April 4, 2020

Like most of you, we have been on lockdown for almost 2 weeks now and are supposed to go till April 16^th (I expect that it will be extended for another period of time since this thing keeps growing and growing and growing. Although people have mostly been ibeying, the main super markets are full every day.

   Before the lockdown I had masses as usual at the hospital and at Savannah Park. The first ones to ask me not to come were the Sisters or Saint Mother Theresa, as they were warned not to have services. The rules have gone out both by the government and by the church authorities saying no church services (mostly masses which many can catch on TV), so my last mass at Savannah Park was on Sunday the 15^th of march (we snuck in a home mass for the Pillay family since they are the ones who do all the organizing---plus a few other active members).  I went out once to a family who was celebrating the 75^th birthday of one of their members. It was taking a chance as we were many in one room, but…. Luckily we all survived, as far as I know.

I went out to a supermarket near us to get some yoghurt and liver spread for emergency snacks. Ha. Empty shelves. I waited two days and went back and luckily got the last two plain yoghurts but no liver spread. Ai didn’t know that so many people are into plain yoghurt---mostly strawberry or something sweet.

We have mass here every morning, us old guys---only three celebrating at the altar, the others just there, either blind or deaf. Ha. Not very lively.

I am scourged with chronic constipation and it got so bad one day I went to our hospital , St. Mary’s (now government but they all know me as the chaplain who refuses to give up) and asked for a dynamite pill. Ha. Instead one of the nurses I know well offered to give me an enema. Well, it is good that I have been through so many experiences so far in my life that I can’t be embarrased any more. It more or less did the job and I could start again from scratch.

    Our wifi was hit by lightening so we were without access to the internet for at least two weeks. No way to reply to others who want to know how we are surviving. Finally it was repaired at the beginning of this week so I can go over to the monastery once a day and hook into the part that was repaired and do some essential things, like catching up.

     All the help by us and the monastery have been put on leave, including Sr. Maria, the cook. The novices are filling in with lots of things including cooking lunches and suppers. They are actually doing quite well. None of us has even thought of dying from food poisoning or starvation. Ora et labora.

    All the Holy Week services will be at the monastery but here at MD (Mater Dolorosa) we have Fr. Macarius who is mostly blind, Fr. Dominic is somewhere in his dememtia . Bishop Lobinger who can still see but not enough to read, Fr. Urs who is able to hear and read but is not so mobile. And then there is me, hobble-along Cas with my crutch. So we decided to do our own thing here at MD since some would not be able to get to the monastery and would be left here to die of spiritual starvation.