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Its all about LOVE

Posted in Uncategorized on September 16th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment

As the Nazareth House Compound in Kabala continues slowly,

bit by bit,  towards completion,

there remains the inconveniences of living out of the city

and away from the things that many of us take for granted.

However, James and Kadijah see this as a minor interruption but definitely not a major hinderance.

For in many ways, the move out of the busy city of Freetown,

has brought far more to their life than it has taken away.

Kadijah washes clothes with Albert

 It has brought them back to a place of simplicity,

Albert putting up clothes lines for Kadijah, while the construction workers continue working on the Compound

a place of stillness

where the hospitality reaching out from your neighbor’s heart can be heard.

In Kabala, the people (of all ages, young and old) work hard and long,

but it is with goals and purposes

- much different from the frantic busyness of Freetown and other large cities of the world.

Kadijah tidying up the dirt path in front of Compound, each sweep a prayer

In the stillness, through the bond and love of our neighbors,

Sanu & Kadijah delivering rice

we can make a home in the hearts of one another and not have to try to be who they want us to be…

or what society thinks we should be …

we can simply “be” who God made us to be.

No airs, no pretending – just living life.

Nazareth House is in Kabala to be of service to the people around us

but the people, at first word that James was down with a severe case of Shingles and with Kadijah in her pregnancy; the neighbors bring water to us at the Nazareth House Compound.   Bucket after bucket of water fetched from streams a good distance away,  arrives on the heads of our extended family – the Nazareth House Family.     Love …. its all about love….



Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Donations to this worthy cause can be sent to:
NHA
185 Captains Cove Drive
Taylorsville, KY 40071
or made through the Paypal Donation Link on our website
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Mornings that last all day!

Posted in Uncategorized on August 23rd, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment
At this stage of pregnancy, mornings are not easy for Kadijah.  As it is with most women with child, Morning Sickness occupies a lot of her day.   
Life is not as frantic
 in Kabala as it was in Freetown.
  Its quiet, no constant honking of car horns,
 no hustle and bustle 
about the streets.  
Kadijah sets out to begin the day, preparing food and doing chores.  
Albeit, the unfinished Compound (cabinets not all in yet) provides her an opportunity to be a little more creative on getting the day’s tasks accomplished.  This is nothing new for her – anyone able to survive the horrors & atrocities of war while also protecting her infant (Lucy was a baby during the war) -she is used to making things do. 
The rains are so heavy now that it has provided many gallons of free water with each full bucket saved.  We can now use it to flush the toilet, bathe, wash dishes.  We are so thankful for this source of water. 
Because of the rains, being without water isn’t too terrible.  A bit of an inconvenience during cooking and bathing and a toilsome annoyance in the restroom.  Yet we do what we have to do.
 We pray that as the rains stop, and the sunny weather returns that we will also have the funding to complete the well and provide water into the Compound.  And if it is delayed longer, then… we’ll be okay.  NHA lives in the moment, making the best of it because God is in that very moment – good or bad.  This gives us the strength to plow on through whatever the world hands us.  
In the meantime we give thanks for all of you and all we have, in particular all the wonderful benefits we have received in living up-country.   One advantage (which is the greatest) is that there is no shortage of loving people to share the day and spread around some happiness…   
Seraphim’s good friend, Pa Bah, enjoys some time with Roo…
Pa Bah has had recent health issues, please pray for him.
…and Kadijah gets some time to be still..
“Be still, and know that I am God” 

(Psalm 46:10)
www.nazarethhouseap.org

Rosary Novena for Peace

Posted in Uncategorized on August 6th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment



Motto: “Do whatever He says” -Jn. 2:5

Litany of Non-Violence
God, aware of my own brokenness,
I ask the gift of courage to identify how and where I am
in need of conversation in order to live
in solidarity with all people.
Deliver me from the violence of superiority and disdain.
Grant me the desire, and the humility,
to listen with special care to those whose experiences
and attitudes are different from my own.
Deliver me from the violence of greed and privilege.
Grant me the desire, and the will, to live simply
so others may have their just share of Earth’s resources.
Deliver me from the silence that gives
consent to abuse, war and evil.
Grant me the desire, and the courage, to risk
speaking and acting for the common good.
Deliver me from the violence of irreverence,
exploitation and control.
Grant me the desire, and the strength, to act
responsibly within the cycle of creation.
God of love, mercy and justice,
acknowledging my complicity in those attitudes,
action and words which perpetuate violence,
I beg the grace of a non-violent heart. Amen.

