Still sick

3 years ago today ... the snow storm

I am feeling better than yesterday. Prednisone always works quickly for me  ... first round is 60mg. Makes me sick with nausea, dizziness and fatigue but it stops the asthma attacks immediately. Problem is once I'm on it, I have to wean it off for a period of 15 days. Then the swollen feet and hands and face begin. For the moment I'm thankful the severe reaction has lessen considerably but not totally. I still have pain and pressure on my chest and walking or climbing stairs is still very tiring. There'll be time enough later to cry over the side-effects that I hate. I get nightmares just thinking about it. If doctors prescribe prednisone to you, make sure it's the last hope medication and you urgently need it to keep alive. Otherwise I'll say keep it as far away as possible.

It occurred to me while I was resting in bed this morning that today Feb. 20th exactly 3 years ago there was the great snow storm in the Holy Land. I remember going out at 5am to see Damascus Gate and the park when no one has yet trampled over the 1 foot-high snow. It was amazing ... like a fairyland ... all white and blue. I can never forget that experience ... alone in the very silent, cold park  with trees crystallised in ice ... it is utterly awesome.

Mottled sky this morning

Though I wish I could rest today, there is always that someone who is absolutely oblivious to the needs of others and demand immediate action. So I had to walk 1km up to the other library to get a job done ... but I had to stop several times on the way. And after 15 mins of work, I had to come home. Luckily someone was passing down Damascus Gate so I hitched a ride. I realise now how decrepit illness and age can reduce a person.

There was an interesting article about fasting that I read yesterday. It says that fasting can trigger stem cell regeneration and fights cancer. Not sure if it's all true but that's an incentive to fast during Lent.   http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/scientists-discover-fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regeneration-fights-cancer.html?utm_source=JERF&utm_content=9487-YEZ5

And another plus for Israel ... research here on the medical use of marijuana has shown it reduces pain which will be very helpful for the elderly and those suffering from arthritis and other illness. Medical marijuana is legal here in Israel and it has helped thousands of sufferers. This is a very enlightened approached to medical science.   http://www.janglo.net/index.php?option=com_adsmanager&page=display&catid=99&tid=438801&utm_content=buffer9c5f1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Meantime the implosion of jewish society ... more exactly the ultra-orthodox against everyone else continues to escalate. A well-known and reputable Canadian rabbi of one of the largest jewish communities in the world was blacklisted by the Chief Rabbinate (100% ultra-orthodox) in Israel; meaning he cannot legally perform jewish rites, personally flew into Israel to find out why. He was not met by the Chief Rabbinate but only a commission looking into the decisions of the Chief Rabbinate. All he got was only an apology but no assurance that his name will be removed from the blacklist. This implosion will reaching worldwide jewry ... and the repercussions will be felt not just religiously but socially and politically. Red lines are being drawn and financial threats are becoming a reality.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-blacklisted-orthodox-rabbi-accuses-israel-s-rabbinate-of-blasphemy-1.5828591?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter   and   https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5122047,00.html

Sick

Some of my students last night

Last night I felt a tightness round my chest and thought it could've been the cold but this morning I am utterly breathless and fatigued. There was no loud wheezing like an asthma attack but all the other symptoms point to it. As I walked uphill to my other library later at 8.30am I realised I could not walk very far as I felt very faint and my breathing was very shallow and chest very tight. So I returned and went to my usual arab doctor. He checked me out and said it's severe asthma ... an allergic reaction to something. Well I couldn't think of anything as I drank half a cup of coffee only this morning. So it wasn't something I ate. The doc said it cold be something in the air as we've had a bad sandstorm a few days ago and some pollen or stuff would still be floating in the air ... or dust from the many renovation works along the street. Despite the rain, people make house renovations in winter because the building materials and workmen are cheaper. In summer prices rise.

Anyway I asked the doc why it didn't feel like a normal asthma attack like before and he explained that the seratide I am now taking has suppressed many of the symptoms so my asthma attack now is not like before. Anyway he gave me an injection and put me back on my dreaded enemy ... prednisone. The doc said there is no other choice as my asthma is very bad. So today I start my 2 week course of prednisone.

Musrari in bloom

Last night my level 2 english language students asked me to bring them to a chinese dinner ... and practice their english skills there. Ah Ling of Mandarin restaurant is now cooking alone in the kitchen  as her cooks returned to China. There were 2 groups of tourists eating dinner and I thought Ah Ling would not be able to cook my group's dinner as well so I told her to simply give us what the other groups are having. That would save her from cooking extra. The students were delighted in learning about Chinese New Year, the traditions and eating chinese food. It was a nice evening. And my asthma allergy did not come from dinner because it usually starts within 10 minutes from eating the allergen, not after one night.

