Nazareth House Apostolate

Today, August 10 is the Feast Day of St. Laurence, the patron Saint of our Nazareth House in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The account of St. Laurence (sometimes spelled Lawrence) follows. You will understand why St. Laurence House was named for this martyr…Sierra Leone is full of the treasures of the church”, the poor.James and Kadijah named their little son in honor of this saint. Although we all lovingly know him as “Roo”, his full name is Laurence (after the Martyr) Thomas(after Fr. Seraphim -Thomas) Mansaray.

The story on St. Laurence:
Saint Laurence was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving help to the poor and the needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St. Sixtus was condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Laurence followed him weeping, “Father, where are you going without your deacon?” he said. “I am not leaving you, my son,” answered the Pope.
“in three days you will follow me.” Full of joy, Laurence gave to the poor the rest of the money he had on hand and even sold expensive vessels to have more to give away.

The Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great fortune hidden away. So he ordered Laurence to bring the Church’s treasure to him. The Saint said he would, in three days. Then he went through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said:
“This is the Church’s treasure!”

In great anger, the Prefect condemned Laurence to a slow, cruel death. The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little, but Laurence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. “Turn me over,”
he said to the judge. “I’m done on this side!” And just before he died, he said, “It’s cooked enough now.”
May you have a blessed St. Laurence Day and remember the poor and the hungry.Rainy Season is in full stage in Sierra Leone. James reports that in Freetown the unending rain is keeping people inside, people are losing money who support themselves by selling their goods. Especially keep in your prayers those that live in Kroo Bay.
They must fight the floods of the rainy season. It is an unending battle, yet salvaging possessions and clearing mud, they still manage to flash a smile. This little girl washes clothes in the river in the midst of all the flood debris.

Please help Nazareth House Apostolate especially at this time, Give Today. We are at a crucial stage of trying to be there during the Rainy Season when needs become harder for all. It is important that we physically are present to administer supplies, and needs during this time. Only you through your compassion demonstrated in your giving can make this possible. We must cover the cost of air fare for two, and the funds to provide for the people once we land in Sierra Leone. Every year, you’ve shown your dedication to this cause and made it happen. Despite the recession, we are trusting that you will come through again. God bless you.

Mail to:

Nazareth House Apostolate
2216 Goldsmith Lane
Louisville, KY 40218

or

via paypal donation link on our website
www.nazarethhouseap.org.

If you are making monthly donations, thank you, please continue – we depend on this to provide the monthly needs of the people & continue the operation of the school in Kabala. If you are not contributing monthly, please consider doing so.

For this special time we must ask for additional funds over and above the regular monthly donations to make this mission a reality. Thank You.

Two great Feast Days back to back. Yesterday, The Transfiguration, today is The Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus.

“Invoke the Name of Jesus on everything which exists and the world will be transfigured, Christified and given its true meaning” – A Monk of the Eastern Church.

Mat 1:21 (NIV) “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus , because he will save his people from their sins.”

Acts 4:12 (NIV) “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Rev 19:13 (NIV) He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

Phil 2:9-11 (NIV) … God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.

Ps 138:2 (NIV) I will bow down… and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

The Feast of the Transfiguration and the beginning of the Novena for Peace at Grace Church

Two great Feast Days back to back. Yesterday, The Transfiguration, today is The Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus.

“Invoke the Name of Jesus on everything which exists and the world will be transfigured, Christified and given its true meaning” – A Monk of the Eastern Church.

Mat 1:21 (NIV) “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus , because he will save his people from their sins.”

Acts 4:12 (NIV) “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Rev 19:13 (NIV) He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

Phil 2:9-11 (NIV) … God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.

Ps 138:2 (NIV) I will bow down… and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

The Feast of the Transfiguration and the beginning of the Novena for Peace at Grace Church

Last night at Grace Church at 7:15 PM; the bells from the tower toned 64 times in honor of the 64 years since the bombing of Hiroshima. Most bells will toll today at 8:15 AM to honor the moment. However, Hiroshima is 13 hours ahead of our Eastern Standard Time and to coordinate with the exact timing of the bombing; we must ring the bells the night before when it is, indeed, the hour of 8:15 AM in Hiroshima.

Today’s schedule at Grace Church:

The Mass of the Transfiguration will be celebrated this morning at 6:30 AM

The Novena for Peace begins tonight at 6:30 PM

The Daily Regular Schedule of 11 offices will remain the same. See side bar for details.