Rosary Novena For Peace
(Using the Nazareth Rosary)
(6th August to 15th August)
“All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” -Acts 1: 14
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Nazareth where Mary gave us her peace plan
and
Hiroshima where it was ignored.
NAZARETH
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 Rosary, we are praying the life of Christ with a determination to do what he says in the Nazareth of our lives, Jesus.
HIROSHIMA
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.
May you take up the Rosary once more, as I have asked many times in the past, 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).

 

ENCOURAGEMENTS
1. Relative to the orientation message 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 on 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.
4.  Be sure to keep track of your daily chaplets with the “Beads or Bombs” chart.  See above.
Remember dear ones, sacrifice, penance and prayer. Don’t miss the great adventure and wonderment of it all.

“Do penance for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Mt 4:17

“Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for giving us Mary, Messenger of Peace, to be our Mother. Great warmth fills our hearts as we take refuge in the tenderness of your Mother’s gaze; Grant that we might receive her message of peace by realizing what we have and who we are is enough, as we pray and live Your Way, Life and Name in union with Mary, Messenger of Peace.” Amen.

Dressed for Success

Posted in Uncategorized on July 11th, 2011 by vicki – 1 Comment
After Easter this year, Wanda Karen Thompson of Athens, Georgia began collecting materials and sewing Pillowslip Dresses for the girls at our NHA School in Kabala. 
Wanda and friends in Athens meet together to pack dresses for Sierra Leone on Chloe’s birthday.  
She organized the Facebook Page  Granny Pearl’s Trunk to spread awareness of the needs in Sierra Leone through Nazareth House. 

Bit by bit, the dresses were sewn, donated and packed.
Dress sewn by Misty Willis and donated by Courtney Closet, Athens, Georgia.
Three of these dresses were in the shipment. Two are size 10 and one is size 8.

Pillowcase donated by the Lathe-Shaffer family, Stone Mountain, Georgia.
 Dress was sewn by Wanda Karen Thompson, Athens, Georgia.
Pillowcase donated by the Burns family, Hoschton, Georgia.
 Dress was sewn by Wanda Karen Thompson, Athens, Georgia.

Pillowcase donated by the Meka family, Athens, Georgia. 
Dress was sewn by Wanda Karen Thompson, owner-operator of Karen’s Clothesline, Athens, Georgia
Dress sewn by Misty Willis and donated by Courtney Closet, Athens, Georgia.
This dresses will be in the May shipment. Size 2.

Dresses sewn by Misty Willis and donated by Courtney Closet, Athens, Georgia.
Three of these dresses will be in the May shipment. They are in sizes 4, 5 and 10.

Wanda’s son and daughter-in-law with their daughter completed the packing and off the dresses go via USPS Flat Rate Priority.   

Shannon, Laura and  little Soleil Thompson 


The Athens NHA Team added in a few medicines and food supplies to round out the shipment. 


It took about 15 days but the boxes arrived, just as James and his family were moving to Kabala to the new NHA Compound.  


Once James and family arrived, the next morning, they wasted no time in distributing the first  batch of dresses.    


One by one the dresses were sized up 


and placed on an excited little girl.  

. 

After putting on their new dresses, the girls hurried over to show their friends at the NHA School.

This is what NHA is all about, helping each other.  Let’s continue it by finishing the Compound.  We are  still in need of paying off the Contractor debt so we can move on to concentrate on the personal needs of the people of Kabala and surrounding villages.   If you haven’t committed to a monthly donation, please consider doing so today.   Our goal is to have 1000 people giving $25 per month.   Seeing your work in action, the care and love that you give through NHA – I’m sure you will want to be a part of something that visibly makes a difference in the lives of others?   Join us today.

 As you can see, these girls are very happy and show it with a Thumbs Up!  Thank you Athens NHA Team!  

