Cold

Spanish youth
volunteers

No one can fathom why it was so cold yesterday. The weather bureau said it was 10 degrees. And there was no wind, though it was cloudy. Yet it felt like zero degrees. If anyone had dared not to wear winter clothes, yesterday was definitely the day they all wore it. Shawl, scarves, woolen hats, down jackets .... everything was worn. And the forecast is for rain the next few days. Actually most of us are hoping for snow ... though I hate shoveling snow from our terrace. A light snow would be fine. It would make Christmas complete.

Mind you it feels so cold in the night, even when I have 2 heaters on and a down blanket to cover, I still shiver and cannot sleep. Yesterday afternoon felt the same. I had 2 woolen pullovers on but I was still shivering. I had given away alot of my clothes to the poor so now I'll have to improvise with whatever I've got to stay warm.

Yesterday morning I was rather pleased because I brought lots of clothes and food to the MC convent in Bethlehem where the sisters care for some 13 abandoned and handicapped men. Our sisters in the kitchen had cooked some very good food but no one was home to eat it so instead of going to waste, I was told to bring it to the MC convent.  It was good to see those men eat extra treats. And the medicines I brought were exactly what the sisters wanted.

But the best surprise was to find a group of 4 spanish youths who spent their Christmas week doing volunteer service at the home. They washed the windows and kept the place clean. And they came for Mass as well. It's good to see young people still having a sense of responsibility, and concern for the poor. God bless them. Let's hope more youths will come and do the same. The sisters are not young and they appreciate as much help has they can get.

I had been out of the house for the past few days because of work so I had little time with Buddy and JJ. They would wake up at night when I come home and try to stay as close to me as possible. For the first few hours, they would sleep with me in bed. Then they'd wake up and fly back to their perch. Yesterday afternoon I decided to spend a few more hours with them and they wouldn't leave me. Buddy is much more mature ... 3 yrs now ... and would sit quietly and nibble my ears. But JJ is very playful and cannot stop waddling everywhere to play. I hope he'll outgrow this stage.

New Year

New Year sunrise

New Year's Day ... and I slept through the night while others were celebrating in the streets. I was told tourists were dancing and singing outside Damascus Gate at midnight. I didn't hear any fireworks ...  maybe the ultra-orthodox jews have banned it ... it could be idolatry. Anyway it was very low key. One thing though ... the sunrise was spectacular ... even surreal. The colours in the sky were amazing.

Adoration at chapel
of the MC brothers

For us instead it was the solemnity of the Mother of God. And how to celebrate? Going to Galilee with M. Teresa's sisters. We hired a minibus and went to Nazareth for Mass. That's the centre of Mother of God feast ... when Mary accepted the announcement of the angel to be the mother of Christ. We then visited the contemplative monastery of M. Teresa's brothers. They offered breakfast and we had a brief adoration of the Eucharist. It was a nice visit because  I have not met the brothers for a very long time.

After breakfast, we went to the Sea of Galilee where we visited Capharnaum and the Primacy of Peter church. The Mt of Beatitudes and the Miracle of the Loaves Church were closed due to the solemnity. But we enjoyed ourselves and the weather was very pleasant despite a slight drizzle at Magdala.    

Being winter the sky got dark very quickly by 4.30pm. We managed to come home safe and sound. And it was fun having picnic lunch on board the minibus instead of a regular table. Everyone was very relaxed and enjoyed ourselves very much.

But while up north by the Sea of Galilee we could hear bombings in the Syrian side. A good reminder that not all is well at the start of 2020.

Sylvester

Birth of Christ manuscript from
our library

It's the last day of 2019. In the Church calendar it's the feast of St. Sylvester ... and that's what it's called today here in Israel ... "Sylvester". They don't use the Gregorian calendar but they join in the celebrations of New Year's Eve. Usually there's a small fireworks display in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna in the gospels) but we're never sure what time it starts. And every year I'm already asleep when they start the display. Frankly I prefer to watch the fireworks from around the rest of the world.

