Samaritan Passover

This evening the Samaritans celebrated their Passover. I decided to go because firstly I wanted to meet Abuna (Fr.) Yusef, the 82 yr old Melkite priest who is my good friend and esteemed member of the Nablus region; also I wanted to greet the new Samaritan High Priest who took office 2 months ago.

So in a hired minibus with 10 of us (2 from Telepace, 4 from Koinonia community, Jo, Andrea the cameraman, Fr Abdo who joined us literally while on his way home) went to Mt. Gerizim. The crowd was so immense, there was already a traffic jam 5 km down the hill. We had to walk part of the way to the sacrifice area but could not enter as it was already packed.

Abuna Yusef met us at 6pm and surprise! there was Abuna Johnny as well ... a nice priest from the Patriarchate who was transferred to the Nablus parish 8 months ago. We had a good chat. Then we went to greet the Samaritan High Priest who was in audience. He was quite young compared to his predecessors. After wishing him a happy feastday, we sat in the audience hall with other dignitaries ranging from high govt. officials from Israel and Palestine, muslims, jews and christians, even settlers from the nearby settlement, diplomats ... Sr Capilla whispered to me and said it is the Samaritans who succeed in bringing peace. Here in this room enemies gathered smiling, shaking hands, clapping at each others' speeches. Brigadier Generals and Israeli soldiers armed with weapons ate dates with Palestinian Hamas and Fatah leaders. The atmosphere was one of sincere joy to meet again in a place sacred to all three monotheistic religions. Sr Capilla was right. Here the Samaritans have brought peace to the land.

The missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's sisters) came along in Abuna Johnny's car - Sr. Capilla was one of them. She was superior of the Jerusalem community but only a month ago she was transferred to the Nablus community. These sisters are fantastic. They packed dinner for us so we would not go hungry on our way home - packet drinks, chocolate bars, pizza, kneiffe (sweet baked cheese) ... the works. They are so kind to think of us 10 people ... that is so the spirit of Mother Theresa.

The moon is full, the wind is terribly cold and wafts of clouds wriggle between the moon. The wheat and wild grass along the slopes of Mt. Gerizim shimmer under the moonlight while thousands of people walked down the mountain to their transportation. It was eerie yet fascinating. We left the sacrificed lambs roasting in the pits, dense smoke rising to the moon. The Samaritans had already gone home, putting the lamb's blood on their doorposts. They will return to the sacrifice area to collect the roasted lambs to eat ... at midnight.

It was a good excursion. I'm exhausted, but happy for Abuna Yusef who looked healthy, for the Samaritan community for their feast, and for those who for the first time saw a bloody sacrifice of sheep amd realised the stark consequence of Christ's death for us. But for us ... He is risen from the dead!

Food glorious food

Wow! Did you see the S. Pellegrino's annual "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list ? Singapore's Iggy came in 28!!! Now that's something!!! And another Singapore restaurant Jaan Par Andre was listed 38. The only other Asian restaurants listed are two places in Japan. So Singapore swoops 50% of the world's top 50 restaurants in Asia.


Tensions have died down here in Jerusalem. Thousands of pilgrims are flocking back to the Old City and no one is talking about the shooting at the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre. Silwan tensions are under covers again till the next provocation.


The moon is almost full tonight ... lovely huge face in the sky brightening up the darkness. Tomorrow it will reach its peak. And the Samaritans will celebrate their Passover at the top of Mt. Gerizim as they have done for the past 2,300 years. I'll try to go and see it. I get tired easily nowadays.


Last night Fr Tomislav came to my room after dinner to explain diabetes. He's diabetic himself. It was a long lecture but he explained many things which I now understand better. The sisters in the kitchen are very kind and try to offer food that I can eat. I guess everyone has noticed how I lost weight in 2 weeks and are worried. Even Fr Loche came in the morning to help me feed the canaries ... absolutely unthinkable!!! I really appreciate my community. They show their best when someone is in need. And thanks to all the advice you've given. I'm going through them to see how to handle diet, exercise and medication to control my diabetes. It's not easy but I'm trying. Which brings me back to the first topic of this blog ... top 50 restaurants in the world .... very unlikely I'll frequent any!!!  But thanks again. Will pray for you all in return for your kindness and concern.