Note from Wanda (& NHA): Thanks to David & Misty Willis at Courtney’s Closet in Athens, GA for donating dresses to the children in Sierra Leone. I appreciate Carol Strickland Williams for being our photographer today. And last but not least, thanks to the Akridges for sharing Nazareth House Apostolate‘s story with me.   (Photographs of the dresses once received in Sierra Leone were taken by James Mansaray – all rights reserved.) 

The move continues

Posted in Uncategorized on July 5th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment
James is running back and forth taking bit by bit to begin the move into the new NHA Compound.   There is so much left to be done to put it into proper “live in” condition.  With the latest news that Kadijah is pregnant, the need to finish the Compound is more urgent.

Congratulations to the Mansaray Family, new life, new joy.

  Kadijah works very hard to give aid to those around her, fixing many meals for those in need, distributing medication, generally taking care of the sick.

I think Kadijah loves to wear this shirt.  We see her in it all the time.

With the added stress of pregnancy (she is suffering severe morning sickness),  we just can’t allow her to walk the great distance to the stream to bathe, wash clothes and carry water back to the Compound for cooking, etc.

We have so much to do, the students need new uniforms the next school season, the school building needs painting…

people are  hungry, people are sick.


  It is imperative that we build up our team, adding new members to the NHA family.  With an enlarged support base we can get closer to the goal of 1000 people giving monthly.

Please help us pay the debt ($12,302 in total) on the NHA Compound and move forward, working to change more lives, providing new opportunities for a healthier life.

This past week, James was in Kabala unloading furniture when a Government Hospital nurse approached about giving Worm Medicines to the NHA students at our school.

This is the first I’ve ever heard of anyone but NHA giving out worm pills

and to think that they considered our students AND brought the medicines to our School.

This is amazing and we are so thankful!

We are not alone in our work, its a team effort.

Lucy was in Kabala with James and was able to help the nurse distribute the tablets and measure and weigh the children.

Education is such an important measure in providing a better life for these children.  Please consider helping Nazareth House Apostolate make a difference in their lives which ultimately changes the lives of those who give as well.  

Thank you!


Good Bye Freetown; Hello Kabala

Posted in Uncategorized on June 25th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment
In Kabala, right now, the workers are frantically trying to complete the extremely hard task of building the well.   Without it, obtaining water at our new NHA Compound in Kabala will be a real back-breaking task, requiring long hikes to fetch water and haul it back – several times a day.   It will also mean bathing in streams, along with the laundry. 
Seeing these guys digging deeper and deeper in search of water, I think of the Samaritan at the well in Scripture from John 4: 6-23.  It has always been one of my favorite Bible Stories and I think of it every time I see a well.   The Well Scene pictures forgiveness, renewal, refreshment – new beginnings.
I remember last year in Kabala at a different well; Seraphim went to draw some water, there was a lady who came upon the well at the same time he did.   Knowing he was a priest, she respectfully refused to allow him to draw water and drew it for him.   Seraphim was humbled by her gesture,  knowing that she also knew the Scripture – it was a beautiful moment for all of us that witnessed it.  
The construction of the new well for the NHA Compound
Looking at how deep this well is already and no water in sight, knowing the rickety tools the workers must use, I think of prayer.  The workman’s safety, the general need of water – we definitely need to  soak this situation in prayer.  
The work continues at the NHA Compound, building for change!  Its what we are all about – CHANGE.  Changing lives by bringing about better life, better education, better health.  
NHA students slowly make their way to the NHA School.
For a year now,  Nazareth House has been working to complete the NHA Compound in an effort to serve the poorest of the poor in a meaningful way.   We were lead to Kabala because of the needs of that   area.  We knew that  NHA could be most effective there, not only because of our type of work, but because the NHA School is already located there – right across the dirt road from the site of our new compound. To minister to the people,  it is important to live in the community in which we serve.  Hence the move to Kabala.   Simply visiting from time to time doesn’t give you the keen awareness needed to make a genuine real difference.   Relocating our staff and center to Kabala is a practical and prudent move.
Our first order of business was to establish a permanent residency in the area. We were fortunate to find a trustworthy contractor and after much prayer we began to build.   From that moment we all have worked together, raising the money to fulfill this vision and meet the challenge.   At this writing we continue to hover at the $12,000 range owed on the NHA Compound.   NHA relies entirely on God as he works through those who listen and hear Him, putting it into action.   As part of our family of supporters, you demonstrate the power and potential of collective love – showing the world that Matthew 25:31-46 can be realized when people are willing to share.   Together we have accomplished so much in Sierra Leone by restoring hope and providing help.   Its time to embark on the final steps of the NHA Compound journey and move forward into new avenues of loving and caring for our brothers and sisters in need.  
NHA does not receive government grants, we rely on individuals, organizations and churches to provide the care and meet the needs of the poor in Sierra Leone.    
This weekend is it! We have squeezed out every second of our stay at St. Laurence House in Freetown and now the truck is loaded with the last of the belongings and it is over.   St. Laurence House is no longer.   The new compound, our center of operations in Kabala will be named “Nazareth House, Kabala”.   
Loaded truck, Kabala bound