Church leaders in Jerusalem have united a presented a letter demanding the Jerusalem Municipality to retract statements threatening to collect retro-active taxes from church properties.  http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-02/church-in-jerusalem-taxation.html

Police have arrested some Israelis for attacking an arab bus driver. That's a good move ... it doesn't guarantee a charge will be made but at least it is a start.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-arrest-israelis-suspected-of-assaulting-arab-bus-driver/

Meantime Israel continues to bombard Gaza, hitting military targets and destroying tunnels. Though pre-emptive in nature, it serves to unite the Gazans in anger.  Tensions will be higher than before.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-strikes-gaza-tunnels-after-renewed-rocket-fire/

And jewish rightwing extremists attacked jewish left-wingers in the West Bank. Talk about implosion.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-settlers-filmed-throwing-stones-at-left-wing-activists-in-west-bank-1.5808502

Storm again

Chinese sisters'
oratory

The Lenten rigours have begun. Last night at 20 to midnight the friars and many local religious gathered in the Holy Sepulchre to pray the vigil office of the 1st Sunday of Lent which ends with a procession around the Empty Tomb. It's quite impressive if you're not sleepy at that hour. The prayers end at about 1.15am and then Mass begins immediately on Mt. Calvary. This midnight vigil will take place every Saturday night. Hope I'll be able to go to one and pray for you all.

By the way the Chinese sisters send their New Year greetings to you all, and thank you all for your kindness. They pray for you all daily and offer a Mass for your intentions once a month. Their little oratory ... not a chapel as there is no space for an altar ... was blessed with a gift of a tabernacle and stand from M. Teresa's sisters. In the picture on the bottom right floor there is a white sheet of paper. It contains all your names and the sisters offer it up in their daily prayers. The oratory is so small only 3 sisters can enter it at any one time.

Dark gloomy day

Yesterday afternoon saw dark gloomy skies with a very strong cold wind ... with a little drizzle. But in Tel Aviv and the rest of the country, the daytime storm was extremely heavy, causing lots of floods. Roads to the Dead Sea were closed. A tourist bus in the Negev desert was stuck in the flood and the tourists had to be saved.  In Rishon leZion and Tel Aviv there was hail carpeting the roads and fields like snow. The whole country experienced extreme weather conditions except Jerusalem.

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5117745,00.html
and  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Ukrainian-tour-bus-rescued-from-flash-flood-in-Judean-Desert-542863

But by evening the rains returned and by midnight the storm burst. Just like the night before there was an electrical storm and the rains were very heavy. Some of the guys in my house on their way to the Holy Sepulchre ran home soaking wet. They never quite made it to the basilica.

Down south in the country, missile alarms had sounded twice, sending people to hide in bunkers but there were no missiles from Gaza. Israel bombed many targets in Gaza anyway ... a pre-emptive strike as Israel is expecting a war from Gaza soon. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/BREAKING-18-Hamas-targets-struck-by-the-IDF-Saturday-night-542898

Amazing

Amazing double rainbow this morning

What an incredible electrical storm last nights. It rained very heard with lots of thunder and lightening from midnight onwards but by 2pm it stopped. At 3am the electrical storm restarted and was much more violent. Lightening struck every 20 seconds. It was amazing to see the sky ... and the whole City lighted up by these flashes. And it rained very hard again till 4.30am. All that celestial noise kept me awake ... and fascinated by the phenomenon that we have not seen over over a decade. What a way to start the New Year ... literally with a bang.

Then this morning ... 4 degrees with gusty cold winds and very grey skies ... an amazing sight stopped the City. A full double rainbow stretched across the entire City. It was utterly awesome. Photos have been flying all over the local social networks. If anyone missed it in the skies, he surely would have seen it in the pics.

Olive trees being blown sideways

The day continued to be very grey and cold. At 3.30pm it was only 5 degrees. And the wind is very gusty and very very cold. More rain and lightening predicted for midnight. I guess I'll be awake again. The thunder is simply too loud for me to sleep.

Happy New Year

New Year altar

So the Lunar New Year started here on a very cold morning. The sun's shining brightly but it didn't help the cold. But it felt right ... just like Chinese New Year should feel ... with thick coats and scarves and vapours each time you breathe or talk.

The  Arhcbishop paid a visit to the Chinese Sisters at 5pm and he greeted them on the occasion of the New Year. It was a very nice gesture. Then at 7pm the chinese speaking community of religious in Jerusalem met for the Reunion Dinner at the chapel of Sts. Simeon and Anna. It's a little chapel in the New City ... in fact right in the heart of the City's Mall. There were about 10 of us. Mass was in mandarin and it finished in 40 mins. As Ss. Simeon and Anna is a chapel for the hebrew speaking catholic community and in their Mass they use unleaven Matza of the jewish Passover.

