NHA Annual Meeting

The Nazareth House Apostolate Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, 16th of March.  The Board Members began arriving on Monday and were all here by Friday afternoon, March 15th.  In the world of Non-Profit Organizations, there are many types of boards.  NHA is blessed to have a group that is creative, efficient, involved, prudent, guiding, self-critical yet encouraging, decisive and ready to implement  -- all the qualifications necessary to sustain and move forward a unique operation such as Nazareth House Apostolate.   To top all that, they also genuinely like each other and enjoy being together.   At the risk of causing Fr. Matthew Weber to clinch his teeth and wince his eyes, I will say that the NHA Board of Directors are an AWESOME bunch.  (Fr. Weber recently posted on Facebook his annoyance of the over use of the word "awesome").   However, if the shoe fits...and in this case the WORD fits to describe our board members thoroughly.

  

At the start of the week, before the meeting, there were some chores and work to get done.

Medications had to be purchased, labeled and packed and then sent to Sierra Leone.

We are working hard to get the " NHA Undercroft Shop" more accessible both online and on the grounds.

The Store has been available to pilgrims for a while but needed some adjustments to display sale items.



"Thrifty" being our goal, we found cardboard cases to be a cost effective alternative to fixed display cases.

However, construction of these items ...well... was ... shall we say frustrating.   Liz being the patient trooper that she is, helped plug away until all the cases were complete.   You know sometimes, you can become somewhat cranky when one piece doesn't fit where its supposed to and so on.

Liz and I had to especially keep our temperament calm and pleasant because Chase, our elderly border collie, would fret and feel he must make us feel better if we showed frustration!  Liz was better at this than me, I wanted to throw the cardboard several times. 

Keeping with our objective to be as thrifty as possible, we do not heat the Chapel or the Bookstore during the week - only on Sunday and only during Mass.  (You can find us all pretty bundled up at the 4 AM Morning Prayer/Liturgy!)

 Liz and I decided it was warmer to finish putting together the shelves outside in the sunlight than in the cold undercroft.

However, this also means contending with noisy chickens.   

The warm bright sun on the glass in the chapel windows attracted ladybugs.



Not one or two, but hundreds.

Seraphim has been vacuuming them up several times a day for months now

but this weekend it was worse than ever.



Together, he and Matt cleared

the ladybug invasion out of the chapel.

The bugs have returned but not in the numbers they came in this weekend. 

On Wednesday Night at Evening Prayer, just before beginning the Jesus Life Prayer Rosary, Seraphim pointed out a large bird flying over the Kellia towards the lake.  It was a fully matured, white headed Bald Eagle.  It flew majestically towards the lake and began to circle it.  What a beautiful sight to have added into our time of prayer that night. 

We brainstormed the whole time we were together, however,

the official meeting began at 10 AM on Saturday and ended at 9PM Saturday night with the syncing our computers for VC Meetings.



Our Video Chat Meetings are held every other Sunday at 6 PM.



 I am so very thankful for such a consistent and involved Board of Directors.    

At one point during the meeting, we took a "break" for lunch. (I place quotations around "break" because we kept the meeting's discussions going all the while we were in the car).

I wanted the members to have a good taste of Taylorsville, Kentucky, so Claudio drove us to the corner at 155 where, off road, sat a hummer with a BarBQ Smoker attached to it.

It is "Holy Smokes" the finest BBQ you can find.



You'll never see it in a restaurant, you have to find the hummer and the Lone Star Flag



to be sure you have the right one.  Everything else pales.

The lines were long but we waited through



and Claudio treated us to a huge mess of meat and fixins' -

even after the Potluck Celebration,



following the Mass on Sunday, we still had meat left over!



Although I must admit, Matt, who has a few less years on him than the rest of us and a much higher metabolism, was able to knock down a good chunk of it.

James, who was unable to leave the construction of the security wall around the Compound in Sierra Leone, attended the meeting via teleconference.

It was wonderful for all of us to chat with him together and hear his ideas and needs for the work in Sierra Leone.  

There are so many facets to Nazareth House Apostolate.  There is St. Simeon Skete (the monastic life of prayer and solitude) and there is the mission work of the skete - Sierra Leone.   Each requires resources and attention to sustain.  It takes a special group to understand and facilitate what is needed for NHA to provide the service to people in the USA and in the world.  We are humbled and incredibly thankful that God has placed together such an able body to carry on the work as board members.  There is no doubt His hand was in it and by His Grace we hope to do all things necessary to carry on, according to His will and glory, this work that has been set before us.  Please keep us in your prayers.  Thank you. 

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. 

The Eleven of St. Simeon Skete

Saint Simeon Skete is named after the God-receiver, Saint Simeon.  There are ten other patron Saints of St. Simeon Skete.