Blessings to you on this Feast of the Transfiguration.

Last night at Grace Church at 7:15 PM; the bells from the tower toned 64 times in honor of the 64 years since the bombing of Hiroshima. Most bells will toll today at 8:15 AM to honor the moment. However, Hiroshima is 13 hours ahead of our Eastern Standard Time and to coordinate with the exact timing of the bombing; we must ring the bells the night before when it is, indeed, the hour of 8:15 AM in Hiroshima.

Today’s schedule at Grace Church:

The Mass of the Transfiguration will be celebrated this morning at 6:30 AM

The Novena for Peace begins tonight at 6:30 PM

The Daily Regular Schedule of 11 offices will remain the same. See side bar for details.

Blessings to you on this Feast of the Transfiguration.

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14

Nazareth is where our Lord spent his hidden life, where “nothing” was coming forth but tables and chairs, where He lived as we must live, where the Son of God was simply the son of Mary and Joseph. The hiddeness and ordinariness of Nazareth is an icon to something beyond self. It is the accepting that people may say of us what others said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46), i.e. can anything good come out of this life of “ordinariness” and “hiddeness”, strategically placed in areas of need, making a difference by entering into the moment? Praying this Rosary Novena for Peace is our answer “for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14); it is our answer because He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27); it is our answer because we’re sent forth with peace, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).

The Peace Plan for the World is Jesus, who gave us The Commandment (Mk. 12:28-31) to have a right relationship with God and Man. We can realize the Commandment when we follow Mary’s instruction relative to her Son, “Do whatever he says” (Jn.2:5). When we take up the Nazareth Bead, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945. Immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped 70,000 Japanese were instantly killed.

As we experience this Rosary Novena for peace remember not only the destruction of that morning in 1945 but also the bombs that continue to drop. Bombs such as intolerance, hatred, pride, unforgiveness, greed and selfishness. These destructions are being dropped by the planes of commerce, enforcement, body politics and religion where there is no longer any room for He who said, “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me.” Mt. 25:40

May this Rosary Novena for Peace do what theology cannot: put a human face on suffering and redemption. May we find sacred space in two “conflicting” yet complementary Biblical quotations:

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt. 5:4) and

“The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1 :21)

Both thoughts can serve as a response to the two cities:
those who mourn will be comforted,
and all has happened as part of God’s perfect will and permissive will.

and pray it in an Incarnational manner
for the “little ones” and for peace in our world.

May priests and religious chart programs of infiltrating areas of greatest need, “broadcasting” and bearing the Mysteries to the ends of the earth (Acts 1 :8). May they introduce and re-introduce this praying of the Rosary into all areas of life: families, cities, neighborhoods, offices, riding buses, walking streets …

May we be aided in all our efforts with the grace and strength of the Lord whose life we contemplate in the Rosary, and may we be accompanied by Our Lady of the Nazareth as we continue work for an entering into all of life with the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).

1. Relative to the orientation message of Thursday Night, (6:30 PM, Grace Church) and the deaths of Hiroshima, instead of asking why, try to focus on the kind of theology needed to explain these events.

2. Meditate on the following Scriptures: Mt. 25:31-46; Heb. 13:3; John 1:14

3. Vicki Hicks during a trip to Africa organized a team to bear witness of the slaughter of 280 young people who were caught after curfew. She went with her Rosary and prayed on the sight of the tragedy with what she called instead of “air drops”, “prayer drops.” Find a place of great need, go, take your Rosary, and pray. Such places could be among the rich poor, ie. banking, insurance, judicial, law offices, etc.

4. If you cannot come to the church to pray your Novena before the Shrine for Peace, you have been provided with a picture so you can be in solidarity with those who can be present at the 5:30 PM Rosary. Create a sacred space, enthrone your picture, kneel, say your Rosary. This can be done at home or places as suggested above.

5. Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” folder. This has been designed to fit into your Rosary case.

Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.

