Hail

Yesterday afternoon saw a sudden shower of hailstones - really big ones, bigger than last year's. It lasted no more than 5 minutes but it was quite a sight. And for some who were outdoors, like our Indian student Linson, he got hit on the head by the hail. No major injury but certainly an unpleasant surprise. The anemones that were flowering in the pots outside were battered.

Walking in the streets is now quite a feat. The daily drizzle that comes in the afternoon cover the well-worn flagstones of our Old City streets, making them extremely slippery. Older people walk slowly with canes and sticks, while younger folk plant each foot firmly on the ground before lifting the other foot. Occasionally you get some over-confident people who try to strut the streets ... and watch them fall!

The 1st readings of this week come from the Book of Genesis. It's the story of the creation of the world. From darkness and chaos came order and light. Yesterday I had an awful day which upset me terribly: turned to depression bingeing - ate an entire 1.5 litre tub of ice cream! Joseph aka Tim should be happy to hear that: it's what we call the "fat boy syndrome". But then I received an email from a friend in Singapore saying he dreamed of me and I appeared very happy in the dream. Well, like after some reflection, I thought it's like the creation story. Light comes out of the darkness, joy out of sadness. That gives me a little hope. Now I'm waiting for the happy part to come.

Meantime we received news of more muslim attacks on churches in Indonesia. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12393075   Apparently it was sparked (again) by the blasphemy law of the muslims. I wonder what will happen if Christians impose a blasphemy law on others. But of course that would go against the "turn the other cheek" exhortation. So it's back to being the underdog/victim again.

Another day

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day as was this afternoon. But by evening a cold wind was blowing and the drizzle continued. The anemones I planted have flowered - lovely large blooms of white and pink. Everyone is delighted with them. But the wind and drizzle has damaged several of these delicate flowers.

Strangely the groups of tourists have returned. Presumably the strike by Foreign Ministry workers have ended and the backlog has been cleared.

The ironical of Australia - flooding in the east, drought fires in the west. More earthquakes around the world. I've been reading a couple of articles on the Book of Apocalypse for another student who has trouble with english. Interesting themes ... makes me think about all these natural disasters and the prophecies.

Pretty uneventful day except for the fact that I spent 4 solid hours with my thesis moderator going through word by word of my analysis. Disaster. Now I have to correct all the mistakes. It's giving me a headache literally. But I must trudge on ahead.

CNY 3rd Day

3rd day into the New Year. The sky is dark and it is very cold. Yesterday it drizzled the whole day and I got sick again because I had to go celebrate Mass at the Sisters of Ivrea a km. out in East Jerusalem. Got all wet and shivering from the intense cold despite pullovers, jackets and raincoats. And the street had no lights - terribly frightening. Got a fever so went to bed early with no dinner.

The situation in Egypt is sheer anarchy. I think it's foolish to call for Mubarak to leave immediately - it's a gut reaction based purely on emotions and not reality. As it is we already saw sparks of civil war which will become full scale when there is a power vacuum. The country is rolling downhill real quickly ... and I pity the Christians because whatever regime comes to power, they'll bear the brunt of the blame.

One good news though - my friend Diana is finally married. She is Mrs. Kattan now ... not that it makes a big difference because she was Ms. Kattan before. She looks so pretty in the photo taken at the wedding banquet.

CNY dinner

For the Reunion Dinner, Ah Ling from the Chinese restaurant asked me over since I have no family here. Por Por and her husband were there, and Ah Ling and her Israeli husband, and all the workers (muslim) of the restaurant. It was a nice and quiet affair. I took some dumplings which they had just made - fresh and full of meat ... really good! Then there was fish soup. But I was really tired and cold and went home after that.

Last night, being the 1st day of the New Year, I organised a little dinner at Ah Ling's restaurent. Simple food, great company. We had the usual rice and noodles, veggies with Fat Choy, sweet-sour pork (that was everyone's favourite), Peking Duck (brought from Beijing by Fr Johannes a day before). It was a nice group but unfortunately Osvalda our librarian was sick and couldn't come. Also Fr Vincenzo is in Cairo and couldn't come. Both were regulars at my previous CNY dinners.

This year I had Fr Johannes Zong who came in from China the day before, Sr. Maria and Ting Ting - both living in Israel, the community of Koinonia (Sinead, Lioba and a newbie who came in 2 days ago. Didn't get her name), Fr. Johnny, Agostino, Ilie and Basile (two Rumenian students of ours). It was a nice dinner and we enjoyed the night, ending with everyone singing a song. The Rumenians did a beautiful song in 2 voices and Sinead sang a lovely Celtic song. Ah Ling took our photo and insisted everyone put up two fingers to represent rabbit ears.

Happy New Year

May the Year of the Rabbit bring you health, joy and success!

News from Musky

Finally I have received news from Fr. Vincenzo in Musky (Cairo).

Only now is the Internet connection reactivated after 10 days. The situation in our area is quiet after the demonstration of last Friday. There was only some tension in the night when groups looted jewelry shops, electrical appliances , supermarkets etc… Then the locals organized [vigilante groups] to patrol their own quarters once the police disappeared from the streets. Even this morning I saw youths stopping a police car to check if they were real policemen. The military spokesman has called for caution because weapons have been stolen and distributed. Now it leaves to see what will happen this Friday. It's said that there are troublemakers who want to re-ignite clashes. For some people, these troublemakers are from the Muslim Brotherhood; others say they're from the old/new authorities. All these are rumours that should be interpreted in the light of what will happen next. It's strange to see Cairo in total silence even when the curfew is not observed by all. There are always some cars that run over pedestrians. At this moment there are cars and demonstrators that cause trouble in support of Mubarak.

Feast of the Presentation

Today is the last day of the Year of the Tiger. Most of you would have gathered for the Reunion Dinner. It's time to close the year by thanking God for all He gave us last year - the good and the bad. And a time to put aside our differences of the past year by eating a common meal - a very biblical tradition. "Reunion" is precisely that - a union that once existed, was broken and now is restored: "re"+"union". Let's all begin the Year of the Rabbit with precisely that last note - to be restored spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, socially; to be restored in relationships that were broken during the year, relations with God and neighbour.

The Feast of the Presentation that we celebrate today is not merely a passive offering of the Christ child to the Temple as being the first-born. In the words of Simeon, the Presentation is a moment when Christ becomes the "Light to enlighten the gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" - an active mission to the world. Perhaps this is the perfect message for us as we begin the New Year - to restore unions that once were broken, we need to be a light to others - a sign of hope and comfort; and we need to be the glory of all humanity - a sign of optimism and joy.