 

Each day of the week holds a specific celebration at the Skete:

• Monday - The Holy Trinity
• Tuesday -The Angels
• Wednesday -The Saints
• Thursday - The Holy Spirit
• Friday - The Passion and The Holy Mother
• Saturday - The Holy Name 
• Sunday - The Resurrection of Our Lord

One of the Eleven Patron Saints is honored each week.    On Wednesday during the Mass,  an Icon of one of the saints is brought to the Altar during the Offering and enthroned.   We rotate  through The Eleven Patron Saints, changing each Wednesday, completing the cycle every 11 weeks.  








This week our Saint is St. Isaac the Syrian.   

The Eleven: 

"And vouchsafe to give to us some portion and fellows with thy:"

1. Holy Prophet Elijah who heard God in the stillness,
2. St. Simeon who found God to be enough,
3. Holy Prophet John, forerunner and baptizer of our Lord in the Jordan River where Heaven opened, 
4. St. Mary of Bethany who chose the better part that's not to be taken away from her, 
5. John the Beloved who with Mary Magdalene and Mary, the Mother of our Lord bore witness at the foot of the Cross,
6. St. Paul, the Apostle, who showed us the way of the Name,
7. St. Pachomios who gave us the Angel's rule of prayer,
8. St. Arsenios who fled, found solitude and prayed always,
9. St. Mary of Egypt who found repentance to be enough, 
10. St. Isaac the Syrian who showed us the beyond to be in our midst,
11. St. Gregory of Sinai who chose to stay with the Prayer. 

Touching the hem of His Garment

In Mark chapter 5 we find the story of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. We find two people who were in desperate need of a miracle. Also we see at the beginning of the story that as Jesus got off of the boat that a huge crowd gathered around him. People were crowding Jesus so much that he could hardly get off the boat. And as he made his way through the crowd, Jairus came to him, as he made his way through this swarm of people, and fell on his knees before Jesus and asked him to come heal his daughter who was at the point of death.

Then as Jesus was making his way to Jairus' house we see that a woman with an issue of blood made her way through a crowd ,and eventually having to get on her knee so that she could touch the hem of his garment. They both were people who had to push their way through the crowds to get to Jesus, to get to their breakthrough, to obtain a miracle.

Just as they had to make their way through a literal crowd of people; they also had to make their way through figurative crowds as we also have to do if we want to see miracles. If we want to get to our breakthrough we will have to push through the crowds, crowds of our unbelief, crowds of our faithlessness, crowds of our envy, crowds of our unforgiveness.....

Icon of the "Woman with the Issue of Blood" housed at Holy Trinity Kellia, St. Simeon Skete

We use the story of the Lady with the Issue of Blood and the Icon that depicts this story quite often at the Skete to push through the crowds to touch the hem of Christ's garment in intercession for a loved one.  

The Prayer Rope (the third strand of the Nazareth Prayer Rope, known as the Jesus Life  Rosary) has a sixth decade for additional needs & mysteries. The sixth decade can be used for any of the mysteries in the Bible, including old testament events.  A while back a two year old girl came down with a life threatening blood disorder and her parents asked Seraphim to pray. He began using the new testament episode of the woman with the blood disorder who touched the hem of Jesus garment. (Mt. 9:20-22; Mk. 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48; Mt.14:35-36). This is prayed as a continuation of the Rosary utilizing the Sixth decade (note one can pray the Fifth decade over for the Sixth). One could issue what would be called “The Sixth Decade” in which a Mystery from our Lordʼs Life relative to the decades intention could be prayed. Following are some examples:

• 1. Healing: the man lowered through the roof by his friend (MK. 2:1-12) Jesus listens to the prayers of friends.
• 2. Jesus working with Joseph as a carpenter (Mk. 6:1-6)
• 3. Hand - the man with the withered hand (Mk 3:1-6). Iʼve been praying this for James.
• 4. Touch - the ten lepers (LK. 17:11-19). Unworthy of the touch of man, worthy of the touch of God. (1 out of 10 are thankful) (James 1:17)
• 5. Seeing: Blindman at Jericho (MK. 10:46-52)
• 6. Recognizing Jesus - Emmaus road in the breaking of the bread (Lk 24:13-35)
• 7. Manna in the Wilderness: (Ex. 16:4-36) Definition of manna - “We donʼt know what this is”. Sweetness for the journey but just enough for the day 
• 8. Vocation:
•   A. The Search (Jn. 1:35-39) “come and see”
•   B. The Call (Mk. 1:17-20) “come after me”
•   C. Fidelity (Lk. 9:57-62) those who look back are not fit for the Kingdom 
•   D. Fidelity to the end (Jn 21:18-22) “You are to follow Me”

The following are some intentions for “The Sixth Decade” 