My love-

Being absorbed Into His Mercy,
– Seraphim+
“Do penance for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Mt 4:17

For further information concerning the Novena for Peace please visit the Nazareth House Apostolate Blog at www.nazarethhouseap.blogspot.com

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14

Nazareth is where our Lord spent his hidden life, where “nothing” was coming forth but tables and chairs, where He lived as we must live, where the Son of God was simply the son of Mary and Joseph. The hiddeness and ordinariness of Nazareth is an icon to something beyond self. It is the accepting that people may say of us what others said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46), i.e. can anything good come out of this life of “ordinariness” and “hiddeness”, strategically placed in areas of need, making a difference by entering into the moment? Praying this Rosary Novena for Peace is our answer “for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14); it is our answer because He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27); it is our answer because we’re sent forth with peace, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).

The Peace Plan for the World is Jesus, who gave us The Commandment (Mk. 12:28-31) to have a right relationship with God and Man. We can realize the Commandment when we follow Mary’s instruction relative to her Son, “Do whatever he says” (Jn.2:5). When we take up the Nazareth Bead, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945. Immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped 70,000 Japanese were instantly killed.

As we experience this Rosary Novena for peace remember not only the destruction of that morning in 1945 but also the bombs that continue to drop. Bombs such as intolerance, hatred, pride, unforgiveness, greed and selfishness. These destructions are being dropped by the planes of commerce, enforcement, body politics and religion where there is no longer any room for He who said, “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me.” Mt. 25:40

May this Rosary Novena for Peace do what theology cannot: put a human face on suffering and redemption. May we find sacred space in two “conflicting” yet complementary Biblical quotations:

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt. 5:4) and

“The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1 :21)

Both thoughts can serve as a response to the two cities:
those who mourn will be comforted,
and all has happened as part of God’s perfect will and permissive will.

and pray it in an Incarnational manner
for the “little ones” and for peace in our world.

May priests and religious chart programs of infiltrating areas of greatest need, “broadcasting” and bearing the Mysteries to the ends of the earth (Acts 1 :8). May they introduce and re-introduce this praying of the Rosary into all areas of life: families, cities, neighborhoods, offices, riding buses, walking streets …

May we be aided in all our efforts with the grace and strength of the Lord whose life we contemplate in the Rosary, and may we be accompanied by Our Lady of the Nazareth as we continue work for an entering into all of life with the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).

1. Relative to the orientation message of Thursday Night, (6:30 PM, Grace Church) and the deaths of Hiroshima, instead of asking why, try to focus on the kind of theology needed to explain these events.

2. Meditate on the following Scriptures: Mt. 25:31-46; Heb. 13:3; John 1:14

3. Vicki Hicks during a trip to Africa organized a team to bear witness of the slaughter of 280 young people who were caught after curfew. She went with her Rosary and prayed on the sight of the tragedy with what she called instead of “air drops”, “prayer drops.” Find a place of great need, go, take your Rosary, and pray. Such places could be among the rich poor, ie. banking, insurance, judicial, law offices, etc.

4. If you cannot come to the church to pray your Novena before the Shrine for Peace, you have been provided with a picture so you can be in solidarity with those who can be present at the 5:30 PM Rosary. Create a sacred space, enthrone your picture, kneel, say your Rosary. This can be done at home or places as suggested above.

5. Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” folder. This has been designed to fit into your Rosary case.

Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.

My love-

Being absorbed Into His Mercy,
– Seraphim+
“Do penance for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Mt 4:17

For further information concerning the Novena for Peace please visit the Nazareth House Apostolate Blog at www.nazarethhouseap.blogspot.com

Intro: A tradition at Nazareth House Centers is the following Rosary for Peace to begin on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6th.

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14

Nazareth is where our Lord spent his hidden life, where “nothing” was coming forth but tables and chairs, where He lived as we must live, where the Son of God was simply the son of Mary and Joseph. The hiddeness and ordinariness of Nazareth is an icon to something beyond self. It is the accepting that people may say of us what others said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46), i.e. can anything good come out of this life of “ordinariness” and “hiddeness”, strategically placed in areas of need, making a difference by entering into the moment? Praying this Rosary Novena for Peace is our answer “for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14); it is our answer because He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27); it is our answer because we’re sent forth with peace, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).The Peace Plan for the World is Jesus, who gave us The Commandment (Mk. 12:28-31) to have a right relationship with God and Man. We can realize the Commandment when we follow Mary’s instruction relative to her Son, “Do whatever he says” (Jn.2:5). When we take up the Nazareth Bead, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945. Immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped 70,000 Japanese were instantly killed.As we experience this Rosary Novena for peace remember not only the destruction of that morning in 1945 but also the bombs that continue to drop. Bombs such as intolerance, hatred, pride, unforgiveness, greed and selfishness. These destructions are being dropped by the planes of commerce, enforcement, body politics and religion where there is no longer any room for He who said, “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me.” Mt. 25:40May this Rosary Novena for Peace do what theology cannot: put a human face on suffering and redemption. May we find sacred space in two “conflicting” yet complementary Biblical quotations:

