Feast of the Immaculate

Car ride in the rain

Yesterday's rain continued all through the night. Though it was mostly heavy drizzle in Jerusalem, it was stormy up in the north. A 17 yr old was struck by lightening there. But things don't stop on the meteorological level. Down in Hebron at the tombs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 2 stabbing attempts were foiled by the army. And last night ultra-orthodox jews rioted in central Jerusalem because the police had arrested one of their kin who dodged the military draft. So much tensions everywhere, it's spoiling the festive spirit. And I don't just mean Christmas. The jewish feast of Hanukkah falls on Dec 21 and it's one feast that stirs up nationalistic feelings.

Pine branches &
cones on the Madonna
statue

Today the rain continued ... and it's really rain ... a downpour with thunder and lightning. The temp remains around 9 degrees and we even had to turn on the heater in our refectory. It's the feast of the Immaculate Conception and I remember during this feast decades ago, it gets really cold and we have our woollen habits and mantles on.

The cold weather is just right for Christmas. With festive lights all along the Christian Quarter and giant Christmas trees on the roofs of several institutes ... the feeling of Christmas is catchy. In the evenings when the lights come on and carols are blared throughout the Quarter, not only christians but muslims and jews also come and see the festivities.

Last night I had to go to the St. Vincent de Paul convent to meet a group. Travelling by car up the Mt. of Olives in the rain was an experience going back 30 years. And luckily for me, the convent garden also had lots of pine trees so I had the gardener cut 3 branches for me. Killing 2 birds with one stone. Spent some time in the morning arranging them at our Madonna statue in the refectory.

More rain

Rain inside Damascus Gate

Tensions rose again when Gaza fired 3 rockets into Israel yesterday. Israel responded by bombing several military posts. It's a sudden escalation which saw a renewal of protests at the Gaza border .... something which stopped for the past 3 weeks. Everything is so unpredictable. We just need to be on our toes.

It drizzled a lot last night and into the early morning. The sky is cloudy and grey and it's 11 degrees but the weather forecast says it feels like 8 degrees. It actually does ... in fact it feels even lower than 8 degrees. One third of our house is sick with fever and coughs. The other third has already gone home for the holidays. And only one third is active enough to be out and about. I'm ok so far ... touch wood .... but I'll have to go out to the park to gather pine branches to decorate Our Lady's statue in our refectory. It's the feast of the Immaculate Conception today but being an Advent Sunday, the feast is postponed to tomorrow. I could buy fresh flowers for tomorrow but in 5 days I still have to put up the pine branches so I might as well do it today and save from buying any flowers.

Awnings are extended

It's 2pm and I'm still debating if I should go to the park and cut the pine branches. The thought of trudging in the mud and braving the cold winds is not very nice. But the evening it might get worse ... much colder and winds much stronger.

Last night I met a chinese group and there was a chinese doctor among them. He checked my tongue and wrist (don't know what you call it) and diagnosed that I have a weak tummy, high blood, diabetes, headaches etc... So he started blood-letting on my all 10 fingers! It was painful! Every finger had 3 pricks and blood was squeezed out. Apparently my blood is too thick and they had a hard time squeezing it out. And the initial blood flow was very dark.  Anyway after that I did feel better ... and I actually slept 7 hours without waking up. I would have it done again if it didn't hurt so much.

Rain

Rain at Damascus Gate

It rained in the evening yesterday. We were quite disappointed that it didn't rain in the afternoon as forecast but by 6pm it started to rain hard. It didn't last too long ... about an hour or so but it was quite enough. Then the drizzle continued through the night. It was cold ... 6 or 7 degrees during the night. And very humid. I was only worried not about getting wet but slipping on the wet smooth pavement stones. I went home slowly and carefully. I did go to the 24 hour bakery to buy bread on my way home ... and people were generally happy that it rained. Nobody carried an umbrella. It's normal for  locals to walk in the rain and get wet. They consider it a blessing. Tourists on the other hand were carrying umbrellas. You can tell the difference a mile away.

Rain at Musrara

Today the air is clean and cold but it's not raining. Winter plants are growing new shoots ... like the roses. I should start pruning them tomorrow so they'll grow stronger in this cool weather.

There are so many groups coming these days ... I've met 5 groups in 5 days now. Thanks to their generosity I've collected lots of winter clothes which they will not need back in their home countries. The poor street sleepers need warm clothing and M. Teresa's sisters go and distribute the donations to them.

Butter shortage

The butter shortage in the country is hitting us at home. We have no butter. There is none on sale in the shops. A visiting prof wanted some butter on his toast but we couldn't find any. Too bad. Now let's hope it's only butter and not spread to other essential foodstuffs.

Rain clouds over Jaffa Gate

And the sky is awfully dark. The dark is for rain this afternoon till evening. We need the rain ... but it's terribly inconvenient to have to walk home in the rain and the very slippery pavement stones. The rest of the students are searching for portable radiators and heaters as the rooms are now very cold in the nights. I've emptied half my wardrobe and gave them to M. Teresa's sisters because the street-sleepers are suffering for the bitter cold outdoors. They also need blankets so I'm going around the monasteries asking and collecting them.

There was an air attack in Syria early this morning which destroyed an iranian weapons arsenal. It was the Saudis who reported it but everyone is eyeing Israel. Well let that be a silent lesson .... don't prepare arsenals to shoot Israel and think you can get away with it. Every country has a right to self-defense. Nipping in the bud is alot more effective than damage control. But it makes the country very tense ... security helicopters have been circling over us most of yesterday. Small price to pay for a safer future.

There was a wonderful piece of news ... Tel Aviv University has come up with a remedy to reduce pancreatic cancer and its side-effects. Let's pray and hope it'll work and be available cheaply.

