Awakening Christ within


Message Five - The Highest Meaning of the Sacred Sacrament of the Eucharist

As part of our ongoing efforts to awaken Christ in the hearts of many we were recently advised to present the case for Christian meditation in terms of the Holy Eucharist. After praying deeply and meditating on this sincere need the work below has now been completed. It carefully explains the highest mystery of the sacred Eucharist; gives suggestions for reforming the Sacred Liturgy in accordance with Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium; and more. We humbly offer this work to Holy Mother Church and we pray that it may increase the faithfuls' ability to love God in heart, mind and soul through genuine God-communion as experienced in deep meditation.

Contents


Part 1: The Highest Meaning of the Sacred Sacrament of the Eucharist


Introduction

The highest truths of God need to be intuitively realised

Intuitive knowing, the pure comprehension of the soul

How can one experience the intuitive knowing of the Soul

Why Jesus spoke to the masses in parables

The Highest Meaning of the Flesh and Blood of Christ




Part 2: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium — Restoring and advancing the Sacred Liturgy through God-communion


Meditating to commune with God through prayer

How to Love God 'with all thy Soul'

Increasing conscious and active participation in the sacred liturgy

Honouring the highest meaning of the Sabbath

The importance of meditating in groups

Meditating and contemplating to fully understand and teach the deepest teachings of the Bible

How one ought to wisely study scripture written for our instruction

Educating and training clergy

The qualities to be cultivated for those who would teach in the name of Christ

Meditation techniques to hear the 'Word of God'

Further spiritualising other sacraments

Further spiritualising Holy days, feasts and festivals

Music to increase devotion




Part 3: A message to the faithful about the Second Coming of our beloved Christ


Peace on Earth

The role of a strong Church

A message of courage to those who fear change

Part 1: The Highest Meaning of the Sacred Sacrament of the Eucharist


Introduction


Then Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53 (King James Version)


In much of the text recorded in the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks challengingly obscure truths in such cryptic analogies and metaphors that few could understand what he was talking about. Sometimes Jesus confounded even his own disciples:


Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" John 6:59-60 (King James Version)


Before we explore the deep meaning of Jesus' sacred words of truth above it is helpful to have an understanding of why Jesus spoke of great spiritual truths so cryptically.

The highest truths of God need to be intuitively realised For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (King James Version) The Lord does not like us to suffer so whenever the Lord's beloved flock wanders off into forgetfulness of him and misuses their freewill to the point where they become hopelessly lost he intervenes to dispel ignorance and lead them out of darkness with his bright light of wisdom imparting truth.

Through Jesus, the Prophets and the Saints, God has brought the light of truth to those in the darkness of delusion. Let know one, however, mistake this for a simple task. Whilst teaching basic truths on morality may be a straightforward matter; teaching great God-revealing spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God, for instance, is another thing entirely. Although such truths maybe fully understood by those who speak of them, they have to translate them into words and sometimes all the words in all the languages that have ever been spoken would be insufficient to fully convey a God-given truth.

If a person has never tasted an orange how can one describe it to them? We can say it's sweet but a little tart. Until a person tastes an orange, however, they'll never really understand. In this way the highest teachings of God can never be conveyed perfectly by human languages—which are imperfect because man is imperfect.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15 (King James Version)


Language aside, God and His wisdom, no matter how well it is expressed in the scriptures by Jesus, the prophets and the saints, are ever hidden from the sense-identified intellects of worldly people who cannot receive in their small cups of understanding the vast ocean of truth.

Their ability to understand is limited because the senses are limited. Man does not perceive the full spectrum of even material manifestations. If the power of vision were increased one could see all kinds of lights — atoms, electrons, photons, magnetic fields — dancing around him. If the power of hearing were sufficiently increased man could hear the hum of the atoms; the planets in their course around the sun; and explosions of stars making a tremendous rumbling throughout the universe. One could sense the whole universe throbbing with life.

Let no one suppose, that we may attain to this true light and perfect knowledge, or life of Christ, by much questioning, or by hearsay, or by reading and study, nor yet by high skill and great learning. Theologia Germanica Chapter XIX

Intuitive knowing, the pure comprehension of the soul

The ultimate truths of the Kingdom of God, the reality that lies behind sensory perception and beyond the cogitations of the rationalising mind, can only be grasped by intuition — awakening the intuitive knowing, the pure comprehension of the Soul.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16 (King James Version)

The Soul within each of us is a pure, reflected unit of God's own consciousness. It is individualised Spirit and it is the true and immortal nature of man. As a Soul is made in God's image it already has all knowledge of God and his Kingdom as an innate attribute. This is why Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within us. (Luke 17:21)

Intuition is the all knowing faculty of the soul, which enables one to experience direct perception of truth without the intermediary of the senses. (St Thomas of Aquinas gives an account of visions which are not perceived through the senses but by immediate conception through the intellect in Summa Theologiae). Through intuition perfect, flawless knowledge of a particular subject or object can be revealed instantly. Reason and logic may then follow on after like faithful servants.

We see examples of this with famous scientists whose greatest discoveries have often come as intuitive flashes of genius — the famous 'Ah ha!' moments. Such insights frequently come as a result of persistent, deep concentration and a sincere desire to know the object being contemplated. For instance, Albert Einstein in discovering his famous special theory of relativity, which sets out the relationship between matter and energy as E= mc² (Specifically, energy (E) equals mass (m) times the square of the speed of light (c² ),) obviously did not get in space ship and travel near the speed of light to observe this relationship. Nor did he infer it by observing natural phenomena. Yet a catalogue of confirmations including the use of modern day precision instrument testing supports this theory.

When the solution is simple, God is answering. — Albert Einstein


By intuition we can also know the world of higher realities beyond the senses and thoughts. By intuitional Soul awakening delusive ignorance that gives rise to the ego (false sense of identity) and obstructs awareness of the unity of man's Soul and God is removed. That primordial forgetfulness is vanquished only by Soul-realisation, through the power of which the soul directly apprehends its own nature as individualised Spirit and perceives Spirit as the essence of everything. In this way man swaps his mortal 'Son of man' or body-consciousness for immortal 'Son of God' or Soul-consciousness. Christian saints through the centuries have partaken of such Soul intuition in their attainment of divine realisation and mystical union with God.



How can one experience the intuitive knowing of the Soul


'Be still, and know that I am God' Psalm 46:10 (King James Version)


Intuition develops naturally through meditation. Concentration is an unwavering flow of attention on an object or subject. Meditation in our Christian tradition is unwavering concentration used to know God. Meditation becomes stable by devoted, persistent practice.

The heart is the receiving station for intuition.

He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the King shall be his friend. Proverbs 22:10-11 (King James Version) "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8 (King James Version)

In summary, much of what Jesus taught needs to be directly experienced and realised for oneself. Then the things that confuse the intellect will bring instant recognition and joy from the heart.

