Baby, It's Cold Outside

Actually, during the day it is not all that cold as the sun warms up the land rather well, but this past week has been mighty cold inside the house. The houses in Amman are built with stone. There is no insulation for them so heat escapes quickly. The floors, where rugs are absent, just emit coldness to our feet. Brrr.

All this week we've endured cold temperatures with each day getting colder. The heat does not kick on until 8 a.m., but I am up out of bed wel before that time to get ready to say Mass. I've not wanted to get out from underneath the covers.

The Director of the Jesuit Center came in today and he was both alarmed and cold. He turned the heat on to stay on continuously instead of by timer. I have been blessing him all day. He even turned on the heat to my office. Bless his soul. We have been trying to save money because oil prices have risen a great deal.

Once the heat was on, I took a two hour nap before noon today. I think my body just relaxed.

We were used to being one of God's Frozen Chosen at Mass, but it was a welcome relief to have a baseline of warm air to move around. It actually felt much warmer outside.

Mass at Sweifeih was fun today. It always is, but it is a nice mix of Arabs, Europeans, Indians, North Americans, Australians, Filipino, and other nationalities. The choir and I rehearsed some nice songs that really fit the Baptism today. The choir has come along so well in such a short time. We'll soon be caught up with the new liturgical language.

We did the Sprinkling Rite at Mass. It really is something else to be so close to the Jordan River and to speak about it in the readings. I can imagine John's disciples not ready to give up on John as the Messiah, but John, in his grace, is able to exit the stage easily. I always pray that when it is my turn to step off the stage in my senior years, I can do it with such grace.

I am praying for everyone who has the flu and the norovirus. I know it is particularly severe this year. We have both in Jordan as well as the H1N1 virus. I know very many people who are sick from the flu and colds.

I use a technique to keep my nostrils moist at night by dabbing a little bit of Vaseline at the base of my nostrils. When the nostrils are moist, they are healthy and are much more able to fight off colds and flus. I especially use them on airplanes where every advantage you can take to be healthy is a plus.

How is this? A friend of mine is in the Dominican Republic for a meeting. He was talking with a new member who was in an NGO in Amman until recently and he had good things to say about the new Jesuit priest in Amman. What a small world.