September 20, 2009 (Series 23)

October 8, 2008, Wednesday.
I had my Mass at the Charity sisters in Italian and they answered in French. There was a Swiss man who attended and after the mass, he gave me a Swiss Knife as a souvenir. After breakfast, Fr. Sebastian brought me to the city for my class. We continued with the alphabet practicing reading some combinations. Again, we were like elementary pupils learning the basics of a language. But at least we were taught not only how to speak but also how to write read Arabic. I found it very challenging. If in theology, I had no problem with my professors, this time I found studies quite difficult. I need to study more at home to be able to catch with the others in the classes. Some had advanced studies so they were faster than me and the first timers. We decided to reset our time of studies to twice a week (Tuesday to Wednesday) but three hours a day, (9-12). After class, I passed by the Antonia Fortress and the Chapel of the Flagellation and listened to a tourist guide explaining to a group of pilgrims on the significance of the place. According to him it was here that the first and second Stations occurred, Pilate condemned Jesus to death and the soldiers tortured him and eventually gave him the cross to carry. Then I left and walked down through the Lion’s Gate and as I arrived at the road, Fr. Roberto came with the car. We did some shopping at the shops below us and arrived home for the Mid Day Prayers. After Prayers, we had lunch at the Bridgettine Sisters celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Sr. Guadalupe. We were together with Fr. Luigi, a priest from Italy and the family he was guiding for a tour in Jerusalem. It was a good meal with pasta, meat, cake, ice cream, wine, coffee, and give away rosary beads. Maybe I had so much sugar that I felt a little dizzy as we arrived home, holding to the car as I stood. It was only for a few seconds and I walked my way to the door of the house and to my room. I rested for a while, but could not sleep, maybe because of the coffee. After thirty minutes lying in bed, I worked on the computer. Before Vespers, I watered the plants in the garden for an hour. We had a lively sharing during supper, ending at 9 pm in time for our Compline. Before retiring for the night I worked on our invitation cards for the feast of St. Paul of the Cross.

October 9, 2008, Thursday.
I had my Mass at the Bridgettine Sisters in English with Italian readings. Fr. Roberto went to the Charity Sisters and Sebastian to the Abu Dis. In the TV at breakfast, I heard about the on-going financial crisis in the world with countries in Europe trying to save their banking systems. In Asia, stocks were tumbling down with Indonesia as the biggest loser of down 10%. I said to myself our last place of sure income (Indonesia), was affected and this was indeed a very bad news for the Passionists in the Philippines. After a while, I washed my clothes. As I went up Fr. Roberto reminded me that our cook, Ahmad was out to visit his sick mother and that we had no cook. So I prepared lunch, frying the lamb chaps that was defrosted on the table, boiled some potato, heated some left-over and canned beans, and prepared salad. Since it was close to eleven o’clock I did not attend our Mid Day prayers to finish the lunch I prepared.
After lunch, I checked on the laundry and dried the clothes in the hanger. Then I worked on my journal and mails with the musical background of Simon and Garfunkel, adding nostalgia to the moment. I was very happy to read the letter of Fr. Denis Travers, our First Consultor praising me for the journal I sent to Luigi and for the works done in the community. He thanked for my generosity in accepting the job in the name of the General and the Council. After prayers, we had to look around for supper. We heated what was in the refrigerator, which was not much, we opened a can of baked beans, sliced some tomatoes and with bread we had supper. We decided to look for a temporary cook to replace Ahmad while he was attending to her sick mother. He said he would be away for at least ten days. That would be very long for us to do the cooking ourselves. With only Fr. Roberto and I left, that would disturb our prayers. Fr. Sebastian contacted his friend, a Christian and she agreed to cook with a certain wage. She would work for three hours a day and we would pay her 30 shekels per hour plus the bus fare of 30 shekels, a total of 120 shekels a day for three hours of work. In the Philippines that would be around 1, 800 pesos.

Tema: KINSA ANG LABING GAMHANAN?
“Kami ang pinakadako, pinakakusgan, labing gamhanang nasud sa kalibutan,” miingon ang usa ka politiko. “Ako mao ang labing inila sa tanang panahon,” matud sa usa ka boksidor. “Ako maoy agalon, himoa ang unsay akong gisulti,” miingon ang usa ka agalon sa buhatan. “Mas kusgan pa ako kanimo,” matud pa sa usa ka tinun-an. “Kinsa kadtong buot mahiuna, kinahanglang magpaulahi ug mag-alagad sa tanan,” miingon si Jesus. Si Jesus naghagit kanato, “Unsa may atong ikasulti?”

UNANG PAGBASA (Kaalam 2:12,17-20): Gisaway ang buotang tawo.
Ang pagtuo sa mga maayo mao ang nagpahipi nga akosasyon batok niadtong walay pagtuo. Maoy hinungdan nga silang mga maayo gisaway o gigukod.