(Christian meditation techniques are explained in depth in our previous articles How to Meditate to know Christ Within Us followed by How to Contact the Holy Spirit Through Meditation.)



Why Jesus spoke to the masses in parables


The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 13:1-9 (King James Version)

In the well-known parable of the sower, the seed and the ground, Jesus illustrates how divine seeds of truth grow or perish according to the mental soil, or faith and receptivity, of the spiritual aspirants on whom the seeds have been sown: "Listen attentively, with wisdom, to the truth that here among you are devotees with varying degrees of receptive minds on which have been sown the seeds of my teachings. "Some seeds of truth fell by the wayside of the spiritual indifference of curiosity seekers. Those seeds of potentially enlightening intuitional experiences were trodden by the animals of material habits and devoured by the fouls of doubts flying in the atmosphere of the mind.

"Some seeds of my teachings fell upon the rocky terrain of materially crude minds with only a little soil of skin-deep spiritual perception and appreciation. In such persons the teachings sprouted into some short-lived, but not deep-rooted, spiritual experiences. When the sun of daily material habits rose, those experiences were fatally scorched. Because they did not form deep-rooted habits in the super-conscious of the soul, they withered away due to lack of nourishment of continued devotion and spiritual aspiration in new acts of meditation and fervent effort.

"And some seeds of my teachings were sown on the mental soil of persons filled with prolific thorns of spiritual distrust and theological doubts. Thus, though those seeds sprouted somewhat is such theologically inquisitive minds, those spiritual inspirations could not survive when choked by the overwhelmingly predominant thorns of theological scepticism. The ill-fated plants of inspiration could bear no fruits of divine wisdom or God-contact.

"Other seeds of my teachings fell on the soil of mentalities furnished and ploughed by receptivity, watered with continuous goodness and regular, deep spiritual effort at meditation, and hedged in by good company so that the animals and birds of material minds and doubts could not invade and destroy the burgeoning garden of soul qualities. In those protected, receptive minds, the seeds of truth grew into trees laden with the fruits of Soul-realisation. These human trees, strong and sturdy, could withstand any onslaughts while providing an increasing yield of wisdom, ever new bliss , and the advancement in divine attainment of spiritual qualities — thirty, sixty, one hundredfold."

Jesus' analogy makes it plain that a true disciple, by virtue of a dedicated spiritual life, is fertile ground in which his teachings can be successfully sown. What makes the difference in receptivity is whether one's desire and effort to know truth are strong. The most responsive are those who have an ardent desire for God.

The parable of the sower and the seed points out how the various good or bad habits of persons affect whether the soil of their minds is fertile or stony. Even if one feels thwarted by bad habits that are already formed, that opposition can be overcome by one's strong spiritual desire and faithful adherence to Christ's teachings. The highest intelligence is to be able to change what needs to be changed in one's life so that continual soul progress is possible.

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Obviously the people weren't physically deaf. Jesus meant: "He who is receptive and hears with spiritual understanding what I say, let him appreciate the truth in my words and live by them for complete Soul-emancipation."

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift. — Albert Einstein


Modern studies show that most worldly-minded people have an average attention span of around three seconds; meaning that if they focus their mind on a particular thought their attention will jump to another thought after just three seconds. If they never learn to master their restless minds and turn the search light of their senses within through meditation, then they cannot intuitively understand the highest mysteries of God within.

If great spiritual truth about the Kingdom of God were taught directly to the unprepared and untrained masses they would not be able to comprehend such teachings and they would misinterpret them. In addition, in attempting to share those teachings with others, instead of passing them on word for word, people would likely re-interpret what they thought they heard — some would even adapt the teachings to suit their own agendas and perceived self-interests. Through such continuous distortions spiritual truths would quickly become diluted and lost as time passed by.

Knowing this, at public gatherings Jesus spoke in parables that expounded some of the most profound spiritual truths ever voiced using simple terminology that conveyed different layers of meanings depending on his intended audience and their ability to understand truth through their own intuition. In Matthew 13: 10 -13 and Mark 4:10-12 he explains to his disciples why he used parables and that there is deeper meanings in his teachings.


And the disciples came, and said unto him, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"

He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."

"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." Matthew 13:10-13 (King James Version)


Parallel reference:


And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." Mark 4:10-12 (King James Version)


When Jesus was asked in the above passages why he used parables he answered:

"Because it is so ordained that you who are my real disciples, living a spiritualised life and disciplining your actions according to my teachings, deserve by virtue of your inner awakening in your meditations to understand the truth of the arcane mysteries of heaven and how to attain the Kingdom of God. But ordinary people, unprepared in their receptivity, are not able to either comprehend or to practice the deeper wisdom truths. From parables, they glean according to their understanding simple truths from the wisdom I send out to them. By practical application of what they are able to receive, they make some progress toward redemption.

"Because your are receptive and advanced in spiritual thought, the expanded cup of your understanding can hold the oceanic revelations of truth which I have poured into you from my own realisation in the state of Christ Consciousness (God's consciousness within vibratory creation that is actively creating and recreating) and Cosmic Consciousness (God the Father's pure consciousness outside of creation that is eternal and unchanging bliss): the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God."

(The difference between ‘Jesus’ (Son of man) and ‘Christ’ (Son of God) is explained more fully in our previous article How to Meditate to know Christ Within Us and by Jesus himself in the Matthew 22:41-46 because the Pharisees did not understand the difference between the incarnate Messiah and the infinite Christ Consciousness he embodied. Commentary on this important verse is given in the same article.)

The Kingdom of God is the infinite kingdom of the one King of Absolute Existence, Absolute Consciousness and Absolute Bliss untouched by vibratory manifestations. The Kingdom of Heaven is the wondrous realm of heavenly forces and beings, imbued with the omnipresent Christ Consciousness. The state of Cosmic Consciousness can be felt by souls who in meditation have withdrawn from the region of the body and gone beyond the subconscious and concentration on the super-conscious bliss perceptions of the Kingdom of Heaven and the immanent Christ state. But unto those souls that are yet wholly identified with their mortal physical bodies (Son of Man consciousness) rather than their immortal Souls (Son of God consciousness); all these subtle perceptions about the states of heaven, Christ Consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness are explained in coverings of parables, lest those persons scorn, for lack of understanding, that sacred knowledge of fully revealed truth. Unreceptive persons would not even try to fathom the deeper truths by which they could be free from their bad habits of materiality, "lest they should be converted" from body-identified souls into spiritual beings, through the grace of God and their own effort.

Jesus then cites an exact law that governs all habits. "Whosoever hath" created a habit of spirituality shall attract perceptions of Soul -realisation from within himself; and having the taste of soul wisdom and bliss, shall grow more spiritual habits, attracting greater manifestations of soul unfoldment. "But whosoever hath not"— that is, cares not to possess or create spiritual habits of meditation and living — must lose, owing to the lack of tasting the spiritual joy of soul-realisation and forgetfulness of God any spiritual habit that might be latent within him.

