Communion Instructions
(written by Olga Park in 1968)
(written by Olga Park in 1968)
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This practice of solitary or near solitary Communion of Jesus Christ looks toward the near future when the Christian religion as it has been, and as it is now in 1968, will have changed so greatly as to be unidentifiable with the Church which came into being in the City of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 30 approximately.
Great changes have taken place already -- mostly negative -- in the teachings of the main body of the Church. Children, the future church members, are being taught to regard the Bible accounts of angels, visions, miracles, prophecies, and the hearing of God's voice as poetic imagery. There are still many sects adhering to a strictly literal and earth-mind understanding of the Scriptures of Israel and of the writings of the founders of the Christian Church, but it is impossible that such sects will be able to maintain the authority of their literal beliefs much longer. We are now in the transition period between two eras, even as Jesus and his disciples were, and his instructions to them that the Kingdom of Heaven was like hidden treasure -- a seed buried in fructifying soil -- applies to the awareness and teaching of spiritual reality in these times. The practice of the hearing of the Voice of Jesus is the seed we sow with the intent that it may sprout and grow into the Tree of Life of the New Age now so close upon us. The Jesus of history is not dead but very much alive, and he speaks to those who hear his Voice and visits with those who open the door. Unto all who seek this experience are these Devotions and Meditations on the Words of Jesus offered. |
Home Sanctuaries for Prayer and Meditation
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In the ordinary household, the Sanctuary of Prayer and Meditation should be as inconspicuous as possible; indeed, it can even be invisible except when in use. It may be in a clothes closet or in a cupboard standing against or in a wall. It may be a small bracket with doors in the comer of a room, or it may be a sacred picture with folding sides. Whatever its structure or wherever placed it should when in use, be in such situation as to permit the breathing of fresh pure air.
Every Learner needs to provide himself or herself with such a Sanctuary in order to co-operate to the fullest extent with those Servers of Christ in the heavenly realms by whom we are instructed. Such a Sanctuary will attract and hold vibrations of healing and inspiration; for desire-thought has substance and power, invisible at the physical level, but nevertheless influential in earth affairs. The observance of devotional exercises at regular times and in places set apart results in psychic idea-structures that remain there for long periods and bless all who are in tune with them. It is advantageous to pray in one particular room or part of a room for the reason that, in prayer, psychic energies of a high rate of vibration are released. A corner is best, in the average household, in a room that is somewhat private and personal; for if the person engaged in deep prayer be unexpectedly interrupted, he or she will suffer some degree of psychic shock. In such a corner of such a room the psychic substance of the prayer radiations will gravitate inwards to the corner and will remain undisturbed by the goings and comings of people. In an ordinary room the psychic substance is continually changing in colour and quality and the influence of good and spiritual thoughts is not permanent because the psychic substance of them is constantly being broken up and scattered. The process is similar to that of tape-recording -- when a new impression is made, the old is automatically erased. By this understanding we can appreciate the value of a sacred symbol, whether in a chapel or a room of a home. The type of symbol used should be such as is acceptable to the Learner and have spiritually helpful significance. A cross is suitable but not a crucifix. The cross potent is most suitable. Representations of Jesus are not wholly desirable unless part of an action-scene, as for example... |
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The Purpose of these Communion Devotions
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Our purpose in observing the Christian ritual of Holy Communion in privacy and solitude is to visit with Jesus Our Lord and to have psychic as well as spiritual awareness of this. Mystical awareness of Him is neither perfect nor constant in a group meeting, for it requires some degree of withdrawal from outer consciousness. We have to follow the instruction of Our Lord in respect to prayer:
"Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to the Father in secret…" Clearly, if it is necessary for effective prayer that one should be alone and apart, then it is just as necessary in taking of the bread and wine of Holy Communion. Awareness of His Presence is a mystical experience and is of necessity personal and private. Not by kneeling at the communion rail of a church, or by partaking of bread and wine according to a traditional religious formula does one commune with Jesus, the Christ, but by opening oneself psychically to Him. The contemplations and meditations of these devotions provide conditions, outer and inner, that are favourable to this at-one-ment, and to the hearing- of His Voice according to His assurance… "If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me." |
Opening of the "Door"
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The soul opens of itself, as a door, when one is in sympathy with a person or an idea. The literal meaning of sympathy is feeling together. This is at-one-ment. In seeking such at-one-ment with Jesus, it is most helpful to think upon his words as they are recorded in the Four Gospels of the New Testament. He himself, speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper, stressed the importance of this ... "If a man love me he will keep my words and I will come unto him ..."
He said also "When the Spirit of Truth is come he shall bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." On another occasion he said "The words that I speak to you – they are spirit and they are life." Why such emphasis on words? Did Paul not say "The letter (i.e. words) killeth but the spirit maketh alive"? The reason is that words are the form-expression of ideas. They have to be animated by spirit in order to have meaning and power. It is by thought-desire that we attune. We have to have in our hearts the desire for that which the words express. This is not an act of the will. Either we have the desire or we do not. God knows. The words of Jesus are important because they link us with him. They are an idea-structure of the Living Spirit of Jesus. They express cosmic reality. They come from his Living Mind, and when we contemplate his words his Living Spirit illuminates our minds and we get spiritual understanding. The 3-branch candelabra of our altar is the symbol of this process - the process by which the soul becomes fused with spirit within us and we begin to function in a single-minded way and not as soul operating - at three separate levels of awareness. If we know the Master's words and "keep" them, which means to hold onto as to something cherished, then we are on the same wave-length of thought-desire as he is, and we shall not only remember his words but we shall hear him speaking in the words; for in the eternal consciousness there is no time lapse. This is the meaning of his saying... "My words shall not pass away." |
The Helpfulness of Music and Ritual
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The Prayers and Songs came to Olga Park in fragments at irregular intervals, and the complete revelation was spread out over many years. They are so rich in meaning that new realizations come from them continually. The full significance cannot be absorbed in one meditation.
Music is helpful to the development of the Inner Hearing just as the lights of the altar are helpful to the development of the 3rd eye seeing, and any music of sacred and meditative character may be used as prelude or postlude to the rite; but the Songs and Hymns given by the Inner Sanctuary Servers have associations with specific airs and harmonies that attune us with the particular band of Christ Servers on the Inner Plane who work with us and through us, and it is to the advantage of each Learner to become familiar with them and their use in the Communion ritual. There is no compulsion on any learner to use these tunes, but there is psychic and practical benefit.
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The Words of Jesus
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Many and varied interpretations have been applied to the words of Jesus as we have them in the New Testament, and some eminent scholars are of the opinion that some words have been added that he did not say. Be that as it may, there is one thought that dominates his words as recorded, his special message -- the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. This is his desire-thought, and to be in at-one-ment with him as he was with the Father in Heaven requires something more than personal gratitude for his saving help, or adoration, or acceptance of any religious doctrine about him. It calls for the consuming desire to be his disciple, to learn of him. In fact, it requires that one be dedicated to his mission for mankind, and we have to know what that mission is and how He proposes to accomplish it. So, as he taught his disciples we pray…
"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven..." |
The Communion Service
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THE HOLY CHRIST-PURPOSE
Our Devotions begin with the psycho-mental broadcasting of an invitation to all who desire the Kingdom of Heaven on earth to enter into unity with us as we commune with Christ Jesus, our Lord... All you who truly seek after God and earnestly desire the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth, Draw near! This rite of Holy Communion is strictly for Christ Servers whether on earth or in heaven. It is for Christ learners -- disciples -- and every disciple of Jesus is a Server of his Christ-Purpose to some degree. The name Christ is a title denoting an anointed agent of a God-purpose. The God-purpose for which Jesus was anointed was to establish a Reign of God in the earth, so that all the affairs of men would be conducted in accordance with the goodwill of God. The Holy Christ-Purpose is to raise the level of consciousness of all mankind to the degree that life on earth will be as one-pointed and harmonious as life in heaven. This is why we pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." All followers of Jesus, even though they may be following afar off, do desire the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth; but the disciple desires this "earnestly" and is called to be an agent of it in the earth -- not by preaching nor by display of sanctimonious attitudes but by demonstrating the power of Christ Jesus to bring individual circumstances into harmony with God’s goodwill, and the potential of the individual to fulfillment. To the service of this Holy Christ-Purpose the call goes forth and the invitation to commune with Jesus, the Lord of the Purpose, is broadcasted. |
"Ye that do truly seek after God,
and earnestly desire the coming
of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth.
Draw near! and let us commune together
upon the Bread and Wine of Eternal Life and Truth
revealed in Jesus, our Lord."
and earnestly desire the coming
of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth.
Draw near! and let us commune together
upon the Bread and Wine of Eternal Life and Truth
revealed in Jesus, our Lord."
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THE HOLY HILL
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'Let us ascend unto the Hill of the Lord,
and let us rise up unto His Holy Place
Whose Truth is from everlasting
and His Grace manifest
unto every generation."
and let us rise up unto His Holy Place
Whose Truth is from everlasting
and His Grace manifest
unto every generation."
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It is essential for communication with the "mind of Christ" that we raise our thoughts and receptivity above the horizontal level of earth-relationships. This is what is meant by the words in our Devotions, "Let us ascend unto the Hill of the Lord", and it is by this ascending in consciousness that we shut our door of horizontal communication.
Each individual sanctuary of prayer and meditation is a symbol of spiritual consciousness. This spiritual consciousness is the "Hill of the Lord." Whenever those of a more advanced understanding and maturity seek to communicate with those at an earlier stage of development, they do so by means of symbols. This is so in all teaching from kindergarten to college and university; and in the higher reaches of scientific knowledge and research nothing can be learned and nothing expressed except by symbols. For many generations there has been a trend to despise symbols, especially religious symbols, but with the advance of science the trend has changed. In all spiritual teaching and learning, both on earth and in the realms beyond death, the use of symbols pertains; for it is by means of such that the soul must, and can, reach out and apprehend that which cannot be expressed in words on earth. It is in symbols and signs that man has, from earliest times, born testimony to his spiritual outreaching. The cross, for example, was a sacred symbol in ancient Sumeria, signifying then, as now, living spirit within man -- eternal life. One of the earliest testimonies of man to his sense of the holiness of God (any god) is the placing of the "house of God" on a hill or "high place". Then in later and more urban civilizations an artificial hill was made on which a temple was built. The great Temple of Judaism was so placed. The site itself, Mount Moriah, was a natural hill and this site came to be decided upon for the building of Solomon's temple because of an angel-manifestation at that particular place. In the building of the temple an artificial hill was made between the Outer Court of the Gentiles and the Sanctuary of Israel, so from the Court of the Gentiles to the Court of Israel was an ascent. That this ascent had a spiritual meaning is shown in Psalm 15, which says: |
"Who shall ascend unto the Hill of the Lord?
and who shall rise up into His Holy Place?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart,
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity."
and who shall rise up into His Holy Place?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart,
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity."
