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.
Showing posts with label Jesus Life Rosary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Life Rosary. Show all posts

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. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Colossal Baby, Good Friends & Fellowship

Severe weather, storm damage, contractors & adjusters, well-diggers and builders, etc., etc. have kept the attention of this blog for a while now.  All that seems to be in the process of completion - some at the early beginning stages - others at the end stage - but all in all it is in some form of process.   Thank you to all those who assisted us in moving forward on these matters.
NHA would like to take a little time to catch up with the personal things of Nazareth House, in particular our beloved Mansaray family in Sierra Leone.  
What else would James' child wear but a camera? 
Little Vicki is getting HUGE! 
Vicki will be 4 months old on May 11th. 
Growing like a weed, she demands food 24 hours a day and whines when she doesn’t get it.   
Look at the chubby cheeks on this child
She also is very much in love with her big brother and expects him to carry her around.  
Vicki will be bigger than Roo very soon at this rate
But she is a heavy load and there comes a time when there must be an alternate form of packing her around.   
Roo and his sleepy-eyed, toothless smile.  
Roo continues on megadoses of iron with folic acid and vitamin D supplements shipped to him by NHA in Taylorsville, Kentucky and is improving greatly.  He’s had a few attacks but nothing like the merciless bouts of fever and pain he’s had before.  
Kadijah and little piggy Vicki
Poor Kadijah looks very tired and I certainly understand what is wearing her out.  
Kadijah and Vicki 
“Whoa Vicki, moderation my dear!”  LOL 
James’ childhood friend from the early days in Kabala, Emmerson Bockarie, a well known musician who tours Europe and the States with his music, was in Kabala and looked James up.  

Emmerson arrives in Kabala

They spent some good time together and Emmerson was able to see the NHA Compound and the NHA School and was very pleased to see all the work James has accomplished through Nazareth House Apostolate.   
Lucy, Emmerson and James at the NHA Compound

Lucy was in Kabala on a break from school during Independence Day and was able to greet Emmerson as well.  
Lucy and Emmerson

There is a lot of hard work going on at Nazareth House both in the States and in Sierra Leone, however, getting work done doesn’t have to mean no time for good fellowship and togetherness.   “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose” -  
James' brother, Joseph and Emmerson at the NHA Compound
Once the visit ended, a few hours later, James was in the process of taking students for government testing, ...back to work it was for him..... but it sure is nice to see old friends. 
Love to you all...
.....oh and by the way, if anyone would like to make a donation to the work of Nazareth House, that would be nice too... smile... (hint, hint)...  so many needs, so much to do ...
Nazareth House Apostolate
185 Captains Cove Drive
Taylorsville, KY 40071



If you like Reggae, you can purchase Emmersons music through Amazon.