Chill

Winter rose

 Monday ... and it's chilly. Noon time was no higher than 19 degrees though the sun was shining brightly. I went to work at 8.30am in a T-short and a light autumn hoodie. But by noon it was chilly enough that I had to wear a thicker hoodie over the autumn hoodie. People outside were wearing down jackets and woollen beanies. Food stalls selling hot food were making brisk business as people stopped to eat or drink something hot to keep warm. 

And in the Christian Quarter, shops have opened selling christmas decorations. It's not even Advent. And such shops are considered non-essential. But the police close an eye. It's the festive season and people need business. People are too poor to buy these decorations this year, but we pray even a little business might help bring some cheer to some others.

The chilly weather is making the roses bloom in clusters. My little terrace with a row of 10 rose bushes are very fragrant with the blossoms. And the marigolds are also blooming. It's wonderful to see the golden flowers with the pink roses together. The Spring bulbs on the other hand  are sprouting lots of strong leaves. I think their blossoms next year will be profuse. Looking forward to them.

Meantime my right heel is hurting even more. Walking is excruciating and I limp badly as a result. Still I continue to walk because if I don't, the muscles and nerves might get worse. And yesterday the sisters of Ivrea called to say one of their teachers in their kindergarten tested positive for coronavirus so their kindergarten is closed from today and all the sisters had to get tested. I was there the whole of last week to celebrate Mass ... so I hope I didn't catch it. I'll be watching for the symptoms.

Feast day

On MC blackboard

 Another very busy week. One main event was the storm that came overnight during midweek. Thunder and lightening. The coastal cities were inundated but Jerusalem only had a few hours of showers. Still it was good ... it felt like winter. Towards Friday it was sunny again though temp. never went beyond 20 degrees. Last night again we had thunder and showers all night. It's about 16 degrees right now and very dark gloomy skies. You could see everyone in winter clothes ... hoodies and thick jackets. It's so cold at night that I have my small heater on.

MC nuns with gifts

Last Tuesday was my feastday - St. Leo the Great. I went to Bethlehem to deliver medicines to the MC nuns and they prepared a cake for after Mass with them. They had the usual song and dance (literally). Tambourines and arab drum banging loudly to their songs. And they also had quails' eggs which a neighbour gave them! Haven't eaten them in ages! They gave me a dozen to bring home. The sisters here care for several handicap men whom families have abandoned. It was good to be with the sisters and celebrate the feastday.

Cake & quails' eggs

Work continues to be very demanding. Constant requests for books to be scanned or photocopied are numerous and I cannot manage anymore as the photocopy machine finally broke down under the load. 

Healthwise my right heel and left ankle continue to hurt very much. Even the right knee is weak and I fell several times. And a tooth cracked so it hurts as well. Not a good week. But life goes on. The viral infection remains at 500+ a day so that's good news for us. Let;s hope 2021 brings us better luck!

Panettone homemade

 

Sunrise at Rockefeller Park

The weather continues to be cold and humid .... feels like rain, there was thunder this evening and the sky is red ... but we're not quite sure. Last night was 13 degrees and the highest today was 19 degrees. Chilly but pleasant. This week is my turn to go to the Sisters of Ivrea convent to celebrate Mass. It's 1km outside the Old City, and though many of our younger guys could get there in 10 mins, I need 25 mins to half an hour. Old age has caught up, and my painful ankle and knee and asthma just carry the old body for 1km anymore. I leave at 5.30am which is very dark during this winter, and when Mass ends the sun is just rising at 6.30am. I have to pass by the Rockefeller Park and the sunrise there is beautiful. 

It's been a full morning of financial work at our economato today  ... I get to greet all the workers there, some I have known for decades. It's good seeing them. After dealing with all the transations for bying books and renewing subcriptions, I managed to get a sum of money to buy medicines for M. Teresa's sisters in Bethlehem. They need alot of medicine now that the flu season has started. The poor and handicap that they care for have low resistance, and with the corona pandemic still hanging around, the situation is not good for them. So the sisters asked for lots of medicines. I guess I'll need a couple fo seminarians to help me carry them. It's literally a carload.