James, Kadijah, Lucy, Ann Marie and Roo are Kabala bound – despite the fact that their new home, the NHA Compound, is not ready for us to house them.   We take a deep breath, inhale a huge dose of faith and do what we have to do.   The Mansaray family is no different, so in faith, they move to Kabala.   
Ann Marie, packing up – moving out
Kadijah, however, is suffering a little more than the rest of the family, she’s having to make the move ill – suffering from vomiting and nausea.  Please keep her in your prayers.   
Kadijah and Mama Vicki at a Kabala Well
The rough drive to Kabala is a long one and much worse when you are not feeling well.  

Kadijah at the NHA School, March 2010

So as we move on to establish a permanent residency and further the aid in and around Kabala, we ask your prayers and support.   Share the work, share the love…

Goodbye, Freetown!
Thank you for your consideration.

www.nazarethhouseap.org

So What is This Skete Thing?

Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment
The move from Louisville to Spencer County in order to bring St. Simeon Skete to life has been and remains an adventure.


In a world filled with self-indulging, flash and unending stimulation, the skete’s peaceful, disciplined and sacrificial life makes it a target for inquisitiveness.




From time to time curiosity seekers drive onto the grounds to check us out.





Most don’t stay to ask questions, they simply want a quick view of  “what’s going on” here.  

 








There are those who do come in order to understand the Skete life lived, others only want to see what “changes” we have made and then there are those who simply come to see if we “really got rid of the pool!”.

A swimming pool is not conducive to life at the skete and it was our first priority to do away with it.






(During the recent 90 degree weather we noticed several who drove in hoping to sneak a dip in the pool.)

pool removal



the grassland where the pool once was



Today, I again heard the crackling of rolling tires on gravel.  As I peered out the window, I noticed a car drive down behind the Chapel to a hidden area where the pool once was.   Most viewers drive around the circle and back out.

 



I decided I should make myself visible.  As I walked onto the parking lot, the car is backing up the hill from behind the Chapel, it turned around and headed right to me.   In times past, and I must admit that I’ve become weary of this, people come here looking for a vacation rental house or a reception hall.



Some people aren’t aware of the transfer of ownership and I understand this, but what I don’t quite understand is when I explain that Nazareth House Apostolate owns the property and what it is being used for people still say “well, will you guys rent it to us?”  As if we’d stop the prayer, move out and let them stay for a couple of days. The most puzzling to me is when they realize there are no more vacation rental houses, the people then look around and see that the lodge is now a chapel complete with Altar, pews, etc. Seeing the transformation, they say “well can we rent this out for a party?”   Amazing.



As the car approached me, I thought to myself “here we go again, can I book a party here?”   As they drove a little closer I could see it was a car full of teenage girls, maybe 16 – 18 years old, although they looked even younger.   The driver gestures towards the chapel and says “Is that the restaurant?” just as a girl in the backseat pops her head out of the window and says “Where are the monks?”.   The other girl sitting next to her, swats her and says very strongly,  “you can’t see monks, they hide!”  In the meantime the front seat passenger is repeating “I want to see a monk, I want to see a monk”.  I want to laugh at the scene, but I don’t want to offend them so I answer, “the former lodge (pointing to the Meeting of the Lord Chapel) is now a chapel and this is now a skete, a place where people come to live the life of prayer.”   Another girl asked “what do the monks do all day?”  “They pray”, I replied.  The driver looked around, all wide-eyed, her eyes look towards the lake and she says, “ boy, they are gonna love this place.”






