As a typical and easy prayer to recite, the Three Hail Marys comes highly recommended. 

Times for sheer devotion include the morning and around sunset, as per traditions that have developed in Europe. 

But the Three Hail Marys can be offered for basically any petition, any prayer, any problem. 

It's quick, easy, and effective practice that comes highly recommended from me. 

There's an immense amount of wisdom contained within the Tarot, and a number of means of reading Tarot cards exist. 
The language of the Tarot is something internal that must be learned; it can only be understood through practice. One learns the individual meanings of cards, though the best reading comes from a knowledge of traditionally associated meanings (of which there are all kinds of variations) and use of one's own intuition. 

The process can also not be forced. It's best to allow each of the cards to absorb into one's mind, bypassing the conscious mind's attempt to slay meaning and to allow the inner self to grasp the archetypal meanings of the cards. 

Curiously, I had an argument with someone long ago about the transmission of complete pieces of knowledge through imagery and ritual. His assertion was that one can only do that through the conscious mind, while I (correctly) asserted that the mind absorbs far more than we realized.

No doubt, one may learn things from a conscious perspective; that's obvious and not in question. But we learn much more than from this means. That doesn't mean the transmission of knowledge can't be abused- it can be. 

Guard your thoughts, guard your mind. Always maintain the utmost of integrity and ethical standards. 

In Christ, 

​Steve

-The Clementine Liturgy

—Syrian Clementine Liturgy

Various forms of Christendom have taken this verse entirely literally, to the extent that the Roman Church officially doesn't sanction divorce and remarriage (though annulment does happen). 

At face value, the verse is extremely harsh; what's Jesus trying to get across here? Is divorce entirely wrong at any time? Is it truly an absolute? 

This is where context matters entirely, as well as rhetorical devices. Jesus often speaks in hyperbole in the Gospels. That's difficult to square away for many of us, but that also comes from thousands of years worth of accretion around the man Jesus, the culture in which Jesus lived, and so on. The humor, the exaggeration, the "attitude" all gets lost, especially in translations like the King James Version. 

The context here is important- the notes in the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible clue us in on what's really going on: the point isn't about divorce happening at all, but ​divorce with the specific intent to remarry someone else. 

Jesus is taking aim at a political enemy, specifically Herod Antipas, who had done the exact thing mentioned: divorcing a wife to remarry another woman instead. 

This kind of contextualization is the reason I encourage people to study the Scriptures- you learn that things aren't always as they appear. 

In Christ,

​Steve

There is a problem endemic to Christianity and many religious traditions, which is to say that the theological perspectives are often built upon other theological perspectives which are at best specious. 

The people making various kinds of theological arguments often have their hearts in the right place. However, those arguments often have little to do with encountering God directly. 

But we run into yet another problem: without the theology (and here I include the ritualism and mythology in the definition), we have no hope of understanding or creating even the idea of encountering the Divine. 

Yet another problem: without theological training, the direct encounter of the Great Mystery that is God can render a person unstable. Even with proper theological training, there are accounts of people developing all kinds of mental conditions. 

I've even happened upon people who claim some form of enlightenment...who are also genuinely terrible in other ways. 

These are all issues to be dealt with and confronted. A balance must be struck.

I pray, then, that the Holy Spirit would be present in our Church and with each of our members, that we may be guided to what is appropriate to us as a community and what is appropriate to us as individuals. 

In Christ,

Steve

Friendship and kindness are one of the most meaningful aspects of life. To enact our human friendships with one another is to share in the nature of the Divine's friendship with us. To love our fellow man is to love God. 

Other people truly are one of the sources of meaning in life. This particular knowledge, this realization, is so incredibly important. Let us show love to one another. 

I think tomorrow we'll talk about a bit about Christology.

In Christ,

​Steve

A somewhat upsetting statement that I can make to the reader is that a huge amount of information on mysticism, the occult, meditation, and what have you consists of theoretical models being copied and passed on without any real experience that goes behind the writing. 

