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.