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This clearly indicates a spiritual conception quite beyond that of mere ceremonial cleansing and conformity. Not only in respect to the Temple at Jerusalem was this so, but in all religions and from very earliest times; but the Jerusalem Temple is our special concern; partly because it is out of the Judaic tradition that our own concepts of God and worship have emerged and partly because that Temple holds in its structure and symbols the message of God to all mankind of the spiritual evolution of man. The whole structure was designed to form an image of man -- total as well as individual humanity -- progressing toward spiritual maturity. This process is frequently referred to in various scriptures as a "perfecting."
This same ideal unfolds through the centuries of earth-time experience from the concept that God's Spirit filled the Holy of Holies of the national temple of Israel, to the concept of the prophet Habakkuk that God's Spirit filled the heavens from whence He exercised authority over all the earth; and later to the percept of Paul the Apostle that God's Spirit yearned to make man His temple. For the furtherance of this Holy Purpose Jesus incarnated and demonstrated the God-consciousness in man which will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This is the great divine plan of spiritual evolution, that man should first become aware of God -- as it were afar off -- and should worship Him in "temples made with hands" and with offerings ("as though He needed such") and should come at length to understand that he is being instructed and prepared in his earth-life experience to bring him to the place where he can become a Temple of God's Spirit. God is, and always has been, just as close to man as man's state of spiritual evolution permits. He has always revealed to man to the fullest degree possible His Eternal Truth, and has responded to man's cries for help. This is the meaning of the word "grace" which occurs so frequently in the inspired writings of Paul. It signifies the help of God. With these realities in mind we make our ascent unto the Hill of the Lord and prepare to enter the courts of His Sanctuary, singing the hymn... |
"Unto thee, O God,
I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
In the courts of Thy House,
In the midst of the City of Thy Peace.”
I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
In the courts of Thy House,
In the midst of the City of Thy Peace.”
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THE HOLY TEMPLE
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"God, who made the world and all things therein,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands,
neither is worshipped by men's hands
as though He needed anything,
Seeing that He giveth to all
life and breath, and all things;
And hath made of one blood all men
to dwell upon the face of the earth
to the end that they might seek after Him -
if haply they might find Him -
Though He be not far from any one of us;
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being:
For we are His offspring - His children."
dwelleth not in temples made with hands,
neither is worshipped by men's hands
as though He needed anything,
Seeing that He giveth to all
life and breath, and all things;
And hath made of one blood all men
to dwell upon the face of the earth
to the end that they might seek after Him -
if haply they might find Him -
Though He be not far from any one of us;
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being:
For we are His offspring - His children."
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This is a summary of Paul's discourse to the intelligentsia of Athens. Who the scribe was who wrote down the substance of what Paul said on that occasion, or who was responsible for it being included in the Book of Acts we do not know.
It is a statement of the Cosmic Philosophy widely held in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. It was taught by Clement of Alexandria (A,D. 150 - 213), by Pantaenus and Origen, and also by Plotinus (A.D. 270), by Ammonius Saccas, by Jamblicus the Syrian, and by Porphyry. The philosophy is that God is the Source of all, and that man is a fragmentation of the God-Spirit:
Upon this basic philosophy was built the super-structure of the faith of Christian experience that Jesus was the first to achieve the fulfillment of God-consciousness, and that henceforth he was the channel of the transforming power of God, and the agent for an indeterminate period, of God's evolutionary purpose in man. The originator of the basic philosophy of Paul's discourse is thought to have been Plato, who was a pupil of Socrates. Even the men of Athens agreed with the basic philosophy but rejected the Christian super-structure. The Occultists of today hold the same basic philosophy but they distinguish between the Man Jesus and "Christ." They are the Gnostics of our times who deny, as did the Gnostics of Paul's time, that the God-consciousness was present in the body-form of Jesus. They deny that Jesus was Christ. To them he was just a man whom the Logos -- the communicating Persona of the God-head -- used in the same way that a spirit-guide uses a spiritualist medium. In this communion practice we do not accept a preconceived doctrine: we take the words that Jesus said were given Him by the Father through His own God-consciousness, and we meditate on them, praying that we ourselves may become channels of the God-wisdom. This is how we interpret the words of Paul... "The Temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." and we sing our Hymn of the Entering In... |
"God is in His Holy Temple;
Earthly thoughts be silent now,
As with reverent hearts and simple
In His inner courts we bow."
Earthly thoughts be silent now,
As with reverent hearts and simple
In His inner courts we bow."
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THE GOD-FILLED TEMPLE
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The words of the Prophet Habakkuk concerning the dwelling-place of God...
"God is in His Holy Temple: Let all the earth keep silence before Him." and of Paul the Apostle... "The Temple of God is Holy, Which temple you are." To demonstrate that at-one-ment with God is possible in the earth-life of man, Jesus incarnated. He was a dwelling place of God. All that was of the earth-mind in him was under control of his God-consciousness. His earth-mind was silent before God; and so it must be with every disciple in the hour of worship. Jesus was in continuous at-one-ment with God, but the disciple is only at the stage of temporary and occasional at-one-ment. Prayer is a little at-one-ment, by the frequent and regular exercise of which the God-ward desire of the soul is stabilized. The Prayer, now universally known and used, which Our Lord taught His disciples stands at the entrance to the Sanctuary of Christ-consciousness within each would-be communicant, as the Ark of Testimony with its over-shadowing wings of the Cherubim stood at the entrance into the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Israel; for it is here that we attune with the Desire-Thought of Jesus… "Our Father in heaven, Holy is your name..." The realization that God is beyond and above the human stage of consciousness and that His Name is holy is the first step toward at-one-ment with Him. Worshippers in the life-after-death -- even those of the highest spheres of consciousness -- also pray "Our Father who art in heaven", for the fullness of God-consciousness is still beyond and above them. They pray also, "Hallowed be thy Name" ... for they, even more than we, realize that it is the essential nature of God to be eternally manifesting. This is expressed in the Name of God, as revealed to Moses the prophet-Leader of Israel ... "I AM, that I WILL BE." The worshippers in heaven also pray with us, "Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done in earth as it is in heaven", for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is just one phase of the eternal manifesting of God and part of the fulfillment of those who dwell in heaven. Meantime, we on earth must learn to worship in the same way as do the dwellers in heaven. The Servers of the Inner Sanctuary have enlightened our understanding in this respect... "The worshipper on earth, for the most part, seeks to draw around himself and around those whom he loves, the blessing of God and the protection of heaven; but the worshipper in heaven uses worship to raise his awareness to planes of consciousness beyond those in which he habitually dwells. His soul expands, his sight and hearing are sensitized at a higher level, and he is able briefly to delight in the glories of those spheres where dwell his Teachers and Inspirers. He experiences, therefore, in worship a greatly enlarged comprehension of the Fatherhood of God and of his own part in the fulfilling of God's Purpose. Thus we set before you a tiny glimpse of the use of the Lord's Prayer as a door to the presence of God. We would that all who use this prayer might, by contemplation of the Fatherhood of God, ascend in consciousness to the point of contact with the heavenly. This use of the Lord's Prayer should be a daily exercise with all who desire to be disciples of Jesus. The recitation of it in a public ritual would then be a psychic culmination instead of an empty cacophony of words." The Lord's Prayer is basically a teaching. In it is contained the comprehension of God which Jesus had and which he endeavored to impart to his followers, that God is:
- between strength and weakness, - between authority and service, - between debit and credit, - between activity and rest, and - between all levels of consciousness. God is in life drawing all things into harmony with himself -- not for immolation but for fulfillment of each individual unit. In respect to the phrase "lead us not into temptation" there is justification for the doubt of some as to whether God does lead men into temptation. The Apostle James says ... "Let no man say when he is tempted, that he is tempted by God, for God tempteth no man." James explains further that temptation is the effect of man's turning away from God's desire toward his own ungodly desires. What then was the temptation of Jesus? It is obvious that it was a testing and it should be realized that the out-working of God's purpose in man requires that he be tested to determine his fitness for advanced psychic and spiritual status. The difference between testing and temptation appears to be that man is "led" by God's Spirit to the time and place of testing, but that he "falls" into temptation. If this is so, then it is neither sensible nor right to pray that God should not lead us so. Rather we should pray, LEAVE us not in the hour of testing, but deliver us from evil, lest we fall into temptation. The affirmation -- "Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory" -- although it is thought to have been a later addition to the prayer taught by Jesus -- is good, in that it brings us back to contemplation of the purpose of God in Christ Jesus -- Thy Kingdom Come. For the would-be communicant with Our Lord, this prayer must be as the opening of the door of his soul -- a letting-go of self and of the interests and desires of the earth-mind -- an at-one-ment with the desire-thought of Jesus ... the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. |
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SONG OF THE HOLY GATES
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At the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, the soul should spontaneously withdraw from its earth-looking windows and look outwards and upwards to the heavenly realities. Only as this expansion is experienced can one be truly said to pray; but following this expansion the soul is ready for contact with those great spiritual victors who have become “Gates” whereby men can pass through the walls of the Holy City.
These “walls great and high” are actually conditions or states of consciousness. In this understanding we comprehend and interpret the Invocation, |
Lift up your heads, O Gates,
And be lifted up, O Everlasting Doors,
And the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
even the hosts of the heavenly,
He is the King of Glory.
Let us commune with Christ;
For it is our joy and privilege
To enter into that blessed and holy communion.
And be lifted up, O Everlasting Doors,
And the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
even the hosts of the heavenly,
He is the King of Glory.
Let us commune with Christ;
For it is our joy and privilege
To enter into that blessed and holy communion.
“In speaking to you of the heavenly realities,” so says an invisible communicator for the Christ Servers of the Inner Sanctuary, “we are, of necessity dependent upon symbols and parables; for it is not possible to convey to you the realities of the heavenly in terms of literal fact. Christ enters into the Gates and we enter into the Gates, which are living beings. By “Christ” we do not mean an abstract theological concept of one phase of God-manifest, but the ascended “Son of Man,” Jesus, who has attained to the pre-eminence of Masterhood of the heavenly as also of the earthly—the Anointed One or Christ of God.
The names Jesus (or Joshua or Joseph) was not an uncommon name among the Jews and had a special meaning, as did all names whether of places or people. It signified a Saviour or Deliverer; and as such the Babe of Bethlehem was named by his parents in accordance with angelic instructions: and truly, Jesus, the Christ of God, is the Saviour of men. For by His power and heavenly dominion, in loving wisdom He saves men from their self-destructive ways. His life in Galilee and Judea was but a fragment of His saving-mission. He is the ‘King of Glory,’ for by glory we mean the radiant light of the heavenly; and only those have light in the heaven-world who reach out in love to all. According to the extent and power of the love-emanations is the brilliance and influence of the person; and when we speak of the power and glory of Christ, we are not speaking of theological ideologies but of visible, tangible conditions of the heavenly.”