"Therefore my disciples, I speak in parables, covering the meat of truth with the shell of mystical words and esoteric illustrations. Just as the bird does not know the use of a nut cracker to get to a kernel within the nutshell, so ordinary minds do not see the way of using intuition to break through the shells of parables and get the wisdom hidden therein. Such persons lacking intuitive perception do not hear the revelations of truth accompanying my words, even though they hear the wisdom falling from my lips. It is though they never heard at all."

In Mark 4:21 - 25 and Luke 8:16 - 18 Jesus goes on to emphasize in additional metaphors how important it is for his disciples to understand, through their own intuitive Soul-realisation, the deeper truths hidden in his parables.

And he said unto them, "Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." And he said unto them, "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." Mark 4:21-25 (King James Version)

Parallel reference:


"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." Luke 8:16-18 (King James Version)


"No devotee of God who has kindled the candle of intuitive perception of truth by the match of meditation keeps it ignorantly hidden under a bushel of restless thoughts, or obscured by forgetfulness under the bed of his subconscious. Rather, he keeps that flame of Soul-realisation burning constantly on the candlestick of his conscious mind, so that all thoughts are illumined by his light of inner realisation. One who continuously keeps his candle of Soul-realisation burning on the candlesticks of his consciousness and memory will find that no truth will remain hidden from him; all will be manifested or revealed in the perception of inner illumination. There is nothing concealed in the universe that will not be known to a devotee with inner light. Every truth hidden in the deepest mysteries will perforce be brought out in the devotee's illuminating inner vision.

"If anyone has a keen perception and receptive ears of spirituality let him hear these truths of awakening Soul-realisation and live them.

"Take care to practice the truths you hear from me and meditate on them. As much as will be your efforts to know truth, so much wisdom will you receive from my words. Those of you who will meditate deeply and live by sermons will receive greater Soul-realisation; and those of you who will pay less attention to practicing my teachings will receive commensurately less."

The Highest Meaning of the Flesh and Blood of Christ Now let us turn our attention to the most sacred mystery of the Eucharist from the view points of the ones who enter the temple of silence within; and offering themselves fully in loving devotion receive inner communion with beloved Christ: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51 (King James Version)

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: The I-am human consciousness in me is united with the ever-living Christ Intelligence, which is omnipresent behind the subtle, heavenly screen of the ubiquitous Cosmic Energy and is fully manifested in me. If any devotee continuously nourishes his life with this bread of Christ Intelligence, his life also will be united forever with everlasting life. And the bread, or Christ Intelligence, manifesting as my flesh, or condensed Cosmic Energy, I (the infinite Christ) will give to the true devotee that he may unite it with the life force in his body (which is the 'life of the world') and thereby realise his own immortality as Soul.

"For the masses in general, that they might be stirred to seek awakening of the everlasting life in them, I Jesus, will sacrifice on the cross my flesh of condensed Cosmic Energy, which after three days will be quickened into Christ Consciousness and immortality."


The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

Then Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." John 6:52-57 (King James Version)


The people were dismayed: "Is this man advocating cannibalism by offering us his flesh?" Jesus persisted, though their doubting materialistic minds were unable to understand the wisdom concealed within the esoteric metaphor:

"Unless the devotee eats and absorbs the 'flesh' of Christ consciousness hidden in the Son of man, or human body, and drinks and absorbs his 'blood' of vitality-giving Cosmic energy present also within the body, he cannot feel the everlasting life templed within him.

"Most of you are the living dead, the walking dead; you neither perceive the everlasting life within you nor do you charge your life with the holy vibration of Cosmic Energy and your consciousness with the Christ consciousness hidden behind your body consciousness.

"Any devotee who by ecstasy can absorb in his human consciousness my Christ consciousness (flesh) and who can unite his life force in the body with my omnipotent Cosmic Energy (blood) will find his consciousness immortal and his life eternal. For my flesh of Christ Consciousness present in all souls is the real meat or sustenance that can satisfy one's hunger for wisdom - the all knowingness of divine realisation. And my blood of Christ Intelligence - guided cosmic energy is the only vitality that can charge human life with immortality, and quench the thirst of all earthly desires.

"The devotee who by deep ecstatic meditation has absorbed my Christ Consciousness in his human consciousness and recharged his life force with the Christ Consciousness-guided cosmic energy is united in his being with Christ Consciousness—'he dwelleth in me as I in him.' As the ever-living God the Father (Cosmic Consciousness present beyond vibratory creation) has 'sent me,' reflected his everlasting life as the Christ Intelligence (present in all vibratory creation); and the Christ Consciousness 'lives by the Father' Cosmic Consciousness, so also the devotee who absorbs (eateth) the Christ Consciousness finds that his consciousness and life are sustained forever by that Infinite Intelligence, which is equally present in the body of the devotee and my body which is called Jesus."

In the metaphorical words of these Gospel verses Jesus enunciated very profound truths. Christ Consciousness (bread) and Cosmic Energy (blood) are inseparable, as Christ Consciousness is the reflection in creation of Cosmic Consciousness (which is beyond creation) manifested as Cosmic Energy or vibratory creation.

God the Father and Cosmic Consciousness are synonymous: Christ the Son and Christ Consciousness are one and the same. God the Father emanated from Himself His Son, Christ Intelligence and the Holy Spirit, Cosmic Energy. As a son is conceived with the dual instrumentality of the father and the mother, so Christ Intelligence would not exist without the dual instrumentality of God the Father and Cosmic Energy (Holy Spirit or Cosmic Mother Nature). With God the Father remaining transcendent beyond creation, Christ Intelligence, 'the bread or flesh', and the Cosmic Energy or 'blood', being inseparably together in creation, work to manifest the different forms existant in the universal spectacle.


These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?"

When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, "Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:59-63 (King James Version)


Sometimes Jesus confounded even his disciples; save for a few: "I am amazed that you who have followed me thus far still do not understand with intuitive receptivity the priceless wisdom I give to you; rather you are murmuring your misunderstanding amongst yourselves. You doubt my words and wonder at my sayings, but how much more astonished you would be if you see my body, the Son of man, go back to the Christ Consciousness from where it came?"

The consciousness of Jesus was tuned already with Christ Consciousness; and here Jesus alludes obliquely to his foreknowledge that his body, though visibly apart from Christ Consciousness, but being an emanation of that Consciousness, would consciously merge in it when the proper moment arrived.

Jesus tells his doubting disciples that if they wonder at his amazing sayings, they would have cause to be wholly astonished when they would behold his body after crucifixion return to life and be received by heavenly Christ Consciousness. Jesus thereby promised his doubting disciples a demonstration of spirit and life contained in the truth of his words.