This evening like most other religious houses in the Holy Land, we'll sing vespers and add the Te Deum as thanksgiving with Eucharistic Adoration. Looking back it was a year where health wise it wasn't too bad despite the numerous hospital visits and interventions. Thanks to you all who helped defray my medical bills ... it really means a lot. Work-wise the load was enormous ... and there were moments when I was crushed and totally helpless. But I survived. Charity-wise a lot was done through your generosity: we managed to sponsor many school children, pay rent, electricity/water, food and medication for several poor families, provided clothes and heat packs for the winter ... on the whole it was a great job. Congrats to you all for your generosity and support!

Sr. Sarita's birthday

Tomorrow's New Year Mass will be celebrated with your intentions in mind. I'll be celebrating it in Nazareth at the Annunciation Basilica.

One good piece of news for the new Year ... petrol prices in Israel will drop tonight. That'll help relief the financial plight of most people. And the other day we celebrated Sr. Sarita's birthday ... it's her first birthday in the Holy Land and it was good we were around to celebrate with her.

The new strain of influenza is scaring everyone to have vaccination shots ... such that there is now a shortage. Already 11 people died and over 100 in serious condition. It's a national scare.  https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/BJNdnmv1U?fbclid=IwAR3AcevnmU24ee6U0-0IzoHxOt0hxo_V2uJtC3CDRvFJ0uxkNwuNwhMCnRU

Year ending

Hanukkah musicians in the plaza

It's the last night of the 8-day jewish festival of Hanukkah. I was out in the New City to buy some necessities ... something I've been avoiding for the past days as it was too cold ... but the birds have no more food so I really needed to go buy some. Buddy and JJ are fretting because they have to eat fruit and veggies instead of seeds.

Darkness falls at 5pm and entertainers come out to all the plazas in Jerusalem, each doing his own stuff. At Cat's Plaza, there was a giant hanukiot (9 candle stand) serving as a podium for musicians. In the neighborhood of Nahalat Shiva, a marching band with illuminated hats were making loud music. And in Zion Square, a giant hanukiot was waiting to be lit while crowds milled around and illuminated stilt-walkers weaved among them. It's a joyous feast celebrating light .... but on its darker side, it's a celebration of Judaism over other religions. We've been getting a spate of anti-christian attacks these few days. Yesterday 2 jewish men came to our church and spat at the cross. When tourists and guides protested, they attacked the christians. Then they called the police and accused christians of attacking them in the name of anti-semitism. How long will these people hide behind that excuse of antisemitism while perpetrating anti-christian acts?  

Hanukiot at Zion Square

It's almost the end of the year. 2019 passed very quickly. Thank God we had come very close to war ... several in fact ... but everything calmed down. We survived the butter crisis and the yoghurt crisis. The drought came and was washed out by last week's storm. The US embassy moved to Jerusalem but everything fizzled out ... no one cares. 2 elections came and went ... and still we have no govt. We survived 2019.

Holy Family feast

At St. Anthony's
church, Jaffa

It's Holy Family Day. Most have gone to Nazareth to celebrate the feast at the house of the Holy Family ... also known as the church of St. Joseph. I spent my morning after Mass instead cleaning the sacristy of the Armenian Catholic church. There were lots of laundry to do: purificators, alter linens etc. Then it was back home to clean the courtyard. The storm of the past 2 days have littered the courtyard with leaves and branches. It needed some tidying.

In the afternoon visitors began to come. 12pm one, 2pm another and 3pm another. Not sure if any others are coming later. I must go and buy food for Buddy and JJ as they have no seeds left to eat. Poor boys. And they have hardly seen me the past few days as I was away working in the parish. So today they've stuck close to me ... on my shoulder and arm all day. I try my best to play with them ... but JJ who is almost 1 yr old is very mischievous and noisy ... like a typical teenager. It's non-stop playing for him everyday. That means chewing everything in sight ... especially electric wires. I have to watch him all the time so he doesn't get into big trouble. Buddy is older ... 3 yrs now ... and is much more settled. He'd just sit on my shoulder and go to sleep. No problems with him.