The names Jesus (or Joshua or Joseph) was not an uncommon name among the Jews and had a special meaning, as did all names whether of places or people. It signified a Saviour or Deliverer; and as such the Babe of Bethlehem was named by his parents in accordance with angelic instructions: and truly, Jesus, the Christ of God, is the Saviour of men. For by His power and heavenly dominion, in loving wisdom He saves men from their self-destructive ways. His life in Galilee and Judea was but a fragment of His saving-mission. He is the ‘King of Glory,’ for by glory we mean the radiant light of the heavenly; and only those have light in the heaven-world who reach out in love to all. According to the extent and power of the love-emanations is the brilliance and influence of the person; and when we speak of the power and glory of Christ, we are not speaking of theological ideologies but of visible, tangible conditions of the heavenly.”
SONG OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD
Where, in the Name and Sign of Christ,
with Cherubim and Seraphim
and all the angels and citizens of heaven,
we acknowledge You, O God,
our Heavenly Father,
forever exalting you and saying,
Holy, Holy, Holy!
with Cherubim and Seraphim
and all the angels and citizens of heaven,
we acknowledge You, O God,
our Heavenly Father,
forever exalting you and saying,
Holy, Holy, Holy!
Words have meaning according to the usages of men. We cannot define them in the same terms for all men in all circumstances. We cannot define the word “holy” for all men, but in general speaking it signifies an object, a place, a circumstance, or a person emanating a vibration of the heavenly: not that men recognize such conditions as being of the heaven-world, but as having an auric vibration too high for their comfort and well-being.
For this reason men have always “feared” the gods or other-world beings, not having learned that they can attune themselves with the higher as well as with the lower.
It is for purposes of attunement that rituals were devised, as well as for instruction. So, in our use of the word “holy” we signify that which is beyond our present level of comprehension and experience, beyond that of our teachers and inspirers in the life after death, and beyond that of those angelic beings in whom is embodied the law of the several realms of God-manifest — the Cherubim and Seraphim who shield from man the “face” of God, yet cover their own faces in His presence.
By the three-fold “holy” we signify the three-fold God-activity in spiritual, physical, and mind realms.
It is most difficult to define in terms of general understanding what we mean by mind-realms; but this is that which the scriptures call “Truth” or the “Word.” It involves the creative power of God at every level. It may be, and indeed it always has been, discerned by men, women, and children having Inner Plane insight.
This we would inculcate in all men—the attitude of seeing God everywhere and in all things, of apprehending the holy in the common. So shall men become aware of God’s purpose in the creation of the universe and of those planetary conditions by which he can learn the first principles of the “Law of the Lord,” and in his generations progress toward the accomplishment of the exaltation of God in mankind. Then shall heaven and earth be two aspects of one reality.
With this two-fold aspect in mind, we honour both the Cherubim and Seraphim. The Cherubim are those mighty beings in whom is embodied the laws of form and substance and the animation of the same, and the cycles of their outgoing and in-drawing manifest to Ezekiel in his Vision of the Wheels.
In the Tabernacle of Israel to the Prophet Ezekiel, and to the Seer of Patmos, the Cherubim were represented by the symbolic figures of the Bull, the Lion, the Eagle, and the Man. Thus the stages in the evolution of God-communicating man were depicted. Such a man — God-communicating — was Moses whose name signified “Child drawn-out-of-the-water,” whose mission on earth was to establish the Religion of the Ram out of which should come the God-filled man Jesus. In the outworking of this God-purpose the Cherubim laboured, and still labour; for we honour them and with them the Seraphim—those exalted beings of the heavenly realms whose nature and power is spiritual, in whom is centred the spiritual manifestations of God. We revere them as those in whom the glory and power of the spiritual is centred. Their appearance is as living flames. They do not exist in isolation or exclusive splendour, but are the complement of the Cherubim and their labours. So is God manifested in and served by both Cherubim and Seraphim.
Both the Cherubim and Seraphim were imaged to the seers of Israel as having six wings. Isaiah wrote of the Seraphim,
Each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
It is needful to remember that to the perception of those on an inferior plane the realities of a superior plane appear in symbolic form. You may ask, “Do these beings have wings like birds?” And to those who question it we explain that wings are emanations of power. These beings have control of the degrees or planes of manifestation and the higher is hid from the lower, but they themselves are subject to no such limitations. The “fly” by the God-power vested in them and in their flight they cross and re-cross the boundaries of all planes.
This is true of the Cherubim also. Hence, they too are seen as having six wings, though their realm of activity and of authority is not as that of the Seraphim.
With these exalted beings and with all messengers of God’s Truth, Wisdom and Love—with all Christ-Servers in heaven and on earth—we enter into the fellowship of communion and prayer for the fulfilling of God’s purpose in man: for mankind needs our special prayers to this end, being invested with freewill to choose the evil or the good, to serve the lower or the higher, the purpose of God or the self-centred appetites.
So we offer our “adoration” saying,
For this reason men have always “feared” the gods or other-world beings, not having learned that they can attune themselves with the higher as well as with the lower.
It is for purposes of attunement that rituals were devised, as well as for instruction. So, in our use of the word “holy” we signify that which is beyond our present level of comprehension and experience, beyond that of our teachers and inspirers in the life after death, and beyond that of those angelic beings in whom is embodied the law of the several realms of God-manifest — the Cherubim and Seraphim who shield from man the “face” of God, yet cover their own faces in His presence.
By the three-fold “holy” we signify the three-fold God-activity in spiritual, physical, and mind realms.
It is most difficult to define in terms of general understanding what we mean by mind-realms; but this is that which the scriptures call “Truth” or the “Word.” It involves the creative power of God at every level. It may be, and indeed it always has been, discerned by men, women, and children having Inner Plane insight.
This we would inculcate in all men—the attitude of seeing God everywhere and in all things, of apprehending the holy in the common. So shall men become aware of God’s purpose in the creation of the universe and of those planetary conditions by which he can learn the first principles of the “Law of the Lord,” and in his generations progress toward the accomplishment of the exaltation of God in mankind. Then shall heaven and earth be two aspects of one reality.
With this two-fold aspect in mind, we honour both the Cherubim and Seraphim. The Cherubim are those mighty beings in whom is embodied the laws of form and substance and the animation of the same, and the cycles of their outgoing and in-drawing manifest to Ezekiel in his Vision of the Wheels.
In the Tabernacle of Israel to the Prophet Ezekiel, and to the Seer of Patmos, the Cherubim were represented by the symbolic figures of the Bull, the Lion, the Eagle, and the Man. Thus the stages in the evolution of God-communicating man were depicted. Such a man — God-communicating — was Moses whose name signified “Child drawn-out-of-the-water,” whose mission on earth was to establish the Religion of the Ram out of which should come the God-filled man Jesus. In the outworking of this God-purpose the Cherubim laboured, and still labour; for we honour them and with them the Seraphim—those exalted beings of the heavenly realms whose nature and power is spiritual, in whom is centred the spiritual manifestations of God. We revere them as those in whom the glory and power of the spiritual is centred. Their appearance is as living flames. They do not exist in isolation or exclusive splendour, but are the complement of the Cherubim and their labours. So is God manifested in and served by both Cherubim and Seraphim.
Both the Cherubim and Seraphim were imaged to the seers of Israel as having six wings. Isaiah wrote of the Seraphim,
Each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
It is needful to remember that to the perception of those on an inferior plane the realities of a superior plane appear in symbolic form. You may ask, “Do these beings have wings like birds?” And to those who question it we explain that wings are emanations of power. These beings have control of the degrees or planes of manifestation and the higher is hid from the lower, but they themselves are subject to no such limitations. The “fly” by the God-power vested in them and in their flight they cross and re-cross the boundaries of all planes.
This is true of the Cherubim also. Hence, they too are seen as having six wings, though their realm of activity and of authority is not as that of the Seraphim.
With these exalted beings and with all messengers of God’s Truth, Wisdom and Love—with all Christ-Servers in heaven and on earth—we enter into the fellowship of communion and prayer for the fulfilling of God’s purpose in man: for mankind needs our special prayers to this end, being invested with freewill to choose the evil or the good, to serve the lower or the higher, the purpose of God or the self-centred appetites.
So we offer our “adoration” saying,
Holy you are, O God,
Holy in heaven above,
Holy in earth beneath,
Holy in all your works.
And we make our prayer,
You who are exalted in heaven,
Even the heaven of heavens,
Be exalted in earth also,
And your purposes fulfilled
In the children of earth. Amen!
Holy in heaven above,
Holy in earth beneath,
Holy in all your works.
And we make our prayer,
You who are exalted in heaven,
Even the heaven of heavens,
Be exalted in earth also,
And your purposes fulfilled
In the children of earth. Amen!
THE HOLY INVITATION
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”
And let him that hears say, “Come!”
And let him that is athirst come.
And let him that hears say, “Come!”
And let him that is athirst come.
An inspired Psalmist of Israel wrote in one of his choicest songs, “It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves.” Similarly, it is the Lord who has called us and not we who have chosen to follow Him. The word of Jesus is, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
No one can be a disciple of the Lord Jesus except God draws him. God’s Spirit draws each one in God’s own time.
Jesus, God’s Christ, calls each one and God tests each one and chooses those who pass the test. “Many are called but few are chosen,” said Jesus. To what are we called? To the Marriage Supper of Christ Jesus. Who is the Bride? The whole company of Christ Servers in heaven. They are the “Holy City” built by Jesus in the heaven-world since His ascension.
Note that the Church of the Piscean era, an organized institution on earth, is not, as many have assumed, the Holy City, the Bride of Christ. In the Holy City dwell those who are in at-one-ment with Jesus and His great mission for the spiritual evolution of mankind. These are they whom, according to the word of Jesus and of Paul his Apostle, Jesus will bring with Him at His Second Coming. As we read in Revelation, Chapter 21, “The Holy City [comes] down out of heaven as a bride prepared for her husband. These are they who help us and instruct us and serve with us in the Name and by the Power of Christ Jesus.
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come!
The call is to whoever hears it; and who is likely to hear it except those who have cultivated the faculty of hearing? The call is to them that are thirsty, that is, them that cry out to Jesus from the deserts of earth in response to His offer,
If any man thirst let him come to me and drink.
The call is to “whosoever will’:
And whosoever will, let him take of the waters of Life freely.
But each one who would enter the banquet hall must be made ready. In the East in the days of Jesus, and today also, it was and is the custom of men of wealth and social eminence to issue on festival occasions a general invitation to “whosoever will”—to strangers, travelers, and even beggars—but provision is made for all guests of bathing facilities and of clean and appropriate attire. This explains why in the parable of the Marriage Supper the man without a wedding garment was turned outside. The wedding garment had been offered him and he had refused it.
In relation to those invited to participate in the celebrations of the Second Coming of Jesus, this wedding garment is the Christ-consciousness of the soul. It is a special soul condition provided by Jesus. Whosoever will is called, but only he or she whose soul wears the desire-thought of Jesus can be His guest at the celebrations for the marriage of Heaven with Earth.
