The major world event going on right now (a war in Ukraine from a Russian invasion) might not sound like a topical post for something like the Daily Devotional among Esoteric Catholics...but here we are. 

I haven't posted the last several days because there's been too much going on. Too much happening. And instead of beating myself up, instead of aw-pshawing the matter, I'm looking at it from the perspective that I'm in good company. 

What comes to mind is that in any war, the people who most suffer are, as Jesus says, "the least of these." The commoners, the everyday people who are simply trying to live out their lives the best way they know how. 

So let us have charity. Let us pray for the common people who want no part in this, who want peace, who want to live their own lives without harming others and without being harmed.

May God guide us. May the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary move all to peace in their hearts. 

In Christ,

​Steve 

From yesterday's post, we see a quote from the Gospel of Philip that refers to "mysteries." The mysteries in question are what we often term "sacraments" today, and it's a list containing of some of the more recognizable ones, namely Baptism, Chrism (Chrismation, or what Western Christians tend to refer to more commonly as Confirmation), and the Eucharist. (Commentary on Redemption and the Bridal Chamber can be saved for a different post). 

I think the important thing here is the explicit mentioning of the Eucharist and Chrism as being part of the sacramental system. At least for some Christian groups, these were obviously established as part of what the tradition was about. 

Sometimes readings of the canonical Scriptures can really show a lack of emphasis on Eucharistic celebrations; it's easy to prooftext perspectives regarding the Eucharist by pointing to a lack of mentioning it consistently. 

Yet the celebration obviously existed among other groups, and rightly so. 

More commentary to come later.

In Christ,

Steve

I haven't posted for a few days for a variety of reasons (a lot of things going on), and today's been a rollercoaster of sorts. 

It's very bizarre for a day to start out great and then descend into chaos, but it's wonderful when a day starts out more chaotic and collapses into something peaceful and full of wonder. 

So, I implore you to ride the waves as they come along. I ask you to keep the faith that things will settle down, that you will be able to handle that which comes along.

Things change. Reality is dynamic. Our faith (and our knowing!) is what we most hold to.

In Christ,

​Steve

What are the things for which you're grateful at the moment? This is always an important question to ask as there are so many things we have to be grateful for that we constantly overlook. 

I have a new deck of Tarot cards that I've been working with lately. This is a joy, to go down the mystical road to Christ with the cards and their ancient history. 

Recently, I've also shifted into a more "creative" phase (I get short bursts of these from time to time) and am enjoying that as well. 

And our technology...where would we be without it? Some might argue that world would be a better place, but there's so much good that comes through communication. 

May Christ continue to bless us. 

In Christ,

Steve

From the Aquarian Catholic Spiritual Community to you, may the pure love of the Divine shine down on you this and forevermore. 

May the love of Christ blaze within our hearts. 

May God guide us to the deep, true, and abiding theosis. 

In Christ,

​Steve

From Wikipedia: 

-​The Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 6, Verses 12-16

Simultaneously, I've been reading through the book of Genesis as well in the Jewish Study Bible. One thing is clear: the "genesis" is essentially a reference to all the known world's people in addition to the world itself. 

One of the interesting things to see was the lineage of Cain and the lineage of Seth having extremely similar names, both ending with someone named "Lamech." The difference is that in Seth's lineage, Lamech is the father of Noah. 

There are several possibilities of why the names are similar, and my own perspective is that Cain was probably originally seen as the ancestor of Noah with Seth being a later invention OR a different variation on the story of Adam and Eve's children altogether that was edited into the overall narrative. 

Cain being Noah's ancestor then means humanity is descended from the first murderer as opposed to a neutral, seemingly righteous person. 

On the other hand, since Noah's supposed to be the "new Adam" and the reboot of humanity as a whole, I'm not sure why the difference in lineage would be absolutely essential. 

Things to ponder on!

In Christ,

​Steve

Yesterday, I finished reading the Gospel of Luke. The main aspect of Luke that stands out is the Nativity Story, which is not found with the same detail elsewhere. 

Overall, I'm not sure what I felt about Luke. Decidedly, much off what was written was perplexing or even downright uninspiring; after finishing the Gospel, I was walking my dog, trying to figure out where I stood on various issues and relative to the Gospel. 

Without the Gospel situated in a proper context of Tradition and Mysticism, it's almost uninspiring. I thought to myself, "Why in the world would anyone hear this and be so moved by it?" In and of itself, there's something obviously missing.

The first missing aspect is this: we just don't hear much of what Jesus is teaching. So, this indicates that things Jesus passed on to the Apostles and the other disciples aren't entirely written down, and it would be safe to say those things were not even mostly written down. 

So what is the purpose of the Gospel? It's a justification, an argument, a system of rhetoric to support certain teachings attributed to Jesus. It's a way of saying, "These things happened; this is why the teachings we pass on are important."

Another purpose of the Gospel is to show us what it's like to be connected to the Higher Self and the Divine, to walk against cultural currents and to try to explain things to people when you're operating on a different level than they are. 

It is an absolutely ​grave mistake to try to understand the Gospel outside of a tradition of interpretation. Everything falls apart quickly. Without the mystical context, everything becomes a story of history that doesn't make that much sense. 

More to come.

In Christ,

​Steve

Our prayer should involve at least some sort of visualization. 

A common and perhaps effective means by which to do this is to visualize the Soul Star above one's head and direct the prayers to this Soul Star. This will naturally connect with and contact the Divine. 

Prayer shouldn't merely be the recitation of words but also the lifting of the mind to God. This is almost more important than the particular words we use, though the words can carry power in and of themselves. 

Let us pray more deeply.

In Christ,

​Steve

Thanks to Father Sergio drawing my attention to the existence of the Raccolta, I acquired a copy after many months of deliberation.

The Raccolta contains an incredible number of prayers for the Christian devotee, but perhaps most charmingly, many of the prayers are written both in English and in Latin. I've shared some on here recently and will continue to do so. 

Why pray in another language? There's something beautiful about praying in Latin (or Hebrew and Greek and so on). Many Evangelicals appreciate the language of the King James Version of the Bible because the words have a regal, authoritative sound. 

Latin and Greek do something similar for me, though I would associate Greek with being somewhat more mystically inclined. 

Nonetheless, I do suggest to people to at least learn basic pronunciation for something like Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, especially if they're coming from the Christian tradition. There's a power in the language, and part of the Latin bypasses our ordinary linguistic processes and connects with us on a deeper level.

In Christ,

​Steve

This brief set of verses takes place at an interesting point: most of Genesis 14 centers around a war narrative of various kings and armies going to battle, of Abram going to battle and regaining the people stolen from him and such. King Melchizedek, a priest-king, appears just before another figure, the King of Sodom, and interrupts the narrative. 

The name "Melchizedek" sounds like "King of Righteousness" in Hebrew. 

Salem here probably refers to Jerusalem, and it's possible this story is meant to mark an ancient precedent for Jerusalem being the holy city God. 

"God Most High" is "El Elyon" in Hebrew. "Elyon" is often added to the names of deities in this era, and it's probably a way of denoting majesty. 

Interesting from the Christian perspective is that the ordination rites in the Apostolic Succession feature a phrase along the lines of, "Thou art forever a priest after the order of Melchizedek." 

Also interesting is that Melchizedek brings forth bread and wine, possibly a precedent to later rituals involving bread and wine, including the Shabbat and the Holy Eucharist. 

Abraham giving a tenth of what he owned seems to lay a precedent for tithing. 

In Christ,

​Steve