Christmas

Christmas bouquet with berries

It's Christmas ... our sanctuary of St. Peter's in Jaffa was packed all through the night. Every hour there was a Mass in a different language. I had the first vigil Mass which was in english. It was standing room only. Half the crowd was jewish. They came to see how Christmas is celebrated. And they packed every other Mass as well ....  polish, spanish, hebrew ...

There were no stop confessions especially in russian ... lots of them coming to ring our doorbell. And the indian Mass had 2000 people ... so many there were some 12 priests and seminarians helping to distribute communion. And being a holiday we had no cook so we had to buy cooked food the morning so we could microwave it for lunch and dinner. No time to cook. I bought some thai street food from the Carmel market 2 kms away ... and luckily they were large portions because suddenly for dinner 5 others showed up and ate it a well. We had papaya salad, pahd thai, tom yam soup and pahd krapao.

Thai street food for dinner

After the Christmas morning Mass I came home to help in our kitchen. We have no workers as well so our sisters had to do everything. Too stressed. They could't enjoy Christmas. I bought bread and laid the table and clean the kitchen so they didn't have to do all that ... and can have more free time to enjoy Christmas.

It started snowing in the north this morning ... now let's see if it spreads down to the south here. It's dreadfully cold and the wind is extremely strong and cold. Lots of stuff have been blown down from houses. I was nearly knocked down by the wind while walking to church.

Christmas Eve

Choppy sea at Jaffa

It's Christmas Eve ... and it's very cold in Jaffa by the sea. I arrived late because many roads in Tel Aviv were blocked due to works on the new tram line. My driver got dreadfully lost ... but luckily I saw the tall spire of the Russian Church ahead and directed our driver from there. So after setting off from Jerusalem at 4.45am ... I only reached Jaffa at 6.30am and was too late for the morning Mass. And though Jaffa is many degrees warmer than Jerusalem, it actually feels a lot colder. Maybe it's the sea breeze. The sea is very very choppy and everyone is saying it'll rain heavily tomorrow. I doubt it. The sky is just simply deep blue and cloudless. Then again, anything can happen.

Carmel Market this morning

I took a long walk down to Carmel Market in Tel Aviv ... about 2kms away. It's always lively there ... especially now during the Hanukkah feast. Tourists and locals mingle in the tiny streets of the market selling from food to vegetables to clothes to religious souvenirs. A very strange assortment of goods. Most from China ... as the discarded cartons are printed boldly. And I found the Thai cookout ...a really tiny place ... that I once bought Pahd Krapao 2 years ago but since couldn't find it. In the veggie stalls there were lots of chives ... which are not available in Jerusalem for some reason ... so I bought 3 bunches for our chinese sisters. Then it was a long walk back to our Jaffa house for lunch.

Stall selling sufganiot

The walk was very refreshing ... the powerful sea waves bashing the promenade, spraying salty seawater on the walkway. Jogger and strollers in thick hooded jackets skipped out of the way. It felt really good to be out ... away from the cramp, tense, polluted atmosphere of Jerusalem. Spending Christmas Eve here is great.

Anyway I'm actually here to serve the midnight Mass and tomorrow's morning Mass because of a shortage of priests. Our only english-speaking priest has to serve one other parish and 2 other chapels, covering 3 cities, and it's practically to rush from one to another in one night, so I was asked to come and help.

Anyway the tranquil atmosphere is great for my preparation of tonight's and tomorrow's homilies. Back to work.

One more day

Our indian sisters
singing carols

Yes ... one more day and it'll be Christmas. Another Christmas. 2019 comes to and end and a new decade begins ... 2020. How fast time has flown. And to make it even more stark and real, last night I met up with a schoolmate from college days. That's 38 years ago. He still looked the same except for the white hairs ... which is great because I've lost all mine. It was good to reminisce and shared the missing years when after college, each of us went our own ways.