Christmas shopping

Christmas shopping

 The drizzle has stopped but the temp continues to hover around 10 degrees or a little higher. But forecast is 6 degrees on Friday. Marvelously wintry. Christmas is right on time for such weather. Now if only it'll snow ...

Tensions with Jordan is rising as the Israeli PM is discussing annexing Jordanian land in the Jordan Valley. It doesn't look good. Most people think it's the PM's ploy to remain in power by creating a war. A 3rd election is due in 2 weeks and the PM will lose immunity from impeachment when he steps done or loses the election. A war is always the solution to any crisis. But with attacks from the south in Gaza and the north in Syria, that's the last thing we need ...

Christmas shopping

I've decided to take a slow day today. Fatigue is catching is on me and I can't continue with the workload and pace of the past month. In the afternoon I decided to do some Christmas shopping. I visited the shop in the Old City but the prices were quite steep. So I walked to East Jerusalem to my usual Christmas shop run by a Greek Orthodox couple. It was good to see them again ... once a year. I think it's important to show support for our small and poor christian community struggling to make a living. I don't have much money to spend but even a little thing bought will be an encouragement. I bought a couple of mini-Christmas trees about 5 inches high as gifts to our indian sisters working in the kitchen.

Christmas is huge in Bethlehem ... not just religiously but economically as well. Once a year the locals get to earn some money from the boom in tourism during the festive season. There's a surge in new hotels and private B&Bs. Restaurants are also opening up everywhere. That's a good sign. The people deserve a break.  https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Sy00mCpXTS?fbclid=IwAR17oSWK6gwaACApbwBwvECnyPVya-zBiGH2JcIg6Sk-rA5iCYRAP4NUr08

Cold wet night

Damascus Gate ... cold and wet

As forecast, it drizzled all night. Even before the drizzles came I was walking home from work at 9pm and the paving stones were all wet from the humidity. It gets very slippery and everyone was walking slowly and holding on to the street railings to avoid an accident. It's been like that for 3 nights now. Unbelievably wet and humid. It started to drizzle again at 11am but now at noon the sun is up. It's still cold though ... not more than 11 degrees. Everyone is wearing thick jackets and hoodies. Winter is finally here. There's a Christmas feel in the air.

Wet streets

The giant Christmas Tree at Manger Square in Bethlehem was lit last Saturday and I think this week it'll be Jerusalem's turn. Ultra-Orthodox jews are repulsed by the sight of Christmas trees which they regard as idolatry. And they have enough influence to get the police to stop us from putting up Christmas Trees in our Christian Quarter.

KFC is back in Israel ... the 4th time. Locals do not take kindly to KFC which is not kosher. And the Colonel has stiff competition because israelis are experts in chicken dishes. Let's see how this time KFC fares. MacDonalds has survived but only because it adopted kosher food and preparation. Wendy's was here 30 years ago and it left just as quickly. So did Buffalo Wings. You should know that restaurants and food-chains who do not observe kosher have to pay a fine though they're allowed to operate. This raises the cost of the food. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/KFC-officially-returning-to-Israel-in-fourth-but-not-kosher-attempt-609543?fbclid=IwAR2591gGFvBUb1tE_twFNoojjBArekhz_Eh2nxqfczZV_lmPPcH3kvcngnQ

Last week Jordan conducted a military exercise the border with Israel in view of an invasion by Israel. Tensions have been rising because of US recognition of jewish settlements in Palestine and the Israeli PM's plans to annex land from Palestine and Jordan. That's not a nice prospect when there's also tensions with Syria in the north and Gaza in the south.  https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-why-jordan-conducted-a-major-military-drill-against-an-israeli-invasion-1.8203913?fbclid=IwAR2nOvnrer0PmZ-rNPapP5WA2_PPiY6VEB-BLEaWfEMOIDG3HrDN2sTWYs0

Of ordinations and Advent

Advent wreathe

It's Advent. Yesterday began the 1st of the solemn entries of the Custos into Bethlehem ... a custom from the Crusader times. But yesterday was different ... the Custos brought the relic of the Manger into the Basilica of the Nativity during the solemn entry. I'm pretty skeptical about that relic. Firstly it was  dreadful disappointment ... 1cm bit of wood when the original is a meter long. And the headlines over the world is "Manger returns to Holy Land". Well no ... a sliver of it came back to Bethlehem, not the whole Manger. Secondly anyone who's lived in this land knows that mangers are made from stone and not wood. In the desert region where Bethlehem is, there are hardly any trees whose wood could have been used for a wooden manger. Anyway there were few local christians who showed up at the Notre Dame Centre when the relic arrived from Rome in Jerusalem. Most of the crowd were tourists and foreigners.

4 new acolytes

I can't remember much about yesterday. I've been forgetting so many things lately. Was reading a book when someone rang the bell and I went to answer the door ... got back an couldn't find my book. Couldn't find my keys the day before. Couldn't find my jacket. Then I can't remember people's names. Total blank. I think I'm mentally exhausted.

2 new deacons with cardinal

OK now it's suddenly come back to me ... yesterday morning my students were ordained deacons and acolytes. It was a festive event as they're all africans and the african community from Tel Aviv came to show their support and there were many cultural happenings, dances, singing during and after the liturgy. The seminarians are all from the Missionaries of Africa or popularly known as White Fathers because of the habit they wear. Their community just had one of their members made a cardinal ... and he returned from Rome to ordain the seminarians.

Yesterday an arab teenager was killed near Hebron when he and others threw firebombs at Israeli soldiers. Police presence in the Old City was stepped up. Security helicopters were flying overhead most of the time. And 2 of our neighbours started a fight that shook our neighbourhood. They were very very violent ... and the police had to come in and close of the street till things called down.