Good Shepherd Sunday

Tension in the southern part of the Old City - outside the walls - in the Silwan neighbourhood. Extremists rightwing Jewish group marched through the arab area to show who's boss and calling the govt. to remove all the arabs there. The arabs shouted back and threw stones. But no major incident.  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137186 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165188.html 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Fr Pietro presided at the Mass and in his homily said that the Gospel reading not only calls shepherds to be good, but sheep to listen and follow. Interesting insight.

There's a tremendous surge of tourist groups today - the streets of the Old City were packed. Where do they all come from? The Ministry of Tourism yesterday vowed to change the deplorable treatment of foreigners at the airport. Hopefully entering and leaving Israel will be a pleasant experience. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=173754 

The Druse today begin celebrating their feastday - they honour Jethro the father-in-law of Moses who is supposed to be buried in Kfar Hattim up on the mountain over the Sea of Galilee. http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=173840

On Wednesday 28th the Samaritans will celebrate their Passover. They still slaughter sheep in keeping with the Passover ritual. Jews no longer slaughter sheep on their Passover because there is no temple in Jerusalem to receive the sacrifice.

UFO?

An unidentified object flew into Bat Yam - the Tel Aviv beach. Despite being doused with sea water, it kept on burning. Wow... cryptonite? They think it's a meteor; others say it's from the Iceland volcano.... so the rumours go ....

http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=173824

Prayer Day for Iraqi christians

Today christians in the Holyland pray for fellow christians in Iraq. Iraqi christians on their part erected a statue of Christ the King on a hill.

The sculpture is only a tenth of the size of the 40-metre (130-foot) iconic statue that towers over the Brazilian city, but it has become a popular site for visitors in Hamdaniya, the north's largest Christian town. -- PHOTO: AFP

HAMDANIYA (Iraq) - THE Christians of northern Iraq have chosen to defy mounting attacks by extremists by erecting a statue of Jesus modelled on the giant Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
The sculpture is only a tenth of the size of the 40-metre (130-foot) iconic statue that towers over the Brazilian city, but it has become a popular site for visitors in Hamdaniya, the north's largest Christian town.
'The idea of the statue is not to say Christians were here in case we leave,' said Bashar Jarjees Habash, the city's coordinator of Christian affairs. 'But the idea of building the statue of Jesus opening his arms is to send a message of peace to everyone to say that we want to live in peace with all,' said the 48-year-old.
In February, Human Rights Watch called on Iraq's government to do more to bolster security and protect Christians after a string of deadly attacks on the community ahead of last month's elections.
'The statue might be small if we compare it with what Christians did for Iraq over hundreds of years. The statue is stone and can be removed at any time, but the history of Christians cannot be abolished,' said Habash. 'We have a great history, we are very loyal to Iraq,' added the official charged by the church with preserving religious monuments.
The brick and plaster structure is in the middle of Hamdaniya, a city populated by 45,000 mostly Syriac Christians as well as a Kurdish Muslim community that makes up about 10 per cent of the inhabitants. Its construction was initiated and carried out by two local security guards who also have artistic skills. Using their bare hands, it was a labour of love. -- AFP

Attack in Holy Sepulchre

An attacker was shot by police at the Holy Sepulchre. No reason is still known for the attack.   http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164972.html

Armenian Genocide Day

Yesterday the Armenians remembered Genocide Day - when the Ottomans are accused of killing millions of Armenians 100 years ago. There was an exhibition in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City and today the Armenian Orthodox Church will celebrate a memorial service that begins in their cathedral and ends in the cemetary. In the genocide several Franciscan missionaries in Armenia were also killed - most famously St. Salvatore Lilli. He was bayonated together with all his parishioners. And so persecution against christians continue.

Today local christians pray for the persecuted christians in Iraq as a sign of solidiarity. The Mass will take place in the village of Ibilin. Hope you'll spend some time to pray with us too.

The temperature today fell drastically. Freezing cold. This weather report is brought to you courtesy of Angela Lee who follows the blog for weather forecasts.

And Jaffa Gate has finally opened after a much needed facelift. The ancient city gate had stones falling off dangerously and reconstruction took place several months, closing off the city gate. Of course the workers took advantage to dig up the ground as well and found a major Byzantine side road running directly below the Square that is within Jaffa Gate.