1. Human trafficking (Mt. 18: 6-7)
2. Killing children unborn (Ex. 20:13; Mt. 18-6)
3. Grinding poverty (IJohn 3:17)
4. War (Ps. 68:30; 12:7; Isa.2:4; James 4:13; Ex. 20:13)
5. Greed - banking system (James 5:1-6; Ps. 20:7; Lk. 12:33)
6. Religion (Lk. 11:37-54)
7. The Underground Church/Remnant (Jer.23:3; Rom. 11:5)
8. Nazareth House Apostolate. The Little Flock (Rom.8:36; Lk.12:32-33); Anawim
(Zeph. 2:3); Little Children (I John 2:18); Fools for Christ (I Cor. 1:18-25; 4: 10-13)
9. Secularism
10.Rosary of Presence (Mt.5:13-14; 13:33; John 15:5) Note: Going to Africa made me realize how to seek to live a Rosary of Presence,a theology of Presence as a form of evangelism, a simple idea of being (Ps. 19:3,4) - “Their words arenʼt heard, their voices arenʼt recorded, but their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere” - Petersonʼs translation  

In light of recent illnesses we have been using this "6th Decade" when praying the Rosary: 

A SIXTH DECADE 

“Touching the Hem of His Garment”

Scripture: Mk. 5:24-34; Mt.14:35-36

“Jesus your Life ....is living in me.”

1. in our midst...
2. our hope...
3. to which I bring my bleeding and spent life...
4. of which I hear is near...
5. I see...
6. for which I push through crowdedness...
7. for which I reach out...
8. for which I reach out in faith...
9. touching the hem of your garment...
10. “Jesus your Life is living in me healing the hemorrhaging of my life.”  

From our dear friend, Fr. Gabriel Harty, OP we have this prayer to be said after each decade of the Healing Rosary:

"God our Father, we press our open wounds to the precious wounds of Jesus, your Son, that your will and ours be one.  Through these shared wounds, may we be healed, and bring your healing love to others, that all may be enriched in fulness of love, through Jesus, the Divine Humanity." Amen. 

Fr. Gabriel says " The Rosary is not simply a prayer for healing, it is a healing prayer, a prayer that heals. In other words, when we pray the Rosary we experience the healing Jesus is." 

Prayer: 

"Lord Jesus, the woman who touched the hem of your cloak

was healed of her illness.  Through these Rosary Beads

I now touch, as it were, the hem of your garment.  Let me have

faith to receive the healing you wish to give me through this rosary." 

Fr. Gabriel goes on to say in his book "The Riches of the Rosary", 

"There's healing in touching the very beads themselves, a lowly healing maybe, yet something basic and instinctive.  When all around is collapsing and the center cannot hold, it is something to latch on to...Something to hold onto, indeed.  But more importantly, someone to hold on to! It is the Nurse of heaven who holds the other end of the golden string."

"Jesus, whom we touch in every mystery of the Rosary, is still the source of power and the author of healing.  As we make contact with the simple string of beads, it is as if we were touching the hem of His garment, the very edge of eternity.  I always like to place the focus of healing on touching the person of the Lord rather than the actual beads.  I invite people to enter into the contemplative flow of the prayer and to make contact with the life - giving mysteries which are the soul of the Rosary. I composed the following prayer which brings our personal experience into line with the life-experience of the Lord Himself:

"Jesus, Son of the living God, I desire to recall the memory of your healing life, death and glory.  Through the power of your saving mysteries, touch every area of my being. Let my coming into this world be renewed by your own birth at Bethlehem.  Let your precious death remove from me all fear of death. Grant me to know the power which comes from your glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Through the grace of these Rosary Mysteries, touch every area of my life and be Lord of all that I am and all that I have.

O Mary, who first opened herself to this new creation, pray for me, a sinner, that I may be renewed in the love of my Lord."  (pgs 74-77 "Riches of the Rosary" - Fr. Gabriel Harty, OP)

_________________________________

In the Icon featured above,  they do not show the crowd that the woman pushed through to touch the hem of Jesus' clothing.  It is a method of iconography to allow some details to the viewer while the iconographer writes (paints) only the focal points of the scene.   

Epiphany 2013

The traditions of Epiphany were carried out at St. Simeon Skete today as usual.  All of the doors were blessed.


After Mass, carrying the Cross for 2013,

we hiked down to bless St. Arsenius Hermitage






for the "Blessing of the Doors".   Anna House, The Sanctuary of the Holy Name, the Kellia and other buildings on the main property was blessed before Mass.



From the hermitage we hiked our way down



to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers.



There we said the Redemptive Rosary.



From there we hiked a bit further down to the river to toss the Blessed Cross that Seraphim made on the 12th day of Christmas into it.



For details of the NHA Traditions at Epiphany refer to this previous blog post:  Click Here: Why do we bless doors at Epiphany? 




It was a cold, muddy, hike.  The wind was whipping around



and with no leaves on the trees to shield us - it seemed even colder.  Bundled up we made our way to the waters edge.



Once we reached the River Seraphim led the rosary - the Mystery of the Baptism of the Luminous Mysteries.


Next we renewed our Baptism vows



and I was asked to toss the Blessed 2013 Cross into the river, thus making all waters Baptismal.  



Once the Cross landed in the water



we stood there,



praying



as we watched the Cross



flow with the current



and float



down stream



within a few minutes it will be passing through Taylorsville Lake and on to other tributaries.