48 hours time ... and trouble-makers might use this to ignite more problems.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5343284,00.html

Work

Installing the aircons

So the implosion continues to intensify even as the New Year approaches. A teen-age girl ws assaulted allegedly by ultra-orthodox youths in Tiberias last night. The secular jewish community is furious. This incident shows that the ultra-orthodox are now trying to control other parts of Israel ... cities known for liberalism and secular lifestyle. As someone commented ... the war has begun. The New Year period leads to the Day of Atonement ... and all the intervening days are days for repentance ....  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Religious-youths-attack-teen-girl-for-immodest-clothing-566632

This morning was a whole series of errands  ... I didn't have time to even meet with our lawyers and admin team. I had to deal with visas for nuns stuck at the border, with unpaid phone bills for another convent, with booking Masses for a Kenyan group in Jordan ..... it never seems to end. In this heat I am getting a headache from rushing from one place to another. And the workers have come to install 2 zircons in the library .... a bigger headache as we have to move the enormous volumes of ancient manuscripts before they drill holes into the walls .... dust and noise everywhere. But the aircons are necessary as the ancient manuscripts ... some from the Crusader period are in very bad condition. The humidity and heat are destroying them. But it's alot of preparatory work ... moving the manuscripts out of the way, closing the other shelves with plastic wrapping ... Anyway it's lunchtime and the librarians are on their lunch break. I have to stay back to check on the aircon work as the 500 yr old gates have been opened for the installation. We don't want cats, rats and other unwanted visitors in the library.

Pigeons feed while workers wait for
jobs at Musrara

My right shoulder has been hurting again ... so much that I barely sleep 3 hours a night. It's excruciating. I ran out of Tiger Balm plastic and it's not available in our pharmacy. So too bad for me. Still I really shouldn't be complaining. This morning as I came home from Mass walking through the Musrara market ... the usual crowd of day-workers were sitting with coffee, waiting for some employer to drive along and hire them for the day. Some had hands in bandages, others were old men who needed to feed families, others were barely 16 yr old kids with dirty torn clothes ... all waiting to earn 200 shekels or so today for some very hard work. They have a truly hard life. So I have nothing to complain as I can't compare with them.

St. Teresa feast day

Dawn

Today is the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta. I had Mass on Mt. Calvary with the MC sisters. There was a small crowd that joined in as well. It's been 62 years since she was inspired by the words on Calvary "I thirst" and founded the society of sisters. Buona festa. I did so much wanted to eat a nice breakfast to celebrate the feast day but there was so much work I had no breakfast at all.

Autumn is well underway as the sun rises now at about 4.30am (3.30am solar time). At the height of summer the muezzin sings the pre-dawn call to prayer at 2.30am solar time. That's really a trial when you want to sleep. But the nights are getting longer so all the better for us. I just so happen not to like the cold that comes with it. Soon the jewish New Year and feasts will come and our streets will be busy again in the night with jewish religious people going to pray at the Wailing Wall. But the Priestly Blessing will also take place on the 3rd day of the Feast of Booths (Sukkoth) so that will be something I look forward to. I go to the Wailing Wall where the jewish priests give the blessing of Aaron.

I have a very tight schedule this Saturday due to my confusion of dates: 8am Mass, 8.15 meeting and 9am conference. I will have to cancel something. I just am unable to remember anything anymore. During classes I find myself lost and students have to finish the sentence for me. I go to places and forget what I'm supposed to do there. This is dreadful. Someone laughed and said it's dementia. Could well be!

The typhoon in Japan was quite a whopper ... this year we've had a whole series of earthquakes, volcano eruptions and typhoons. This is apocalyptic ...  a harbinger of worse things to come?

Of parks and peace

Rockefeller Park upgraded

This morning while walking to the Ivrea convent for Mass, I noticed the streets were more crowded than before. The school year has started of course. Lots of students some as young as 7 yrs old were walking to bus stops and road corners waiting for their transport. It brought me to think back 40 years ago when I too was a primary school student ... the excitement of the new school year, the smell of new books, the routine of studying and homework and exams. It's really amazing how time flies, and I'm very grateful for the opportunities I had in education. Around the streets this morning were also other kids who were selling bread, coffee or doing house chores ... the less fortunate who have no education.