Yesterday I started working on the pine bouquets that I do every year for our refectory for Christmas. But this year I didn't go to the park at midnight to cut the pine branches. Last year it rained and I caught pneumonia. This year I got the nuns to cut the branches from the numerous pines in the parish garden of Beit Hanina. They brought back 3 huge bags of it ... but though it seemed a lot, they just managed to create 8 small bouquets and one large one in the middle of the refectory.

Pine bouquet in the refectory

Our indian sisters yesterday came to our refectory to sing carols and wish everyone a happy Christmas. It's a little early ... but on Christmas day itself most of us are away ... either in Bethlehem or celebrating Masses for various communities ... so few will be at home to celebrate. We'll probably meet up on Boxing Day. It's not much of a holiday for us because the numerous Masses t celebrate around the country.

The temp is now 9 degrees but strangely it feels very hot .... I'm only wearing a T-shirt. The weather is no longer what it was. Nevertheless most of us christians are very happy because only a while ago the Israeli govt has granted permission for some christians in Gaza to come to Bethlehem and celebrate Christmas.

Tension is in the air since Israel allegedly fired into Syria but was intercepted by syrian military. The northern border is jittery ... and the new year doesn't seem to get off on a good start.

Nablus visit

Traffic jam in Nablus city centre 

Yesterday was another very busy day. I had woken up at 2am to finish a translation job so I could be free during the day to do other urgent chores. Managed to finish the translation by 9am and then it was a rush to Nablus 60 km north of Israel. because it's in Palestine, there's need to pass through checkpoints ... and there the traffic jam can be horrendous. Then once inside Nablus city, the traffic at the city centre was even worse. All in all it took almost 1 hr and 40 minutes to reach the MC convent. Nablus by the way is ancient Sebastiya and eve more ancient Shechem where Joseph 11th son of Jacob is buried, and where Jesus met the Samaritan woman by the well.

Once there we had to carry all the donated food to the convent and then celebrate Mass for the sisters who have no priest. The sisters there care for some 20 handicapped and sick women from all around the West Bank. After that it was another quick rush back to Jerusalem where I had to do another translation job for 2 hours. Then it was bible conference and confessions with the MC sisters in Jerusalem. Ended by 8.30pm and I was ready to sleep without dinner. Simply too exhausting.

Fresh fruit for sale in Nablus

This morning was we had solemn Mass at the Armenian Catholic church ... solemn because today both armenian seminarians came and they chanted the creed for the first time. Everything was sung and the readings were all in armenian ... another first. For the past 2 Sundays, we've also been visiting families and blessing their homes. The families love it especially because they have not had their homes blessed for almost 20 years ... because they have no resident priest. I hope to visit a few more families during this Christmas period.

There's a good article on one of our friars who works in Syria ... a true hero. Read it  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2019-12/the-franciscan-who-stayed-in-war-torn-syria.html?fbclid=IwAR2JSEePq5eFMoN3RYDk47FiZHlKCEhrUUTqG-LjbO2OSw920Nxbea3MvGw

Armed police are all over our neighbourhood, behind our house. I think it's our neighbour again ... he's very violent and is in and out of jail regularly. He must have caused some trouble again and the police are watching him. 3 weeks ago he started a fight with another neighbour ... so violent that the police had to close the road and make arrests. That's the environment I live in.

Christmas gatherings

Chinese dinner

We had a nice evening get-together for Christmas ... the chinese priests and religious in Jerusalem. There're not many of us ... about 10. Not all could join in. But we had Mass in the Casa Nova chapel and then dinner at the IHM convent. The sisters prepared northern dumplings which I love .... and southern chinese hotpot. Simple fare but very filling. We chatted alot, catching up from the past 6 months that we haven't met qs a community. I did pity the sisters though as they had alot of washing up to do.

