Bl. Antonia feast

Sisters of Ivrea this morning

Today I had to preside at the feast of the founders of the Ivrea Sisters - Blessed Anronia Maria Verna. She founded the Institute of the Sisters of Charity to educate the poor children in Italy. So today's Mass was solemn for the sisters ... sung in most parts, including the Gloria, 3 readings, a sermon plus renewal of vows. After Mass the sisters offered breakfast and came to chat with me. They're a lovely community ... 2 elderly and 2 young sisters who came to replace the superior who died and another very old sister who is now in a care home. The sisters run a kindergarten in this poor neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. It's very famous for its quality education and many families try to send their toddlers there. However the sisters remain faithful to their vocation and accept many poor children from the nearby Kidron Valley as well.

Homegrown veggies

Talking about sisters ... our chinese sisters are cultivating chinese veggies on their terrace. They plant seeds in styrofoam boxes and now they have lots of lettuce and garlic chives. They harvested some for me and I ate them fresh ... very delicious. All organically farmed ... no chemicals used.

The spike of corona infections hit 200 yesterday ... but the govt is still unsure what to do. Even orders to enforce strictly the distancing and mask rules seem to fall on deaf ears for the most part by the police themselves. They not only are reluctant to enforce the law, they themselves do not wear masks. So much for discipline. No wonder the virus is still with us. One thing you can notice here in this country ... civic-mindedness and public concern is almost non-existent. Only the Self matters.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-records-over-200-new-virus-cases-in-a-day-for-first-time-since-april/?fbclid=IwAR0RJr8Eq_ZZEHNl25GhK7MgzWeHmZAL9x7-dD7S-d6Si-yytuMA_LZAeBc

Violence continues to plague Jaffa as muslims after Friday prayers gathered in the streets to demonstrate against the destruction of the cemetery. We hope it won't spill over to other cities.  And talk about bad news ... one of the two iconic cooling towers near Haifa collapsed. Fears of contaminating material spilling into the area has been squashed by the company in charge.

**Today my uploading and downloading functions are working again. Strange?