Summer Camp

I've probably caught an eye infection when the dry hot winds blew sand into my eyes. They're all red and I cannot see properly. And it's making me dizzy as a result.

Summer camp

Well the big news is that our patriarch had been nominated cardinal. And ignorant folk are uploading congratulations for the "elevation" to the cardinalate. Nothing could be further from the truth. A patriarch is "inter pares" with the pope; a patriarch is way higher ranking than a cardinal. For a patriarch to be made a cardinal is a demotion from than a promotion. For this reason, none of the Eastern Rite patriarchs have ever accepted being a cardinal. The exception began only with the Maronite patriarch Sfeir in 1994 when he accepted the cardinalate; as did his successor patriarch Rahi in 2012, followed by the Chaldean patriarch Sako in 2018. They saw the cardinalate as an opportunity to be an influencer in the Roman power house. Well frankly I don't really care for all that ... the poor will still be poor, they will still be hungry and homeless, without education and security no matter what title the bishop carries.

Swimming

The sisters of St. Vincent de Paul organized a 7 day summer camp for the poorest children of the City, after I urged them by assuring them for financial sponsorship. It started yesterday ... and the children came and played and swam and had some classes. Some of the children were clearly malnourished. We provided meals for them to eat, and lots of time to rest and play. It's such a great event for these poor children because they usually would be helping their parents work and earn money. And swimming in plastic pools is a treat because in Jerusalem there are no public pools or any large body of water for people to swim. Thanks to all of you who helped sponsor and make it possible!

Strike

Shops on strike

Staying offline for a week has seen the viewers fall to 15. Now that's a bit more normal. Off the radar.

Well it's been an unlucky week. While everyone is on summer holidays, I'm alone doing the work of everyone else. I can't rush. I do it slowly within my health limits. But last Monday I slipped and fell at Damascus Gate .... twice. My left wrist and ankle are swollen, and my back hurts as well. I had to bandage my wrist and ankle because the doctor said it need to keep the inflamed ligaments bound in place. I also have to put anti-dolorific medicine on them. I try not to walk but the past days have been demanding and I've had to walk 5 km or more for the past 2 days. Now I'm having fainting spells.

The terrible raid and air attack on the arab refugee camp in the north ahs shocked everyone. Many people dead and injured. Roads dug up to prevent people from escaping. Shops in East Jerusalem and our neighbourhood had gone on strike for 2 days to protest the violence.

Meanwhile attacks on christians have become more violent in the past few weeks. One newspaper says if not checked by police and politicians, christian blood will be shed. 

Coming down

Our new priests today

A reassuring sign, the viewership is dropping slowly to 1606 on Monday 26th. Today down to 822. It's terrible to be watched and stalked because of my private opinions over geo-politics.

Today 4 of our seminarians were ordained priests. It's a great day as they reached another goal inlife. We have about 80 seminarians in various stages of training. We don't have enough rooms for so many seminarians so we have 2 seminaries. Philosophy seminarians stay at Ein Kerem while the theology students stay in Jerusalem. Aspirants stay in Bethlehem. Postulants in Montefalco in the Umbrian hills of Italy. And novices in La Verna, the sacred mountain where St. Francis received the stigmata. Europe and America is dying from vocation shortages. But here we have asians and africans who are now slowly making the majority of the seminarians.

Tensions are high these past 3 days. It's the muslim feast of Eid al Adha or the sacrifice of Ishmael. 3 days running the Al Aqsa is packed with worshippers. Prayers run all night. It's difficult to sleep with all the noise outside all night.

Chinese food

Home cooked food

Still going up ...1701 views yesterday. Right now today without updating yet ... 1435. This is enough! I don't have more than 20-40 views on a normal day. Is there a problem with the automatic calibration?

Last night we had some good home cooked chinese vegetarian food. Good change from pasta and bread and chicken. The price of veggies are also up. We had pickled cucumbers, vermicelli, egg and tomatoes, long beans grown from the garden. Inflation is hitting everything hard. Growing your own veggies in any small plot of land is becoming popular.

And this is affecting the muslims who are celebrating Eid al Adha tomorrow evening. That's when they slaughter a sheep to commemorate the near-sacrifice of Ishmael (not Isaac). But now sheep prices are exorbitant. The majority of families can't afford to buy sheep. They just watch the rich perform the sacrifice.

Network woes

Damascus Gate in
the morning

Another record .... yesterday's views went up to 1212. And now even before I write there are 955 views. What's happening? This is more than being stalked! This is really scary! 

We've been having a string of Wifi blockages. The network also closes down every now and then and we don't know why. It's frustrating because when we have online classes, we're cut off again and again. There seems to be no remedy except to use another company ... but the same thing will happen again. 

Of course the network people could blame the hot weather for such outages but any company worth its salt ought to know the weather conditions of this region and work according,

Hot

very hot

Yesterday I didn't post anything ... and the views were 1179!!!!!! Oyyyyyyyy this is too much!!!! Alarm bells sounding!!!! Note the spike when I post geo-political opinions. Oh my!!

Still ... the tension in and around the City is palpable. And the heat is not helping much. In the afternoons you can feel the heat from the ground. The nights however are chilly ... I even had to use the blanket last night.

The summer solstice was 2 days back, which marked the start of summer. The muslim call to prayer was earliest that morning ... at. 2.25am (or 3.25am daylight saving). Now it gets later by 2-3 minutes each day. I always thought the summer solstice was mid-summer!!! 

I just noted I finished all my work for the week. So happy! Now I can rest today ... my swollen feet hurt very much even when seated.

Summer lights

Street lights

Yesterday saw 717 views, and right now 312. What is happening?

There was still alot of violence today. The arab village that was burnt is a reminder of how things can get out of hand. Now we read Druze in the Golan had rioted because the govt is pushing ahead to create wind-mills in their land for electricity.

Meantime the rest of the city is determined to enjoy summer. Streets are lighted up and people are out and about. police are everywhere but that's not dampening the spirits.