Holy Saturday

The statue is laid in the Tomb

Holy Saturday was an extremely busy morning. Altars had to be prepared, Easter candles and giant candle stands, wood had to be prepared for the bonfire, water urns for the blessing .... then there was crowd control ... utter chaos as hundreds of Coptic christians came for their Palm Sunday. They talk at the top of their voices, eat inside churches and take whatever their hands can lay on: from flowers and candles to books and pictures. We have to watch, wen and chase after people the whole day.

Meantime in the Holy Sepulchre basilica, the ancient ritual of bringing the statue of the dead Christ down from Calvary, anointed with perfumes and laid in the Tomb was re-enacted with precision as dictated by the Status Quo laws. It's a stunning experience especially when you realise it all took place here 2000 years ago. Traditionally we recall the harrowing of hell ... when Christ broke the gates of Sheol and brought the Old Testament righteous up to heaven.

Anointing the statue with myrrh

In the afternoon I helped in the Konkani Mass. There were over 2000 konkanis present ... and 4 baby baptisms. The Mass lasted over 3 hours. Luckily the weather was sunny at best, cloudy at worst. The wind was very cold though and since Mass was held in the open-air. After the Konkani Mass I had 20 minutes to run to another church to celebrate the English Mass. It was very evocative - the darkness, the lighted Easter candle, the incense, singing and blessing of water. We had 7 readings and I preached the sermon. It typically lasted for 7 minutes. Nevertheless the Mass ended only 2 hours 25 mins later.

This year jewish religious extremists again tried to sacrifice a lamb near the Al Aqsa mosque where they believed once stood the jewish Temple. It's forbidden by law and by religious authority. People who filmed this extreme sect doing it were instead arrested by police and footage confiscated ... while the perpetrators of civil and jewish laws were allowed to go free.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-police-detain-journalists-documenting-temple-mount-activists-confiscate-equipment-1.7138775?fbclid=IwAR0pudXM87tgPIWpYtVB-q8-rmmG6P_J6qHhZldXk37K3kBdDCVPiDHXnyc