No one can be a disciple of the Lord Jesus except God draws him. God’s Spirit draws each one in God’s own time.
Jesus, God’s Christ, calls each one and God tests each one and chooses those who pass the test. “Many are called but few are chosen,” said Jesus. To what are we called? To the Marriage Supper of Christ Jesus. Who is the Bride? The whole company of Christ Servers in heaven. They are the “Holy City” built by Jesus in the heaven-world since His ascension.
Note that the Church of the Piscean era, an organized institution on earth, is not, as many have assumed, the Holy City, the Bride of Christ. In the Holy City dwell those who are in at-one-ment with Jesus and His great mission for the spiritual evolution of mankind. These are they whom, according to the word of Jesus and of Paul his Apostle, Jesus will bring with Him at His Second Coming. As we read in Revelation, Chapter 21, “The Holy City [comes] down out of heaven as a bride prepared for her husband. These are they who help us and instruct us and serve with us in the Name and by the Power of Christ Jesus.
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come!
The call is to whoever hears it; and who is likely to hear it except those who have cultivated the faculty of hearing? The call is to them that are thirsty, that is, them that cry out to Jesus from the deserts of earth in response to His offer,
If any man thirst let him come to me and drink.
The call is to “whosoever will’:
And whosoever will, let him take of the waters of Life freely.
But each one who would enter the banquet hall must be made ready. In the East in the days of Jesus, and today also, it was and is the custom of men of wealth and social eminence to issue on festival occasions a general invitation to “whosoever will”—to strangers, travelers, and even beggars—but provision is made for all guests of bathing facilities and of clean and appropriate attire. This explains why in the parable of the Marriage Supper the man without a wedding garment was turned outside. The wedding garment had been offered him and he had refused it.
In relation to those invited to participate in the celebrations of the Second Coming of Jesus, this wedding garment is the Christ-consciousness of the soul. It is a special soul condition provided by Jesus. Whosoever will is called, but only he or she whose soul wears the desire-thought of Jesus can be His guest at the celebrations for the marriage of Heaven with Earth.
THE HOLY SHEPHERD'S CALL
Come unto me, all you who labour
And are heavily burdened,
And I will refresh you.
And are heavily burdened,
And I will refresh you.
Here Jesus speaks in deeply occult metaphors. His call is to all mankind. In his own times and in times long previous there were those who taught aspirants after knowledge and understanding of spiritual mysteries that life on earth was a sort of school of hard labour which man’s soul entered upon again and again until he had learned all the lessons that were to be learned in that school. In the Mystery Schools these were called “labours.” The ox was the symbol of that level of humanity that laboured without enlightenment. The symbols of man at higher levels were the Lion, the Eagle, and the Man. Jesus did not contradict or despise these teachings, and indeed, they were accepted by many leaders and teachers in Judaism, but he corrected the lack in them of the personal Compassion of God.
In all his teachings Jesus’ compassion is for the ox-type man—the man without understanding. We read of him that “seeing the multitude he had compassion on them for they were as sheep without a shepherd.” He paints a picture in words of the ox carrying a heavy burden or drawing a heavy load under a yoke that, instead of making the task easier, makes it harder because it does not fit properly. Since Jesus worked many years of his life as a carpenter, he would have had much experience in making yokes that were helpful and comfortable; and his offer to “all you that labour” is just such a yoke—“My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The translation of the words of Jesus given in the Church of England Prayer Book, “I will refresh you,” give a truer picture of the simile. Jesus used the word “rest”; for by the changing of the yoke the work or “labour” becomes easier and the load lighter so that the soul-forces are able to replenish the spirit within, just as a drink of water revives a tired body.
Many are the yokes under which men labour—greed for money and property, for power and authority of all sorts: political, religious, social—and all these, sooner or later, turn out to be yokes that gall the soul. To all you who struggle along under such Jesus calls,
Come unto me, and I will refresh you.
In all his teachings Jesus’ compassion is for the ox-type man—the man without understanding. We read of him that “seeing the multitude he had compassion on them for they were as sheep without a shepherd.” He paints a picture in words of the ox carrying a heavy burden or drawing a heavy load under a yoke that, instead of making the task easier, makes it harder because it does not fit properly. Since Jesus worked many years of his life as a carpenter, he would have had much experience in making yokes that were helpful and comfortable; and his offer to “all you that labour” is just such a yoke—“My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The translation of the words of Jesus given in the Church of England Prayer Book, “I will refresh you,” give a truer picture of the simile. Jesus used the word “rest”; for by the changing of the yoke the work or “labour” becomes easier and the load lighter so that the soul-forces are able to replenish the spirit within, just as a drink of water revives a tired body.
Many are the yokes under which men labour—greed for money and property, for power and authority of all sorts: political, religious, social—and all these, sooner or later, turn out to be yokes that gall the soul. To all you who struggle along under such Jesus calls,
Come unto me, and I will refresh you.
THE HOLY GRACE
Be present at our table, Lord;
Be here and everywhere adored:
Let manna to our souls be given,
The Bread of Life sent down from heaven.
Be here and everywhere adored:
Let manna to our souls be given,
The Bread of Life sent down from heaven.
This beautiful prayer for the blessing of food about to be eaten was written, it is thought, by one of the Wesleys. It is taken from a very old edition of the Wesleyan Sunday School Hymn Book which does not give the name of the author. It is most appropriate for use in the blessing of the bread and wine used for Holy Communion in that it speaks of the Bread of Life sent down from heaven. This, as we shall realize more clearly when we come to study the words of Jesus which accompany our act of partaking, is the spiritual and invisible Word of Truth of which the bread we eat is the token.
There is a correspondence between the idea of the food that we eat to nourish the body and the idea of food that we receive for nourishment of the soul and this is made plain in the explanation Jesus gave to His disciples of His saying that they must “eat” His “flesh” and “drink” His “blood.” Also, food eaten with a high spiritual thought in mind nourishes both the soul and the body to the fulfilment of that spiritual idea.
It is well to note that the table referred to as “our table”—that is, the table of physical substance upon which are set forth the bread and wine of Communion partaking is OUR table. There is another table present of which we shall make mention in prayers that come later—“THY table.” Also, the bread that we eat is “our” bread but there is bread present that is not ours but the Lord’s—“The Bread of Life sent down from heaven.”
There is a correspondence between the idea of the food that we eat to nourish the body and the idea of food that we receive for nourishment of the soul and this is made plain in the explanation Jesus gave to His disciples of His saying that they must “eat” His “flesh” and “drink” His “blood.” Also, food eaten with a high spiritual thought in mind nourishes both the soul and the body to the fulfilment of that spiritual idea.
It is well to note that the table referred to as “our table”—that is, the table of physical substance upon which are set forth the bread and wine of Communion partaking is OUR table. There is another table present of which we shall make mention in prayers that come later—“THY table.” Also, the bread that we eat is “our” bread but there is bread present that is not ours but the Lord’s—“The Bread of Life sent down from heaven.”
THE HOLY CONSECRATION
O God, whom Jesus taught us to call Father!
In his name we meet at this table,
and as symbols of Eternal Life
and Truth revealed in Him,
we consecrate this bread...
and this wine...
rejoicing now and always
to walk the Way of Life
in fellowship with Him. Amen!
In his name we meet at this table,
and as symbols of Eternal Life
and Truth revealed in Him,
we consecrate this bread...
and this wine...
rejoicing now and always
to walk the Way of Life
in fellowship with Him. Amen!
Our prayer of consecration is made in the Power of God, and in the Name of Jesus. This “power” is as much a reality as electricity. It flows from the hands of the one who consecrates the bread and the wine, and when used properly, with reverence, it blesses and heals. When the “power” is used without reverence and directed faith it is destructive. It is with the understanding of the potential of the God-power within us that Jesus said—“Bless, and curse not.”
You will notice the words, “We meet at this table.” This is not a contradiction of the solitariness of our Communion practice; for the solitary communicant is “met at this table" by all his or her loved ones who are in the heaven world of Christ love; and of this you will presently become aware. Every communicant instructed in this practice and faithfully continuing in the same will most certainly become aware of this fellowship in due course.
This act of consecration is a personal dedication also, as you will notice by the words with which it concludes:
You will notice the words, “We meet at this table.” This is not a contradiction of the solitariness of our Communion practice; for the solitary communicant is “met at this table" by all his or her loved ones who are in the heaven world of Christ love; and of this you will presently become aware. Every communicant instructed in this practice and faithfully continuing in the same will most certainly become aware of this fellowship in due course.
This act of consecration is a personal dedication also, as you will notice by the words with which it concludes:
Rejoicing now and always
To walk the way of life
In fellowship with Him.
To walk the way of life
In fellowship with Him.
THE HOLY CLOUD
We do not presume, O Heavenly Lord,
to come to this, thy table,
trusting in our own fitness and power,
but in your great love,
and the overshadowing of your Spirit,
whereby we are, here especially,
enveloped and surrounded as by a cloud of light:
to the end that
our souls may be cleansed,
our minds instructed
and our health renewed:
that we may ever abide in you and you in us.
to come to this, thy table,
trusting in our own fitness and power,
but in your great love,
and the overshadowing of your Spirit,
whereby we are, here especially,
enveloped and surrounded as by a cloud of light:
to the end that
our souls may be cleansed,
our minds instructed
and our health renewed:
that we may ever abide in you and you in us.
The soul, being the seat of our awareness, is soiled by the impressions of unspiritual and anti-spiritual mind with which it has, of necessity, come in contact, and must be washed free of all such impressions in order that it may be a channel of instruction to our minds and health to our bodies during the hour of Holy Communion. This cleansing of the soul is the equivalent of the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus. You will remember that He said, “You are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you.”
We have a perfect simile of this operation of the washing of the soul in the modern tape-recording mechanism in which the latest impression eliminates all previous impressions. Only as our souls are so washed by our receiving of Jesus’ word, can we be in Him and He in us; even as He said to Peter,
If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.
We have a perfect simile of this operation of the washing of the soul in the modern tape-recording mechanism in which the latest impression eliminates all previous impressions. Only as our souls are so washed by our receiving of Jesus’ word, can we be in Him and He in us; even as He said to Peter,
If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.
COMMENTARY ON THE NEED FOR SYMBOLS
The furnishings and vessels of the Sanctuary are representations in form and substance of spiritual realities. They are symbols—a silent and universal language. Their meaning has to be learned in the same way that a child learns the A-B-C’s of language. A young child is given blocks with markings on them that mean nothing at first. The sounds they represent have to be learned and also their use as the basis of communication. Unless the child studies the symbols—their form and sound and application—he cannot have mental apprehension of things but only feeling. Feeling is of the psychic realm. Impressions of the spiritual realm are felt in the psyche or soul and so also are impressions of the physical realm. Until the child learns the basics of language—letters and words—he apprehends physical reality at the psychic level only; but every adult apprehends physical reality at the psycho-mental level. When it comes to spiritual realities, however, the average person is content to apprehend them at the psychic level only.