IKADUHANG PAGBASA (Santiago 3:16-4:3): Ang tinuod nga nagbaton og pagtuo usa ka tighimo og kalinaw.
Anaa unta ang kalinaw kon ang mga Kristiyano dili pa unta madohig sa kadautan nga anaa sa ilang mga kasingkasing.

EBANGHELYO
(Markos 9:30-37)

Pangutana: Padre. Mangutana lang unta ko kung sala ba ang adunay bisyo sama sa pag-inum ug panigarilyo? Unsa pud ang mga kasagaran nga sala nga wala hunahunaa sa tawo pero sala na diay kini…kanang pareho ba sa mokaon nga maghukas?
Tubag: Usa sa mga kondisyon aron matawag nato ang usa ka binuhatan nga usa ka sala, mao nga kini supak sa balaod sa Dios. Karon, kun nangaligo sa dagat unya nangaon nga naghukas, supak ba kana sa balaod sa Dios? Ang mga lumad sa kalasangan nga nagbahag lang inig pangaon, nakasupak ba sa balaod sa Dios?…Ang akong punto mao nga ang paghukashukas samtang magkaon dili kinahanglan nga isipon nato nga sala. Sa labing dautang pagkabutang, usa lamang kini ka pagsupak sa kostumbre, social conventions o rules of etiquette sa katilingban - pananglitan, maghukas ka nga mokaon sa restawran. Niining higayona aduna tingali sala. Pero, ang sala dili mao ang paghukas nga nagkaon kundili ang wala paghatag ug respeto ug konsiderasyon ngadto sa uban nga anaa sa maong kan-anan. Paghigugma sa isig ka tawo - mao kini ang balaod sa Dios ug sala ang pagsupak niini.
Ang pagdagmal sa lawas supak sa ikalima sa Napulo ka Sugo sa Dios. Mao kana nga ang Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) #2290, miingon nga sala ang sobra nga panigarilyo ug pag-inum. Hinoon, posible nga maminusan ang pagkasala niini kun dili na gawasnon ang tawo nga nagbisyo. Kini mahitabo kun ang tawo addicted na kaayo sa tabako o inum. Dili na siya gawasnon tungod kay wala na man siyay abilidad sa pagkontrol sa kaugalingon. Hinumduman nato nga niining sitwasyona, wala mawala ang sala; nakonhuran lang.
Kun ang tawo aduna man gani niining bisyo, motambag ko niya nga makigstorya ug pari aron mabanabana kun unsa kabug-at ang iyang sala ug unsa kasubsub kinahanglan siya mokumpisal. Ang Simbahan nagdasig nga atong ikumpisal ang atong mga salang benyal aron ang grasya sa sakramento makaayo kanato ug makalig-on kanato batuk sa mga tentasyon (CCC #1458).
Walay sala ang igoigo lang nga pagpahimulos sa sigarilyo ug inum. Gani si Jesus mismo miinom ug migamit sa bino sa iyang mga sambingay (Lk.7:34, Mk.2:22), ug daghan pang bersikulo sa Biblia nagdayeg sa kalami sa ilimnun.

by Fr. Pol Plaza, C.P.

October 7, Tuesday.
I concelebrated with Fr. Roberto at the Charity Sisters because I wanted to be familiar with French Mass. Fr. Sebastian took the Bridgettine Sisters’ Mass, while a Comboni priest was taking care of the Comboni Sisters. After breakfast Fr. Roberto took me to Damascus Gate and from there I walked to my class in Al Cuds Learning Center. One more man was added to our class in Arabic and we continued learning on the Alphabet, finishing the class at 11:30 am. I walked home after the class passing through the Lion’s Gate. On my way home at a part called Ras-al Ahmud, after the cemetery at Mt Olives, a group of Arab boys, aging from 9-13 years, coming out from their school came to me and asked for money, and inquired about me. Some slapped my head from behind me, some throw pebbles at me, some stepped on my shoes, and some even bumped at me. I faced them and angrily said why did you do that? They stopped temporarily, but continued pestering me with money and facts about Asia, China, Jacky Chan, etc. An older man cleaning his car reprimanded them and they dispersed one by one going to their homes. One stayed by me until the steep climb to the house and near the top asked me for money, but I did not gave him anything. At least I arrived home physically unharmed, but emotionally hurt. I was reminded of the boys at home playing with a street fool (taong grasa).
In the afternoon at 4, I went with Fr. Sebastian at the Israeli court to attend to the hearing about the car accident last April damaging the side of the Volkswagen. Massimo, our friend, who was the star witness of the accident, joined us. The other party did not appear. The judge who spontaneously shared to us his travels in the Philippines, mentioning Boracay, was very friendly and helpful. He said that he could not give a sentence if the other party was not around to express their side of the story. We have to deliver to them the communication. We have to weigh whether the expenses incurred in the process would be worth the demand we asked from the other party which was one thousand shekels. We left the court at 6 pm and immediately the guards closed it for they have to celebrate the Yom Kippor which is a very special Feast for the Jews. We arrived home at 8:15 and had our Evening Prayers right away. I was very tired that night that after Compline I slept right away.