And again ....

Now it's women and teenagers getting into the stone-throwing thing. This time it's at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Samaria.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1156063.html

Let's see what happens tomorrow. If things get ugly in the streets, I'll stay in. If it looks ok, I might go to buy the long-awaited painkillers. Maybe a rock in the head might solve the spondylosis.

Now I'm preparing to go to the Vigils. Will pray for you all.

Holy Hour at Gethsemani

Eternal Light Webcast will bring you the Holy Hour celebrated in the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemani) on Holy Thursday (Holyland time).

Tables turned

The Old City is closed off today. For the first time in 20 years I've seen the New Gate, usually one of the more relaxed points of exit/entrance, actually blocked off with a cordon and heavy police/military presence standing guard. Only inhabitants of the Old City and arabs over 55 yrs of age may enter the City. At Damascus Gate the scene was like straight out of a war. Blockades and soldiers everywhere, with crowds of arabs standing outside demanding to enter. Same case at Herod's Gate. Down at St Stephan's' Gate, cars and trucks were turned away. Any motorist allowed to enter had to surrender their identity cards to the soldiers. They can collect them only when they exit the City. One soldier - an arab christian from Mughar - told me the closure will continue for 4 days till Tuesday.

Uneasy calm in Jerusalem - that's how Haaretz describes the situation today.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1156063.html 

A strange twist yesterday when it was the Jews who threw stones at Arabs at the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Usually it's the other way round.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170858

Riots

Another Friday of riots - though less serious than last week. Rock throwing and police charges. But it was ok enough for the Way of the Cross to take place. I smartly stayed far away from the Old City. On my return I asked several arab store-keepers what happened and they said "A lot calmer than last week".  Well, it should be! The soldiers closed off the Old City since yesterday. Literally. No one below 55 years old could enter the Old City and no one below 50 yrs could enter the mosque which is in the Old City.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170858 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1156048.html 

Being a foreigner, I could enter and exit the City but not without being questioned by soldiers. And the military presence is awesome. The City gates and certain angles in the Old City near my place were packed with police and soldiers. People are saying there're more military in the Old City than inhabitants.

Meantime I'm trying to solve my spondylosis problem. it's a killer. I've lost alot of sleep because of the pain, which is excruciating. I think tomorrow morning I'll go to the pharmacist's and get some painkillers. I'm like a zombie during the day. Utterly exhausted. And my water bag traction doesn't seem to be helping. Aaaaagghhh

It's Friday today - fasting day. I was pretty good today. Stayed off water and food till 5pm. Then Janik (our computer expert) and I walked back to the Old City, having a sandwich along the way to break our fast. We had to go to the Curia to get some documents sealed with the official stamp. And tomorrow night is another Vigil ... will go and pray for you there at the Tomb of Christ.

And oooohhhhh earthquakes in Hawaii and again in Chile. It's a bad sign. it's coming........

hacked

Somebody has hacked into my email accounts and all google services. There's a warning that flashes saying I might not be in the real google site and that material can be taken from my computer. So what do they want from me?

Saturday and Sunday was a very tough time as Fr Samir was said to be very ill and perhaps to the point of death. But Sunday night I received news that he got better. We had all been praying so hard for him. This morning I heard that they found a liver for him and he's preparing for the transplant. Let's hope it works out well. Also Fr Benjamin our very young African superior in Tiberias was diagnosed with liver failure. This is all such bad news.

Since Saturday evening I've been suffering from my old problem - cervical spondylosis. This time it's so severe I cannot sleep. Any movement of the head causes a sharp pain that radiates down the right arm .. which has turned numb and weak. I'm thinking of going to see a physiotherapist or chiropractor but it's terribly expensive here.

And it's been like 30 degrees here since yesterday. People are dressed in shorts and T-shirts like it's August. The weather has all gone crazy.

Thanks

Sincere thanks to the following for your generous help:
Rose Chiu, C. Yau & family, Cavero family, Fr. Ephrem Lam, Anita Lee, Rebecca Choy, Augustine-Patrick (for Sr. Maria), Alice and Andrew, Amy Chan, Kath Malone, Gertrude, Debbie Wong (for Caritas Baby Hospital), Simon Yam.

And the medicines - from asthma meter, rhinocort, Advair, Adalat, water purification pills etc.... everything is so precious and helpful for us here.

I and your beneficiaries and friars in the Holyland will be praying for you all during this Lent and Easter season.

For your information, I'm using some of your gifts to help sponsor a poor student who cannot afford school fees here in Jerusalem. You have made Easter something special for someone ... through you he has touched the resurrected Lord.

Peace

Yesterday saw the largest demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah so far. Sh. Jarrah is the neighbourhood 2km from where I live, a rundown Palestinian refugee camp along the Kidron Valley that saw the forceful eviction of several Palestinian families by Israeli soldiers so that Jewish families could take over the houses. Every week small demonstrations take place against this, but yesterday the High Court allowed it to occur en masse. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170358

A scathing article against the govt. was posted in Haaretz today - in biblical perspective of the prophets -
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154537.html 

Let's hope that somehow peace will return to this land.