The whole Devotions Procedure has obviously been devised to help those who desire to achieve psycho-mental comprehension of spiritual realities.
The whole Devotions Procedure has obviously been devised to help those who desire to achieve psycho-mental comprehension of spiritual realities.
THE HOLY SYMBOLS
The Revelation of Jesus the Christ concerning the Incense of the Sanctuary:
The Revelation of Jesus the Christ concerning the Incense of the Sanctuary:
And the smoke of the incense
with the prayers of the saints
ascend up before God
out of the hands of the angel.
with the prayers of the saints
ascend up before God
out of the hands of the angel.
By the revelation of our Ascended Lord to John the Seer of Patmos we have the understanding that our desire-thoughts ascend to God even as smoke ascends in the air from that which is burned. The essence of these desire-thoughts is to commune with Christ Jesus.
The incense is not an offering to God but a reminder that, just as pure and wholesome fragrances cleanse the atmosphere, our selected desire-thoughts cleanse the psychic conditions of earth-mindedness and enable us to contemplate more effectively upon the Truth of God set forth in the symbols of the Sanctuary.
This psychic operation is made effective by the power and skill of the Angel of the Sanctuary. At this point in our Devotions we sing together:
The incense is not an offering to God but a reminder that, just as pure and wholesome fragrances cleanse the atmosphere, our selected desire-thoughts cleanse the psychic conditions of earth-mindedness and enable us to contemplate more effectively upon the Truth of God set forth in the symbols of the Sanctuary.
This psychic operation is made effective by the power and skill of the Angel of the Sanctuary. At this point in our Devotions we sing together:
Now as the perfume of sweet flowers
And the odour of fragrant woods,
Our most worthy desires
And noblest thoughts
Ascend to the Father in heaven,
In the presence of the angels
And of the spirits of the blessed.
And the odour of fragrant woods,
Our most worthy desires
And noblest thoughts
Ascend to the Father in heaven,
In the presence of the angels
And of the spirits of the blessed.
Concerning the Lights of the Altar
I am the Light of the World:
Those who follow me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the Light of Life.
It is recorded of Jesus: “All these things spoke He to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them.” Not only to the multitudes did He teach by parables, but to His disciples, and they so failed to discern the hidden meaning in what He said and did that He rebuked them as he sailed with them across the Sea of Galilee in these words:
Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
Do you not perceive, nor do you understand?
Those who follow me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the Light of Life.
It is recorded of Jesus: “All these things spoke He to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them.” Not only to the multitudes did He teach by parables, but to His disciples, and they so failed to discern the hidden meaning in what He said and did that He rebuked them as he sailed with them across the Sea of Galilee in these words:
Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
Do you not perceive, nor do you understand?
A symbol is a parable in form and substance—an objective token of a spiritual reality. The symbols of the Sanctuary represent to us Jesus our Lord and the effect upon us of our contact with Him, in the same way that words and names represent things and people. The altar and its furnishings are a silent language. The 3-branch candelabra represents fully instructed, consecrated discipleship. The lights of it represent the light of our Lord transmitted by the three-fold consciousness of the disciple—i.e. the integrated consciousness of Spirit, Soul, and Body. This integration is never an accomplished, completed condition but a continuing process.
The single candle that stands before the candelabra represents the spirit-officiant of the altar through whom the Mind of Christ is translated to the psychic level of the communicant.
The votive candle represents the communicant and its light represents his desire to become a reflector of Christ’s light.
Light is the natural symbol of life, for life at any level manifests psychically as a light. A person with psychic sight knows when life is present by the light it manifests. Even the most minute speck of life within a seed appears to a clairvoyant person as light.
It is by the light of spiritual mind within us that we perceive truth; and only as we are receiving the light of the mind of Christ can we perceive the spiritual meaning of the holy symbols.
Therefore Jesus says to us,
He that follows me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
In response to this we say,
You who are the Light of the World
shine in our hearts,
that we may manifest your Light
before all.
This is our personal and collective dedication, and those who have been accustomed to make the sign of the cross may do so here.
The single candle that stands before the candelabra represents the spirit-officiant of the altar through whom the Mind of Christ is translated to the psychic level of the communicant.
The votive candle represents the communicant and its light represents his desire to become a reflector of Christ’s light.
Light is the natural symbol of life, for life at any level manifests psychically as a light. A person with psychic sight knows when life is present by the light it manifests. Even the most minute speck of life within a seed appears to a clairvoyant person as light.
It is by the light of spiritual mind within us that we perceive truth; and only as we are receiving the light of the mind of Christ can we perceive the spiritual meaning of the holy symbols.
Therefore Jesus says to us,
He that follows me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
In response to this we say,
You who are the Light of the World
shine in our hearts,
that we may manifest your Light
before all.
This is our personal and collective dedication, and those who have been accustomed to make the sign of the cross may do so here.
Concerning the Bread and Wine of Partaking
I am the Bread of Life:
the words that I speak to you,
they are spirit and they are life.
This is the bread which comes down from heaven,
that you may eat thereof and not die,
But have eternal life.
On the occasion when Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, they interpreted them literally and also His saying,
Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed.
the words that I speak to you,
they are spirit and they are life.
This is the bread which comes down from heaven,
that you may eat thereof and not die,
But have eternal life.
On the occasion when Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, they interpreted them literally and also His saying,
Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed.
Because of their lack of understanding, Jesus explained that words are to truth as the flesh and blood of the body are to the soul. He explained that it is the spirit that is the life of the body and not the flesh and blood and that it is spiritual truth that gives life to the soul. He made it quite plain that no one whose understanding is lit by spiritual truth ever dies. The saying, “and not die,” does not apply to the death of the body.
Death of the physical body is a withdrawal of soul and spirit from the vehicle of earth-consciousness followed by an awakening in another world of substance and awareness, but many thousands who die to the physical world are not ready for life in the next world because they have not cultivated their spiritual soul-powers.
It was to ensure for all mankind progressive life from one plane of consciousness to another, higher and ever higher, that Jesus incarnated, and that He now musters the risen ones, even all the hosts of heaven, to stir up in men remembrance of His words.
In spite of the clear interpretation of Jesus that the Bread of Life is the spiritual truth contained in his teaching, church leaders and authorities have for centuries taught that the consecrated bread and wine of Communion is actually and literally the flesh and blood of Jesus. According to Jesus’ own words, this is not so but nevertheless he is present and gives his Living Word to those who are able to open the soul-door.
It is this Living Word which is the Bread from heaven:
Death of the physical body is a withdrawal of soul and spirit from the vehicle of earth-consciousness followed by an awakening in another world of substance and awareness, but many thousands who die to the physical world are not ready for life in the next world because they have not cultivated their spiritual soul-powers.
It was to ensure for all mankind progressive life from one plane of consciousness to another, higher and ever higher, that Jesus incarnated, and that He now musters the risen ones, even all the hosts of heaven, to stir up in men remembrance of His words.
In spite of the clear interpretation of Jesus that the Bread of Life is the spiritual truth contained in his teaching, church leaders and authorities have for centuries taught that the consecrated bread and wine of Communion is actually and literally the flesh and blood of Jesus. According to Jesus’ own words, this is not so but nevertheless he is present and gives his Living Word to those who are able to open the soul-door.
It is this Living Word which is the Bread from heaven:
The words that I speak to you,
they are spirit, and they are life.
they are spirit, and they are life.
The practice of the disciples and their followers of partaking of bread and wine in the name of Jesus was a commemoration of the rite of the New Covenant instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper after Judas had left.
I am the Vine, you are the branches,
my Father is the Vine-keeper.
my Father is the Vine-keeper.
In the scriptures of Israel the “vine” is used to signify an earthly organization receiving life and power from God, and at the entrance to Herod’s temple in Jerusalem there was a golden vine.
The vine had the same symbolic significance in other religions beside Judaism, and the statement of Jesus, “I am the true vine,” would be readily understood by the disciples to signify that He, Jesus, as a channel of God’s Spirit, would establish a new temple of God-manifestation. The rest of the statement would also be understood to signify that God, as the Vine-keeper, would prune the vine of Judaism or take it away altogether; but the application of this God-activity to the Master-and-disciple relationship may not have been perceived at that time. We who read from the vantage point of so great a distance in time can see the application to Judas and the others, and to ourselves.
The vine had the same symbolic significance in other religions beside Judaism, and the statement of Jesus, “I am the true vine,” would be readily understood by the disciples to signify that He, Jesus, as a channel of God’s Spirit, would establish a new temple of God-manifestation. The rest of the statement would also be understood to signify that God, as the Vine-keeper, would prune the vine of Judaism or take it away altogether; but the application of this God-activity to the Master-and-disciple relationship may not have been perceived at that time. We who read from the vantage point of so great a distance in time can see the application to Judas and the others, and to ourselves.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in me.
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in me.
The application is clear that since the disciple derives his higher consciousness from the life of his spiritual Lord, if he goes off on his own by closing his channel of receptivity or by failing to transmit the life-consciousness of his Lord, he gets lopped off by the cosmic law of God because he has gone dead.
The whole objective of the vine is to bring forth fruit by means of the branches and it is the joy and privilege of the disciple to bring forth spiritual fruit. “Herein is my Father glorified,” said Jesus, “that you bear much fruit.
The whole objective of the vine is to bring forth fruit by means of the branches and it is the joy and privilege of the disciple to bring forth spiritual fruit. “Herein is my Father glorified,” said Jesus, “that you bear much fruit.
THE LIVING PRESENCE OF JESUS IN OUR COMMUNION
If any shall say to you, “Look, here! Or Look, there! is the Christ,
do not be misled, for the Kingdom of Heaven is within.
do not be misled, for the Kingdom of Heaven is within.
The people to whom Jesus spoke these words were in their hearts and hopes rebels against church and state. They looked on Jesus as a national deliverer who would destroy the Roman world-power and overthrow the Temple-authorities of Judaism and set up new authorities over which he himself would reign as king. Many leaders had already risen up with intent to overthrow the power of Rome, each claiming to be the promised Messiah of the Jews. Jesus said that many more would arise but that the Kingdom of Heaven “comes not with observation.” In effect, that it was not of the external realm at all. It is not to be found by traveling to some particular place, nor in the secret chambers of some temple, nor by meetings together and organizations of people. It is of the Inner Realm of Soul and Spirit, and will be found by developing the Inner Awareness.
Many have supposed that the church of the Apostolic tradition is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, but this cannot be so, seeing that the Church is of the outward realm of organization and activity, and it is obvious that the Inner Awareness of which Jesus spoke is not attained by becoming a church member. Jesus stated the conditions necessary to the experience:
Many have supposed that the church of the Apostolic tradition is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, but this cannot be so, seeing that the Church is of the outward realm of organization and activity, and it is obvious that the Inner Awareness of which Jesus spoke is not attained by becoming a church member. Jesus stated the conditions necessary to the experience:
If you love me, you will keep my words,
and my Father will bless you,
and I will manifest myself to you.
and my Father will bless you,
and I will manifest myself to you.
