2nd Michaelmas 2017,

Archangel Michael, Arild Rosenkranz

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 6: 10 - 19
2nd, 3rd or 4th Michaelmas
 
What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful regency of his pure spiritual strength.
Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor, so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against
spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,
against spirit beings powerful in the molding of earth substance,
against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the present time,
against spirits who carry evil into the realms of the spiritual world.
 
Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest strength, and victoriously withstand it.
Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you like a strong breastplate.

And may Peace stream through you, down to your feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the realm of the angels.
In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust will be like a mighty shield; with it,  you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take into your thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like a helmet.

And the spirit, which has become living in you, you shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working of the Word of God.

May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and supplications so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.
Feel yourself united in prayer with all other bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery which lives in the message of the gospel.

2nd Michaelmas
October 8, 2017
Ephesians 6:10-19
 
This is a time of struggle. Outer events play like battles, battles of words, warlike behaviors, grievous wrongs. Behind these, there stand spiritual beings and spiritual forces at work, both positive and negative.
 
As the reading today says: our struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood but

Newbatt

against mighty and powerful spiritual beings. For us as individuals, this means that ours is not a battle of aggression, but a battle of defense against negative spiritual forces seeking to attack our hearts and our thoughts.
 
We are to stand firm by grasping and clothing ourselves with the power that streams to us from Christ. We are to trust that no matter what appears to happen outwardly, He is the Way, the path that our human evolution is to take. He is the Truth—the very Being of Truth itself, a firm foundation for all we see and do. Clothing ourselves in His truth, our thinking is clear, and our hearts can stream peace; our words can illuminate darkness and evil.
 
It is a season of growing darkness. Our task is to remain inwardly upright and awake. We are the soldiers, the guardians who keep watch, the witnesses. We are those who are to activate the Christ force in the world. As Adam Bittleston says:
 
We need in the strife of our day
The eternal Peace of the Word of God.
Seeking this Peace with our whole being
On the path which leads from the nightmare
Of endless chaos,
Into the order of heaven
And to the Father of all things—
We shall meet Michael
Who reveals how Christ
Awakens Man
That he may serve God. *
 

 

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*"Michaelmas II”, Adam Bittleston, in Meditative Prayers for Today. Available here.

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1st Michaelmas 2016, Bread of Angels (Redux)

1st Michaelmas

Matthew 22, 1-14

And Jesus continued to speak in parables to them:

The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not come.

Then he again sent out other servants, and said, “Say to those who have been invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to the wedding.”

But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The rest, however, took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.

Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite to the wedding whoever you can find.”

And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them, he noticed a man who was not dressed in the wedding garment which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding garment that was offered to you?”

But the man was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher life.”

1st Michaelmas

Oct 2, 2016

Matthew 22, 1-14

When a farmer sows his crops, he knows what he is planting. He knows what will come up. Other conditions will affect what is ultimately harvested; yet what will sprout is what was planted.

In our lives, we are continually planting thoughts, words, deeds. They grow according to their nature. Untrue thoughts, words of hate, destructive deeds we will ourselves harvest as bitter, malformed fruits. True thoughts, encouraging words, helpful deeds grow into an abundant, living harvest. What we sow, we reap, if not in this lifetime, then in the next.

God sowed our souls and spirits in the ground of earth. He hopes to harvest the good, the nourishing, the sustaining, in order to support the work of his angels. Our thoughts, our words, our deeds, the way we are, all is ultimately food for the angels. They need nourishment to sustain them in their work of helping humanity to evolve.

Originally, God’s fields were planted with all ‘good seed’. But adversarial forces interfered. They helped sow weeds, thistles among the grain. God’s harvest became meager, filled with the unusable. God and his angels have to sort out the good from the useless. What they cannot use they give over to the purifying fire.

Corina Ferraz

Our thoughts, our words, our loving deeds, are bread for the angels. Here on earth we are preparing a banquet for the wedding feast of the king. Our noblest thoughts, our loving hearts, our devoted deeds are bread of the angels. Our soul offerings are sustaining them in their work. And so we make our offering:

Praised be thou, eternal God, King of the Universe,
who brings forth bread from the earth.*

*From the Hebrew blessing of the bread: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth." This blessing is made over bread made only from wheat, barley, rye, oats, and/or spelt.

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10th August September Trinity 2016, Spirit Can Summon (Redux)

10th Trinity August- September

Luke 7, 11-17

And it came to pass that on the next day Jesus went into a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. And as he drew near to the gate of the city, they became aware that a dead man was being carried out—the only born son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd of people from the city accompanied her.

And seeing her the Lord felt her suffering, and said to her, “Weep no more.”

And approaching, he touched the coffin, and pallbearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”

The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. Astonishment and awe seized all who were standing there, and they began to praise God and to glorify what was here revealed, saying,

“A prophet powerful in spirit has been raised among us, and God has come down to us, his people.”

Word about him spread out into all of Judea and all of the neighboring regions.

10th Trinity August- September

September 25, 2016

Luke 7, 11-17

When someone close to us dies, we grieve. Part of the difficulty we have is that, for our perception, the loved one seems swallowed up by an abyss. A darkness engulfs us, separates us from them. They are lost to us, and we weep for what is now missing in our own lives – their words, their touch, their love.

Christ approaches the grieving widow, now a grieving mother. He speaks to her kindly, tenderly. Like an approaching dawn, he comforts her – weep no more.

And then, like the glory of the sun rising above the horizon, he says to the dead one, ‘Arise!’ The darkness of separation is flooded with light and with life. Loves are reunited.

In our own lives, we too grieve our losses, be they loved ones, lost possessions, or unfulfilled dreams. These are the moment when Christ approaches. He bids us weep no more. He shows us that no matter how great the loss, no matter how deep the hopelessness, there is always a future, a new day. It may take time for the sun to rise, but, in the words of John O’Donohue:

As twilight makes a rainbow robe

From the concealed colors of day

In order for time to stay alive

Within the dark weight of night,

May we lose no one we love

From the shelter of our hearts.

When we love another heart

…We journey deep below time

Into that eternal weave

Where nothing unravels.

May we have the grace to see

…That whoever we have loved,

Such love can never quench.

Though a door may have closed,

Closed between us,

May we be able to view

Our lost friends with eyes

Wise with calming grace;

….

Bring warmth again to

Where the heart has frozen

In order that beyond the walls

…We may be able to

Celebrate the gifts they brought,

Learn and grow from the pain,

…Where spirit can summon

Beauty from wounded space.*

*John O'Donohue , “For Lost Friends” in To Bless the Space Between Us