Orthodox Christmas

Dreadful news from Egypt where 5 Coptic christians were killed by muslims on Christmas day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8444851.stm

And BBC news reports on the boycott against the Greek Orthodox Church. Even Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader did not show up to welcome the Greek Patriarch ... very very strange. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8443290.stm

New spiritual mission 2010

Yesterday evening, as is traditional on Epiphany, we get our new "holy protectors" and spiritual mission.

This year my patroness is Blessed Mariam Baouardy - the "Little Arab" (the first arab "blessed" in history). She was a Carmelite nun here in Bethlehem. Born in 1846 on the eve of Epiphany in the village of Ibillin (still a christian village today in Galilee), she had a dramatic youth including near death by beheading by a muslim and miraculous healing by Our Lady. She became a Carmelite nun in France, then founded the Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem and Nazareth in accordance to visions of Jesus. Read more at http://www.melkite.org/sa33.htm

My verse for meditation is from the writings of Blessed Mariam Baouardy "Even if someone rises against you, I am with you always. You must never be afraid."

My virtue to practice this year is "patience when in trial".

And I must pray for the soul of Fr Antoine DeFauw. I knew him 20 years back when I was a student and he was actively involved in many Custodial projects - Casa Nova, Christian Information Centre, Status Quo, application for visas. He was a small man with a huge temper. But deep inside, he was kind and caring. May he rest in peace.

From Fr Vincenzo

Fr Vincenzo sends his Christmas and New Year greetings to you all. He also send the photo (see right hand column) of the latest beneficiaries of your generosity.

Be assured of their prayers for you this year.

Epiphany

Happy Feastday! Epiphany is a very big feast here in the Holyland! And it coincides with the Orthodox Christmas.

Most of our community spent the night over at Bethehem for the evening and midnight prayers, then solemn Mass this morning. Others went after lunch today to join in Vespers and the procession in the Basilica of the Nativity. I think the crowds must have been immense.

I heard that many arab Orthodox Christians protested at the Greek Orthodox Patriarch's arrival at the Basilica for Christmas Mass. The Orthodox scouts walked out when he arrived and people shouted slogans and waved protest banners because they say the Orthodox Patriarchate is selling away land to the Israelis. Saw abit of this on BBC news. Now there's a rumour that Arab Orthodox want to become Roman Catholics because the Greek Orthodox Church does not care for their wellbeing. Well I don't know if that's a good reason to change rites!

Last night after dinner I moved the 3 Magi statues and their donkeys to the crib area and said "They arrived!". We had a good laugh and the superior said it's true, it's Epiphany and they have arrived at the crib. And he suggested several places on the Nativity scene to put the camels. That was fun.

This morning's Mass was pretty quiet since almost everyone was either in Bethlehem or were going there. There were only 4 of us and 5 laity including two Pious Disciples of the Lord (They have their convent at the 4th Station and come over when their priest is not available for Mass).

Can't help thinking of W.B. Yeat's "The Second Coming"

...... Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Awesome and aweful words...... especially when you live near Bethlehem and see the vicious hatred swirling around our desert sands.

4th Day of 2010

It was wonderful to have met up with the Singapore group organised by Dynasty Travels. They were fantastic and fun ... yes even the "senior citizens" (affectionately called the "orang tua").

Thanks for their invaluable help to the poor and needy here in the Holyland.

The weather has been strangely cold and hot. I'm sure many people will fall ill. I've got my Tamiflu ready!

Meanwhile this morning my feet got terribly swollen again. Felt like it was going to burst from the skin! Anyway it went down later in the morning as I walked about. Am applying chinese plasters on my swollen fingers. Seems to be working. Hurray!!!

Jan 2nd

2nd day of the New Year. Our community has dwindled down to less than 10 persons at meal times. I introduced Fr Tomislav to Jane Austen and he's now reading Pride and Prejudice after finishing Sense and Sensibility.

We got into a discussion about Victorian english and eventually leading to rhythm and scansion of the meters in poetic and narrative texts. It's incredible how much I still remember of iambic pentameters and alliteration and all that stuff I learned 30 years ago. I always loved literature.

So after citing several examples of Piers the Ploughman, and the Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare, I couldn't resist returning to two of my favourite passages from the Bard. The 1st from Macbeth and the 2nd from The Tempest.

MacBeth's speech

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing."

Caliban's speech

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.

Happy New Year

2010 began with Mass for me and the Polish nuns who take care of our kitchen and chapel. We celebrated Mass at midnight and ended some 35 minutes later. Instead of joining them for tea after Mass (we wanted to see Sr. Raymunda dance - she's the latest addition to the community and is 80 something yrs old). I went back to our refectory to join some of the guys who were awake ... but I was too late. They had already celebrated and went back to bed. There was still Panettone on the table and some champagne .... so just for the fun of it I took 2 mouthfuls of champagne. Got terribly headachy (I can't drink any alcohol). Went back to my room and couldn't sleep. Decided to clean my room instead till like 3am or something before I fell asleep. What a way to start the New Year.

The protestant churches rang the bells at midnight and the Lutheran's fired fireworks into the sky. But the rest of the world here which is predominantly muslim and jewish just slept through it all ..... they celebrate their new years on different dates.

Anyway New Year's morning was one terrible pain in the left hand and feet as the swelling has not subsided. So the guessing is it's either a problem with the heart or it's the side-effects of the prednesone for my asthma. Need to take calcium for bone-regeneration and lots of physical exercise to get the bones growing. So the New Year's resolution is to take one hour off each day from studies to do exercise like brisk walking. Sounds good - except there's so much work to do and taking a work could mean being beaten up by muslims.

Tonight we'll have vespers at 7.15pm with the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus. Will pray for you all, that God will bless your 2010 with health, joy and blessings.