After dinner I gave them a small present each ... a small panettone with a baby Jesus made from clay. It's very well done by the nuns in Bethlehem and it's very cute. Everyone loved it. Sr. Magdalen gave everyone a bar of chocolate. And of course we had to organize for the next gathering which will be on Chinese New Year. It's very early on Jan 25th which is a Saturday. And everyone seems to be busy. We'll have to reach a compromise.

Earlier on in the day our library staff also gathered for a simple Christmas exchange of greetings. Almost all 8 staff made it. We had panettone and a home-baked cake and lots of relax time to chat. It's good to show some appreciation for their hard work and I'm sure they all liked it.

But outside there was tension on the southern border with Gaza. They fired rockets into Israel again ... twice ... and each time Israel resounded by bombing their weapons storages. And the anti-arab attacks also continued with 2 arab cars burnt by jewish extremists with threats scrawled on walls. Things are not looking good.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-two-cars-set-ablaze-hateful-slogans-sprayed-in-west-bank-hate-crime-1.8292801?fbclid=IwAR3vKw1P-vB6yA9iGVY9jU2UwRZqVPOtVYezuIv-Im0Z7n_eEy5FP_4uaRc

Stromata

Relic of Manger close-up

Another day closer to Christmas. The decorations at New Gate are almost finished but sadly we cannot put anything up of New Gate or outside it ... because ultra-orthodox jews object. Somehow we must go through this every year. A little tolerance could go a long way but in this City only the extremists rule. Those who shout the loudest reign. The message of Christmas ... of peace and love ... has no place in their hearts or minds.

Grilled chicken

More attacks on arab property by jewish extremists. Cars and buildings defaced with threats. It's appalling how this can continue 3 weeks in a row and nobody is arrested. And you can be sure in the newspapers, reports of archaeological finds disparaging Christianity will soon be printed. It happens every year at Christmas and Easter.

Now news coming in to say Israel has turned off the electricity to Gaza because Gaza has not been paying its debts. Imagine the poor people suffering in this cold without heating and lights or hot food.

Somehow all the news today is not good. I guess that's all the more important for us to keep the hope and faith in such times. So ... just to end off in a happy note, I'm putting a photo of the grilled chicken I bought in Bethlehem yesterday. It's the only shop left who does it the traditional way ... whole chicken deboned, flattened in 2 halves and roasted over a charcoal fire. I love it.

6 days more

Archbishop & MC sister in Gaza

Our Archbishop (the Apostolic Administrator. We don't have a patriarch) spent 4 days in Gaza celebrating Christmas with the 150 Catholics inside the war torn enclave. It was a great highlight for them as they have been denied entry permissions to Bethlehem or Israel. The MC sisters have 2 homes for elderly abandoned women and handicapped children which the Archbishop visited and stayed for lunch. The visit strengthened the little community and it was a big reminder for the rest of us what Christmas is all about .... the Word becoming a helpless human in a war torn district of the Roman Empire.  https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Syao1MVCS?fbclid=IwAR0WFA9-KquGR-1iiYL5PeEfGqOTBuwA-qpIVP0dfmDOhiME--esXWJU8Io

Bethlehem's
Christmas tree

Yesterday's fighter planes and rockets are now explained as we learn the jets bombed and killed an almost successful infiltrator at the Gaza border. There's been tensions down south. Luckily our Archbishop had left Gaza by then.

Some families have been cooking food for me as a christmas gift. I've been helping them through your generosity to pay for their children's school fees and they want to show their gratitude. It's very nice of them and I can't possibly eat so much food so I gave most away to M. Teresa's sisters.

Christmas will probably be very cold as the forecast for this weekend is 3 degrees at the lowest. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy that. But I'll certainly be keeping warm as much as I can while doing my Christmas obligations. I'll have one vigil Mass on the 24th and a morning Mass on the 25th. That'll keep me busy for the feast.

We've begun singing the O antiphons for Vespers. Nice ancient gregorian chants to inject some Christmas feel into the season. It's 6 days more to Christmas.