"When you concentrate on the Spirit, you understand that the Infinite Immortality can enliven your temporary life with eternal life. It is the flesh consciousness, the doubting material consciousness within you, that will yield you no profit, no lasting happiness. It is spiritual understanding that can quickly lead you to eternal emancipation. "The words of wisdom I speak unto you 'are Spirit, and they are life, 'they are charged with the Cosmic Consciousness of the Spirit and can give life to the spiritually dead, as are some of you. I know those among you who believe not that the universal panacea for human suffering lies hidden behind the words of my wisdom, if they are truly applied and fully realised." Later in the Gospels we come to the Last Supper:

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." Luke 22:19-20 (King James Version)


Parallel reference:


And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:26-28 (King James Version)

Jesus had earlier declared the metaphorical nature of the sacrament of his flesh and blood, so the apostles understood the esoteric significance of the symbolic 'bread' and 'cup' offered by Jesus at the Last Supper. This is implicit as he relates the symbology to his crucifixion and 'the new testament', "As I break this bread and give it to you for your physical nourishment, likewise I offer my little body called Jesus to be broken and crucified, that through the example of my life and my sacrifice your spiritual life can be nourished. So whenever you break bread and give thanks to God and eat, remember my breaking bread for you on the eve of my sacrifice; celebrate it as a symbol of my offering this body for the sake of your spiritual development and that of all humanity.

"In the cup I give to you, receive the new testament sent by God through me for your liberation: his message for which my blood is shed for you. It is the spirit of willingness to sacrifice everything, even life itself, for the sake of attaining eternal liberation in God-consciousness. This shall be signified by my crucifixion. Drink the immortalising wisdom from the cup of my supreme sacrifice on the cross, which is to inspire you and all peoples of the world to make sacrifices necessary to attain God-consciousness. Thereby, you will have found the way to liberation from suffering the cause and effect consequences of your past sinful actions."

Jesus spoke of his sacrifice on the cross as the cup, and of the spiritual lesson involved in his crucifixion as the contents of the cup of sacrifice. When he asked his disciples to drink all of that cup, he did not mean literal physical crucifixion is necessary in order to know God — nor that physical crucifixion alone bestows Christhood. To manifest his exalted state, Jesus had crucified ignorance by wisdom, restlessness by meditation, desires by renunciation, sense temptations by interiorisation of his consciousness, hatred by love, selfishness by unselfishness, before he was ready to take on victoriously the sufferings of the cross. These are important prerequisites to Christhood. Anyone who can crucify physical attachment by God-communion will reach a state wherein even bodily crucifixion, in whatever form, can be endured, if necessary, for God and truth.

Jesus' request that his disciples share the cup, therefore, was an exhortation to absorb into their own being his "blood of the new testament" that would awaken in them the Christ Consciousness-imbued qualities of his exemplary life. His selfless sacrifice on the cross was the ultimate demonstration of his immortality-bestowing teachings of forgiveness, divine love, unshakable fortitude, wisdom, judgment, will power, supreme love of God, love and compassion for God's children, overcoming brute force with spiritual force, self-surrender (supplanting the wishes of the little ego-self by obedience to the will of God).

In saying that his blood was to be "shed for many for the remission of sins," Jesus never meant that his crucifixion could wash away the sins of mere 'believers' for all time to come. Such a possibility suggests a profound non-understanding of the complexity of "sin" and its roots in the universal law of cause and effect (the law of reaping what we sow). Obtaining forgiveness is more than a matter of belief. It requires the neutralisation of the residual tendency seeds — and their potential for painful consequences — left in the wrongdoer's consciousness by his sinful actions. Certainly Jesus could partially or wholly free repentant devotees from the fruition of such seeds, cauterizing them by use of divine will force. But it is a metaphysical error to think that merely because of professed belief in Jesus as Saviour, one can feel free to act in any way one pleases within variably broad moral constraints — behaving in worldly ways and clinging to material desires and attachments — and yet be saved from after death consequences by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross two thousand years ago.

In his reference to the remissions of sins Jesus was stating primarily that the extraordinary example of his sacrifice on the cross, through which he attained complete liberation in Cosmic Consciousness — freedom from the willingly accepted bonds of his mortal incarnation — would serve to inspire earnest truth-seekers to forsake inferior material attachments for the supreme attainment of God-consciousness. Reaching this state, they would be free from all sins.

In all the above ways did the glorified example of Jesus' life, death and resurrection reveal the new teaching, "the new testament" or covenant between God and man, which had been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come," saith the Lord, "that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them," saith the Lord:

"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days," saith the Lord, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jeremiah 31:31-33 (King James Version)  


Jesus proclaimed this new covenant throughout his teachings, summarised in his clear declaration: "...Behold the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)


"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord': for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them," saith the Lord: "for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:34 (King James Version)


Literal interpreters down the centuries have bequeathed to church goers the belief that, 'for the remission of sins', Jesus during the Passover feast asked that people believe that they actually partake of his body and his blood —'the blood of the Lamb' (Revelation 7:14) "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), who "washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5). During the original Passover each Hebrew family sacrificed and partook of the flesh of the lamb, and the lamb's blood with which they marked their homes procured safety during the divine punishment visited upon the Egyptians. Jesus used the familiar symbology of the Passover rites to declare the new testament, the covenant brought to the world through his life. Jesus would not have alluded to a practice even metaphorically equated to a concept of cannibalism.

Jesus showed again and again that his 'body' was not himself. He was Spirit; he could pass through walls and walk on water because he knew the real substance of his form to be consciousness. So 'flesh of Christ' means consciousness. 'Blood' means the life of Christ, the Holy Spirit Cosmic Energy that is the life and light of the little body called Jesus and his cosmic body the universe.

The outward ritual of symbolically celebrating the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion with bread and wine blesses sincere church-goers with devotional upliftment and inspiration; but those who have true communion with Christ can perceive Jesus not merely in a ritualistic symbolic form, but in the formless infinitude as one with the all-pervading Christ Consciousness and the Universal Light of the Holy Spirit Cosmic Energy.

Teresa of Avila spoke of seeing the formless Christ. She was much persecuted by the church officials for this abstruse assertion, until they discovered that centuries earlier the great church philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas had also written of communion with the formless Christ in Summa Theologia. In extremely learned terms he presents an account of visions which are not perceived through the senses but in species impressa, by immediate conception through the intellect. The body of Jesus was only a speck of matter, but behind that was infinite Christ Consciousness and the Infinite Energy of Vibratory Cosmic Light.

