Rain!

The rains finally came! Last night after dinner there was rumbling in the air - the was a cold wet wind the whole morning, even drizzle - and then it burst. For the first few seconds you could see thedry dust from the ground bouncing with every drop of rain that hit the land; a layer of vapour rising as the water turned to vapour when hitting the hot hot stones on the ground. Then it came so heavily, with strong winds as well. The parched dry land was finally quenched with a 25 minute soaking. It really was good. And the air was clean and fresh again. And it was cool. I hope it'll rain everyday - we need it so badly here.

Move

Another day - the fever is still playing up despite the panadols that I'm taking. The weather is also changing alot, very chilly now and the forecast is rain during the weekend. I think we'll have to take our winter stuff out soon to use.

Heard a nice sermon about the Holy Family's flight to Egypt. They first ran away to Egypt to escape persecution but once there, they were told, after a while, to return to Israel, to escape the comfort and security of Egypt and return back to real life. So there are many meanings to escape in this Matthean story - each time to preserve life and continue God's mission, but always from something that threatens this mission. It may be outright persecution, or even from too comfortable a life. In any case, it was always a new beginning; a new opportunity to serve God. Time to move out fo the comfort zone?

Sick

Am down with a bronchial infection. Coughing, pain in the chest and fever all day. Must see a doc. Probably caught it from another priest who sat opposite me during meals. They never learn to cover their mouths when they cough.

Anyway I have resevations going to see my regular doc as the car that smashed through the crowd killing and maiming some people yesterday plowed through to the entrance of the hospital where I usually go to see the doc. It was a terrible thing and the carnage was horrific. Don't know if any tourists were hurt. Just 24 hours previously I was sitting on the same spot waiting for someone.

Anyway the fever is getting on me so I'll rest now.

Charity

As we reach the last week of Ramadan, each day the events at the mosque become more elaborate, longer and louder. It will climax on Friday. The streets will be crowded.

Meanwhile someone must have hacked into my blog and fiddled with it because I'm having lots of problems posting my updates. Sometimes the blog even changes sites. You guys ought to help me trace who is doing this.

Fr Niccacci, moderator of my thesis, came to see me yesterday morning. He returned from Italy only the evening before. He wanted to know how much I had covered, and we discussed how to further the research. He wnats me to hand in a paper of 25 pages this week. Tough. Can't do it. Need to bargain with him. Anyway he said that I'm not getting any holidays and any other assignments until I finish my work. Going to be a tough year.

I'll probably go visit the hospital in Nazareth tomorrow. My ankle and right hand is still aching very much and the doc in Jerusalem wants an xray done. He also wants my white blood count checked.

Just a short reflection on today's first reading from Proverbs "Do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it, if it is in your power to perform it." Try putting this in practice today - remember God's ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts; so do not calculate how much kindness/charity to show and to whom. If everyone believed in this, there would be no tragedy like the Marriott bombing in Pakistan, nor the cruel persecution of Catholics in Orissa (India) and Iraq. I was horrified to learn that a Catholic mother in Iraq was served a huge dish by some extremists in her house - only to open it and found her baby cooked in rice. It was reported on TV. Pray, and show charity ... it's the only weapon against evil and violence. Revenge will only beget revenge.

St Matthew's Feast

As you can see, the olives are being soaked for the next few days before we bruise them for pickling. That's alot of work. But all that work will be for the coming year - olives for every meal.

