Snow!!!

Our sisters in the
snow

Well I was wrong ... it did snow last night. The hail storm preceding the snow was heavy. And there was lot of thunder and lightening. My students at Ratisbonne messaged me saying it's snowing up at their place. They're living in higher and larger grounds so the snow usually starts there and remain on the cold ground for a longer period. Here in the packed Old City, the heat from the narrow streets and overcrowded houses melt the snow even before it reaches us. Anyway by 11pm it snowed lightly here for us. Our sisters were out in the courtyard playing with snowballs. Our seminarians further uphill at New Gate were out in the streets. For many, it's their first time seeing snow. Lots of pictures flooded social media. In many parts of Jerusalem, the snow was quite heavy. Bethlehem's roads were covered in snow.  But all ended by 2am when heavy rains and winds melted the snow. This morning remained very cold ... barely a couple of degrees above zero ... but no snow.

Burnt substation

During the night we lost electricity 3 times. We're lucky. Further uphill in the Christian Quarter, the electric substation blew up and burnt. The residents there have not had electricity since midnight last night. No heating, no lights ... it's awful. Municipality workers were trying to repair or replace the burnt equipment but I doubt they managed to do much. I walked passed the substation this morning and it was all black from the fire. Let's hope electricity is restored soon. The old and sick living there cannot survive this cold without heating. Even the healthy are finding it difficult to withstand this cold.

In a bizarre twist to the "MacJesus" exhibit - a Ronald MacDonald figure crucified on a cross, made by a Finnish artist - that drew riots and protests by christians and the Assembly of Bishops and the Minister of Culture calling the exhibit to be removed but which the museum refused - the artist himself now called for his work to be removed. He said he was not informed of this exhibition and did not have his permission. The object is in fact been borrowed from another museum without the artist's knowledge. The latest news I hear is that the museum has relented and will remove it. Well seeing is believing.