Ενταση

Fewer people in the streets

Tensions are high after yesterday's strikes in Lebanon and Iran. Even before that, the City had a significant increase in police presence. This morning on my way to work, there were definitely more police at street corners than usual. There are fewer people in the streets.

With the state of affairs, several priests from overseas who are supposed to come and help with the migrant communities can no longer come. I just had several calls from other migrant chaplains asking me for help. Now I have a minimum of 2 Masses on Saturdays and as many as 5 in 3 different cities on other Saturdays. I am already exhausted just thinking about it. That's 5 Masses in 4 languages: italian, konkani, chinese, english. My brains are scrambled. I need a vacation after this summer vacation.

In the meantime I'm terribly stressed in finishing a piece of work that I am already 2 months past dateline. There's so much to read and digest before putting into writing ... and every time when something is written, something else pops up to contradict it. Research papers are not easy at all to write. I need some fresh air from all these stress.

Hope

A ray of hope

Tragedy struck again yesterday ... 12 druze children and youths were killed when a rocket hit a football field in the north. The war has no limits and people who have nothing to do with its cause: christians and druze ... killed for something they were not involved in. This war has to end. But the rest of the world is disinterested. Rest of the world? Yes because all the bombs, guns and bullets come from the rest of the world. If the supply stops, the war will also stop.

There has been more police presence in the Old City since the attack. Shopkeepers say no tourists entered the Old City; many shops decided to close earlier. There was a noticeable decrease of residents chatting and strolling in our neighbourhood. The mood is sombre and low. Psychologically it is affecting everyone on both sides of the war ... and those in between.

We just hope the rest of summer will not be so violent; that children in their holidays need not be in shelters, fearing for their lives. We need to spread a little hope.

Rexy

Rexy

Today was special. Today my best fuzzy friend came to spend an afternoon with me. Rexy! He's the baby Pomeranian that needs constant playing and chasing and snacks and naps. Typical Pomeranian character ... huge dog inside a small body. The weather has been very hot and my friend who owns Rexy was afraid he'd dehydrate outdoors while my friend's at work ... or stolen. So he brought Rexy over for me to babysit.

It was fun though. Every half hour I get off my seat and computer and chase him around or throw tennis balls for him to fetch. Then he wants to be hugged while I'm working so I have to keep him on my lap. Then he jumps on my table and sniffs my books and computer. Quite a handful. But really fun to have a dog again!

Well it's almost 7pm and my friend will be coming over soon to pick Rexy up. I hope he'll need babysitting again .... I look forward to that!

Heat

I'm not quite good at walking these days. My left ankle is hurting very much from an old injury (twisted it in Bethlehem some 20 yrs ago) and one of my toes may be infected because I cut the nail too deeply. Now I'm hobbling about. And walking 3 km home everyday via Convent of Ivrea for Mass is not joke. And you can add the heatwave to that.

Queueing at the Tomb

There's been an influx of pilgrims despite the war. Last week I met a large group of filipinos (about 50) as well as groups of Brazilians. Then there were the usual small families and friends. There was actually a queue to enter the Empty Tomb. What a surprise. Everyone was pleased that the groups are returning. And in this heatwave too!

I'm once again lost regarding time. I keep thinking today is Wednesday and kept preparing for class, and cancelling meetings and errands ... only to be told several times it's Tuesday. Maybe the heat is frying my brains.

This morning as I walked to work I passed an old american tourist who's always in white and comes every year for several months. He didn't seem himself ... he didn't greet me but had a dazed look on his face. He had stains of blood wiped on his pants. When I reached my work entrance I was told several cars had been damaged. Later I learned that it was this old man who had smashed the windshields and dented the cars. I was told he was arrested. I wonder what made him to do that. He was always soft-spoken and gentle. Reads the Bible, writes notes. I've never known him to be violent. Could be the heat.

Getting heated up

The drone attack at 3am in Tel Aviv last week shocked everyone. The drone flew 2000km from Yemen, and was undetected by local security and military. Unbelievable. One dead twenty injured. I was woken up by a barrage of messages asking what happened. 

Desert outing

Last night we had a minor earthquake with the epicenter at the Dead Sea. 3.7 on the Richter Scale. I didn't feel it ... I was dead asleep from exhaustion. Earlier in the morning I had to make an emergency trip to Tel Aviv to celebrate the filipino Mass because there was no priest available. I was late though because of the dreadful morning traffic.

Yesterday some of our asian sisters went out to the desert for a day's outing ... away from work. It was very hot but they enjoyed the change of environment, away from the tension of war and work. It is a much needed rest and recreation most of these hardworking nuns looked forward to. I think all of them came home sun-burnt.

