Holy Saturday

Priests and prelates around the Stone
of the Unction 

Christ is Risen! Christos anesti!! That's the greek greeting for Easter but it's said by everyone even if you're not greek. It's Holy Sepulchre and here in the Holy Land the Easter Vigil is celebrated in the morning. Fire is blessed in front of the Stone of the Unction and then the Paschal Candle is lit and brought in front of the Empty Tomb. It's a beautiful liturgy especially when you realise it all happened right here ... in the Empty Tomb 2000 years ago. You can't get as real as that.

The Archbishop with the Gospel and
the Paschal Candle in front of the
Empty Tomb

Roads were closed inside the Old City as early as 5am ... that is, roads leading to the Holy Sepulchre. Hundreds of Ethiopians and Copts were waiting at the barriers at Damascus Gate to enter the Old City, while Catholics waited at New Gate. Many were turned away by the police because the Holy Sepulchre cannot host so many people. I however was going the opposite direction ... out of the City and the police allowed that. I had to go to Jaffa because I had to help with the Indian (Konkani) Mass. A capuchin priest was invited from India to preach the Masses and services throughout Lent and Holy Week. Today Fr Joce and I helped though both of us don't speak konkani. Joe is Tamil and belongs to the Betarram congregation. 7 seminarians from the Salesians were asked to come and help with communion. There were 3000 indians gathered at the indoor stadium in Tel Aviv for this Easter Vigil. The Mass took over 2 and a half hours .... communion itself took 15 minutes. But it was very fulfilling to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ with a community.

Over 2000 indians came for the
Easter Vigil

I was exhausted at the end of the Mass ... and I had hurt my right knee twice during the Mass. After Mass, Charlotte one of the parishioners I know well for many years brought dinner for us priests and seminarians. It was very good ... chicken nasi biryani. Charlotte is a good cook and I like her lamb curry most. Then I still had to return to Jaffa to gather my backpack and then went home by shurut (minibus) which I dislike but I had no choice as there was no other transport available. It was very uncomfortable and there was an ethiopic baby crying all the way.

Anyway it's Easter. Christos anesti! Let's pray that the Resurrected Christ will triumph in Syria and Iraq and Yemen and Egypt. May the christians there no longer suffer persecution.

Good Friday

Murder in this train at noon

Just as the Way of the Cross ended this afternoon, there was a stabbing inside the Light Rail directly in front of New Gate - the City Gate that leads into the Christian Quarter. The Gate was closed immediately by the police and the main road outside was closed all the way down to Damascus Gate. The lady victim died and 2 others were wounded. The arab assailant was arrested. It's said that he's mentally unstable. I was just there at New Gate going home when it happened. Shocking.

Herodian Tomb
with rolling stone

Our house was in utter chaos as groups began making the Way of the Cross since 5am. Police began closing the street by 9am as the crowds became too large and uncontrollable. I hate it. The people behave like monsters, screaming, shouting, eating and putting food on the altar .... they even have fist-fights as to which group gets to make the Way of the Cross first. Well 90% of this chaos comes from the orthodox christians - the copts and slavs.

To avoid this ugly situation every year, I take a 6 km pilgrimage: first to the Herodian Tombs, then to the Mt. of Evil Counsel and finally to Bible Hill. The Herodian Tombs date back to the time of Christ, with rolling stones covering the entrances. It's quite a large complex and because of it's size, people think it was used to bury the royal family of King Herod. I always come here as my 1st stop to read the Passion of Christ from Mark's Gospel. It's 2 kms from my house. Then I walk 1km further south to the hill where tradition says Judas met the Chief Priests to discuss how to betray Jesus and receive the 30 pieces of silver. The place is hence named Mt. of Evil Counsel. Today the wind was very very strong so I did not stay there for long. It was cold too. Finally I walk back to Ketef Hinnom or Bible Hill where beautiful Spring flowers are blooming and ... hidden behind some buildings is a series of burial caves dating back to the 7th century BC. There in one of the caves the oldest biblical verse was found inscribed on a silver amulet ... the Blessing of Aaron. The wind was really too strong there and I was almost blown down several times so decided to walk back to my office. There was no way I could go home because the streets are all closed by the police due to the huge number of christians, compounded by the crowds of Muslims coming to pray on Friday.

Passion of Christ celebrated at the
Lithostrotos or Ecce Homo

At 3pm I went to Ecce Homo convent to join in the Passion of Christ. It was held down at the Lithostrotos and it was very crowded. Here tradition says Jesus was brought to the Stone Pavement "Lithostrotos" and judged by Pilate who declared to the Jews "Ecce Homo" (Behold the Man) after scourging Jesus. Despite the crowd and very cramped space and poor audio system, the sisters of Ecce Homo organised it very well and there were no awkward moments.