Homemade panettone

Tomorrow is my onomastico ... or feastday or patron saint's day ... St. Leo the Great. My community decided to celebrate it yesterday (Sunday) instead when everyone is home. One of our students baked 4 panettone ... a christmas bread. That was great ... nobody here has seen how panettone is baked before. There was also a chocolate cake baked by our new cook Georgette. And there was roasted lamb for the main dish! My favourite! It was cooked till it was so tender, the meat slipped off the shank. It was a good meal ... one of the rare moments when I actually eat a full meal at a proper mealtime! 

Retreat day

 Back on the blog again. As you can see I've been up to my neck with work ... no time even to eat. I eat only one meal at 3pm as every hour is packed with some work or other. It's hectic. But I try to get as much work finished as possible and not leave it for tomorrow.

Bethesda Pool archeological
site

Yesterday I had a good break though. Went to next door St. Anne's Church which includes the Bethesda Pool where Jesus healed the paralytic by the pool. The chinese sisters and I and Fr. Abraham our student who's a missionary in Taiwan decided to have a day's retreat.  It was a great place. Despite being inside the Old City and surrounded by muslim houses, the enormous grounds were very silent. Birds chirp and sing among the huge cypress trees, bees buzzing through the rosemary bushes ... even a preying mantis was basking in the sun. We spent the day meditating on the explanations of the Fathers of the Church regarding the healing of the paralytic at this Pool of Bethesda. At 5pm we ended with a Mass ... and it was very dark by then. Using torchlights to get to the main gate, we noticed lots of frogs and toads jumping all over the ground. I've not seen toads and frogs all these 30 years here. It was amazing. I guess it's because of the abundance of water in the pools that's letting these amphibians breed. All in all it was a good refreshing day .... no work, no phones, no computers.

Our Patriarch comes home

Our Patriarch has returned to claim his diocese. It was a very low key affair as corona restrictions don't allow large gatherings. The Patriarch made his solemn entry through Jaffa Gate ... a ritual since Crusader times late in the night. Clerics and lay people had gathered to welcome him ... and tough the police were there, they did not stop the procession. The installation of the Patriarch which usually takes place in the co-cathedral in solemn ceremony was reduced to a reading of the papal decree around a meeting table. The annals of the patriarchate will not let this unusual event go by without photographic and audio/visual testimony.

I'm back in reality ... and even though it's Sunday, I've started work. Another gruelling schedule this week. Need food reinforcement ..... hahahahahahahaha.

Winter storm

Storm over Bethlehem

 One of the biggest storms we've had all year ... floods in the southern cities and desert. Jerusalem being up in the mountains, was hit by the storm till last night and today. Strong winds and heavy rain brought the temperature down to 13 degrees during the day. Everyone had sweaters and woollen clothes on. It felt like the middle of winter. I had to use my small heater last night as I was shivering in the early morning hours.

I had to go to Bethlehem this morning to bring food and money to M. Teresa's sisters. Our seminarians had helped me bring 6 bags of winter clothes to them yesterday. They were too heavy for me to carry alone. Their convent had no electricity due to the storm. But after one minute after my arrival, it came back on. What a relief! We had Mass and I asked the sisters for some rose cuttings. The rose plants I gave them several years ago have huge blooms .... very healthy. I wanted to plant them in pots in my house now ... a sort of return home for the roses. The sisters also cooked chapati for me to celebrate my feast day next week. That was nice of them. I might stop by again next week to bring more winter clothes

Bethlehem street in rain

The streets in Bethlehem were packed with people, shops and hawkers plying their trade despite the storm. Some people wore masks but majority did not. Distancing is an impossibility in the narrow packed streets. No wonder the infection rate there is very high. In fact the main checkpoint to enter Bethlehem from Israel is closed. There is a danger that carriers from the town might enter Jerusalem and cause another spike in the infection. I had to enter Bethlehem from another village 3 kms south and returned to Jerusalem through the desert route passing Shepherds Field.   

The weekend is forecast to see sunny weather again. Strangely I hope it won't last too long. It's winter and rain and snow is part of Christmas.