Saint John to his contemporary followers of Jesus:


"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:5-7 (King James Version)


Anyone, of any religion or any era, who sees that Sacred Vibratory Light of God and his reflected Christ Consciousness, finds that immediately that Light changes the brain cells. This is the real import of partaking of the blood of Christ. By bathing in that Light, which was and is his manifest life and power, deeply meditating devotees are cleansed in the 'blood' of Divine Energy that cauterizes their ignorance, bad habits, and seeds of subconscious tendencies from past sins. And those who tune in with his consciousness have truly tasted his 'flesh' of Christ Consciousness, "the bread that came down from heaven" of which "he that eateth...shall live forever."

It is this that Jesus desired his devotees to do "in remembrance of me."

The words of our beloved Jesus were not bookish dissertations, but emanated directly from the wisdom fountain of Cosmic Consciousness and the life-sustaining Christ Consciousness guided Cosmic Energy. The wise and spiritually inclined retire every day from the cacophonous busyness of thoughts and secrete themselves in the caves of silence deep in the clefts of contemplation. There the true devotee drinks from the fountain of Spirit and Life.

Part 2: Restoring and advancing the Sacred Liturgy through God-communion — based on Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium:


"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24 (King James Version)


The reason that God remains unknown to millions who worship Him in temples, churches, and in holy cities and places of pilgrimage is that the physical instruments of knowledge can apprehend only the products of the Creator; Divinity Itself is perceived by the supramental faculty of intuition, the soul's God-given power of knowing truth. When mental restlessness is stilled and consciousness is interiorised, in touch with the soul, the God revealing intuitive faculty is awakened.

The tabernacle of deep meditation, the temple of soul intuition, is where the devotee is first introduced to God. To one who finds Him within, God is no longer an unknown mystery concealed by His various material manifestations. Such people establish the temple of God within themselves as the following passage prescribes:

"The most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 'Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me?' saith the Lord: or 'what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" Acts 7:48-50 (quoting Isaiah 66:1-2) This solid foundation of truth should be used to reform and advance the liturgy if the household of the Church is to be a strong, united household of the Lord's children.

The above section is commentary based on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 1. It's not vital to read these sections from Sacrosanctum before proceeding. For those who may wish to an alternative version is provided with these references added in full before the commentary. Please use this link to open it.

Meditating to commune with God through prayer "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:6 (King James Version)   "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (withdraw the mind into the silence within) and when thou hast shut thy door (the door of the senses), pray to thy Father which is in secret (in the inner transcendent divine consciousness); and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (shall bless you with the ever new Bliss of his Being)."

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (King James Version)


Unceasing prayer involves repetition — not vain or mechanical, but spiritualised with ever-increasing thoughtful, heartfelt devotion. The devotee who continuously keeps the mind on God, intensifying the thoughts of his prayer, unceasingly reining in the attention regardless of how many times it wanders away is sure to find divine contact.

To utter "God" with devotion , and increase the concentration and devotion with each repetition of His name, is to plunge the mind deeper and deeper in the ocean of His presence until one reaches fathomless depths of divine peace and ecstatic joy, sure proof that one's prayers have touched God.

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Matthew 6:7-8 (King James Version) Prayer with devotion is a wonderful means of opening oneself to the freely flowing blessings of God, a necessary link of man's life to the Infinite Source of all benefaction. But it takes a long time for prayer to be effective when the mind is outwardly roaming. That is why we should deeply meditate first and then pray.

How to Love God 'with all thy Soul'


Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"

Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:35-40 (King James Version)


Parallel references:


And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

He said unto him, "What is written in the law? how readest thou?"

And he answering said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."

And he said unto him, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." Luke 10:25-28 (King James Version)


See also Mark 12:28-34


The whole purpose of religion — indeed life itself — is encapsulated in the two paramount commandments cited by our beloved Lord Jesus in these verses. In them lies the essence of eternal truth distinguishing all bona-fide spiritual paths, the irreducible imperative that man must embrace as an individualised soul separated from God if he would reclaim the realisation of oneness with his Maker.

"This do, and thou shalt live," Jesus told the lawyer who had asked how to obtain eternal life. That is: "If you can love God wholly in actual communion in daily meditation, and show by your actions your love for your neighbour (your divine brother) even as you love yourself, you will rise above mortal consciousness of this delusive plane of life and death and realise the eternal changeless Spirit existing within yourself and Its everywhere-ness." To love God, Jesus declared, is the foremost of cosmic laws ordained by the Spirit for soul upliftment and liberation; for through the portal of man's love God enters into oneness with him, a union that liberates him from bondage of delusion. To love God supremely is to receive from Him eternal contentment and fulfilment, with freedom from all human desires that irresponsibly provoke suffering.

For God to command that man love Him above everything else might seem unbecoming of an all-powerful Deity. But all saints have known in their hearts that this is not to appease some quixotic whim of God, but rather a necessity through which the individualised soul can make a conscious connection with its Source. God can live without man's love; but as the wave cannot live without the ocean, so it is not possible for man to exist without the love of God. The thirst for love in every human heart is because man is made in God's image of love. So those who know God call upon mankind to love God because the ocean of His love surges behind the little wave of love in every heart.

Many a worldly person foolishly engages their heart, mind, soul and physical strength in the pursuit of money or human love or earthly power, only to lose them — if perchance they had found them — at the time of death. The wisest use of life is to invest it in seeking God, the one treasure that satisfies forever and can never be lost or diminished.

Though one must love God in order to know Him, it is equally true that one must know God in order to love Him. No one can love anything of which they are entirely ignorant; no one can love a person who is completely unknown to them. But those who meditate deeply do 'know,' because they find proof of the existence of God as the ever new Joy felt in meditation, or the Cosmic Sound of Aum (Amen) heard in deep silence, or the Cosmic Love experienced while concentrating devotion in the heart, or the Cosmic Wisdom that dawns as inner enlightenment, or the Cosmic Light evoking visions of Infinity, or the Cosmic Life felt in meditation when the little life is joined to the greater Life in everything.

Any devotee who even once has sensed God as any one of His tangible manifestations in meditation cannot but help but love Him when thus touched by His thrilling qualities. Most people never really love God because they little know how lovable the Lord is when He visits the heart of the meditating devotee. This actual contact of the transcendental presence of God is possible to determined devotees who persist in meditation and continuous soulful prayers.

There is but one Originator of all capabilities of man: God. For God is the Creator of our love with which we love, of our souls with which we claim immortality, of our minds and mental processes with which we think, reason and accomplish, of our vitality with which we engage in activities of life. We should use all these gifts in a supreme energetic effort in meditation to express our love for God until we feel consciously His responding manifestation.

To "love God with all your heart" means to seek union with God through unconditional love and devotion. Whatever is in a person's heart, that is where their concentration is — on the things they love. As a lover's heart is on the beloved and the drunkard's is on the drink, so the devotee's heart is continuously absorbed in love of their Divine Beloved.

