Harrowing of Hell

Today is Holy Saturday which is traditionally the Harrowing of Hell. That's when Christ descended into Sheol to release all the souls of the past, awaiting the redemption of the messiah. It's in the Apostles' Creed. Orthodox icons show Christ stomping on the gates of hell while raising up Adam and Eve.

The Easter Vigil, strangely enough, is celebrated not at night as with the rest of the world, but in the morning today in the Holy Sepulchre. So Easter has already started for us here on Holy Saturday morning.

Coptic Orthodox procession

For the Orthodox churches, it's the beginning of Palm Sunday - the Saturday liturgy being Lazarus Day and the Palm procession in the Holy Sepulchre taking place in the afternoon. There was a crowd but much smaller than the Roman liturgy last week.

The difference of one week between our Easter and the Orthodox is a relief, as the crush of devotees is much more controllable and the confusion and babble of liturgies taking place at the same time is much lessened.

My Easter hot cocoa

I have not been feeling well the past 2 days. That's because I forgot to close the windows when I slept on Thursday night. We're having a hamsin (heatwave) here with temperatures going up to 28 degrees. But then I caught a dreadful cold with fever the next morning. Then I had the diarrhea as well. So I had to avoid long liturgies. Then this morning I hurt my back while cleaning my room. Painful. Anyway being stuck in my room all this time in the heatwave is awful while everyone else was out in the Holy Sepulchre celebrating. So I went out for a short walk to the Holy Sepulchre in the afternoon and had a hot cocoa at the pizzeria in Latin Patriarchate street. The guy did up a cross on the froth because it was Easter.

Good Friday

Basilica of the Agony in background

The ancient olive grove in Getsemani

Yesterday night I went down to the Garden of Gethsemane at 9pm. Prayers in several languages were said with psalms and readings from the gospels. It was very very crowded. Local Christians from the Territories had come along as well, so most of the readings were in arabic. Unfortunately hoards of tourists also came, not to pray but to take photos, laugh and chat at the top of their voices, spoiling the whole solemn prayer atmosphere. And I'm not afraid to say it: they're americans. There were many of us seated on the ground, out around the ancient olive grove listening to the prayers inside the basilica and praying but these pagan tourists had simply no respect. Walked all over us, laughing, eating. One utterly unbearable couple of girls actually sat in the middle of a praying group and laughed for a whole 20 minutes. Everyone kept glaring at them but being so thick-skinned, they continued with their disrespectful behaviour. I finally got up and told them to keep quiet. And they did. Otherwise I would have no qualms in kicking them out.

Immense crowds outside the basilica

Otherwise it was a deeply profound experience. Much more so as I was with a couple of my students, some who will be graduating this year so it's their last occasion to spend Maundy Thursday in the Garden.

Full moon above

I prayed for each and everyone of you there among the ancient olive trees.

Early this morning, I made the Way of the Cross, in order to avoid the huge crowds that will come later in the morning. Walked the whole 800 metres, remembering you all and praying for each of you. Started at 6am but already many many people had begun the Way of the Cross. The street was quite crowded. Ended at the Holy Sepulchre whre crowds were waiting for the doors to open.

At the 5th and 6th Stations, I prayed especially for all of you, helpers and benefactors of our poor in the Holyland, just like Simon of Cyrene and Veronica.

Crowds waiting at the Holy Sepulchre

Bridgettine nuns at Way of Cross

Indonesian group at 2nd Station

I'm not going to the Funeral Service this evening, where a statue of Christ is taken down form the cross on Mt. Calvary and carried in procession to the Tomb - all within the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. It will be very very crowded and the doors of the Basilica will be closed. I'm afraid my diarrhea might get the better of me and I'd be in big trouble, caught in the middle of the liturgy with the doors locked from the outside.

Egg/veggie submarine

Meanwhile I had to control the crowds back at the Condemnation Chapel as too many people were coming in to start the Way of the Cross at 8am onwards. Then at 11am I made some sandwiches for some volunteers who had no lunch. Did 4 submarines - vegetarian and egg/tuna which I think the guys liked. It'll be their only meal for the day while they work hard in crowd control under the very hot sun. They cannot attend the liturgies because by sacrificing their time, they help make the visits of others more profitable and memorable. I think I did a good deed today by caring for the carers.

Pesach eve

Pesach scrubbing at a restaurant

Tomorrow evening is the start of Pesach or the Jewish Passover. Somehow I feel it's a lot more subdued than previous years. Perhaps it's because of the recent bombings and violence throughout the country; perhaps it's also because of the tensions within Jewish society between seculars and ultra-orthodox.

The only signs of Pesach is the big time scrubbing of restaurants throughout the City. Chairs and tables are brought out into the streets, sprayed down and scrubbed of all leaven. In some stricter restaurants, they would even use a handheld burner to burn down the surface of furniture, walls and floor so that all traces of leaven are burnt off.

Coincidentally the Jewish Pesach and our Catholic Pesach falls one day apart - we call it Maundy Thursday of course.

Crowns of thorns

The Mass of the Lord's Supper was presided by the Patriarch at the Holy Sepulchre this morning. It combines the blessing of Chrism. Tonight at 9pm, there will be prayers in the garden of Gethsemani. Will go there to say a prayer for all of you.

