Holy Week

5th Station Mass

 Holy Monday is the unique day when the 5th Station of the Cross is opened for Masses from 6am to 8am. It's the only day in the year that the chapel is open for Masses and the community at the Flagellation is responsible to celebrate the Masses every half hour in various languages to suit the congregation. I was too late to sign up to preside as I was away at work when the roster was posted up on our notice board, so I asked to concelebrate both the 7am and 7.30am Mass. Both were in English. At both Masses, I offered all your intentions - relatives, friends and benefactors, living and dead. No one was forgotten.

The rest of the day I spent in my room. Having my neighbour infected with corona has deterred me from going out, to even open my door or walk on our corridor as the virus would linger in the air ... and the corridor has no windows and the only door is always closed for fear wild cats would enter the building. I guess my fears are paralyzing me. Today I decided to leave my house very early to my office and will stay there all day till it's evening. I need to take care of myself.

Catholic bands on parade

Palm Sunday evening ended with the annual Catholic schools' band parade form Lions Gate to New Gate .... a good 1km uphill through East Jerusalem (arab) to West Jerusalem (israeli). It's always a very crowded and proud moment for the Catholics because once a year we can parade publicly for muslims and jews to see. Traffic along the main road was stopped and for a full hour, Catholic pride was up on the banners for all to see. The Orthodox are less organized and don't have this parade. Too bad for them. They don;t have the tradition of making the Palm Procession from Betphage to Jerusalem. Neither do they have the Way of the Cross. But many orthodox nowadays invent their own processions and Way of the Cross to satisfy the needs of their laity.

Palms

Armenian catholic 
church today

 It's Palm Sunday today. I had to celebrate the Mass for the Armenian Catholics as they have no priest. It was good to see several parishioners who have not come for the past 2 years due to Covid. I blessed the palm and olive branches and they took them all home. I believe a visiting priest from Rome will come to serve the rest of Holy Week.

Plaited palms for sale

Meantime the annual palm procession from Betphage took place with Ministry approval. No need masks, distancing or group restrictions. Thousands showed up, with religious, seminarians, priests and bishops. It was as festive as it was before. 

I avoided going even at my usual station at Gethsemani - since I can't walk the full distance - because I wasn't taking the risk of catching covid. The number of infections are rising though there are no serious cases. There was one case in my house last week, and yesterday night another case ... next to my room. I am very worried and avoid going out or coming back. 

Well Holy Week has started. I'll have to balance between liturgical obligations and prudent Covid precautions.

More violence

Quiet streets under
lockdown

 More brutal violence last night ... this time in Tel Aviv. a terrorist shot and killed 2 people in a bar while wounding dozens others. The violence is not abating while the police are caught between providing security and letting muslims the freedom to travel to and from Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque. Nobody agrees with these terrorists ... nobody here wants trouble. Nobody wants the holidays to be marred by violence and closures and restrictions. We've had enough closures for 2 years under Covid. But all it takes is one person to ruin everything. Next Friday is the Jewish Passover and Christian Good Friday. We want our rituals to go ahead without problems. But if the muslim minority of terrorists cannot respect that, then they should be deprived of their privilege to worship freely like other peaceful people can. Every year they attempt to disrupt our Christmas and Easter celebrations, and we have never done the same to them. The bottom line must be drawn and vigorously imposed. Enough is enough.

Ramadan street bazaar empty

Muslims, the majority especially those living in and around the Old City don't want trouble. They don't want their daily lives disrupted by closures and security checks. They want to freely go to the mosque and pray. But all it takes is one person from a faraway village to come and cause trouble, and everyone in East Jerusalem is made to pay the price. It is unfair. We are tired. Enough is enough.

So today, Friday in Ramadan, police presence has jacked up to 2000 in the Old City. The City Gates are blocked and all entry is checked one by one by the police. Few people wander the around the bazaar as nobody knows if a Molotov cocktail will be thrown or a gun shot or a stone thrown. Empty streets means no business. The shopkeepers pay the price.

