THE ANNUAL SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

Posted on February 12, 2014 by adminE

Have you ever stood by the bedside of a friend or relative who was about to pass out of this world and into the beyond? Most of us have, for where is the house that has not been entered by Father Time? Neither is the following phase of the occurrence, to which we would particularly direct attention, uncommon. The person about to pass out very often falls into a stupor, then awakens and sees not only this world but the world into which he is about to enter; and it is very significant that then he sees people who were his friends or relatives during the earlier part of his life– sons, daughters, a wife, anyone in fact near and dear to him–standing around the bedside and awaiting his crossing over. The mother will fondly stretch out her arms: “Why, there is John, and how big he has grown! What a splendid big boy he is!” And so she will recognize one after another of her children who have passed into the beyond. They are assembled at her bedside, waiting for her to join them, actuated by the same feeling that possesses people were when a child is about to be born into this world, making them rejoice at the new arrival because they feel instinctively that it is a friend who is coming to them.

So, also, the people who have gone before into the beyond gather when a friend is about to cross the border line and join them on the other side of the veil. Thus we see that the birth into one world is death from the viewpoint of another–the child that comes to us has died to the spiritual world, and the person who passes out of our ken into the beyond and dies here is born into a new world and joins his friends there.

As above, so below; the law of analogy, which is the same for microcosm and macrocosm, tells us that what befalls human beings under given conditions must also apply to the superhuman under analogous circumstances. We are now approaching the winter solstice, the darkest days of the year, the time when the light of the sun has almost faded, when our Northern Hemisphere is cold and drear. But on the longest and darkest night the sun turns on its upward path, the Christ light is born on the earth again, and all the world rejoices. By the terms of our analogy, however, when the Christ is born on earth He dies to heaven. As the free spirit is at the time of birth finally and firmly encased in the veil of flesh which fetters it all through life, so also the Christ Spirit is fettered and hampered each time He is born into the earth. This great Annual Sacrifice begins when our Christmas bells are ringing, when our joyful sounds of praise and thanksgiving are ascending to heaven. Christ is imprisoned in the most literal sense of the word from Christmas to Easter.

Men may scorn the idea that there is an influx of spiritual life and light at this time of the year, nevertheless the fact remains whether we believe it or not. Every one in the whole world at this time feels lighter, feels different, feels as if a load were lifted off his shoulders. The spirit of peace on earth and good will towards man prevails; the spirit that WE ALSO WOULD GIVE something expresses itself in Christmas gifts. This spirit is not to be denied, as is patent to anyone who is at all observant; and this is a reflex of the great divine wave of giving. God so loved the world that He gave His only or alone begotten Son. Christmas is the time of the giving, though it is not consummated until Easter; this is the crux, the turning point, the place where we feel that something has happened which ensures the prosperity and continuance of the world.

How different is the feeling at Christmas from the one that is manifest at Easter! At the latter there is an outgoing desire, an energy which expresses itself in sex love with desire for perpetuation of self as the keynote; how different this is from the love which expresses itself in the spirit of giving that we find at Christmas time rather than that of receiving.

And look now at the churches; never does the candle burn so brightly as upon this, the shortest and the darkest day of the year. Never do the bells sound so festive as when they ring out their message to the waiting world, “The Christ is born.”

“God is Light,” says the inspired apostle, and no other description is capable of conveying so much of the nature of God as those three little words. The invisible light that is clothed in the flame upon the altar is an apt representation of God, the Father. In the bells we have an apt symbol of Christ, the Word, for their metal tongues proclaim the gospel message of peace and good will, while the incense brings an added spiritual fervor, representing the power of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is thus symbolically part of the celebration which makes Christmas the most spiritually joyful time of the year from the standpoint of the human race which is now embodied and working in the physical world.