Yes the temp has risen again ... extremely hot and dry though once in a while a cool breeze might blow. It's what summer should be ... well not as hot as now. A little stronger earthquake might knock out our electricity supply ... and that'll be the end of our air-conditioning so we're praying hard there'll be no more earthquakes.

Crowds

Holy Sepulchre today

I celebrated 3 Masses this morning ... from 6.30am to 11am. Then I had a meeting with the chines community, followed immediately by a birthday celebration of a leader of the filipino community. Then a meeting with the Korean commissary of the Holy Land. I am exhausted. Not sure if I can continue with this schedule for the next 2 months.

This morning 2 Masses that I celebrated were in the Holy Sepulchre. It was a pleasant surprise to find a crowd there ... and a line to enter the Empty Tomb. There was a group of filipinos of about 50 people, a Brazilian group, a neo-catechumenate group and lots of small families and individuals visiting. This despite the tense situation around the country.

The Korean commissary came to see if the country was safe to bring pilgrim groups and he was delighted to see the crowd. He took pictures and videos and will use it to show Korean catholics that it's ok to come to the Holy Land. What a great job! I wish others would do the same and encourage more pilgrims to come back.

Busy

Ethiopic Mass

I've just discussed my Saturday schedule for the Summer with various migrant chaplains. Most will be going on home vacation. That means I'm taking over their jobs for the next 2 and a half months. Every Saturday I'll have the Italian Mass and Ethiopic Mass; and added to that twice a month the Chinese Mass or the Konkani Mass. That means celebrating 2 Masses minimum and 4 Masses maximum each Saturday. I'll have no time for anything else.

Last week I managed to take a photo of the Ethiopic Mass during the "I confess" (confiteor); the Ethiopians kneel and prostrate for this prayer during Mass. It's a gesture that other rites do not have.

Now to think of it, I'm busier during Summer holidays than during the school year. I'll need a vacation from this Summer break! Already I'm feeling overworked and stressed.

I've not seen the 3 bulbuls since I released them 2 weeks ago. I hope they're not caught by humans or cats; and they find food and water in this terrible heat. Nature is stronger than we think, and their natural instincts will preserve them. But secretly every morning as I walk to work, I hope to see them in the park.

Stromata

The heat is back. It's 34 degrees now. The humidity is gone so that's a relief. Still I dread walking 2 kms under the scorching sun to get to the Ivrea convent to celebrate Mass.

MCs bringing aid to
the homeless

One good thing is I haven't lost my memory going there. I've lost my memory many times this week just going from one office to another, forgetting what and why I was going there. It's quite frequent now and people tell me to get a notebook and write down the things I have to do. With my luck I'll forget where I placed the notebook. It happened before.

Locally we're expecting disruptions to public transport this Sunday as the military will start to draft ultra-orthodox men into the army. The latter have refused to serve ever since the birth of the nation, but the latest High Court ruling has added pressure to their compliance. They'll probably demonstrate in the main roads of the City.

As the summer heat continues to beat down on us, and the war is not ending, and the prices of goods are rising, the MC sisters have been bringing food and clothes to the poor and homeless. A little relief at least. Someone donated some processed meat - sausages, salami, turkey slices ... they were quickly donated by the MCs to the poor families living around the City. Please don't forget the less fortunate. Share your abundance with a joyful heart. 

Weather

Morning shower crow

It's been extraordinarily humid the past few days. This morning the sky was overcast with rain clouds and with the heat, you feel the stickiness on the skin. It'll not rain for sure ... the rain clouds will blow east towards Jordan as usual. But it's a respite from the above 30 degree weather we had last week. 

On my way to work this morning, I saw a crow sitting on the fence bathing under the sprinklers ... that was very smart. Many people walking past all looked and laughed. I'm sure everyone secretly thought they wish they could do the same. The humidity and heat can become very oppressive and makes people feel lethargic. A cool refreshing shower in the morning would help shake of the lethargy. The weather does affect people's attitudes and productivity. Days like this people usually do less buying. You can see it in the hawkers by the street. Bags of vegetables, fruit and other stuff mostly unsold.

It's the middle of July. The days are getting shorter. The muezzin calls the first prayer at almost 4am now (3am solar time). And it gets 2 minutes later each day. Time flies.

Heatwave

Damascus Gate from a distance

I'm eating some nice tomato curry made by the MC sisters ... and I still cannot taste anything. It's 2 months since my Covid infection but I still have no sense of taste. This is dreadful. I do have fever in the mornings still, but much less frequent than before. But I'm terribly dizzy. I nearly blacked out a dozen times last week. I was wondering if it's because of the heatwave that we're experiencing, or the longterm effects of Covid. This week I've not been feeling well at all.