Reunion Dinner 2018

After Mass we walked 50 meters down the road to Mandarin Restaurant where we ate the Reunion Dinner. There was another chinese family from Wen Zhou eating there and 2 chinese couples in at the other end of the restaurant. Dinner was simple: noodles, chicken, soup and toufu. It was the company that was important as all of us are lone students. We ate slowly and chatted till past 11pm then we had to get home. The weather outside was even colder and damp ... even a slight drizzle.

Home cooked lunch at the convent

This morning Mass was as usual. I had to open and work in the library till late morning then I went off to work in the other library. All the other workers in the libraries told me to take a day off. And I really wanted to so with the 4 hours left in the day, I went to the Chinese Sisters' convent for lunch. It was home cooked and very simple ... all vegetarian as is traditional for the first day of the New Year. The convent is now exactly 2 years old since its foundation. And the Archbishop yesterday praised the sisters for their handwork and contribution to the diocese.

After lunch I walked to Independence Park with a seminarian and we plucked branches of almond blossoms. They look so much like cherry blossoms and smell just as sweet. I had them arranged at my little altar in my room with some oranges. That feels a little more like the Lunar New Year.

Happy and Holy New Year to you all and thanks for all your generous support and help that make my mission here possible.

New Year's Eve

Sunset on the Rooster Year

It's the eve of the Lunar New Year. While the rest of Asia is celebrating the last day of the Year of the Rooster, here in Jerusalem there're only a handful of asians who will be festive. I think we number no more than 50 and the majority are students at the university. But I'll bet you the chinese restaurants will be packed with asians especially the tourists. As with every year for the past decade, I'm organizing a Reunion dinner for the chinese religious community. I've invited the religious from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Korea and Indonesia ... a total of 10. But I doubt everyone will be able to come. But before that we'll be celebrating Mass at the Chapel of Sts. Simeon and Anna in the New City.

The Iron pergola

The weather has been very cold again and though it's not likely to rain again (unlike a couple of days ago) it just might just dampen the Reunion Dinner.

And talking about dampen, there is this ugly iron-cast pergola at Damascus Gate for the Israeli security. There was nothing there and suddenly this morning it was there. In less than 10 hours a 2 story iron pergola was constructed. And it spoils the view of the most beautiful Gate in the Old City. The iron just does not go with the old yellow stones of the City wall. And it obstructs the panoramic view of thuebridge leading into the gate and it just totally mars the turrets and towers. It's such a shame that the architects have not put more consideration into preserving the spirit and aesthetics of this ancient beauty.

Well it's now time for class and then Bible Class, Adoration and Confessions at the M. Teresa's convent ... then a mad rush to Sts. Simeon and Anna for Mass and the Reunion Dinner.

Ash Wednesday

Noodles to end my 27 hr fast

Another Ash Wednesday. I'm responsible for the liturgy this week so this morning I had to preside the Mass. It took some preparation yesterday for the liturgy to go smoothly and this morning it well better than expected. I preached a 5 line sermon ... the shortest that I've given and it was effective. Everyone appreciated it ... in fact I think I heard some sighs of relief. Some people here can preach 20 minutes of nothing ... and we're terrified of it. A group of italian pilgrims came to join in the Mass so our chapel was packed. Most of our community was also present. Because of the crowd I had to ask another concelebrant to help with the distribution of the ashes. Anyway everything went fine.

Almond blossoms at
Damascus Gate

Most of us fasted today. I ate my last meal yesterday at 3pm and today I only had half a cup of coffee at breakfast and another half cup at 2pm. By 6pm, 27 hours without food I was still not feeling hungry though I was a little faint. I happened to pass by Mandarin restaurant and went to say Happy New Year to Ah Ling the manager. She said there was leftover noodles and insisted I took them home to eat. So my fasting ended after 27 hours. Others who ate dinner last night will end their fast at midnight. We take fasting seriously here.

Well Lent has begun so the Lenten rigours are in force. On Saturday midnight we'll have to go to the Holy Sepulchre for the Office of Readings and procession around the Empty Tomb. It'll end around 2pm and most of us will come home for a few hours sleep before celebrating Sunday Mass at 7am.

The onslaught of ultra-orthodox jews on other jewish denominations continue. One town's rabbi says mixed gender swimming pools are worse than incest. Another rabbi from another place called the reformed liturgy as rites for dogs.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/go-hold-bar-mitzvahs-for-dogs-orthodox-lawmaker-tells-reform-jews/
and
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-mixed-gender-swimming-makes-waves-in-kiryat-arba-1.5821287

On a different happy note, the first ever Israeli diplomats attended a UN Conference in muslim Malaysia. A nice thaw in relations.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-israeli-diplomats-attend-un-conference-in-malaysia/