May priests and religious chart programs of infiltrating areas of greatest need, “broadcasting” and bearing the Mysteries to the ends of the earth (Acts 1 :8). May they introduce and re-introduce this praying of the Rosary into all areas of life: families, cities, neighborhoods, offices, riding buses, walking streets …May we be aided in all our efforts with the grace and strength of the Lord whose life we contemplate in the Rosary, and may we be accompanied by Our Lady of the Nazareth as we continue work for an entering into all of life with the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).1. Relative to the orientation message of Thursday Night, (6:30 PM, Grace Church) and the deaths of Hiroshima, instead of asking why, try to focus on the kind of theology needed to explain these events.2. Meditate on the following Scriptures: Mt. 25:31-46; Heb. 13:3; John 1:143. Vicki Hicks during a trip to Africa organized a team to bear witness of the slaughter of 280 young people who were caught after curfew. She went with her Rosary and prayed on the sight of the tragedy with what she called instead of “air drops”, “prayer drops.” Find a place of great need, go, take your Rosary, and pray. Such places could be among the rich poor, ie. banking, insurance, judicial, law offices, etc.4. If you cannot come to the church to pray your Novena before the Shrine for Peace, you have been provided with a picture so you can be in solidarity with those who can be present at the 5:30 PM Rosary. Create a sacred space, enthrone your picture, kneel, say your Rosary. This can be done at home or places as suggested above.5. Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” folder. This has been designed to fit into your Rosary case.Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.My love-Being absorbed Into His Mercy, – Seraphim+

The Rosary Novena for Peace Shrine is composed primarily of two items; one representing Nazareth, the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth where she is offering us the Rosary, our connection to peace. On it we will pray the mysteries of our faith, hope of the world.To the right of our Lady of the Rosary is an urn which contains Trinitite, representing Hiroshima. Trinitite is the surface of the earth that was instantaneously melted by the heat of the first atomic bomb test blast.Shortly before dawn on July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 AM Mountain War Time, the atomic age was born. After years of experimentation and preparation, the plutonium bomb, nicknamed “the Gadget,” was placed on top of a one-hundred foot tower at a site termed “Trinity” by the scientists of the “Manhattan Project.” Inside, about twelve pounds of plutonium was imploded to start the fusion reaction which resulted in a blast equal to twenty thousand tons of TNT. The fireball was almost as bright as twenty suns. It is this melted earth from the first atomic bomb blast that is housed in the urn of the shrine.*Merciful God,Receive the prayers we offer for our anxious and troubled world. Send thy light into our darkness and guide the nations as one family into the ways of peace. We, together on the earth, belong to you. May we see one another as you see us. Help us to love one another, teach us to understand each other, just as you, understand us. Make us as fresh as the morning, make our hearts free of fear. May we forgive each other and forget the past. Strengthen in us day by day, the desire for you. Amen.*The above prayer was composed for and prayed during a Rosary of Masses celebrated in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Summer 2005, Nazareth House Apostolate

Locally at Nazareth House Center the service will begin at 6:30PM August 6th, which is also the Feast of the Transfiguration. Feast of the Transfiguration Mass will be at 6:30 AM

Intro: A tradition at Nazareth House Centers is the following Rosary for Peace to begin on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6th.

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14

Nazareth is where our Lord spent his hidden life, where “nothing” was coming forth but tables and chairs, where He lived as we must live, where the Son of God was simply the son of Mary and Joseph. The hiddeness and ordinariness of Nazareth is an icon to something beyond self. It is the accepting that people may say of us what others said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46), i.e. can anything good come out of this life of “ordinariness” and “hiddeness”, strategically placed in areas of need, making a difference by entering into the moment? Praying this Rosary Novena for Peace is our answer “for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14); it is our answer because He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27); it is our answer because we’re sent forth with peace, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).

