Francis Day

Statue, relic & Rule of
St. Francis at St. Saviour
church

It's the feast day of St. Francis. There was a pontifical Mass presided by Cardinal Sandri with 6 bishops, Custos and abbot. Lots of religious and laity in attendance. The entire liturgy was broadcast live over the Internet. Very impressive event ... the cardinal came to represent the Pope on this 800th anniversary of St. Francis meeting the Caliph Al Malik of Damietta (Egypt) who ruled the Holy Land at that time (1219).

I had Mass with the M. Teresa sisters at 6.30am so I didn't join in the pontifical event. But it was quite a night. Was awaken at 1.30am by loud banging on a door or wall. I thought someone was stuck in the library elevator (yes we have night scholars who do research in the dead of night) so I went to check all 5 floors. No one inside. The banging stopped but I couldn't go back to sleep. At 4am I had to go buy barley loaves for breakfast and there ... as I opened our main gate, stood an indian priest with 2 luggages. He had been waiting and banging on our door all night. Too bad for him because he never informed anyone in our house he was coming. And he wasn't meant for our house anyway ... he should have gone to our house 2 kms away but he never had an address nor a telephone number to call. Big time drama. Anyway we gave him a room to sleep and later in the afternoon we had to bring him to the other house where he should be staying.

Paper & sackcloth effigy & card

Then later I tried to rest but was called to do odd jobs as one of our workers reported sick. At 4pm I had to back to the MC convent for adoration, confession and Bible conference. The sisters made a small paper cutting of me and a feast day card ... all in sackcloth and paper. Very creative. Anyway it ended at 7pm and I walked home through the long way in order to avoid the road where muslims can attack me. However the streets in the other part of the Muslim Quarter has few street lights. There're lots of stairs and going downhill in the dark is dangerous. So if I don't get killed by muslims, I'll die breaking my neck falling down the dark stepped streets of Herod's Gate. What a way to end the feast day.