Storm

Altar of our cemetery

 What a storm we had last night. It wasn't as strong as last winter's but the lightening show was spectacular. And low thunder rumbling in the background as well. In the southern desert there was hail, and the lowland deserts were flooded by rain flowing from the cities in higher ground. Let's hope it rains and rains as much as possible ... it'll make up for the last 15 years of drought.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/storms-batter-south-and-center-of-israel-flooding-some-roads/?fbclid=IwAR2HM-qqGSbO_oz1ijgy-b2_DRPaFCFlG01aqK7LH_ANESEeBwjIlJOp4Uc

Oscar Schindler's tomb

It's All Souls Day today. Immediately after Mass, I went to our Catholic Cemetery to pray and bless the tombs of our friends and confreres. It's over 1km south of the Old City, along the slopes of the Hinnom Valley. The ground was wet and muddy from last night's rain. Our indian sisters came along with me, as well as our retired cook Nadia and Abraham, our filipino student-priest. I went first to the tomb of our chinese friend who's ashes are buried here. He had always wanted to visit the Holy Land but died before he could. Then next to him is our cook who died 10 months ago. Then blessing the relatives of Nadia and our other workers. Then I went to bless the armenian catholic tomb further up the slope. After that, I brought the sisters to our franciscan cemetery up on Mt. Zion, some 100 meters uphill. There are buried many of my professors and friars whom I've known for the past 30 years. It was good to recall some memories of them. Anyway it was flowers and holy water all round. Lastly we visited the tomb of Oscar Schindler. And if you don't know him yet ... shame!   

Virus infection rates have risen by a 100+ and experts are worried it's going to be another spike after a months lockdown. It was going good ... from 9000 to 500. But with the reopening of schools, it spells bad news. Schools were the prime cause of the 2nd outbreak.

My legs have been giving me problems for the last week. Swollen and feeling like logs. Sharp pain at every step I take. I feel like I cannot walk anymore. And with the high humidity these days, I get asthma easily. So walking to work is now a severe trial. It takes me almost 40 minutes to slowly make the journey ... which for the younger guys, a mere 10 minutes suffice. Perhaps my time is near .... All Souls Day is a good reminder.

News

Archbishop receives pallium

Last Friday was the muslim feast of Mohammed's birthday. The streets were packed with people all through Saturday. And there were protests against the French President  in the Al Aqsa compound as well. Newspapers say several muslims were arrested. It's ok to kill christians according to them ... and they expect the world to acquiesce. The world must not give in to this blackmail. If Europe does not take a firm stance against islamic terrorism, it will soon be overrun and run by them. 

Anyway our Apostolic Administrator, Archbishop Pizzaballa, was named by the pope as the new Patriarch of Jerusalem. He received the pallium or neck band as a symbol of his authority frmo the pope. It's very unexpected as the past 2 patriarchs were arabs. Many local christians are very happy but I know there are some, even religious, who are not happy. Too bad for them. I spoke to the archbishop 2 days after his appointment. He was my classmate 30 yrs back. He wanted me to be at the installation ceremony in Jerusalem but I told him I will not go. He asked why and I said it's the saddest day for us as I know he really doesn't want this job and once as patriarch he'll be isolated in his palace and no longer free to see me. I guess he realised that and was sad too ... because he never replied for 2 days. We had been very very good friends all these 30 years. It was 2 days later that we spoke again ... accepting the fact that things have changed now that he is a major prelate and public figure.

Sunset

While corona infections have dropped significantly, some major events still show that people are reckless and never consider their role in spreading the pandemic. Firstly the weekly Sabbath protests against the PM continues in many cities, in the thousands. Then yesterday Druze worshippers forcefully removed the body of their leader who died of corona in a public hospital and got him buried despite protests from the govt and health officials. And of course the reopening of schools ... something which health experts warned against.        https://www.timesofisrael.com/mass-funeral-held-for-druze-leader-in-defiance-of-virus-restrictions/?fbclid=IwAR2Oq71DrxUQluAC10BInVQ5LrRnc_ru5frRbODXKYx8xs8N_xuUaAkvDIw

Anyway the full moon is up, winter shows up every night ... down to a chilly 16 degrees, though daytime is still around 24 degrees. Christmas is in the air.