The Bede Roll of Nazareth House Apostolate

12/15/2021

https://vickiphotoprayers.blogspot.com/2021/12/kentucky-doing-it-right.html

Many years ago, Seraphim had a brief meeting with Mother Theresa. She said to him: "If you do suffering right you become better, if you d...

08/17/2021

Pray

AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban has overrun Kabul and reestablished control of Afghanistan. Followers of Jesus Christ — our brothers and sisters — live in every province of Afghanistan. They know that in the eyes of the Taliban they are infidels who deserve death. Specifically, pray for their protection, safe passage, for wisdom, and for their faith during this upheaval and violence.

02/15/2021

In the world's eyes, the world's prospective - the life of Jesus is seen as a failure while the world sees prosperity, retirement funds, possessions, friends and social gatherings, as a sign of success. Fr. Raymond explains it best:

"He is God who at birth had to borrow a manger to be laid in, and at death was laid in a borrowed tomb; that He is God who became a poor man, a Man of Sorrows well acquainted with ALL our infirmities; that He is the God-Man who led such a lowly, lonely life, who knew hunger and thirst as we know them, who was stung by ingratitude greater than we will ever have to bear, who faced opposition fiercer - far more than anything we will ever know, who met frustration, failure, and defeat, and went back to God with, it would seem, only a thief as the garner of all his years and all His labors!

That is the Christ who comes to us in every event of our lives. Since He is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, we can expect Him to come to us in the garb of lowliness, loneliness, opposition, ingratitude, frustration, failure and defeat; for it was by such things that He redeemed the world - and it will be by such things that we will help Him save it!" -Fr. M Raymond, OCSO

01/01/2021

Dec. 31, 2020 | Laos
Permission to Follow Christ Denied

When Wat and his wife wanted to accept Christ, the front-line worker who shared the gospel with them was afraid. He knew their village head was a tough man. So he advised them to ask for permission first. The couple asked for permission, but the village head did not give it. They accepted Christ anyway. When the village head found out, he called the couple to a meeting, where he told them, “If you do not listen, I will put cuffs on both of you and throw you in prison!” The couple answered, “How can we stop? We promised the Lord that we will not throw our faith away. Whatever circumstances come, we will not stop.” So far, the village head has not followed through on his threat. “There are many in the village who want to become Christians, but they are afraid of the village head,” a VOM partner wrote. “Do keep them in your prayers.”

01/01/2021

Dec. 31, 2020 | Egypt
On the Run as Converts to Christianity

An Egyptian couple bears on their bodies the effects of their choice to follow Christ. When Adel became a believer in 2009, his brother and his friends brutally beat him, crushing his shoulder. His parents cut him out of the family inheritance, and Adel fled to Ethiopia in order to find work. When he returned to Egypt to marry his wife, who also converted to Christianity, they moved to another city and joined a Coptic (Eastern traditional Christian) church. However, the leader of the church was forced to give a list of all the former Muslims in his church to state security, and Adel and his wife had to flee Egypt once more in early January 2020. As they fled, his wife’s knee was damaged in a car accident, and she continues to experience problems. Pray for them as they recover and are discipled.

12/19/2020

His choice to follow Christ has been costly.

Dec. 17, 2020 | Syria
War, Trauma and Cancer

War, trauma and a child stricken with cancer drove Rida and his wife to seek hope at a Christian church, and there they met and accepted Jesus Christ. When the couple, who had formerly been committed Muslims, told Rida’s father about their conversion, he beat and cursed his son, spitting on him and telling him he would receive no inheritance. Rida’s extended family continued to harass Rida with threats and beatings. When his brother struck Rida’s wife, the police came and told Rida to press charges against his brother for the beating. But Rida told the police that the Lord Jesus had taught him to forgive. They continue to experience threats, even death threats, from their family. “They live in destitute poverty,” wrote a VOM worker, “notably after Rida fell from a ladder during one of his jobs and broke his leg.” Pray for courage and comfort for this family who has trusted Christ.

12/19/2020

Dec. 17, 2020 | Egypt
Constant Abuse for Egyptian Converts

The path to Christ for an Egyptian convert is not a smooth one. Nour has followed this road for more than 18 years after coming to faith in 2002. When her Muslim fanatic husband found out, he abused her body with metal tools, leaving scars. He finally threw out his wife, leaving her and her children homeless. Nour eventually remarried and led her new husband to Christ. When her father reported them to the police, they fled to another city, where their teenage children were cursed and harassed in school. When the local Islamists named them as infidels deserving death, they were forced to flee again. Pray for this family’s recovery and safety.

12/19/2020

Dec. 17, 2020 | India
Angry Mob Displaces 84 Christians

A Hindu mob drove 84 Christians out of their homes in eastern India after the Christians refused to convert back to Hinduism. The Christian families, who have been followers of Christ for 8-10 years, live in three villages in the Kondagaon district in Chhattisgarh state. In late September, after several confrontations between Hindu villagers and the Christians, a mob of more than 600 people formed and began vandalizing the Christians’ homes and property. After the believers escaped into the jungle, the mob set up a tent on the main highway to cook and eat the chicken and rice stolen from the Christians’ homes. The following day, the mob vandalized more Christians’ homes in two other villages. For now, all the women and children from among the 84 Christians displaced have been relocated to other villages. When a VOM worker met with some of the Christians recently, one told him, “Being a human, I was filled with anger, but I was reminded that Jesus taught us to forgive our enemy. I know some of the people who were part of the angry crowd, but I prayed and forgave them.” Pray the Christians will be able to return to their homes safely and that their examples will bring many to Christ.

12/04/2020

Dec. 03, 2020 | Myanmar
Woman Kicked Out of Her Village for Following Christ

After her mother and sisters died, villagers isolated Leah, a Christian, to the point where she could no longer survive on her own. She traveled to a nearby village where the missionary and pastor who had led her to Jesus Christ lived. They have welcomed her into their village and have provided food and temporary housing for her. She is now attending a local church and growing in her faith. Pray that Leah will continue to mature in faith and that God will continue to meet her needs through the local church. Pray for her to receive opportunities to share her testimony with others

12/04/2020

Dec. 03, 2020 | China
Hotel Fined for Allowing Christians to Conduct Worship Activities

On Oct. 16, Chinese authorities charged the Xiamen Sea View Garden Hotel with violating regulations on religious affairs. The hotel allowed Christians to gather several times from late June to early August. Authorities fined the hotel owners the equivalent of nearly $3,000. Officials also confiscated the money the Christians spent on the hotel, amounting to more than $1,200, and warned other local hotels against hosting religious activities. In China, authorities forbade Christians from gathering at church, home or even outdoors. Since late 2019, officials have banned numerous underground churches in Fujian Province, with the goal of removing all underground churches within two years. Pray for the Christians in the province and throughout China to find new ways to gather in worship. Pray for these believers to be encouraged as they face growing oppression from government officials.

12/04/2020

Dec. 03, 2020 | India
Virus Restrictions Embolden Those Opposed to Christianity

Christians in the state of Chhattisgarh have faced a tough time since coronavirus restrictions were placed in India. According to a VOM worker, they face four main challenges: they are not allowed to farm, which is their main source of income; they live in ongoing fear of social excommunication; they are prohibited from using communal wells; and their Christian activities are closely monitored. Villages where there are three or fewer Christian families impose strict guidelines on the Christians: if they perform any Christian activity in their house, they will be excommunicated, and their land and property will be taken away. For this reason, Christian families sometimes limit church attendance to once a month, walking great distances to attend. Pray