Tonight at 8pm there will be the funeral service in the Holy Sepulchre where the image of Christ will be taken down from the Cross on Mt. Calvary, anointed with perfumed oils, wrapped in a linen cloth and placed inside the Tomb. It will then be sealed till tomorrow when the Easter Vigil is celebrated n the morning.

Maundy Thursday

The Archbishop receives the chrism

There was no Mass for us this morning. We only had Lauds. Then most of us went to the Holy Sepulchre for the Chrism Mass and of the Last Supper. Both Masses are celebrated as one in the Holy Sepulchre. All the prelates were there with seminarians from both the Patriarchate and Custody serving. The Holy Sepulchre was packed with people ... local catholics as well as religious. The scene was spectacular. Without a patriarch, the diocese is led by an Apostolic Administrator who was previously the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land. A very impressive liturgy where the 3 jars of olive oil were blessed and the Archbishop washing the feet of 12 seminarians.

Procession around the
Empty Tomb 

It was a very long liturgy ... almost 3 hours. Almost the entire liturgy was sung. And thanks to my student, a salesian seminarian, we have some very beautiful photos of the liturgy. After the Mass there was the traditional procession around the Empty Tomb ... 3 times. You have to be here in order to see how awesome this liturgy is.

I of course didn't go. I can't stay for a 3 hour liturgy because of my IBS and asthma (though I haven't had a attack for a month now since my medication was changed). The other guys who participated came home for lunch exhausted. Several had to go to bed to rest.

Right now there is the washing of feet ceremony at the Last Supper Room by the Custos of the Holy Land. Then a procession to the Armenian Orthodox Basilica of St. James where the friars were hosted when they were ousted from the Last Supper Room 500 years ago; and then a visit to the Syrian Orthodox church of St. Mark where the syrians believe is the room of the Last Supper.

This evening till midnight there will be a prayer vigil at the Garden of Gethsemane. After midnight there will be a procession from Gethsemane to the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu. It's a candle light procession down and up the Kidron Valley.

Jewish priests blessing the people

Meantime this morning at the Wailing Wall the jewish priests gave the blessing of Aaron en masse. there were over 80,000 people in attendance. Security was super tight throughout the Old City and helicopters were flying overhead all morning till the crowds dispersed. The priests cover themselves with their prayer shawls and raise their hands in blessing while chanting the blessing of Aaron on all Israel.

Tomorrow will be full day fasting and the streets will be packed with people for the Way of the Cross. I'll stay home. It's safest.

Holy Wednesday

Metal barriers arrive at New Gate

The day remains quiet like yesterday ... no major christian celebrations till tomorrow. But it's the 2nd day of the Jewish Passover and the streets are getting a little more busy though officially the jews are not allowed to work till tomorrow. I see the Light Rail is in operation but many offices are still closed. Tomorrow is the Priestly Blessing at the Wailing Wall and police are expecting 100,000 people to participate. Roads and City Gates will be closed to traffic. In fact yesterday the metal barriers were already transported to several City Gates and I believe the blockades will start tonight. Those of us living inside the Old City can go out but may not re-enter. Those from outside the Old City may not enter until the blockades are removed. However they would be replaced within hours because it will be Holy Thursday and thousands will be coming into the Holy Sepulcher. The Catholics will have the Chrism Mass and the Lord's Supper celebrated together while the Orthodox will have the Washing of Feet in the courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher. From any which way you come to the Holy Sepulcher there would be at least 5 blockades to overcome.

Maamoul - traditional cookies
for Easter

Locally christians are still reeling over the double bombing of Coptic Churches in Egypt killing 41 christians. No one feels safe here. ISIS is on our northern and southern borders. Even here in Jerusalem, the Israeli police are watching out for extremists who will disrupt our Paschal celebrations. Meantime Christine who works in our museum made some maamoul - cookies that recall the Passion of Christ. That's the traditional cookies christians here bake and eat for Easter. The round ones represent the sponge dipped in vinegar for Christ to drink. The doughnut shaped ones represent the crown of thorns. There are also oval shaped ones to represent the spear that pierced the side of Christ. Inside these cookies are dates ... sometimes with nuts but I'm allergic to that so they only give me those with dates. Very yummy.

Today is Holy Wednesday. According to Mark's Gospel, the woman at Bethany anointed Jesus' feet while Jesus was eating at the house of Simon the Leper. Judas  remarked that the money used to buy such expensive ointment should have been given to the poor and Jesus answered "You will always have the poor with you". Judas then goes out to the High Priest to discuss how he would betray Jesus.

Holy Tuesday

Black petunias for
Holy Week

On Holy Tuesday, according to Mark's Gospel, Jesus faced off the Pharisees, Scribes and Chief Priests in the Temple. It was pretty heated ... and that determined his death. Read Mark 12 and 13. We have no special liturgies today in Jerusalem ... but we're all waiting for Holy Thursday when the Triduum begins. It will be chaotic in the Holy Sepulcher because the Orthodox Churches also celebrate Holy Thursday. The Basilica will be packed. But the Armenian Orthodox had a solemn liturgy in the courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher. I saw a video of it just now.