The upside of this, of course, is that we have the maps, the theories, the knowledge. The downside is that it includes a lot of distortion and omissions. 

For instance, we'll hear a great deal about the power of the Third Eye in meditation and also in energy work, but I've rarely come across anyone mentioning that the Heart Chakra is also an immense center of mystical power and a center by which mystical power can be enacted. I find it quite strange that something so obvious through meditation and energy work would get left out of the books so consistently, yet here we are. 

Explore on your own. Experiment and document on your own. Find out for yourself, even if the books are guiding you.

In Christ,

​Steve

I had to memorize this Bible verse when I was in Christian school. To this day, it's remained one of the gems that I remember fairly clearly, though I learned it in the style of the New International Version. 

There are probably cultural notes in Hebrew that aren't conveyed well in the translation nor in modern-day understanding. This happens frequently with the Bible where the particular phrasing of something may convey something specific in the original language, culture, and era that doesn't come across in translation.

That's the problem with translation, of course- sometimes it's entirely impossible to be able to convey something from one language to another.

Yet is a new interpretation entirely wrong? Or rather, is the interpretation that we can receive in our native tongue necessarily something that's unintended? This is powerful and important question and goes along with another kind of theology about the Church and its Mission unfolding. 

When I've had more sleep, I'd like to do more Bible study and bring up more analysis. 

In Christ, 

​Steve

-Trimorphic Protennoia​, from Early Christian Writings 

In the liturgy of the ACSC, we often say "the Father-Mother." No doubt, in part, this may be viewed as an attempt to be more linguistically inclusive in the modern era, yet perhaps it would surprise you to know that early Christians conceived of the Absolute as the "Father-Mother" as well. 

Trimorphic Protennoia is an absolutely beautiful piece of non-canonical scripture, one that resonates with me as I read through it. The writings are familiar and archetypal- something is activated upon reading though the wider scripture, something that points to the Truth. 

Admittedly, the sense of the Absolute Reality becomes somewhat confusing- there are a lot of claims of being "the First" and so on. 

The entire piece is worth reading, and some of the earlier portions talk about how this is the source of the All and the Diverse and so on.

In Christ,

Steve

So here's a useful site that I'll be looking into more often: Early Christian Writings. I heard about this on the Talk Gnosis podcast, and so I'm putting it up on our site as well for everyone to use. 

I've started streaming on Twitch and conveyed to my viewers tonight something important: much of the Tradition handed down through the Church has scriptural backing to it, it just happens that said scripture didn't make it into the canonical Bible. Ideas such as the Immaculate Conception of Mary (just as an example)- these have a precedent somewhere in early Christian history and writing.

That's what I consider to be most fascinating- early Christians held these views! They weren't ideas that just popped up hundreds of years later. 

We'll talk at some point in time about how Scriptures were often written with a theological point to be made rather than as an historical document, a position that's strange and foreign to the modern mind but nonetheless useful to understand a figure like Jesus.

In Christ,

​Steve 

Let us exercise patience. 

Let us experience the Mystery of Epiphany today as well. Let the culmination Christmas and its light dwell with us. 

My mind is silent, still, in some ways, and perhaps that's due to the winter that's upon us here; yet my soul is deeply communing with God because of the inner stillness. 

May you all experience the deep contact with God within the depths of your soul.

May we manifest Christ to mankind, in word and deed and being.

I pray this for each of us. 

In Christ,

Steve

Let us all rejoice in the Manifestation of Christ to the people of the world! 

Let us rejoice in the Magi visiting the Christ-child after following the star! 

May Christ be manifested in us as well, this day and every day. 

Brightest of blessings as we end the Christmas season and continue forth in the wheel of the liturgical year!

In Christ,

​Steve

A friendly reminder to take breaks every now and again. 

Being industrious is a good thing; working toward goals and contributing to society are worthwhile, of course, but burnout is also an issue. 

Sometimes, you won't have the energy to do things. And that's okay.

Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself. 

Christ asked us to show mercy and shows mercy to us. Let us show mercy to ourselves as well

In Christ,

Steve