The Peace Plan for the World is Jesus, who gave us The Commandment (Mk. 12:28-31) to have a right relationship with God and Man. We can realize the Commandment when we follow Mary’s instruction relative to her Son, “Do whatever he says” (Jn.2:5). When we take up the Nazareth Bead, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945. Immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped 70,000 Japanese were instantly killed.

As we experience this Rosary Novena for peace remember not only the destruction of that morning in 1945 but also the bombs that continue to drop. Bombs such as intolerance, hatred, pride, unforgiveness, greed and selfishness. These destructions are being dropped by the planes of commerce, enforcement, body politics and religion where there is no longer any room for He who said, “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me.” Mt. 25:40

May this Rosary Novena for Peace do what theology cannot: put a human face on suffering and redemption. May we find sacred space in two “conflicting” yet complementary Biblical quotations:

May priests and religious chart programs of infiltrating areas of greatest need, “broadcasting” and bearing the Mysteries to the ends of the earth (Acts 1 :8). May they introduce and re-introduce this praying of the Rosary into all areas of life: families, cities, neighborhoods, offices, riding buses, walking streets …

May we be aided in all our efforts with the grace and strength of the Lord whose life we contemplate in the Rosary, and may we be accompanied by Our Lady of the Nazareth as we continue work for an entering into all of life with the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).

1. Relative to the orientation message of Thursday Night, (6:30 PM, Grace Church) and the deaths of Hiroshima, instead of asking why, try to focus on the kind of theology needed to explain these events.

2. Meditate on the following Scriptures: Mt. 25:31-46; Heb. 13:3; John 1:14

3. Vicki Hicks during a trip to Africa organized a team to bear witness of the slaughter of 280 young people who were caught after curfew. She went with her Rosary and prayed on the sight of the tragedy with what she called instead of “air drops”, “prayer drops.” Find a place of great need, go, take your Rosary, and pray. Such places could be among the rich poor, ie. banking, insurance, judicial, law offices, etc.

4. If you cannot come to the church to pray your Novena before the Shrine for Peace, you have been provided with a picture so you can be in solidarity with those who can be present at the 5:30 PM Rosary. Create a sacred space, enthrone your picture, kneel, say your Rosary. This can be done at home or places as suggested above.

5. Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” folder. This has been designed to fit into your Rosary case.

Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.

My love-

Being absorbed Into His Mercy,
– Seraphim+

The Rosary Novena for Peace Shrine is composed primarily of two items; one representing Nazareth, the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth where she is offering us the Rosary, our connection to peace. On it we will pray the mysteries of our faith, hope of the world.

To the right of our Lady of the Rosary is an urn which contains Trinitite, representing Hiroshima. Trinitite is the surface of the earth that was instantaneously melted by the heat of the first atomic bomb test blast.

Shortly before dawn on July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 AM Mountain War Time, the atomic age was born. After years of experimentation and preparation, the plutonium bomb, nicknamed “the Gadget,” was placed on top of a one-hundred foot tower at a site termed “Trinity” by the scientists of the “Manhattan Project.” Inside, about twelve pounds of plutonium was imploded to start the fusion reaction which resulted in a blast equal to twenty thousand tons of TNT. The fireball was almost as bright as twenty suns. It is this melted earth from the first atomic bomb blast that is housed in the urn of the shrine.

*Merciful God,
Receive the prayers we offer for our anxious and troubled world. Send thy light into our darkness and guide the nations as one family into the ways of peace. We, together on the earth, belong to you. May we see one another as you see us. Help us to love one another, teach us to understand each other, just as you, understand us. Make us as fresh as the morning, make our hearts free of fear. May we forgive each other and forget the past. Strengthen in us day by day, the desire for you. Amen.

*The above prayer was composed for and prayed during a Rosary of Masses celebrated in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Summer 2005, Nazareth House Apostolate

Locally at Nazareth House Center the service will begin at 6:30PM August 6th, which is also the Feast of the Transfiguration. Feast of the Transfiguration Mass will be at 6:30 AM

Intro: A tradition at Nazareth House Centers is the following Rosary for Peace to begin on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6th.