So alien to “churchianity” is this experience that all who have witnessed to it have been put out of the church and many have been tortured and burnt to death. Yet Jesus told his disciples that he would manifest from the Inner realm beyond death to everyone who loved and cherished his words.
Not only on the occasion of his last supper with his disciples did Jesus make this promise but approximately 60 years after his death he manifested to John, the Seer of Patmos, and said:
Not only on the occasion of his last supper with his disciples did Jesus make this promise but approximately 60 years after his death he manifested to John, the Seer of Patmos, and said:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock:
if you hear my voice and open the door,
I will come in to you and will dine with you,
and you with me.
if you hear my voice and open the door,
I will come in to you and will dine with you,
and you with me.
The emphasis in this promise is on the individual awareness. Not to any church or religious authority is the invitation and promise but to the individual who hears the Voice of Jesus and who opens “the door.”
This “door” is the soul-door of the individual. The Voice is heard within. It does not agitate the air but it is heard as a reflected impression having all the particular inflections and thought character of the one who speaks, whether Jesus himself or a messenger. This is not clairaudience at the horizontal-plane psychic level, but is an impression on the soul-centres from the Christ level of consciousness. The phenomena is the same as that experienced by the prophets of Israel. Sometimes it is the Master himself who speaks; sometimes a messenger who speaks for him, but the message always testifies to His Living Presence.
Our contemplation of the holy symbols concludes with the response:
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
This “door” is the soul-door of the individual. The Voice is heard within. It does not agitate the air but it is heard as a reflected impression having all the particular inflections and thought character of the one who speaks, whether Jesus himself or a messenger. This is not clairaudience at the horizontal-plane psychic level, but is an impression on the soul-centres from the Christ level of consciousness. The phenomena is the same as that experienced by the prophets of Israel. Sometimes it is the Master himself who speaks; sometimes a messenger who speaks for him, but the message always testifies to His Living Presence.
Our contemplation of the holy symbols concludes with the response:
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
THE HOLY PARTAKING
Following the contemplation of the Holy Symbols we sing the first verse of “To Adore”:
Following the contemplation of the Holy Symbols we sing the first verse of “To Adore”:
Thee we adore, O Living Saviour, thee,
Who in this sacrament does deign to be:
The glory of thy countenance unveil
As here thy presence we devoutly hail.
At partaking of the Bread we think on the words of interpretation:
In token of the Word of Life revealed from heaven
I eat this bread, and I pray, “Thy living Bread, O Christ,
heal, comfort, and guide me
unto my perfecting in glory.”
Who in this sacrament does deign to be:
The glory of thy countenance unveil
As here thy presence we devoutly hail.
At partaking of the Bread we think on the words of interpretation:
In token of the Word of Life revealed from heaven
I eat this bread, and I pray, “Thy living Bread, O Christ,
heal, comfort, and guide me
unto my perfecting in glory.”
The “Word of Life revealed from heaven” is the Christ message he gives to each one, not necessarily confined to our time of expectancy in the Holy Silence. It is a “living word” because it is spoken by a living person—either by the Master Jesus himself or for Him by a Messenger.
By this “living word” each receives according to his or her personal need, and the soul is filled with life and joy so that it radiates waves of translucent colour. This is the “glory.” We do not have to wait till the life after death to be aware of it, for as the soul develops spiritually, the full spectrum of colour which John of Patmos describes as a rainbow is radiated. This is the “Perfecting.”
At partaking of the wine we think on the words:
By this “living word” each receives according to his or her personal need, and the soul is filled with life and joy so that it radiates waves of translucent colour. This is the “glory.” We do not have to wait till the life after death to be aware of it, for as the soul develops spiritually, the full spectrum of colour which John of Patmos describes as a rainbow is radiated. This is the “Perfecting.”
At partaking of the wine we think on the words:
In token of the Love of Christ and the Fellowship of Heaven
I drink this wine, and I pray,
your living Wine, O Christ, make my heart glad,
and strengthen me in the purposes of the Thrice Holy
unto the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth.
I drink this wine, and I pray,
your living Wine, O Christ, make my heart glad,
and strengthen me in the purposes of the Thrice Holy
unto the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth.
With respect to the words, “In token of the Love of Christ and the Fellowship of Heaven,” wine has always been the symbol of love and joy and of good fellowship, and what fellowship is so full of joy and love as that of the friends of Jesus—those on earth as well as those in heaven.
Although it is not true that the bread and wine of our Communion are turned into the flesh and blood of Jesus by the act of consecration, it is true that after consecration the bread is no longer just ordinary bread, neither is the juice of the grace ordinary fruit juice; for vibrations (rays) of love and Truth of Christ have entered and permeated the substance of them to some degree.
It has been scientifically demonstrated that whatever is blest by a spiritual person with the sign of the cross retains the form of the symbol in radiant light which, though invisible to physical sight, is manifest when photographed. It is also the testimony of clairvoyants that the heavenly Christ servers of any altar of Christ Communion add their own blessing to the bread and wine during the consecration.
To us, the cross vertical signifies the descent of the Holy Word from heaven and the cross horizontal signifies the expansion through the world of the Love of Christ.
Specific instruction in this matter was given by the one who, in the Psychic Records of Olga Park, is designated the “Tall Priest.” After partaking of the Wine, the second verse of the To Adore is sung:
Although it is not true that the bread and wine of our Communion are turned into the flesh and blood of Jesus by the act of consecration, it is true that after consecration the bread is no longer just ordinary bread, neither is the juice of the grace ordinary fruit juice; for vibrations (rays) of love and Truth of Christ have entered and permeated the substance of them to some degree.
It has been scientifically demonstrated that whatever is blest by a spiritual person with the sign of the cross retains the form of the symbol in radiant light which, though invisible to physical sight, is manifest when photographed. It is also the testimony of clairvoyants that the heavenly Christ servers of any altar of Christ Communion add their own blessing to the bread and wine during the consecration.
To us, the cross vertical signifies the descent of the Holy Word from heaven and the cross horizontal signifies the expansion through the world of the Love of Christ.
Specific instruction in this matter was given by the one who, in the Psychic Records of Olga Park, is designated the “Tall Priest.” After partaking of the Wine, the second verse of the To Adore is sung:
Fountain of Truth, O Word from God above,
Cleanse us, unclean, with thy most Holy Love,
Increase our faith and love that we may know
The joy and peace that from your chalice flow.
Cleanse us, unclean, with thy most Holy Love,
Increase our faith and love that we may know
The joy and peace that from your chalice flow.
THE HOLY OFFERING
Directly after the personal partaking comes the “offering” of the remainder of the bread and wine. This is taken by the Officiant on behalf of:
First the remaining bread is offered and partaken and then the remaining wine. The words are practically the same as those for personal partaking:
- the Students or Learners of the Inner Sanctuary Communion;
- those seeking light of understanding;
- those in need, sorrow, sickness or other adversity who have asked for our prayers.
First the remaining bread is offered and partaken and then the remaining wine. The words are practically the same as those for personal partaking:
In token of the Word of Life revealed from heaven
we offer this bread unto the students, etc.
and may Christ’s Living Bread heal, comfort and guide you
unto your perfecting in glory. Amen.
In token of the Love of Christ and the Fellowship of Heaven
we offer this wine to those in need, sorrow, sickness, or other adversity
who seek Christ’s help.
Christ’s Living Wine make glad your hearts
and strengthen you in the purposes of the Thrice Holy
unto the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Amen.
The name or appearance of each one prayed for is held in mind as the offering prayer is made.
Then come the Prayers after Partaking, which are the same as after the personal partaking. After the Bread:
Blessed Master, we remember your teaching that we do not live
by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from God,
and we ask your continual help that we may be
faithful stewards of that heavenly food.
After the Wine:
Gracious Lord,
we rejoice in your power
to transform water into wine,
tears into joy,
death into life;
and we pray that as we have freely received,
we may ever freely minister of that grace
unto all who seek.
we offer this bread unto the students, etc.
and may Christ’s Living Bread heal, comfort and guide you
unto your perfecting in glory. Amen.
In token of the Love of Christ and the Fellowship of Heaven
we offer this wine to those in need, sorrow, sickness, or other adversity
who seek Christ’s help.
Christ’s Living Wine make glad your hearts
and strengthen you in the purposes of the Thrice Holy
unto the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Amen.
The name or appearance of each one prayed for is held in mind as the offering prayer is made.
Then come the Prayers after Partaking, which are the same as after the personal partaking. After the Bread:
Blessed Master, we remember your teaching that we do not live
by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from God,
and we ask your continual help that we may be
faithful stewards of that heavenly food.
After the Wine:
Gracious Lord,
we rejoice in your power
to transform water into wine,
tears into joy,
death into life;
and we pray that as we have freely received,
we may ever freely minister of that grace
unto all who seek.
These are self-explanatory. The prayers after partaking are followed immediately by the Holy Thanksgiving:
In this, as you will note, we direct our thanks to God, our Heavenly Father, from whom and by whom is the Mission and Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In this, as you will note, we direct our thanks to God, our Heavenly Father, from whom and by whom is the Mission and Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Spirit of Everlasting Life,
we thank you that you feed us as we need rather than as we ask:
nevertheless we rejoice that by this Communion with Jesus the Christ,
we do more clearly discern your Truth
and receive help to show it forth more effectively..
we thank you that you feed us as we need rather than as we ask:
nevertheless we rejoice that by this Communion with Jesus the Christ,
we do more clearly discern your Truth
and receive help to show it forth more effectively..
In this, as you will note, we direct our thanks to God, our Heavenly Father, from whom and by whom is the Mission and Revelation of Jesus Christ.
SONG OF THE ANGELS AND BLESSED ONES: Part I
Glory be to God on high,
And on earth Peace,
Goodwill toward all.
And on earth Peace,
Goodwill toward all.
This “glory” is the radiance of souls experiencing the ecstasy of at-one-ment with God’s purpose in mankind. Such was the glory radiated by the angels who announced to the shepherds of Bethlehem the birth of Jesus: and such is the glory of all who are part of Jesus’ earth mission.
When we are in at-one-ment with a person or ideal or a thing of beauty, we release auric clouds of beautiful colours like the “Northern Lights”—the Aurora Borealis—and when we sing with soul joy, “Glory be to God on High!” our little radiations go forth to add to the beauty and power of God’s purpose. This is the meaning of Revelation 4.10:
When we are in at-one-ment with a person or ideal or a thing of beauty, we release auric clouds of beautiful colours like the “Northern Lights”—the Aurora Borealis—and when we sing with soul joy, “Glory be to God on High!” our little radiations go forth to add to the beauty and power of God’s purpose. This is the meaning of Revelation 4.10:
The four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sat on the throne and worshipped Him that lives forever and ever,
and cast their crowns before the throne
and cast their crowns before the throne
Just as our little glory adds to the glory of Jesus and of the Servers in heaven who help us, so the glory of those whom we help forward on the path of spiritual understanding adds to our glory. Thus, Paul, writing to his converts at Philippi, calls them “my joy and crown.”