But it must not be forgotten, as was said in an opening paragraph of this lesson, that the birth of Christ upon earth is the death of Christ to the glory of heaven; that at the time when we rejoice at His annual coming, He is invested again with the heavy physical load which we have crystallized about ourselves and which is now our dwelling place–the earth. In this heavy body He is then encrusted, and anxiously He waits for the day of final liberation. You understand, of course, there are days and nights for the greater spirits as for the human beings; that as we live in our body during the daytime, work out the destiny which we have created for ourselves in the physical world, and are then liberated at night into the higher world to recuperate, so also there is this ebb and flow of the Christ Spirit. It dwells within our earth a part of the year and then withdraws into the higher worlds. Thus Christmas is for Christ the commencement of a day of physical life, the beginning of a period of restriction.

What then should be the aspiration of the devout and enlightened mystic who realizes the greatness of His sacrifice, the greatness of this gift which is being bestowed upon mankind by God at this time of the year; who realizes this sacrifice of the Christ for our sake, this giving Himself, subjecting Himself to a virtual death that we may live, this wonderful love that is being poured out upon the earth at this time–what should be his aspiration? What but to imitate in however small a measure the wonderful works of God! He should aspire to make himself more the servant of the Cross than ever before, more closely to follow the Christ in every thing by sacrificing himself for his brothers and sisters, by uplifting humanity within his immediate sphere of work so as to hasten the day of liberation for which the Christ Spirit is waiting, groaning and travailing. We mean the PERMANENT liberation, the day and the coming of Christ.

To realize this aspiration in the fullest measure, let us go forth during the coming year with full self-reliance and faith. If we have heretofore despaired of our ability to work for Christ, then let this despair pass, for has He not said: “Greater works than these shall ye do”? Would He who was the Word of truth have said such things if it were not possible to realize them? All things are possible to them that love God. If we will really work in our own little sphere, not looking for the greater things until we have done the work close at hand, then we shall find that a wonderful soul growth may be attained, so that the people who are round about us shall see in us something which they may not be able to define but which will nevertheless be patent to them–they shall see that Christmas light, the light of the new-born Christ, shining within our sphere of action. It can be done; it only depends upon ourselves whether we will take Him at His word so as to realize this command: “Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Perfection may seem a very long way off; we may realize more acutely as we look upon Him how far we are from living up to our ideals. Nevertheless, it is by striving daily, hourly, that we finally attain, and every day some little progress can be made, something can be done, in some way we can let our light shine so that men shall see it as a beacon light in the darkness of the world. May God help us during the coming year to attain a greater measure of Christ-likeness than we have ever before attained. May we live such lives that when another year has rolled around and we again see the candle lights of Christmas and hear the bells that call us to the Holy Night service, we shall then feel that we have not lived in vain.

EACH TIME WE GIVE OURSELVES in service to others we add to the luster of our soul bodies, which are built of ether. It is the Christ ether that now floats this sphere of ours, and let us remember that if we ever want to work for His liberation, we must in sufficient numbers evolve our own soul bodies to the point where they may float the earth. Thus we may take up His burden and save Him the pain of physical existence.

THE COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTMAS

Posted on January 19, 2013 by adminE

Once more in the course of a year we are upon the eve of Christmas. The view which each of us takes of this festival is dissimilar to that of every one else. To the devout religionist it is a season hallowed, sacred, and fraught with mystery, none the less sublime because uncomprehended. To the atheist it is a silly superstition. To the purely intellectual it is a puzzle, for it is beyond reason.

In the churches the story is recited of how upon this, the holiest night of the year, our Lord and Savior, immaculately conceived, was born of a virgin. No further explanation is made; the matter is left to acceptance or rejection by the hearer according to his temperament. If mind and reason dominate him to the exclusion of faith, if he can believe nothing which cannot be demonstrated to the senses at any moment, he is forced to reject the tale as absurd and out of consonance with various immutable laws of nature.

Various interpretations have been given to satisfy the mind, these principally of an astronomical nature. They have set forth how, on the night between the 24th and the 25th of December, the sun commences its journey from the south to the north. He is the “Light of the World.”