Recently St. Simeon Skete welcomed a (planned) visitor, Fr. Gabriel Harty OP of Ireland.  Fr. Gabriel, Archbishop Provence and Seraphim met for a personal Rosary Retreat.


Fr. Gabriel came all the way from Ireland for the retreat, the archbishop all the way from San Francisco.  It was wonderful to spend time with the three of them – an Archbishop, a Dominican and a Hesychast.

 







Fr. Gabriel had these words to say about his visit:
What a surprise it was to receive an email from Kentucky to come to St. Simeon Skete to share on the subject of the Rosary.  
I had heard of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky chicken and of their famous Bourbon whiskey. But Simeon Skete, what was that?





I couldn’t find the term Skete in any dictionary.    It was explained to me that the Skete-life combines the best of community and solitary life.  Members of a Skete have their own separate dwelling place but come together for an evening meal each day.
I was a few months short of ninety years of age and most of my colleagues thought I was mad to attempt the 4,000 mile flight on my own.  I have long ago learned that if God is in the venture it will be an adventure in grace. And so it proved to be. They spoke to me about jet-lag, but all I could say was,  what jet-lag?  The adventure did not knock a feather out of me, thank God.The invitation had come from Fr. Seraphim who has lived the life of a desert Father for many years, most recently in a small room in Louisville.  He had led the solitary life of prayer also in Sierra Leone and in India where he was influenced by some holy men.

 

Seraphim with children in Sierra Leone




He met up with Sufis and Muslims and together they shared in the use of prayer beads and meditation.  He describes himself not as Protestant, nor as Roman Catholic, but simply as Catholic. Resulting from his ministry in Sierra Leone, Seraphim was drawn to his co-worker, Vicki, a grace-filled lady, and sought advice from his bishop about getting married to her.  She is the information technology person that keeps information and administration flowing. When Fr. Seraphim gets up around 4am to begin his round of prayer-watch, Vicki finds it is the ideal time for her to be in touch by phone and email with her co-missionary friends in Africa. At that early hour in Kentucky, the African day is in already in full swing.

Fr. Gabriel and Vicki



I would have thought of a hermit as one who lived alone, and wondered how he could be at the same time a married man. But everything seems to work out according to a well-tuned Divine plan.  Grace and nature walk hand in hand under the inspiration of Simeon and Anna who are the Patron Saints of the Skete.   Seraphim looks to Simeon who moved only in the Holy Spirit as he watched and waited for the Messiah. Watching and waiting are at the heart of this blessed venture.  The large and comfortable the Guest House is named after the Prophetess who is part of the same Fourth mystery of the Rosary.

Anna House




They call it Anna House.  I will treasure the lovely icon of St. Simeon with the child in his arms, which Vicki gave me.



I may even be tempted to put aside, the two names Seraphim and Vicki and think of them as Simeon and Anna.  And I will remember how each night at Compline, they would ask me to sing Simeon’s song, the Nunc Dimittis, Now you can dismiss your servant in peace, O Lord, for my eyes of seen the salvation you have prepared for us.



This Mystery of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple will forever bring me back to Kentucky and to the serene Taylorsville lake that lies below this blessed sanctuary of peace and prayer.