The rains of the past 2 days have caused the Sea of Galilee to rise by 20cm. It made up for the drought for the past year. Flash floods have led to 2 deaths so far. It's stopped raining today and this should last till next weekend when rains are predicted.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/days-of-heavy-rainfall-raise-sea-of-galilee-by-some-20cm/?fbclid=IwAR3nL31fvUWuTruBZ4Ag6JU2sqFXj8CWTEEtqeJfENZqu2NTI_pgUjCEfSM

And while the winter gets harsher in Syria, thousands of refugees are on the run again ... govt. bombings in the north-west where most christians are seeking refuge have led to a bitter exodus for safer areas. Our poor christians are so persecuted but the world continues to ignore them. In Nigeria, christians were killed on Christmas Day by ISIS ... but hardly any noticed is given around the world. What a terrible way to end the year ... and begin another.

Holy Innocents

4am and heavy rain

It really rained yesterday ... all day and all night. In your country, you'd call it a storm. We've not had one that lasted so long .... practically 24 hrs. There were rumbles of thunder and the wind was very strong. And I was working outdoors for 18 hrs. Started at 4am going to the Holy Sepulchre to say Mass for a group of sisters. And it was raining heavily. After that we toured the basilica till 7.30am. Then from 9am to 1.30pm I brought them to see the Jewish Quarter and the archeological exhibits. Then from 2.30pm to 5pm I brought them to the Gethsemane and the shrines in the Kidron Valley. All the time it was raining very hard. We were all wet and I was afraid I'd catch pneumonia. I was coughing very badly.

Quicho the cat

Then at 5.30 I had to rush 1km to East Jerusalem and meet a group. I was extremely tired and breathless. I didn't think I'd make it. I was having blackout flashes. And my legs felt like jelly. When that finished .... and it was raining very hard all the time... I had to walk 2kms uphill to West Jerusalem to meet another group. By the time I got home it was 10pm and I really thought I'll die. It was a punishing schedule but I had to do it and I survived ... even in the storm. It was quite an achievement.

This morning started also at 4am when I had to go back to Jaffa ... in the storm. It's Holy Innocents Day. Visibility was very poor in the highway ... and it was very foggy ... so our car had to go very slowly. At 8am I had to bring our seminarians around Jaffa to visit some important sites. And it was a storm so heavy, umbrellas were overturned and everyone was utterly drenched. I took the taxi home at 12pm because I really couldn't stay in the cold anymore. I was feeling really sick. But it was a very fun morning ... with our philosophy seminarians on their christmas holidays. And our cat Quicho in our Jaffa monastery was very playful and kept us entertained when we had breakfast.

By the way there's a new strain of flu in Israel, already 11 people have died and 90+ in serious condition. Maybe it's time I got my flu shots.

Stephen aday

Spot where Stephen was killed

It's St. Stephen day ... so say T.S. Elliot in his "Murder in the Cathedral". The Greek Orthodox Church now stands over the stoney slope where we believe Stephen was stoned to death. There was solemn vespers there yesterday evening .... and lots of candles were placed over the stone slope. Right now solemn Mass is being celebrated over his tomb ... which is under the altar of the Dominican priory outside the walls of the Old City.

The weather is really wintry. This morning I had to walk to the Ivrea and it was cold and wet. Now it's drizzling heavily and the wind is so strong the drops cuts into the flesh. I wanted to go and deliver the chives to the chinese sisters but because of the weather, I've decided to stay home. Since yesterday I've been coughing very bad ... like an onset of pneumonia. Serious. I need to stay home and warm. But this morning, in the strong drizzle, I decided to work in the garden. It's the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs ... and I had to repot the canna lilies that are killing our rose bush. Those bulbs have grown so deep into the giant pot of heirloom rose bush I had to use a spade to dig the out.

The rest of the day will be slow ... I need to rest. Tomorrow begins a hectic day on excursion with some nuns and Saturday it'll be excursions with the seminarians. No rest till hopefully Sunday.

News just in ... a teen was swept away by strong currents as he and a friend tried to cross a stream on their all-terrain buggy. They should have known better. Nature here is raw and vicious ... never take anything for granted.  https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByR4Hbz1I?fbclid=IwAR2ihv58JJpJCkls6DLDg2ng-Wd5yOzECM-2VFpWSWmXIbDEOFFGuVPkwcU