Yes the heatwave is hitting us hard. Though the forecast says 33 degrees, it feels like 40 degrees. The sun scorches the skin. The stone pavements and walls emit waves of heat that can be suffocating. The asphalt is equally hot. There's a visible lack of people in the streets because it's too hot to be outdoors. What everyone is fearing is ... what will happen in August ... the peak of summer? The poor people, the aged, who cannot afford aircons and fans, will die of heatstroke. It's a scary thought.

Stromata

Carrying a huge bread

Imagine we're already in the 2nd week of July. Half the year is gone. Where has all that time gone? I bumped into several neighbourhood kids from way back in the 90s ... they were barely in their teens back then, in the middle of the 1st Intifada. Now they're all married with kids of their own. All of them have moved out of their parents' houses in the Old City, living in other towns and cities and villages. It's always good to catch up with old friends, but it also shows how quickly time has passed. 

I'm glad my confusion over days and times is over. At least for now. It's Tuesday today, I have a few appointments. Same for tomorrow. So far the brain is working until the next malfunction. And that reminds me .. I need to do a full body checkup soon as scheduled by my insurance doctors. They'll send me a message a few days in advance. Problem is they don't specify which doctor I've the appointment with ... my cardiologist, my family doctor, my dietician, my allergist. On the other hand I'm glad my insurance provides me with all these specialists who follow up on my health every few months. 

This morning I saw an Ethiopian woman carrying a huge round bread on her head, on her way presumably to the Ethiopic Church in the New City. People bake eucharistic bread at home and offer them to the Church to be served as the eucharist. Those that are not used in the liturgy are broken and shared after the liturgy ... as anti-doron (in greek).

Summer rolls on ... we're expecting a flare-up of fighting up in the north. Let's hope it won't happen at all ... there's too much suffering already.

Weekend

Beginning of a hot day

Another weekend and I'm feeling exhausted already from the walk to the convent to celebrate morning mass and up to my office. It's a total of 3 km. The weather has been kind though ... cool mornings. But now at noon the heat is back. My office aircon is not functioning so it's very warm.

Somehow my brains have not kicked in yet. I keep thinking today is Sunday. Have to recalibrate my brains. It's mixing my schedules and datelines and work to do. It's terribly confusing.

This evening our twins will be ordained priests in Aleppo, where their family originated. I wish I were there to celebrate with them. They had been my best help when I was serving the armenian catholic community. They're ethnically armenians. Well I guess I'll wait for them to return and celebrate with them. Another generation is ordained ... each time reminding me that my era is over and the future is with the next generation. Time to fade into the background.

Outage

Summer sunset

It's the 1st weekend of July. Didn't bode well. Yesterday Lebanon fired a barrage of rockets into the north and it rattled everyone. Helicopters, drones and fighter jets flew over us most of the afternoon. There was visible tension in the streets. Fewer people outdoors. 

Well one other reason is the heat. It's been 33 degrees or more the past 2 days. Wilting heat. Walking 2 km to the Ivrea convent for Mass at 5pm is very difficult. I've had difficulty in breathing and chest pains when I arrive there. 

I've been terribly confused yesterday ... kept thinking it was Friday. Messed up a few things as a result. This morning I woke up thinking today is Saturday. Don't know what's wrong. The brain is mis-wired. Don't know how long it'll last. 

Now that sounds like the electrical and internet malfunction we had all day yesterday. I lost alot of material in my computer as a result. My class with Australia was cut off halfway because of the outage. It was so frustrating. Even the backup was not working. Our IT experts said it was a major hack but I won't know for sure. I hope my brain isn't hooked up to the electric and internet system ... everything seems to coincide.

July

Splashed by the sprinklers

It's July. The Summer vacation has started. There're a lot less Summer Camps for kids this year as financial people simply can't afford to send their children there. Still some parishes and schools organize simpler activities that require less expenses. With some of your help, I'd like to sponsor a summer camp for the poorest children of the villages around the City organized by the St. Vincent de Paul sisters and M. Teresa sisters. It will bring some joy and distraction from the present situation, and also allow their parents to go to work without worrying about what's happening to their children. And they will eat a little better ... more nutrition than their families can afford.

The heat during the day is cooled down each morning by the sprinklers in the park. The grass and trees are washed by the droplets and the ground smells of heat evaporating the water. People try to avoid getting splashed but they actually enjoy it ... a few cool drops that dry up quickly in this summer heat. Let's hope it won't get any hotter for longer periods as water is also very expensive nowadays. I'm not sure if a drought tax is enforced.

Well summer is still work for me. No break. I just hope my work won't get too intense. Too much stress and heat is bad for my heart.