To "love God with all your mind" means focused concentration. This means focusing the mind one-pointedly through definite techniques, so that during the time of worship the devotee is able to keep their whole attention on God. If while offering prayerful devotions the mind is constantly flitting to thoughts of work or food or bodily sensations or other diversions that is not loving God with all the mind.

To "love God with all your soul" means to enter the state of super-conscious ecstasy, direct perception of the soul and its oneness with God. When no thoughts cross the mind, but there is conscious all-knowingness, when one knows through intuitive realisation that they can do anything just by ordering it, then one is in the expanded state of super-consciousness. It is the realisation of the soul as the reflection of God, the soul's connection with the consciousness of God. It is a state of exceeding joy: the soul's crystalline perception of the omnipresent Spirit reflected as the joy of meditation.

To love God with all the soul requires the complete stillness of transcendent interiorization. This cannot be achieved while praying aloud, moving the hands this way and that, singing or chanting, or doing anything else that activates the sensory-muscular apparatus of the body. Just as in deep sleep the body and senses become inert, that inner withdrawal is characteristic also of super-conscious ecstasy — only ecstasy is much deeper than sleep. Ten million sleeps do not describe the joy of it. That is the state in which one can know the soul, and with that true Self wholly adore Him who is love itself.

"I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord (Christ Consciousness), I die daily." 1 Corinthians 15:31 (King James Version)


The average church-goer may attempt to feel love and devotion for God in their heart; and to put their mind on God as best they can during prayer; but when it comes to loving God with all their soul they are at a loss as they do not even know what the soul is.

It is wise that the Holy Mother Church teaches and encourages meditation in all places of worship to provide for this fundamental need of all those who would follow Christ.


The above section is commentary based on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraphs 2 - 5 & 10 -12

Increasing conscious and active participation in the sacred liturgy If modern studies show that most worldly people have an average attention span of around three seconds, as stated earlier, then it can be reasonably expected that most church-goers will have their attentions distracted by competing hoards of restless, worldly thoughts, temptations, and worries from daily life through out much of the worship. How then can they be 'fully conscious' as 'is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy'? It is recommended that, a ten minute silent meditation on Christ should precede the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Other ten minute silent meditations should also be gently introduced to the beginning of mass and at the most appropriate times as the Holy Mother Church sees fit to help further spiritualise sacred ritual.

It is also recommended that on Sundays clergy lead the faithful in early morning and afternoon meditation services with longer periods of group meditation (especially for the highest needs of devoted church-goers who become proficient meditators).

These recommendations are given to honour the highest meaning of the Sabbath.


Honouring the highest meaning of the Sabbath

Through Moses came the scriptural command:


"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11 (King James Version)


The Sabbath day is meant to be a time of rest and repose, to balance man's outwardly active nature by contact with the transcendental stillness at the core of his being.


And he said unto them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27-28 (King James Version)

The spiritual code of conduct for observances of the Sabbath, especially as a day of divine communion, was created for the advantage and spiritual upliftment of man; the Sabbath was not created as some special entity that man is bound to observe blindly, without rhyme or reason. Indeed, an unenlightened following of a dogmatically delineated Sabbath may at times, contrarily, be disadvantageous.

Jesus upheld the Sabbath as essential for people to recharge their vitality by the restful silence of interiorisation. The worldly person saturates themself with worries and bombardments of sensory stimuli throughout the week, and loads their body with excessive ill-chosen food and their unassimilated poisons. A day of fasting and introspective silence, tapping the peaceful wisdom reservoir of the soul, gives each individual a chance to think things over and re-organise their life into a balanced mode. Sermons and periods of silence and meditation on the Sabbath recharge body, mind and soul. This peace, if deeply infused into the consciousness, may last throughout the whole week, helping people to battle their restless moods, temptations, and financial worries. If the worldly person gives six days of the week to money making pursuits, eating and amusements, should they not give at least one day to the thought of God, without whom their very life, brain function, physical activity, feeling and enjoyment of entertainments are impossible?

Observance of the Sabbath as a day given to God and spiritual culture signifies the willing cessation of all activities that scatter and divert the mind into material channels. Church-goers would need to be actively encouraged to willingly stay away from materialistic diversions to spend the day in God-reminding, spiritually rejuvenating activities. With so many material enticements kept alive on Sundays, the minds of people run riot. Where is the time for restorative calmness, introspection, and creative thinking to adopt the best actions for an all round existence during the coming week (not frantic reasonings but a stilling of thoughts, which are then replaced with intuitive perception). A Sabbath well spent in silence, meditation and creative thinking affords the soul reinforcement with harmony, peace, and mental and physical strength to use wise discrimination to develop physically, mentally and spiritually in the best possible way.

The inveterate worker who goes at it non-stop, seven days a week, lets their soul become subject to mechanical activity. Such a person loses their ability to govern their activity by free will, discrimination and peace. They become a physical and mental wreck, shorn of spiritual happiness. Activity and calmness both must be cultivated and kept in balance, one with the other, in order to produce peace and happiness during periods of activity as well as silence.

At first spiritual endeavour to observe the Sabbath may seem difficult to generate amongst restless church-goers unless approached with enthusiastic anticipation that generates a perpetual motion of divine ardour. But with persistence the time comes when one's Sabbath becomes the most interesting and desirable experience by complete ecstatic communion with God. There is no happiness that excels the joy of contact of God in meditation.

The above section on the Sabbath refers to Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 106



The importance of meditating in groups

Meditating in groups is also important for observing the Sabbath. It is through group meditations that we experience the true meaning of Jesus' statement:


Again I say unto you, "That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:19-20 (King James Version)


"Again I declare unto you, if two of you unite your concentration, 'agree,' and very deeply pray for the realisation of any wholesome desire, your Father in heaven will know of it and by His will shall grant your wish on earth. But your united concentration must be strong and continuous to reach that level of the Father's presence that brings from Him a conscious direct response in fulfilling your good wish."

That is why Jesus taught: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (withdraw the mind into the silence within) and when thou hast shut thy door (the door of the senses), pray to thy Father which is in secret (in the inner transcendent divine consciousness); and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (shall bless you with the ever new Bliss of His Being)."

"Wherever two or three devotees gather together 'in my name' — listen in meditation to the Cosmic Vibration within them — there in that vibration they shall feel my Christ Consciousness." When Jesus said, "If two of you shall agree," he emphasised that when one's human will is reinforced by the stronger will of another, it becomes stronger. When the strong will of two or more people is united in deep meditation on God, their will becomes charged with the all-powerful, all-accomplishing Divine Will.

Man's will is the activating faculty of consciousness that makes him a vital, thinking, creative, accomplishing being. Every soul is a child of God and a reflection of God's Omnipotent Will, but by egoism man isolates his will from the Divine Will and thus limits it. But when a devotee reinforces their will by deep concentration and union with the strong will of other devotees they transform their will into God's will, recollecting their identity with God and thus recovering their divine heritage, possessing the illimitable material or spiritual power of their Heavenly Father. The devotee ought not to expect the full realization of the power of their will and prayer until they have strengthened them by divine company and God-contact.

When Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I," he stressed the power of united concentration: When two or a few devotees come together for inner worship of God, the stronger divine concentration of one person strengthens the weaker concentration of another. But if gatherings are merely a cause for discussion and gossip, half-hearted recitation of prayers, or absent-minded rituals, with no real inner communion with God, it is unlikely that the Divine Guest of Honour will be felt in their midst. Jesus' exhortation was a call for sincere devotees to unite the depths of their meditation in hearing "my name," Cosmic Vibratory Sound, Amen (sounds as Aum), announcing that "there am I," Christ Consciousness, "in the midst of them."

In the Cosmic Vibration they will feel the Christ Intelligence become manifest within their own uplifted consciousness.


These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Revelation 3:14


Saint John in the Book of Revelation said: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet." The 'voice of a trumpet' signifies the great cosmic sound of Aum, which the devotee hears in meditation as they approach Spirit. The 'Lord's day' signifies the occasion when the Christ Consciousness, Lord of all vibratory creation, dawns upon the consciousness of the devotee in deep meditation.

Further Notes: 1. Let us not forget our children One of the reasons why people today are so restless is because children are not nurtured enough in spiritual ideals and practices. Spirituality needs to be encouraged (not forced as a discipline) from an early age. Not only can children be taught to commune with God in meditation, they often come to enjoy it. A spiritual habit started early in life often becomes a life-long habit.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (King James Version)


2. Basic techniques for meditating as well as more advanced techniques for contacting the Holy Spirit are explained in more depth in our articles: How to Meditate to know Christ Within Us and How to Contact the Holy Spirit Through Meditation.



Meditating and contemplating to fully understand and teach the deepest teachings of the Bible

The ultimate knowledge of every God-mystery is barred to no-one who makes themself ready to read the Book of Life, whenever and in whatever way the Lord opens its pages to them.

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Matthew 13:34-35 (King James Version) Parallel reference:

And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Mark 4:33-34(King James Version)


Jesus conveyed in terms and illustrations that were familiar to his generation the profound eternal truth he received directly from God. As was explained earlier the ordinary people of his time could not understand, for example, the differences between the kingdom of heaven attained by super-conscious ecstasy and the transcendent kingdom of God-consciousness.

Jesus taught the deeper truths to his disciples when they were alone with him. Those same truths he guarded with parables when given to the non-understanding masses, but discernable to all deserving advanced souls who could hear the underlying wisdom with ears of intuition.

Ordinary people, to whom deep metaphysical truths were unintelligible, received the parables as simple illustrations from which guidance they could better their lives and rouse their faith in God. To this day the words of our beloved Christ are received similarly, with varying literal and theological interpretations around which have grown so many denominations and sects. The reference of Matthew to "things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world" declares the ultimate nature of truth as provable only by the infallible perception of soul intuition, the direct experience of truth by becoming one with it. Without this inner realisation truth remains a mystery to man, only dimly imagined or otherwise surmised by intellect. Truth is that which is closest to reality. Thus to understand the one and only perception of Jesus Christ behind the words of his teaching, devotees must be able to perceive through their intuition in the sanctuary of meditation the revealed mysteries of which he spoke in parables.

The very fact that it was to his close disciples alone that Jesus "expounded all things" of those truths he had hidden in the parables given to the multitudes tells modern would-be disciples of Christ that they should not be satisfied with anything less than understanding and teaching the highest meanings of those parables. A pastor with mere theoretical knowledge of the scriptures is gratified if he can momentarily inspire his congregation with what he infers or imagines to be the truth taught by Jesus Christ. But a real divine spokesman, meditating to become imbued with Christ Conscious, inspires others to become with him a disciplined band of truth seekers and truth demonstrators who by meditation congregate in the inner sanctuary of silence to learn from God, who speaks through the lips of the devotee's intuition, the mysteries of life and soul liberation. A true house of God must never become satisfied only with preaching theories about God; it must teach the art of God contact, of how to make the soul of man an illumined temple wherein God himself will come and deliver sermons through His voice of intuition to the sincerely seeking devotional thoughts of the devotee.

The above sections are commentary based on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraphs 13 -16

How one ought to wisely study scripture written for our instruction For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 (King James Version) To reiterate, to perceive the truth behind the language of scripture, as intended by those who gave it, the requisite facility of intuitive calmness gained from deep meditation is required.

An ordinary person reading or hearing scriptural truths interprets their visual and auditory sensations and impressions of them according to the limitations of their senses and understanding. A person of spiritual acuity studies the Holy Scriptures and then tries to perceive their meaning with their developed intuition. They do not voraciously ingest scripture, but after deep meditation they read only a small portion before internally dwelling on it to feel the truth therein through the soul's intuition. As stated earlier no-one should try to interpret spiritual truths equipped only with reason, emotion and imagination; nor should anyone confuse understanding with a larger vocabulary and a broader memory. Otherwise, continual intellectual study may result in vanity, false satisfaction, and undigested knowledge. Scripture is most beneficial in giving 'hope' by stimulating desire for inward realization, if one passage at a time is slowly assimilated.

In summary, Church-goers should be taught and encouraged to contemplate the meaning of Holy Scripture within by quiet meditation and real communion with God. Rather than being passive members of a church, satisfied merely with listening to sermons, worshipers should be encouraged to engage more in the effort to cultivate perfect stillness in both body and mind. The peace of absolute physical and mental stillness is the real temple wherein God most often visits His devotees. "Be still and know that I am God."

See Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 33



Educating and training clergy

Jesus and his disciples, possessing no theological degrees or intellectual college or university education, nor instruction in elocution, preached what they knew from direct God-contact: "We speak that we know, and testify that we have seen." (John 3:11)

Contact with God is evidenced in a holy life. The ego is diminished and replaced with an ever-increasing love for God and desire to follow His will alone. A truly holy person touches one's whole being with a "peace which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) and radiates to all as kindness and goodwill. God-contact in deep meditation opens the channel of soul intuition and speaks through the inner guiding voice of conscience. God uses His great prophets to proclaim revelations; He speaks personally to His true devotees those revelations that will change them into God-loving beings who inspire others to become likewise. The exultations, visions, and divine oneness of God-contact come in good time to the advanced devotee who perseveres in deepening meditation; but God's presence is no less real in its subtle transforming power of inner peace, joy, understanding and divine love.

A preacher of truth therefore hears the voice of God as inner intuitive inspiration and does not depend solely on books at the risk of preparing undigested and unlived sermons. Jesus preached extensively to the masses; and in between gatherings, he retired to the seclusion of the desert or mountain tops to commune with God. Renewed in body and spirit, he came back to give his reinforced God-consciousness to truth seekers.