Tomorrow begins the Way of the Cross and the Tenebrae service on Mt. Calvary to the Tomb. Wondrously all the cacti are blooming this week ... the flowers grow in a ring, resembling a crown of thorns. So apt for Good Friday.

April 4th

So it's 49 today ... nothing special really except that the body is giving signals to slow down: bones ache, hard of hearing, slower reflexes ....

Tom Yam at Thai House

Last evening some friends and friars from Tel Aviv invited me over for dinner at Thai House. As usual it was fabulous food and fantastic company. Had Tom Yam, Pad Thai, Pad Si-iew, papaya salad ... and besides that, my good friend Tal was waitering that evening. Good to see him again after a long spell. Beverly my US-filipina friend gave me a delicious box of Northwestern smoked Salmon - love it!! Took the shurut (mini-bus) back to Jerusalem with another friend and former schoolmate who flew in from England. We were both exhausted by the trip and full-stomachs of good food.

Nuns and the cake

This morning the sisters of Mother Teresa baked me a cake. It was very nice. Shared half with the guys working in the library, and the other half with the staff in the kitchen. Also bought some pizzas to share around. The sisters and staff in our kitchen had forgotten it was my birthday. Oh well, with all the rush this Holy Week to cook up lots of meals for guests coming to the special Masses, it's no wonder.

Still had to do some work during the day as the backlog is building up. But my elbows are killing me. The pain is excruciating and I can't work with it ... can't even sleep properly. Part of aging I guess.

Holy Tuesday

Today solemn mass was celebrated at our place with lots of people ... to commemorate the Passion of Christ. The narrative from John was sung as the gospel in 3 voices. Meantime endless groups from local parishes and tourists are coming to make the Way of the Cross. Total chaos in the streets. There's hardly any space to walk.

One good news is my best friend Vasile is back! He's here for a month to finish his thesis, while doing studying for another MA in Durham U. (England) and has been accepted by Oxford for his PhD. I'm so glad for him. Too bad his wife Maria couldn't come along. They just got married half a year back.

Echium at last!

Yesterday I had to accompany Buscemi to go buy geraniums for his terrace boxes. And in the shop there were 10 marvelous bushes of Echium Candidans "Pride of Madeira". It was fantastic! First saw them flourishing in San Francisco and just loved the huge spikes of deep blue flowers. Absolutely incredible. And since the shop was selling each for only 140 shekels - a steal - I quickly picked the smallest bush: about a meter high. Planted it in our huge but empty flower pot (a monster 1 meter high) and now it sits in the middle of the sisters' courtyard. Everyone is talking about it!

Huge spikes of flowers

Birds and bees like the nectar so we're expecting lots of life this summer in the courtyard. And as echiums require a dry hot climate, Israeli summers are perfect for this bush! It doesn't need alot of water so we don't need to spend money watering it. Now if only we can fill the courtyard with echiums! Less gardening and watering, and lots of lovely flowers and butterflies and birds!

Dirty raindrops

And talking about weather, this weekend (Easter) we're expecting a heatwave. 30 degrees and above is predicted. The night before there was a hamsin (desert sand storm) together with rain - absolutely dreadful because the dust and sand get caught in the raindrops and dirty everything it touches. Just look at this car! Each raindrop is a little bomb of sand and dust.

Thanks

Sincere gratitude to Catherine Pang, Christine Lee, Mary Liang, Letty Chabot and Fiona Chan for their kind thoughts and gift. And thanks to everyone too for their well-wishes and prayers. Will remember everyone at prayer on Holy Wednesday.

Special thanks to Magdalene Wu for organising and offering the Thanksgiving Mass for me.

Palm Sunday

The Patriarch, Custos and prelates

The Jerusalem air was filled with excitement as every Christian looked forward to the Palm Sunday procession from Bethpage on the eastern side of the Mt. of Olives to Jerusalem's Old City. This year's crowd was much larger than last year's. And christians from various parishes in the Territories were permitted to join in.

In fact the crowd was so large, instead of coming down the stairs at the top of the Mt. of Olives, they were made to do a detour up to 7 Arches Hotel and down the slope just above the jewish cemetery.

Jews provoking christians

A group of ultra-orthodox Jews marched through the procession route, with the approval of the police and soldiers, blowing rams' horns (shofar) in an act of provocation against the christians. No one paid attention to them but I thought it was outrageous and the police should not have allowed them to do it.

The huge crowds nonetheless wove its way down the mountain, groups upon groups of christians: each parish bearing its banner, each group singing its songs of Hosanna. It was very joyeous.

Little girl going the wrong way

This is the one occasion when christians here can publicly express their faith without fear of attacks from muslims and jews. It was a very proud moment for everyone.

The procession ended at St. Anne's Church (Bethesda Pool) where the Latin Patriarch delivered a homily and blessed the crowds with a relic of the True Cross.

I couldn't make the entire journey as my diarrhea was giving me trouble. I waited for the groups to arrive near Gethsemani with Praveen and another Indian priest. Met many many friends who passed by. It was great. And I made several new friends as well.

Greek Catholic scouts & faithful

Korean group

Latin Catholic scouts

Shaadi our Kawas (dragoman)

Crowds waving palms

Another group

Patriarch Fouad delivers the homily

Seminarians in procession