In addition, therefore, to our desire for the prevailing of God’s good and perfect will in earth affairs and over all the self-will and ignorance of men, we have the power to hasten that desirable time. Each and every one of us can add to the glory and power of God.
Some translators of the message of the angels’ “goodwill toward men” insist that this should read, “Peace to men of goodwill.” Whichever form of words is the original, and no one really knows, the important thought for us is our power to radiate emanations of Peace and Goodwill and to send them abroad in the earth. This was demonstrated to me in the beginning of the communications respecting the Communion Devotions by the overshadowing of the Egyptian who raised his arms above his head at the words, “Glory be to God” and spread them horizontally at the words “On earth Peace.” This position he maintained through the words “in the universe around us,” and then brought his hands and arms to the horizontal with finger tips touching on his chest at the words “and in us, thy children,” thus forming a triangle of living light and energy and including us in the holy trinity of God in manifestation: for we who love the Lord Jesus and serve his mission are part of Him and in at-one-ment with God’s purposes to some degree, even as Jesus explained to His disciples at the Last Supper: “I in you, you in me, and I in God.”
With this understanding we say,
In addition, therefore, to our desire for the prevailing of God’s good and perfect will in earth affairs and over all the self-will and ignorance of men, we have the power to hasten that desirable time. Each and every one of us can add to the glory and power of God.
Some translators of the message of the angels’ “goodwill toward men” insist that this should read, “Peace to men of goodwill.” Whichever form of words is the original, and no one really knows, the important thought for us is our power to radiate emanations of Peace and Goodwill and to send them abroad in the earth. This was demonstrated to me in the beginning of the communications respecting the Communion Devotions by the overshadowing of the Egyptian who raised his arms above his head at the words, “Glory be to God” and spread them horizontally at the words “On earth Peace.” This position he maintained through the words “in the universe around us,” and then brought his hands and arms to the horizontal with finger tips touching on his chest at the words “and in us, thy children,” thus forming a triangle of living light and energy and including us in the holy trinity of God in manifestation: for we who love the Lord Jesus and serve his mission are part of Him and in at-one-ment with God’s purposes to some degree, even as Jesus explained to His disciples at the Last Supper: “I in you, you in me, and I in God.”
With this understanding we say,
We give you thanks, O Heavenly Father,
for the revelation of your glory
in the universe around us
and in us, your children.
for the revelation of your glory
in the universe around us
and in us, your children.
THE HOLY SONG: Part II
People have widely differing reactions to and conceptions of Jesus and His Mission. Some regard Him as God the Eternal Source and Ultimate of All. Some regard Him as just one of many prophet-teachers, and some regard Him as an impractical idealist. Occultists in general regard Him as a “Master,” having lordship over a limited phase of one particular aspect of the Eternal God-Purpose and they do not teach or practice direct personal contact with Him. They do not even regard Him as the Logos, but as a human person chosen to be a vehicle for manifestations of the God-Spirit they call Christ, who lived some 2000 years ago. In their use of the term “Christ,” they appear to signify the Logos or Third Person of a Triune God.
In contrast to this is the testimony of Jesus’ disciples that He was the Anointed Messenger of the Holy One of Israel, anointed to fulfil the Jewish expectancy of a Messiah. This concept of Jesus and His mission was changed by the impact on the Christian Church at its beginnings of Grecian and Roman ideologies, to that of a Saviour-God. This concept resulted in the theological doctrine of a triune God—God in three persons—with Jesus as the second person, sometimes referred to as the Logos.
In order to compel all Christian to accept this dogma, the Council of Nicea, in 325 A.D., pronounced under the authority of the emperor Constantine that Jesus was “identical and equal” with God the Father. This cut the Church off from her roots in Judaism and resulted in acceptance of a doctrine about Jesus which is quite unsupported by His teaching.
There is a modicum of factuality in the concept of Occultism that Jesus was a human soul-vehicle for the God-Spirit and not actually God in person, for the records testify that at His baptism by John of Judea the God-Spirit descended upon Him and remained with Him. Those same records state that immediately afterward He was “driven” by the Spirit into the Wilderness of Judea to be tempted of the Devil.
No doubt He had to be tested to see how He would use the God-Power He had received, but had He been already God Himself, or even Perfect Man, no testing would have been necessary; for, as James states, “Good cannot be tempted of evil, neither does He tempt any man.”
Thus the testimony of those closest to Jesus is not that He was God, but that he was anointed by God’s Spirit, and that by His obedience and faithfulness to became filled with God’s Spirit—a human being wholly in at-one-ment with God—not God incarnated as a human.
That Jesus descended from high status in the heavenly realms (a Son of God) to incarnate through a woman of earth is quite reasonable, for what angel or spirit-being of lesser stature could have achieved such at-one-ment with God as was manifest in Him?
The testimony of Peter is that it was at the end of His life and not at the beginning that Jesus became “Lord and Christ.”
All this was illustrated to me by the gestures of the “Egyptian” (see Part I), for having formed the Holy Triangle, he lowered his arms to the solar plexus—the womb of earth-life—saying, “Son of Man and Son of God,” and added, “most worthy to be honoured and obeyed in all ages and realms, being filled with your spirit, O Father Eternal.”
If, as man, Jesus attained to the eternal status of invariable at-one-ment with God, then indeed, he is worthy, as we affirm in this Holy Song; and we honour Him, not as a mere vehicle for temporary use of the God-Spirit, but as the “first-begotten” from among the children of earth—King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we pray,
In contrast to this is the testimony of Jesus’ disciples that He was the Anointed Messenger of the Holy One of Israel, anointed to fulfil the Jewish expectancy of a Messiah. This concept of Jesus and His mission was changed by the impact on the Christian Church at its beginnings of Grecian and Roman ideologies, to that of a Saviour-God. This concept resulted in the theological doctrine of a triune God—God in three persons—with Jesus as the second person, sometimes referred to as the Logos.
In order to compel all Christian to accept this dogma, the Council of Nicea, in 325 A.D., pronounced under the authority of the emperor Constantine that Jesus was “identical and equal” with God the Father. This cut the Church off from her roots in Judaism and resulted in acceptance of a doctrine about Jesus which is quite unsupported by His teaching.
There is a modicum of factuality in the concept of Occultism that Jesus was a human soul-vehicle for the God-Spirit and not actually God in person, for the records testify that at His baptism by John of Judea the God-Spirit descended upon Him and remained with Him. Those same records state that immediately afterward He was “driven” by the Spirit into the Wilderness of Judea to be tempted of the Devil.
No doubt He had to be tested to see how He would use the God-Power He had received, but had He been already God Himself, or even Perfect Man, no testing would have been necessary; for, as James states, “Good cannot be tempted of evil, neither does He tempt any man.”
Thus the testimony of those closest to Jesus is not that He was God, but that he was anointed by God’s Spirit, and that by His obedience and faithfulness to became filled with God’s Spirit—a human being wholly in at-one-ment with God—not God incarnated as a human.
That Jesus descended from high status in the heavenly realms (a Son of God) to incarnate through a woman of earth is quite reasonable, for what angel or spirit-being of lesser stature could have achieved such at-one-ment with God as was manifest in Him?
The testimony of Peter is that it was at the end of His life and not at the beginning that Jesus became “Lord and Christ.”
All this was illustrated to me by the gestures of the “Egyptian” (see Part I), for having formed the Holy Triangle, he lowered his arms to the solar plexus—the womb of earth-life—saying, “Son of Man and Son of God,” and added, “most worthy to be honoured and obeyed in all ages and realms, being filled with your spirit, O Father Eternal.”
If, as man, Jesus attained to the eternal status of invariable at-one-ment with God, then indeed, he is worthy, as we affirm in this Holy Song; and we honour Him, not as a mere vehicle for temporary use of the God-Spirit, but as the “first-begotten” from among the children of earth—King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we pray,
You who have lighted the darkness of earth
Shine in our hearts!
You who lead us still in the Everlasting Way
Illumine our path!
Shine in our hearts!
You who lead us still in the Everlasting Way
Illumine our path!
THE HOLY SONG: Part III
It is believed generally that “angels” are beings of a separate order to humans. Actually, the word translated “angel” in the Bible means simply a messenger. It is used to signify any kind of messenger, human as well as heavenly. The word translated “messengers” in II Samuel 2.5 could have been quite correctly translated “angels.” This is so also in Luke 7.24 and in many other passages. However, when the phrase “angel of the Lord” occurs, a heavenly messenger is denoted.
No doubt there will be a word in every language signifying messenger, and very possibly a separate word to denote a heavenly messenger, for psychic and spiritual sight is common to people of all races and to every religion. Some heavenly messengers described in the bible seem to be indistinguishable from ordinary men, as for instance, the three who dined with Abraham. Others are described as having wings and still others like flames of fire. Most psychics who have developed in the spiritualist manner tend to be obstinate in the assertion that angels are just humans from the life after death making a temporary appearance, and as such spirit visitors do not have wings, it is assumed that there are no angels of a separate order of being who do. It is, however, a fact that angels having wings have been seen in every age since the dawn of history and have been seen by persons living today whose soul-sight is attuned to that high vibration.
Obviously, some heavenly messengers are humans from the life beyond death and some are of a non-human order of being. The New Testament gives instances of the manifesting of both kinds and the one who showed John of Patmos the Holy City stated that he had been one of the Prophets of Israel.
The concept of angels as appointed by God to act as guardians to humans and especially to young children is supported by the statement of Jesus that “their angels do always behold the face of my Father in Heaven,” and appears to be common to all peoples, though expressed differently. According to the testimony of the friends of Socrates, he had a guardian angel but this being or spirit is called a “demon” which word to us signifies an evil spirit, though the heavenly guardian of Socrates, most definitely, was not evil. [A daimon in Greek signifies a mediating guardian spirit].
In the tradition of the Christian Church it has been held that a guardian angel is appointed to every child at baptism, but the dogma that a child which is not baptized does not have a guardian angel and at death, even in infancy, is outcast from the blessedness of Heaven, has no foundation in the teaching of Jesus. It is true, however, that every group which is an outlet of heavenly authority, great or small, does, by its prayers and blessings, put into effect the help of angels, human and non-human, and that ceremonies of naming or of baptizing do make effective special guardianship of the natural order. That God the Father is particularly solicitous of all young life is the testimony of the Israel scriptures and of Jesus. In addition to the witness of those who have seen angelic messengers of the non-human orders of being, it is the testimony of countless thousands that persons of good will and spiritual intent—Christian and non-Christian—advance in the life after death and take an active part in helping forward God’s purpose in mankind, and this is part of the testimony of Jesus and His Apostles. Therefore we ask help of fellowship, instruction, and guidance on our path through life on earth.