Cold and famine would inevitably exterminate the human race if the sun remained always in the south. Therefore it is a cause for great rejoicing when he commences his northward journey. He is then hailed as “savior,” for he comes “to save the world,” to give it “the bread of life,” as he ripens grain and grape. Thus “he gives his life” upon the cross(ing) of the equator (at the spring equinox), and then commences his ascent into the (northern) heaven.

On the night when he commences his northward journey the zodiacal sign Virgo, the celestial virgin, the “Queen of Heaven,” stands upon the eastern horizon at midnight, and is therefore, astrologically speaking, his “rising sign.” Thus he is “born of a virgin” without other intermediary, hence, “immaculately conceived.” This explanation may satisfy the mind regarding the ORIGIN of the supposed superstition, but the aching void which is in the heart of every skeptic, whether he is aware of the fact or not, must remain until the spiritual illumination is attained which shall furnish an explanation acceptable to both heart and mind. To shed such light upon this sublime mystery shall be our endeavor in the following pages.

The immaculate conception will form the topic of a future lesson; just now we will show how the material and spiritual forces alternately ebb and flow in the course of the year, and why Christmas is truly a “holy day.” Let us say that we subscribe to the astronomical interpretation as being as valid from its point of view, as the following is true when viewing the mystery-birth from another angle. The sun is born from year to year in the darkest night. The world-saving Christ are also born when the spiritual darkness of mankind is the greatest. There is a third aspect of supreme importance, namely, that it is no mere idle foolishness when Paul speaks of Christ being “formed in you.” It is a sublime fact that we are all Christs-in-the-making, and the sooner we realize that we must cultivate the Christ WITHIN before we can perceive the Christ without, the more we shall hasten the day of our spiritual illumination. In this connection we again quote our favorite aphorism from Angelus Silesius, whose sublime spiritual perception caused him to say:

“Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, And not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn; The Cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain, Unless within thyself it be set up again.”

At the SUMMER SOLSTICE in June the earth is furthest from the sun, but the solar ray strikes the earth at nearly RIGHT ANGLES to its axis in the Northern Hemisphere, hence the high degree of PHYSICAL ACTIVITY resulting.

Then the SPIRITUAL radiations from the sun are OBLIQUE to this part of the earth, and are as weak as the physical rays when they are oblique. At the WINTER SOLSTICE, on the other hand, the earth is nearest the sun. The spiritual rays then fall at right angles to the earth’s surface in the Northern Hemisphere, PROMOTING SPIRITUALITY, while physical activities are held in abeyance on account of the oblique angle at which the solar rays strike the surface of the earth.

On this principle, the physical activities are at their lowest ebb and the spiritual forces reach their highest tidal flow on the night between the 24th and 25th of December, which is therefore the most “holy night” of the year. Midsummer, on the other hand, is the sporting time of the earth-goblins and similar entities concerned in the material development of our planet, as shown by Shakespeare in his MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.

If we swim with the tide at the time when it is strongest, we shall cover a greater distance with less effort than at any other time. It is of great importance to the esoteric student to know and understand the particularly favorable conditions which prevail at Yule-tide. Let us follow Paul’s exhortation in the 12th chapter of Hebrews and throw aside every hampering weight as do men who are running a race. Let us strike while the iron is hot; let us specially bend all our energies at this time to spiritual endeavor, and we shall reap a harvest such as we cannot obtain at any other time of the year. Let us remember also that self-improvement is not our first consideration. We are disciples of Christ. If we aspire to distinction, let us remember that He said: “Let him who would be the greatest among you be THE SERVANT of all.” There are much sorrow and suffering around us; there are many lonely and aching hearts in our circle of acquaintances. Let us seek them out in an unobtrusive manner. At no time of the year will they be more amenable to our advances than just now. Let us strive to spread sunshine in their path. Thus we shall earn their blessings and the blessings of our Elder Brothers. The resulting vibrations in turn will cause a spiritual growth not to be attained in any other way.

Christmas Special – Sagitarius

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Fraternidad

1. For the average person:
a) Finding fun, the Dulche life, easy life, gambling and so on.
b) Another class looks what is right, moral values, righteous, spiritual light.
c) Others can have both inclinations

2. For the person aspiring to higher : looking for the philosophical, the esoteric or religious path of perfection.

3. For the person who has decided: not only to know the things unseen (Scorpio-student), but passes to the degree of “probationer” in trying to dominate or transform your lower nature.

