Thunderstorm

Storm in the morning

Great Sunday today .... the Holy Sepulchre Basilica was reopened and a small crowd was allowed to enter. Bells from all the churches were ringing loudly at 8am and Orthodox bishops entered in procession. The catholic bishops today were busy. The Salesians had the final profession of 4 seminarians and the franciscans had 6 diaconal ordinations ... at the same time in the morning. Though crowds were not allowed ... both Masses were broadcast live so their families back in their own countries could join in.

The heatwave is definitely gone. Last night was 15 degrees and quite chilly. I had to wear a hoodie when I went out to the terrace. The govt has mandated wearing the mask again when in public. Restaurants will open and accept seated patrons this Wednesday and the govt wants everyone to be wearing masks and distancing so that the restaurants won't become hotspots of infection. Our greatest fear right now is asymptomatic carriers who will start a 2nd wave of the pandemic.

Storm in the streets

Last night the canon fired 5 times to signal the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid el Fitri. The streets were more crowded than normal ... but still small compared to last year. Police were every 10 meters in the street but they did not enforce the rules of wearing masks, social distancing and going out for no reason. This morning the police presence was equally heavy but thanks to a very heavy storm, few people were in the streets. Many were returning home from prayers at the Al Aqsa ... which was opened this morning after 2 months of closure.

Gaza has announced it's first corona death and fear is spreading through the enclave. Let's hope it'll stop. Summer must be good ... to be fair to all the poor people who lost their jobs, locked up in tiny rooms, living off meagre provisions.