St. Simeon Skete, Taylorsville Kentucky USA

With St. Simeon, the God receiver, as our patron, the skete seeks to practice the ideals found in our Rule, The Thousand Day Nazareth. In simplicity and poverty, the skete embraces the struggle of inner life through the practice of the Prayer Rope.

See our website at www.nazarethhouseap.org

Donations should be addressed to: Nazareth House Apostolate, 185 Captains Cove Drive, Taylorsville, Kentucky 40071.

Important Notice: All writings, posts, graphics & photographs in this blog are the copyrighted property of (unless otherwise indicated) Nazareth House Media, a division of Nazareth House Apostolate and cannot be copied, printed or used without written permission from NHA Media, Taylorsville, KY.

Monday, February 11, 2013

There is room

There's an extraordinary place in the center of Taylorsville, Kentucky. 



 Within a few steps of entering through the door, your eyes feast 


 upon a bountiful collection of memorabilia covering the walls.    

Everywhere you look, 

it is a walk down memory lane 


and if you are too young to recognize 

some of the items on these walls - the visit makes for a good revealing of Kentucky history 


 and Outdoor life.  

Its a friendly place, one where you can warm by the stove, chatting with a good friend. 
You'll find Troy there, Troy Baskett with two T's and he'll tell you that "we are a dying breed" and indeed they are.  

Rarely do you run into such a friendly atmosphere and find an honest, caring good soul to tend to your livestock and farm needs.  Troy is a remarkable man and his feed store reflects this. 

Of all the things to see in Mill Street Feed Store,  there is one very special sight that many won't notice for lack of seeing.

 In the 18th Chapter of Luke, there is the story of the Blind Man begging for Christ to heal him.  He wants to see: 

 "Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing the multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  (This is the Jesus Prayer, The Prayer of the Second Strand of The Prayer Rope of St. Simeon Skete)  

 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight, your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. "

 In this story, Luke emphasizes the beautiful faith relationship between Jesus and the Blindman.  Faith does not necessarily mean or expect that God will intervene for faith is an end in itself.  Faith calls forth in the other and in oneself, what it sees.  It doesn't have to change things because Faith is able to see in all things!

 The beggar in this story was waiting in faith.  Faith is the act of holding on when there are good reasons not to. We wait in faith, we wait in prayer.  The faith required is not that your prayers make a difference, but that you are to pray and THAT is the difference.  

 You can call forth Life from anything IF you already possess life!  You can call forth Mercy from anything if your already possess mercy.   You can call forth Forgiveness from anything if you already possess forgiveness.  You can call forth Generosity from anything if you already possess generosity.    ...you can call forth seeing if you already possess seeing. 

 As you look around Troy's Millstreet Feed Store, if you are not blind, if you possess the sight needed to recognize it, you will find Jesus.   And when you find Jesus you find his Heart, they are one in the same.

 A horse collar is a device used to distribute the load the animal is carrying.  Framed in the horse collar on the wall of the Feed Store is the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminding us that no matter how crowded lives are, our muchness, or manyness, whatever we are carrying in our life - the good or the bad, in Jesus' heart there is room  (Luke 14:22). 

Many of us, hide our heart to protect it from hurt or pain, but Jesus' heart is exposed, out front, vulnerable distributing our loads onto Him so that we don't carry them alone.  His heart is open and in His heart there is room. 

 So if you are in the city center of Taylorsville, Kentucky-  stop by and say hello to Troy, enjoy his store, look around, buy something and while you are there, be sure to see the Heart of Jesus poster.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Clauses 
of the 
Jesus Life Rosary 

  1. Jesus your Life, your heart exposed is living in me
  2. Jesus your Life, your heart out front is living in me
  3. Jesus your Life, your heart vulnerable is living in me
  4. Jesus your Life, your heart pierced is living in me
  5. Jesus your Life, your heart open is living in me
  6. Jesus your Life, your heart, there's room is living in me
  7. Jesus your Life, your heart, my hope is living in me
  8. Jesus your Life, your heart, my refuge is living in me
  9. Jesus your Life, your heart making mine see is living in me
  10. Jesus your Life is living in me that I might be one with Your Heart. 

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