4. Some people unfortunately in order to have an easy life may even become criminal or delinquents if they are violent, otherwise they will act astutely.

NOTE: For the Catholic Christian conscience with or without esoteric knowledge, the time of Sagittarius, is the time to prepare for the birth of Christ (whether is the annual or inside, the Advent).

MAGIC STAR

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." -Isaiah 9:6-7

To the clairvoyant eye, the initiatory spirit appears as a star. ”

The magic of Christmas is intimately associated with the “Star”, the Star shone golden in the sky over Bethlehem on that, the most holy night of all nights, was the radiant spiritual body of Christ, who was pouring his blessings on the perfect body of the Child Jesus, who later became the vehicle of the Incarnate Christ during the three years of his sublime ministry on earth.

NATIVITY

There are seven planets in the cosmos and seven principles in man. The law of correspondence or analogy helps us look at the nature of Jesus Christ, under seven points of view. We will see only the first three points of view, and then the remaining four are so high we could not explain clearly. These three views are:

Antonio Allegri Correggio

1 .- HISTORY .- Jesus Christ existed even though many have tried to materialistic tendencies to deny its existence, based on his birth and life that have no historical basis: well, clairvoyant reveals scientific research looking at the “memory of nature”. The Akashic records indicate that Jesus Christ existed, as it is written in the Gospels where we find when we read and interpret the Bible correctly.

2 .- ASTRONOMY .- The story of Samson is another aspect of the solar myth. Samson’s hair was long and still growing, increasing strength. Samson is the sun and its rays represent his hair. From the winter solstice in December to the summer solstice in June, the sun’s rays are growing and gaining strength every day. This terrifies the “powers of darkness”, the winter months, the Philistines, because if the Giver of Light continues to reign, his kingdom (the Philistines) would end, and then plotted against Samson to discover the secrets of his strength. They ensure the cooperation of women Delilah is the sign of Virgo, and when Samson, the Sun passes through this sign is said in September that left his head in the woman’s womb and entrusted her secret. Then she cuts his hair, because at the time the sun’s rays are weakened. Then the Philistines or winter months come and take the ailing giant to his prison: the southern signs where is the sun in the winter. They take your eyes, they take away his light, and finally lead him to his temple, and the winter solstice the infamous subjected to indignities, believing they had won the light completely, but with his remaining strength. The great giant solar temple collapses but died in his effort. However, he overcomes his enemies, leaving room for the new sun to be born to save humanity from the cold and hunger that would follow if it will always be limited by the powers of darkness, the Philistines, the winter months.

Tintoreto (b 1518, Venezia d, 1594

3 .- THE CHRIST LAND .- Also in the most literal and true sense of the word “a newborn Christ” we praise them at the feast of Christmas Eve and Christmas is the most important annual event for all mankind, even if you understand it or not. This is not merely a commemoration of the birth of our beloved Brother, Jesus, but also rejuvenating the life of the love of our Heavenly Father, sent by God to redeem the world from death grip of winter. Without this new infusion of divine life and energy, will soon perish physically and frustrate our orderly progress, at least insofar as it relates to our present lines of development. This is a point that we must strive to fully conceive so that we can learn to consider Christmas as subtly as possible.

4 .- THE CHRIST INDIVIDUAL .- Galatians 4: 19 “My children, whom I am again to side with you, until Christ be formed in you “. It refers to the sublime goal and ideal of the Christian which is to achieve the birth of Christ within his own being, ideal to which every Christian Rosicrucian student aspires. Max Heindel.

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future." It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may end in peace. Agnes M. Pharo

Rosicrucian Christian Fellowship

A Pure Mind, a Noble Heart and a Healthy Body – Max Heindel

Category Archives: Christmas

THE ANNUAL SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

THE COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTMAS

Christmas Special – Sagitarius