Rockefeller Park

I usually have to stop along the way to the convent because I get very breathless and dizzy. And nicely situated is the Rockefeller Park ... next to the Rockefeller museum. Back in Crusader times this area was the agricultural grounds of the crusaders. Anyway the stop at Rockefeller Park is always great ... smell of the wet grass, the olive trees, the cypress trees ... cats playing in the grass, birds waking up and chirping. It's so different from being cooped up in the stone walls of the Old City.

Since I came over 2 decades ago, the park was in ruins ... the 1st Intifada had destroyed not only the place but also the joy of the East Jerusalemites ... long wild grass, litter, maybe even snakes. It was a no fun place, no hope, no joy ... except for druggies. Then Israel bang to pump money into East Jerusalem to upgrade its facilities and ... we have a new park. Up to the standard of those parks in West Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Simply amazing. But don't expect gratitude from the east jerusalemites. Just know that it's one step to peace ... when families can come to picnic in a  safe and beautiful place, where young men come to use the gym equipment free of charge ... they don't feel less privileged than the Israelis .... that creates less animosity and jealousy from not having. This is a very smart move by Israel. That's the direction to go. When you create situations where the arabs have less to complain about, you have moved forward in peace.

Well as I said many times, Israel's greatest enemy is not from the outside but from the inside ... the implosion from within, from religious and political factions attacking each other. That was the cause of the 2nd Temple's destruction and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Somehow we never learn from history and humanity is doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

Another week

Burst water pipe 

What a busy Sunday yesterday ... I had the 6am Mass on Mt. Calvary then the rest of the day was spent translating a speech. It was rather philosophical so it was quite difficult and took me a good part of the day to complete. The 5.30am walk to the Holy Sepulchre for Mass was quite an adventure though ... we had a major water pipe burst in front of Ecce Homo convent ... 10 meters from our door. Workmen were shouting almost all night and nothing was done. Water was gushing out of a manhole and the entire Via Dolorosa was inundated with a river flowing down all the way to the 5th Station. I wasn't prepared for that so my shoes were all wet when I got to Calvary. The walk back home was equally wet.

Chapel of the Prison
of Christ 

One thing though, when I was in the Holy Sepulchre (Calvary is situated inside it) I noted that the decade long renovations at the Greek Orthodox chapel of the "Prison of Christ" was quite finished. A chancel was added and an altar was created on the right of the chapel. I wonder when they will actually complete the renovation and reopen the chapel. Probably another decade if we're lucky.

Anyway I managed to complete the translation late in the afternoon and was mentally exhausted. I took a walk in the cool evening to clear my head ... of course realising that I did not do my Sunday shopping or laundry or room-cleaning yet. My diabetes must be quite bad because for the 2nd day now I am very thrifty and dry in the mouth ... and some other symptoms. I had missed daily my 4km for 3 days now due to work so my sugar level must have risen. Sr. Amrutha form our a kitchen, a former nurse in Cairo, told me it probably is diabetes and urged m to go to hospital for a checkup. Well ... when I have the time. Today the symptoms continued but I was filled with appointments ranging from visa of the sisters, to Post Offices taxes, to meeting with the banks to close one account and open another for the libraries .... and they're all some 4 kms apart uphill and downhill. Needless to say I did;t have time to see the doctor. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

All's not well today on a national level. A terrorist stabber was shot dead near Hebron. There were riots in an arab village near Bethlehem slated for demolition. Foreign Ministry employees protest salary conditions (they went on strike a couple of years ago ... embassy services around the world were affected), and the Filipino president has come for a 3 day visit. That means more road closures and inconveniences for us. He's not a religious man so he'll never go to the Holy Sepulchre. At least that street won't be blocked. The Chief Rabbi has waded into the Nation-State Law debate, supporting an amendment which will include the Druze (not the other minorities) because they had been loyal defenders of Israel.