Last night our former superior invited me and Bro Rosario (my classmate from way back and now secretary of the school) to our Monastery of St John the Baptist in the Desert - an isolated place along the slopes of the Judean hill country near Ain Kerem. We had a cookout - or rather a couple of locals offered a stupenduous local dinner - roasted lamb and rice. There were about 10 of us and we could not finish the meal - it was so much! And delicious! Najib, one of the locals reminded us that that was how the biblical people ate whenever the Bible spoke of eating, especially of sheep. The preparation of the meat is practically unchanged. And we ate in the open air - the cool breeze blowing all the while, wild foxes yelping to one another - they could smell the meat and once we were gone, they would come and pick the bones we left behind for them. The oak tree under which we sat for our meal has many nuts still in the early stages - once Christmas comes, they would be ripe. Returning home at about 10pm (Rosario was driving), we encountered at the Old City, the muslim crowd who had just finished their prayers in the mosque. It was a very happy affair, everyone laughing, eating; hawkers everywhere selling food and other gifts squeezed in every conceivable corner. But there was order. This coming Friday is the last Friday of Ramadan - the Old City will be swarmed so the Way of the Cross will be cancelled.

Today is Matteo's feastday - St Matthew the evangelist. Unfortunately he will not be home for lunch to celebrate it as he has to go to university where he's studying modern hebrew. During the sermon he spoke of God's unfathomable Will whereby he treats equally the good and the bad; which humans find difficult to accept. God's justice and our justice are very different: His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not ours. God wants everyone to be happy and whole, regardless. In fact last night I heard a sermon from EWTN that said "There is no sin so great that God will not forgive because He wants the worker at the 9th hour just as much as the worker of the 1st hour to share in His bounty." No one is left out, no matter how bad or late. Note that when the workers of the 1st hour complained, the owner did not retract but still gave the just wage to him.

Olive harvest

Yesterday's Gospel reading was very interesting. It's very short and mentioned the names of women who followed Jesus and helped him in his preaching tours. It may not appear to amount to anything, but when you see the whole picture it actually is part of a longer narrative - 4 in fact regarding women. Beginning with the Widow of Naim in Chapter 7, it then goes to the sinful woman who wiped Jesus' feet with her hair, then our passage about the women who helped Jesus and finally the mention of Jesus' mother who "hears the Word of God and does it." Intersperssed are stories of the male disciples who fail to understand Jesus' teaching. It appears that this series of passages on the women disciples show their active and important role in Jesus' mission, culminating in the role of Mary the listerner and doer of God's Word.

The olive harvest began yesterday and 4 of the friars went to Capernaum. Because of my leg, I did not go. But I might join in the harvest in Gethsemani later next week. Right now I'm resting the leg because it's been hurting quite abit.

William our Lebanese seminarian called me from Rome. We had lost contact throughout the summer holidays when he returned to Lebanon. It was good to speak with him again. His companions Ziad and Jihad are also doing well. They'll start studies soon in Rome at our university "Antonianum" near the Lateran basilica. Hope they'll study hard and graduate.

Now we're waiting for a new sister to come and take the place of Sr. Justyna. The Salesians inaugurated their new school year today. They have 49 seminarians - that's alot!

Weather changing

Yesterday I was reflecting on the coming Sunday's readings to some students. It's amazing how God's ways are not our ways - his compassion and mercy so overwhelming and absolute that people see it as injustice. Just see the Gospel reading for this Sunday. Today's readings give us lots of details about women who followed Jesus and supported his mission. It was pretty revolutionary back then - women walking freely in the streets and following men to join a rabbinic school! Jesus certainly opened horizons.

Well looks like we're going to have Livni as the new PM. And Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law has returned to Britain after a stay inside Gaza. She was one of the people in the boat from Cyprus that entered Gaza. See the article http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221489063620&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull but Jerusalem Post also posted a picture of muslims having a feast. Well all the money goes to them, and its the Christians who get nothing and are suffering. This part of the news is never reported. The Free Gaza group is going to try another entry soon; this time with EU MPs joining. Well I think it's easier if they just asked for permission from the Israeli govt. and show that their stock is simply medicine and toys. No need for provocation unless the intention is to grab the headlines, and not truly humanitarian. See http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221489051119&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Friday - stay home day. Will continue reading a book that deals with my thesis. Very interesting insights. Couldn't arrange my entry into Nablus yet. But will definitely do it soon. The ankle though is still hurting despite wearing the guard and using medicine. Must be the weather changing - that's what evryone is saying.