Taylorsville Lake



Fr. Seraphim speaks of combining the spirituality of East and West.  While they celebrate Mass and believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament which is reserved in an Upper Room shrine, their chapel is adorned with Russian style icons.  Beads and meditation and the recitation of the Jesus Prayer are part and parcel of the day and the night.
Their attachment to the Rosary was high-lighted by the custom of placing the beads on a gilded plate and bringing them by way of gifts to the altar at the Offertory. Only one who had plumbed the Christo-centred depths of the Rosary, would have the temerity to do as Fr. Seraphim does as he lifted up the blessed beads in the awesome context of the Mass.  It brought to mind what Lucy of Fatima said about the Hail Mary: “It is a Eucharistic prayer with the name of Jesus at its centre and giving expression to the greeting that is at the heart of the Mass: The Lord is with you.”
Seraphim has steeped himself in the traditions of our own Marian Rosary. Although I have been involved in the preaching of the Rosary all over Ireland and abroad, never in my whole life have I seen such a vast collection of Rosary literature. For over twenty years he has been reading every book and article I myself have done on this subject. He was able to give me a copy of one book of my own long out of print, He had two copies.

Fr. Gabriel signing copies of his book “Riches of the Rosary” that he brought to the Skete



All through Sierra Leone he has used my small work: The Healing Light of the Rosary.


I mention this simply to bring out the fact, that this strange hermit has a deeply Catholic and Marian heart.
During the week, I never saw Seraphim without the beads in his hands, and with another hanging from his belt.

One of the most moving and humbling moments of my stay at the Skete was when this gracious man went down on his knees and took hold of my beads and asked that the Rosary-grace given to me might pass into his own person. He saw this gesture in the line of an older man passing on his gift to a younger one. I have no doubt but that this gesture was two-way flow of grace, for the fragrance of that week with Vicki and Seraphim will linger for long in my soul.
The Anglican Archbishop, James Provence came all  the way from San Francisco for our retreat together as he wants to learn more and more about the Rosary as prayed through the eyes of Our Lady.





He lives in San Francisco and is anxious that his priests and seminarians should come to the Simeon Skete to absorb themselves in the Skete/Hermitage spirituality.
We had long talks about their understanding of the Priesthood and the Eucharist. They describe themselves as coming out of the Pre-Reformation tradition that existed in England before Henry V111.



They had no part in that and say that their Ordination derives from the same source as our own. They use the original Anglican Missal and Lectionary.



Fr. Seraphim gave me a large volume of the French Dominican Saintourens (1835—1920) from his collection detailing the fortunes of all the foundations of perpetual rosary —many now extinct.  Judging by way Fr. Seraphim had marked and underlined so many passages in the book it became clear to me that he was wishing for some re-flowering of this Dominican of Perpetual Rosary at the Skete.  On returning to Ireland, I wrote a report of all this to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Louisville, saying how much I impressed I was by all that I had seen and heard and been touched by.
Archbishop Bishop James Provence and , Fr. Seraphim and his wife Vicki met with me for about ten sessions over and eagerly drank in all that I had to say about the Dominican tradition of the Rosary as L’Evangile a genoux as Lacordaire called it, as well as the original thrust of the Rosary as more a method of preaching than of praying.  Rosarium magis est modus praedicandi quam orandi as the Latin so neatly puts it. However, it was far from being a one-way traffic. I could not fail to be moved by the commitment of my hosts to the continual Rosary-meditation on the life of Jesus and their profound reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I came away from St. Simeon Skete with renewed devotion to the Rosary as an instrument of  evangelisation and as a grace-filled means of contemplative prayer. From an ecumenical point of view I am glad of having had the experience, though it was not easy coping with the Divine Office of Morning and Evening Prayer plus Compline each day– much longer than ours and chanted chorally with the King James version of the Psalms and Readings.



Archbishop Provence, Seraphim and Fr. Gabriel at the TEA CUP in Taylorsville with owners Lorie and Dave

St. Simeon Skete has given me a new Old Kentucky Home, for everything there confirmed my long established appreciation of the Gospel-value that underlies our traditional Marian Rosary. Fr.Seraphim and his beloved wife brought me back to the words of the Prophet Jeremiah: 6,16 Halt at the cross-roads, look well and ask yourselves which path it was that stood you in good stead long ago. That path follow, and you shall find rest for your souls.





*******






It is the practice at St. Simeon Skete to do manual labor every day.




Although he was on Retreat, Fr. Gabriel was willing and ready for any chore the Skete might have!


It was a great pleasure to have Fr. Gabriel among us and we hope that the chance will come for him to return

Quick Update

Posted in Uncategorized on June 2nd, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment

Blessings on this Ascension Day.

