Goodbye Sr. Monica

Very cold and wet today

 There was another stabbing this morning. A 16 yr old girl stabbed a jewish woman in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood which is 1km away from my house. Tensions continue and police presence has been stepped up. It's all quit unpleasant.

The rains came today ... mostly on the coastal cities. Up here in Jerusalem, we got drizzle. But the temp definitely dropped. It's 8 degrees right now and I've got 2 heaters full on. Yet I'm feeling the cold. I might not go to work tomorrow if it continues to be like this. The very strong winds are biting cold. The palm trees in the muslim school opposite are swishing vigorously and almost seem to be snapping in two. I've wearing 2 layers of clothes and staying under the blankets tonight.

Goodbye Sr. Monica

As the temp began to drop last night, I walked 2.5kms to the Capuchin monastery where the Sisters of the Eucharist live. I had to celebrate Mass for them as Sr. Monica will be leaving us for Assisi, her new mission. I've known Sr. Monica for over 11 years and celebrated the first Mass in the new convent back then. She asked me to celebrate her last Mass here which I obliged. It's been a long time since we first met, and it was always fun because she'd cook pansit for me. Good luck to Monica on her new mission. We'll miss her.

After Mass and dinner at her convent, I decided to take a slow walk home in the cold. It was tiring but I enjoyed the walk. Crowds of locals were everywhere, shopping or eating in restaurants. Hardly anyone was wearing a mask. It was back to as normal as it could get. I think the vaccination programme was a great success as infection rates have dropped, as much as the weather has.