Yesterday's trip to Nablus exhausted me and I rested for most of the evening. Simply have no energy to work anymore. I missed the evening Palm procession from Notre Dame to the New Gate. It's organized by Christians of the Old City and the procession goes around the Christian Quarter.

By the way, National Geographic will be broadcasting the repairs and opening of the Tomb of Christ today. I guess if you have satellite TV you can watch it on Nat Geo channel. Here we'll have to wait till it's on Youtube.

Pitcher plants for sale

Several days back I passed through the Zahara neighborhood which is outside Herod's Gate. At a flower / pet shop, I saw a pot of black petunias. It's the first time I've ever seen one. Thought it was appropriate for Good Friday. The shop also had South-East Asian pitcher plants. I wonder how long they'll survive because they need humid atmosphere. The dry summers here will kill them.

The weather has been hot ... like typical summer. In the afternoons it goes up to 22 degrees. But locals still wear hoodies and jackets because in just a few minutes the weather can change drastically and the cold hits you. I'm trying to stay safe so I carry a thick jacket in my backpack always.

The ISIS threat in the Sinai Peninsula and Cairo is so great, Israel yesterday c;osed it's borders with Egypt. And Egypt called all Israelis and christian tourists in Egypt to leave the country as soon as possible as there is a real and imminent threat to their lives. Christian in the Middle East live and carry the Cross. Holy Week is not a devotional exercise but a fact that leads to death.

Holy Monday

Mass at the 5th Station of the Cross

As is tradition, Holy Monday sees the opening of the 5th Station of the Cross for Masses. It's the only day in the week when Mass is allowed in there. Every half hour from 6am to 8am, Masses are celebrated by the friars from the Flagellation Monastery. The 1st Mass was in German, the 2nd was in Malayalam, the 3rd was in spanish. I joined the Malayalam Mass as I needed to finish Mass early. There were, besides 8 Malayalam catholics, arab sisters, german sisters and a western couple. It's very nice Frs. Biru and Paul allowed me to join them. They're very dedicated to serving the Indian community here in the Holy Land while busy writing their doctoral theses. Anyway I prayed for you all there.

As soon as Mass ended, I had to go to Nablus in Samaria. It's far ... it takes one and a half hours by car to reach the city. Because it's in the Palestinian Territories, you need to pass the checkpoint and there's nothing certain about passing by there because the traffic jam could be awful and in times of tension, there would be riots as well. This evening the Jewish Passover begins and all checkpoints will be closed and I don't want to be stuck inside the Territories for one week so I had to return to Jerusalem as soon as I could. I had to go to the convent of M. Teresa's sisters for Mass, confessions and a Bible talk.

Samaritan sacrifical pits and wood

After the talk and Mass, I went to Mt. Gerizim to see the preparations of the Samaritan Passover, which coincides with the Jewish Passover this year. Lots of Samaritans living in Holon near Tel Aviv had returned for the celebrations. The streets were filled with Samaritans in festive clothes but the older generation of men were in traditional cloaks and hats. The sacrificial area was ready with wood for burning to cook the lambs, the pits were cleaned out and chairs were ready to be placed for the crowds. Unfortunately I couldn't wait for the sacrifice which takes place at 7pm because the checkpoints would have closed. I came home as soon as I could.

Palm Sunday

Archbishop Pizzaballa leading the
prelates into Jerusalem

The Palm Procession just ended and I managed to take many photos to show you. But before that we must denounce strongly at the murder of Coptic christians in 2 churches in Egypt this morning. Those cowardly islamist extremists try to destroy christianity in its cradle but they forget the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Faith. The Cross will triumph. It has and it will.

Fr. Agustin with his little franciscans

The crowds participating in the Palm Procession from Bethfage into Jerusalem were a lot larger than previous years. Many protestants joined in. And Coptic christians outnumbered Greek Orthodox and Ethiopic Orthodox in joining our procession. It started at 2pm and ended past 6pm ... a 4 hour walk over 2 kms.

Large crowds this year

The christians were loud and proud ... It is one day when they can openly celebrate their Faith. The statement was clear. This year Jewish extremists were kept away by the police ... in the previous year jews disrupted the procession and cursed and spat at christians. This year several muslim boys sitter above the entrance into Lions Gate were shouting Hosanna and the christians walking passed below shouted back Hosanna.

Dragomans in traditional costume
lead the procession

But lest all this joy is overwhelming ... we must remember that it only leads to Mt. Calvary, the Cross and Death. Christians in Syria, Iraq and Egypt continue to suffer persecution ... They live the Way of the Cross. They pay with their lives. Between Hosanna and Alleluia there is the Cross. Don't forget the christians in the Middle East while you're celebrating Holy Week in the comfort of your church.

Ethiopic christian
wearing a palm cross