So I hear that the City Gates will be reopened only at 5pm. That's when most muslims go to break their fast and eat. That'll bring some peace in the streets. I'll probably go home at that time. I'm too sick to run from stun grenades and rioting crowds. Life gets dangerous when you're old in a volatile environment.

Break the fast

Ramadan break-fast food

 There was another clash last night at Damascus Gate. 6 were arrested for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police. Things may pick up during the Friday prayers. We living inside the Old City - muslims included - are tired of all the trouble caused by outsiders. It disrupts our lives and spoils the festive atmosphere.

Every night the Al Aqsa mosque provides free dinner for 6000 people. It's meant for the poor, but we know some well-to-do people also go there to eat. Other muslims do charity by providing free food as well, whatever they can afford. Our doorman who is muslim collected some dinner packs for his family and gave me one. It was very nice. Saffron rice with roast chicken. Something solid to break the fast.

Crowds at Damascus Gate

We received news from the Patriarchate yesterday that the Palm Sunday procession will proceed as normal. No restrictions!! That's good news! Church life is getting back to normal.

The weather will peak at 31 degrees this afternoon. I'm wearing short-sleeved shirts now. It's definitely warm enough. But indoors it remains chilly and a thin hoodie jacket is necessary in order to avoid catching a cold.

I'm contemplating going to Jaffa for Holy Week as my community has decided to join the celebrations at the Holy Sepulchre this year. I don't want to do that because it's very crowded, no one wears the mask and the services are super long. Not good for my IBS. I'll have to make a booking for a room at the Jaffa community soon.

Thanks

Clowns entertain

 Riots continued last night. I just hope the police don't play into the troublemakers' hands and impose strict measures because that's exactly the excuse the troublemakers want to cause more violence. There's a dastardly plan out there to disturb our Easter and Pesach holidays. It happens even before Christmas. Utterly wicked.

This morning at the request of the Geez Rite chaplain, I accompanied 2 Tigrayan ladies to the Pool of Siloam some 2kms south and downhill from my office. It's the lowest place in the City. Here Jesus sent a blind man to wash his eyes and regained his sight.

The cliff above the
Pool of Siloam

The walk was very challenging for me. The weather was lovely though and my lung infection is quite gone. But climbing up a steep 60 degree slope is hard on an old man like me.

I want to say thanks to all the friends and relatives for their well-wishes and prayers for my ordination anniversary and birthday. It was heartwarming to know I'm still remembered. Be assured of my prayers for you here in the Holy City.

Riots

Youths waiting for trouble

 We've been have 2 nights of rioting since the start of Ramadan. It's the few restless youths who wish to cause trouble. Otherwise the nightly celebrations at Damascus Gate was all fun and festive. The Municipality paid for clowns to entertain the children and giveaway balloons. The traditional Tea seller was giving away cups of refreshing cooling tea. Other youths were giving away baklava (sweet puff pastries). But at 11pm a small group of youths begin throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police who have been very restraint. It's always the small group of troublemakers that ruin everything.

Tea seller last night

The Custos of the Holy Land has made a video appealing for help. The Good Friday collection throughout the world comes to aid the Holy Land. But it takes time for all the collections to arrive in Rome and then transferred to the Holy land. Then it is distributed to the 7 major Catholic churches in the Holy Land, which in the end isn't very much to sustain our work to help the local Christian community, maintain the sanctuaries, upkeep our schools, hospitals and other institutions.

My doc has prescribed several medicines that I have to use 5 times a day with the nebulizer. I figured I was allergic to one of them because my blood pressure has shot up to 166/88 and have been bleeding in the nose, giddiness and nausea for 3 days. Doc told me to stop using it and now my bp is back to normal. My lung infection is better but I still have great difficulty walking distances. For the usual 1km to work I need 30 minutes or more now to get there. 

Appeal

 A Lenten Appeal from the Custos of the Holy Land

Please remember the Christians in the land where Christ was born, died, was buried and rose again

Give generously to the Good Friday Collection