Nazareth House Apostolate asks your prayers for Pa Foday as he is traveling and now in America for a reunion with some Missionary Friends and Family who were with him in Kabala many years ago.  Welcome to America Pa Foday!

While Pa Foday is in America, James is in Kabala at the NHA School.   I just received a text message that one of our students is injured and James is taking him to the hospital to have him tended to by medical professionals.   I hope that the doctor is in today! Pray for the student and pray for James as he is  continues to do the good work of NHA in the name of the NHA Team – both here and in Sierra Leone.

James is helping the workers at the Compound.  We are still trying hard to complete this task, we still need $12,500 dollars and we will have accomplished this much needed necessity to our work.  

If you haven’t already, please consider giving a donation today.   For those of you who have already given all that you can towards this project, please spread the word.  This is such a worthy cause, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked….   helping those in need ascend to a higher standard of living from the poverty they now exist in.

Wanted: Compassion…and a bit of help….

Posted in Uncategorized on April 29th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment

Tornado havoc in the Southern United States, flooding in Middle States… there are so many needs all around us,

…people suffering, people in trouble. …in America and as we know so well… in Sierra Leone.

It seems we are called more than ever to join together to give support and help each other out.

Seraphim’s father frequently told his children, “be nice to everyone, everybody’s having a hard time”.  

That statement rings true, especially today.  

In the midst of this, I give you a situation update in Sierra Leone.   

May 2011 is here and James and Kadijah’s lease has now expired.  There are no more extensions, it is finished.

The St. Laurence House in Freetown is no more.

James and Kadijah, with Roo,

Lucy and Ann Marie,

must move out immediately, with all the supplies that we use to help others.

We are building the compound in Kabala, but there is much to be done to bring it to live-in standards.

 If you can help with a financial donation, we’d appreciate it.  That would be fabulous.

 And, if you know someone you might want to invite to be a part of this work,

a work that changes so many lives for the better,

please introduce NHA to them.  

We are so close to completing this project (the NHA Compound in Kabala)

and it is such an important step towards the future aid and ministry we can bestow on Sierra Leone.   Please help.    Ask your friends, church, co-workers, relatives, neighbors…. spread the word, tell of the needs of others and how someone can personally make a difference.   We’ve done so very much through Nazareth House… let’s go a little further.

Donations can be sent to:

NHA
185 Captains Cove Drive
Taylorsville, KY 40071

or made through the website:
www.nazarethhouseap.org 

THANK YOU

Wanted: Compassion…and a bit of help….

Posted in Uncategorized on April 29th, 2011 by vicki – Be the first to comment

Tornado havoc in the Southern United States, flooding in Middle States… there are so many needs all around us,

…people suffering, people in trouble. …in America and as we know so well… in Sierra Leone.

It seems we are called more than ever to join together to give support and help each other out.

Seraphim’s father frequently told his children, “be nice to everyone, everybody’s having a hard time”.  

That statement rings true, especially today.  

In the midst of this, I give you a situation update in Sierra Leone.   

May 2011 is here and James and Kadijah’s lease has now expired.  There are no more extensions, it is finished.

The St. Laurence House in Freetown is no more.

James and Kadijah, with Roo,

Lucy and Ann Marie,

must move out immediately, with all the supplies that we use to help others.

We are building the compound in Kabala, but there is much to be done to bring it to live-in standards.

 If you can help with a financial donation, we’d appreciate it.  That would be fabulous.

 And, if you know someone you might want to invite to be a part of this work,

a work that changes so many lives for the better,

please introduce NHA to them.  

We are so close to completing this project (the NHA Compound in Kabala)

and it is such an important step towards the future aid and ministry we can bestow on Sierra Leone.   Please help.    Ask your friends, church, co-workers, relatives, neighbors…. spread the word, tell of the needs of others and how someone can personally make a difference.   We’ve done so very much through Nazareth House… let’s go a little further.

Donations can be sent to:

NHA
185 Captains Cove Drive
Taylorsville, KY 40071

or made through the website:
www.nazarethhouseap.org 

THANK YOU

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