We need to ask for, and look for, such instructive and guiding help, for spiritually we are very young, and only by such help can we progress toward the goal purposed for us by God and manifested in Jesus our Lord, who was aware of God and spoke with God; who remembered His own pre-earthly existence; who knew why He was born and what was the supreme mission of His life; who determined the time and manner of His own death; who in this life and after His death demonstrated the God-Purpose in mankind “until we are come to the stature of the Perfect Man.”
No doubt there will be a word in every language signifying messenger, and very possibly a separate word to denote a heavenly messenger, for psychic and spiritual sight is common to people of all races and to every religion. Some heavenly messengers described in the bible seem to be indistinguishable from ordinary men, as for instance, the three who dined with Abraham. Others are described as having wings and still others like flames of fire. Most psychics who have developed in the spiritualist manner tend to be obstinate in the assertion that angels are just humans from the life after death making a temporary appearance, and as such spirit visitors do not have wings, it is assumed that there are no angels of a separate order of being who do. It is, however, a fact that angels having wings have been seen in every age since the dawn of history and have been seen by persons living today whose soul-sight is attuned to that high vibration.
Obviously, some heavenly messengers are humans from the life beyond death and some are of a non-human order of being. The New Testament gives instances of the manifesting of both kinds and the one who showed John of Patmos the Holy City stated that he had been one of the Prophets of Israel.
The concept of angels as appointed by God to act as guardians to humans and especially to young children is supported by the statement of Jesus that “their angels do always behold the face of my Father in Heaven,” and appears to be common to all peoples, though expressed differently. According to the testimony of the friends of Socrates, he had a guardian angel but this being or spirit is called a “demon” which word to us signifies an evil spirit, though the heavenly guardian of Socrates, most definitely, was not evil. [A daimon in Greek signifies a mediating guardian spirit].
In the tradition of the Christian Church it has been held that a guardian angel is appointed to every child at baptism, but the dogma that a child which is not baptized does not have a guardian angel and at death, even in infancy, is outcast from the blessedness of Heaven, has no foundation in the teaching of Jesus. It is true, however, that every group which is an outlet of heavenly authority, great or small, does, by its prayers and blessings, put into effect the help of angels, human and non-human, and that ceremonies of naming or of baptizing do make effective special guardianship of the natural order. That God the Father is particularly solicitous of all young life is the testimony of the Israel scriptures and of Jesus. In addition to the witness of those who have seen angelic messengers of the non-human orders of being, it is the testimony of countless thousands that persons of good will and spiritual intent—Christian and non-Christian—advance in the life after death and take an active part in helping forward God’s purpose in mankind, and this is part of the testimony of Jesus and His Apostles. Therefore we ask help of fellowship, instruction, and guidance on our path through life on earth.
We need to ask for, and look for, such instructive and guiding help, for spiritually we are very young, and only by such help can we progress toward the goal purposed for us by God and manifested in Jesus our Lord, who was aware of God and spoke with God; who remembered His own pre-earthly existence; who knew why He was born and what was the supreme mission of His life; who determined the time and manner of His own death; who in this life and after His death demonstrated the God-Purpose in mankind “until we are come to the stature of the Perfect Man.”
THE HOLY POWER (Veni Creator Spiritus)
Creator Spirit, by whose word,
The earth to life and light is stirred,
Come visit here each seeking mind
And pour your grace on humankind:
From sin and sorrow set us free
And make us temples worthy thee.
The earth to life and light is stirred,
Come visit here each seeking mind
And pour your grace on humankind:
From sin and sorrow set us free
And make us temples worthy thee.
This hymn dates from the 9th century A.D. and was translated into English by the poet Dryden. In the course of the centuries it has become the common heritage of every branch of the Christian Faith. The words here given have been revised to assist the realization that creation is not something God did millions of years ago but is an ever-present evolving process.
Here, as in the Thanksgiving Prayer, we face the realization that God, the Source of all life and energy and knowing, is in our midst and that by His Life and Power we receive the manifestations of Jesus, and of angels, and the joy of fellowship with loved ones on earth and loved ones in heaven. The word “seeking” has been substituted for the word “humble,” for a seeking mind is of necessity a humble mind, but a “humble mind” is not necessarily a seeking mind and can be understood to signify an abject attitude and approach and such is not conducive to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding.
The whole of the significance of our “Communion” is contained in the last two lines—cleansing, instruction, and sanctification:
Here, as in the Thanksgiving Prayer, we face the realization that God, the Source of all life and energy and knowing, is in our midst and that by His Life and Power we receive the manifestations of Jesus, and of angels, and the joy of fellowship with loved ones on earth and loved ones in heaven. The word “seeking” has been substituted for the word “humble,” for a seeking mind is of necessity a humble mind, but a “humble mind” is not necessarily a seeking mind and can be understood to signify an abject attitude and approach and such is not conducive to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding.
The whole of the significance of our “Communion” is contained in the last two lines—cleansing, instruction, and sanctification:
From sin and sorrow set us free
And make us temples worthy thee.
And make us temples worthy thee.
THE HOLY SILENCE
During the singing of the Veni Creator we take pen and notebook in hand and prepare to listen for the “living word” of the Master. This is always a personal message, and in order to receive it we must reach out to Him in thought and desire. So if there is something you do not understand about the Devotions, or the words of the Master as they occur in them or in the New Testament records, or in your own life and personal affairs, this is your opportunity to ask of Him and to receive his answer. Also, if you are troubled or lonely, or if you feel in any way unable to cope, tell this to the Master in silent speech, and He will give you words of encouragement and take away the stresses and strains within you.
This method of entering into the “Silence” is different from others in that no attempt is made to still the objective mind. Instead, an attunement is made between the mind of the communicant and the mind of Jesus. This progresses through the Devotions to the place of Silence, and the door of the soul opens without effort to the Christ communications through the agency of your own embryonic spiritual mind.
For the encouragement in this practice of Beginners—those whom the Master calls His “Little Ones”—is the following message given by Him in the Silent Voice:
Do not be discouraged that the revelation is imperfect in the beginning. Great things shall you do if your faith in me holds fast. These things have I spoken that you may know of a surety that I am the Messenger of the Holy One of Israel.
Peace be with you!
Immediately following the Time of Silence we sing:
This method of entering into the “Silence” is different from others in that no attempt is made to still the objective mind. Instead, an attunement is made between the mind of the communicant and the mind of Jesus. This progresses through the Devotions to the place of Silence, and the door of the soul opens without effort to the Christ communications through the agency of your own embryonic spiritual mind.
For the encouragement in this practice of Beginners—those whom the Master calls His “Little Ones”—is the following message given by Him in the Silent Voice:
- Do not fear to tread the path I have marked out for you. Do you think it was only to men of old that I have shown myself? Have I not said that if any man open to me I will come in and sup with him, and he with me?
- For I seek such and knock upon the doors of their hearts that they may open and receive me and know of a surety that I live. Blessed is he that hears my knocking; thrice blessed is he that opens to me.
- I am the guide of many. Let no man confuse you saying, “He is high and lifted up and cannot manifest to the children of men.” For though I speak through the mouth of an angel, and though I write through the hand of a messenger, it is I; for I also am of your brothers and sisters of earth, and it is the will of the Father that all shall know me from the least unto the greatest.
- Come unto me, all you Little Ones, and you that labour, and I will refresh you with the joy of heaven which I had with the Father before the time in which I dwelt with men.
Do not be discouraged that the revelation is imperfect in the beginning. Great things shall you do if your faith in me holds fast. These things have I spoken that you may know of a surety that I am the Messenger of the Holy One of Israel.
Peace be with you!
Immediately following the Time of Silence we sing:
Fairest Lord Jesus,
Lord of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honour,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
Lord of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honour,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
The hymn from which these words are taken is not of great antiquity, but is probably a 17th century resurrection of a much older hymn that was sung by the crusaders, for it is know as the Crusaders’ Hymn. We too are crusaders; and it is fitting that these words are sung by us after the experiencing of communion with the living Jesus.
The covering of the chalice follows and then the Missionary Prayer. This prayer was received, word for word, in the very early days of the communion practice by the mediation of the "Rector" spirit realms. At the suggestion of Canon A.F. Webling, it was authorized by the Executive Council of Churches' Fellowship for Psychical Study in England to be used at meetings of that Fellowship and was used on the occasion of their first public meeting, which was held at Caxton Hall, London.
Three effects of the practice of the Communion Devotions are mentioned in the prayer:
The covering of the chalice follows and then the Missionary Prayer. This prayer was received, word for word, in the very early days of the communion practice by the mediation of the "Rector" spirit realms. At the suggestion of Canon A.F. Webling, it was authorized by the Executive Council of Churches' Fellowship for Psychical Study in England to be used at meetings of that Fellowship and was used on the occasion of their first public meeting, which was held at Caxton Hall, London.
Three effects of the practice of the Communion Devotions are mentioned in the prayer:
- Communication with and from the life after death;
- Psychic broadcasting at the earth level of the power generated;
- Development in persons on earth of the hearing of the “Voice,” which hearing characterized the God-guidance of the prophets of Israel.
OUR MISSIONARY PRAYER
Beloved Lord and Master,
we thank you for the privilege of communion with you,
and for the fellowship of those in the heavenly realms
who minister in your name and for your cause.
We pray for a greater awareness of unity and contact with them,
so that the thoughts and desires of this meditation
may be received by all who seek a fuller understanding
and a deeper experience,
for their strengthening and encouragement
and for the regeneration of your word in the earth.
Amen.
This prayer is followed immediately, and while still in an attitude of prayer, by the singing of the Dedication hymn.
we thank you for the privilege of communion with you,
and for the fellowship of those in the heavenly realms
who minister in your name and for your cause.
We pray for a greater awareness of unity and contact with them,
so that the thoughts and desires of this meditation
may be received by all who seek a fuller understanding
and a deeper experience,
for their strengthening and encouragement
and for the regeneration of your word in the earth.
Amen.
This prayer is followed immediately, and while still in an attitude of prayer, by the singing of the Dedication hymn.
OUR DEDICATION HYMN
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my seeing;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my desiring;
God be in my life, and at my departing.
It is a most powerful prayer, and if meditated upon before any undertaking, will have a noticeable effect upon circumstantial conditions.
God be in my eyes, and in my seeing;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my desiring;
God be in my life, and at my departing.
It is a most powerful prayer, and if meditated upon before any undertaking, will have a noticeable effect upon circumstantial conditions.
THE HOLY BENEDICTION
The Benediction which follows is almost a continuation of the Dedication act:
So shall the Peace of Christ abide with us,
and Holy Spirit lead us in Eternal Truth.
Amen.
May this Peace be with you now and always for your happiness and fulfillment.
Olga Park
1968
So shall the Peace of Christ abide with us,
and Holy Spirit lead us in Eternal Truth.
Amen.
May this Peace be with you now and always for your happiness and fulfillment.
Olga Park
1968