“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14

Nazareth is where our Lord spent his hidden life, where “nothing” was coming forth but tables and chairs, where He lived as we must live, where the Son of God was simply the son of Mary and Joseph. The hiddeness and ordinariness of Nazareth is an icon to something beyond self. It is the accepting that people may say of us what others said of Him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn.1:46), i.e. can anything good come out of this life of “ordinariness” and “hiddeness”, strategically placed in areas of need, making a difference by entering into the moment? Praying this Rosary Novena for Peace is our answer “for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14); it is our answer because He said “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27); it is our answer because we’re sent forth with peace, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).

The Peace Plan for the World is Jesus, who gave us The Commandment (Mk. 12:28-31) to have a right relationship with God and Man. We can realize the Commandment when we follow Mary’s instruction relative to her Son, “Do whatever he says” (Jn.2:5). When we take up the Nazareth Bead, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.

The atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945. Immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped 70,000 Japanese were instantly killed.

As we experience this Rosary Novena for peace remember not only the destruction of that morning in 1945 but also the bombs that continue to drop. Bombs such as intolerance, hatred, pride, unforgiveness, greed and selfishness. These destructions are being dropped by the planes of commerce, enforcement, body politics and religion where there is no longer any room for He who said, “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me.” Mt. 25:40

May this Rosary Novena for Peace do what theology cannot: put a human face on suffering and redemption. May we find sacred space in two “conflicting” yet complementary Biblical quotations:

May priests and religious chart programs of infiltrating areas of greatest need, “broadcasting” and bearing the Mysteries to the ends of the earth (Acts 1 :8). May they introduce and re-introduce this praying of the Rosary into all areas of life: families, cities, neighborhoods, offices, riding buses, walking streets …

May we be aided in all our efforts with the grace and strength of the Lord whose life we contemplate in the Rosary, and may we be accompanied by Our Lady of the Nazareth as we continue work for an entering into all of life with the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).

1. Relative to the orientation message of Thursday Night, (6:30 PM, Grace Church) and the deaths of Hiroshima, instead of asking why, try to focus on the kind of theology needed to explain these events.

2. Meditate on the following Scriptures: Mt. 25:31-46; Heb. 13:3; John 1:14

3. Vicki Hicks during a trip to Africa organized a team to bear witness of the slaughter of 280 young people who were caught after curfew. She went with her Rosary and prayed on the sight of the tragedy with what she called instead of “air drops”, “prayer drops.” Find a place of great need, go, take your Rosary, and pray. Such places could be among the rich poor, ie. banking, insurance, judicial, law offices, etc.

4. If you cannot come to the church to pray your Novena before the Shrine for Peace, you have been provided with a picture so you can be in solidarity with those who can be present at the 5:30 PM Rosary. Create a sacred space, enthrone your picture, kneel, say your Rosary. This can be done at home or places as suggested above.

5. Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” folder. This has been designed to fit into your Rosary case.

Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.

My love-

Being absorbed Into His Mercy,
– Seraphim+

The Rosary Novena for Peace Shrine is composed primarily of two items; one representing Nazareth, the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth where she is offering us the Rosary, our connection to peace. On it we will pray the mysteries of our faith, hope of the world.

To the right of our Lady of the Rosary is an urn which contains Trinitite, representing Hiroshima. Trinitite is the surface of the earth that was instantaneously melted by the heat of the first atomic bomb test blast.

Shortly before dawn on July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 AM Mountain War Time, the atomic age was born. After years of experimentation and preparation, the plutonium bomb, nicknamed “the Gadget,” was placed on top of a one-hundred foot tower at a site termed “Trinity” by the scientists of the “Manhattan Project.” Inside, about twelve pounds of plutonium was imploded to start the fusion reaction which resulted in a blast equal to twenty thousand tons of TNT. The fireball was almost as bright as twenty suns. It is this melted earth from the first atomic bomb blast that is housed in the urn of the shrine.

*Merciful God,
Receive the prayers we offer for our anxious and troubled world. Send thy light into our darkness and guide the nations as one family into the ways of peace. We, together on the earth, belong to you. May we see one another as you see us. Help us to love one another, teach us to understand each other, just as you, understand us. Make us as fresh as the morning, make our hearts free of fear. May we forgive each other and forget the past. Strengthen in us day by day, the desire for you. Amen.

*The above prayer was composed for and prayed during a Rosary of Masses celebrated in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Summer 2005, Nazareth House Apostolate

Locally at Nazareth House Center the service will begin at 6:30PM August 6th, which is also the Feast of the Transfiguration. Feast of the Transfiguration Mass will be at 6:30 AM