It is therefore recommended all clergy should develop the spiritual habit of daily meditating in the early morning before they commence activity to attune themselves with the Lord; and in the evening to cleanse themselves of activity so they may sleep deep in the Lord.

It is also recommended that every year clergy leave their residence and community and spend two weeks in silent contemplation of God and his mysteries in a monastic environment. In this way they may seek deep communion with the Lord by interiorising their consciousness for longer periods without the disruption of daily church life and social interactions with others. This will allow for vital spiritual renewal and development as well as necessary rest from worldly affairs and duties.

The qualities to be cultivated for those who would teach in the name of Christ

What are the qualities to cultivate if one is to teach in the name of Christ?

Humility, love of God and doing everything with the thought of God, forgetting self are fundamentals.
Additionally, the following principles are given that Jesus, in one form or another, instilled in his apostles during the time they spent in his company absorbing his spirit and ideals:

A Christian spiritual teacher should have Soul-realisation, or at least be sincerely striving for that God-attunement and subversion of the ego. They should have an appreciative, respectful, comparative knowledge of religions, while being grounded in truth and free from hidebound dogma. They should know the difference between true religion and custom, discriminating between universal spirituality and denominational observances. In order to transmit truth effectively, one must be inspired by the inner perception of truth. The highest type of Christian spiritual teacher spends much time in the divine communion of prayer and meditation. This is the way to be able to arrive at the truth in any given situation.

They should believe in and be well versed in the truths they want to teach, and then strive to realise those truths in themself. The intuitional teacher is most qualified. The intuitive power of the soul, once awakened by meditation, does not depend on reason; it knows.

A teacher should always meditate before instructing others, a practice more valuable than gleaning ideas from books or dialogues with other people.

They must keep their mind on God that they might in the highest way be able to convey thoughts of God to others.

They must have complete faith in God, believing that His help will come when needed. The divine law works!

The best sermon a teacher can give is through the voice of their character and actions; they should be one with God in exemplary qualities. They should be morally upright, balanced and even-minded, honest and agreeable. They should wear a soulful smile; cheerfulness that comes from the soul.

Proper decorum and knowing the rules of etiquette are highly desirable, but even more important than manners is sincerity. They should always keep their word with people; one's word is one's bond.

They should be natural and loyal to their ideals. They should always stand firm for the truth, but never be angry with or entertain revengeful thoughts against people who criticise them. They should never gossip or speak unkind words about others.

One cannot transmit truth if they are not sympathetic. A spiritual teacher should be free from racial and class preferences, and give spiritual help to those seeking relief from their troubles as well as to those seeking spiritual development.

A spiritual teacher should never try to compete with others; they should stick to their goal and teach loyalty to that purpose. They should never allow themselves to be controlled by those who would compromise their ideals for financial or organisational favours given. Lastly they should never use spirituality for commercial or personal gain.

The above sections contain commentary based on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraphs 17 - 19



The next sections are inspired by Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 21, 43, 50, 51, 56 (It's not necessary to read these sections before proceeding):


Meditation techniques to hear the 'Word of God'

As explained earlier by deeply meditating until one hears the word of God within: 'the liturgy of the word', one will feel the Christ Consciousness manifest within their own uplifted consciousness and in this way will partake of the highest meaning of 'the sacred Eucharist Liturgy'.


Note:

This is explained in more depth in our article How to contact the Holy Spirit through meditation.


The above section is commentary on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 56



Further spiritualising other sacraments

Just as the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist has a higher meaning that needs to be lovingly restored in our times; so other sacraments need faithful attention to increase their power to nourish and strengthen faith.


The above paragraph is brief commentary based on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraphs 59 & 62



Further spiritualising Holy days, feasts and festivals

The celebration of the Holy Season and Christmas We need to restore the sanctity of the Holy Season and especially Christmas. We need to begin by returning Christmas back to Christ and his ideals of plainer living and higher thinking. The rampant consumerism in developed countries that we see increase each year obviously weakens the spiritual fabric of those societies and damages the natural environment.

To re-empower the spiritual sanctity of Christmas a special Christmas Meditation Service program has been carefully and lovingly prepared to help awaken Christ within the consciousness of the populace. Please see Special Christmas Meditation Service.

The celebration of Easter Much more can be done to empower the celebration of beloved Lord Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection to increase love for Christ worldwide and restore peace to the hearts of the world's people. A special Easter Meditation Service is humbly offered for the purpose: please see Special Easter Meditation Service

The above section refers to Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paragraph 107


Music to increase devotion

Spiritual music, such as sacred hymns, songs and devotional chants raises the listener's consciousness and dispels frivolous, nervous and even base emotions. Because man himself is an expression of the Creative Word of God, sound exercises on him a potent and immediate effect.

To maximise the benefit of spiritual singing church-goers should cultivate intense concentration on the words they sing. Preferably, with closed eyes they should simultaneously focus their attention and awareness at the spiritual eye (located at the point between the eyebrows).


"The light of the body is the (spiritual) eye: if therefore thine eye be single (singularly focused on God), thy whole body shall be full of life." Matthew 6:22

(For more information on this please see our articles How to Meditate to know Christ Within Us and How to Contact the Holy Spirit Through Meditation.) Holding their awareness at the spiritual eye they should sing with such loving devotion to the Lord that it puts them in personal harmony with the soul. This can be a tremendous aid to meditation. Meditation without enough devotional intention runs the risk of becoming merely a mechanical exercise in concentration. Singing lovingly with all your heart and soul as if God and all of heaven is your intended audience helps ensure that the mind is absorbed into a strong devotional state to meditate.

Part 3: A message to the faithful about the Second Coming of our beloved Christ


"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Matthew 24:29-36 (King James Version)


Parallel reference:


"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

And he spake to them a parable; "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:25-36(King James Version)

These passages in the Bible have been the source of great misunderstanding among many Christian sects. Many firmly believe that God will literally produce Jesus out of the sky in a glorious display and with His power will destroy the "wicked" (non-conforming) people of earth and give redemption to selected worshipers. Jesus said. "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Yet twenty centuries have passed, and Jesus has not yet come out of the clouds openly before the different nations, 'tribes'.

Many true devotees throughout the ages, however, have in ecstatic states of devout meditation seen Jesus coming out of the clouds of darkness of their closed eyes, resplendent in great power and glory. Saint Francis, who saw Jesus many times and talked with him in the woods of Assisi testifies to all mankind by his own experience — as have other saints — the fulfilment of the prophecy of Jesus that devotees of any clime or time who transmute material pursuits into spiritual advancement will witness Jesus Christ, and angels and liberated souls, in their visions. But it is a sadly futile wait for those who expect at some future time for Jesus to come out of the clouds to establish and rule an ideal kingdom in this world (or for that matter, to take only a select few from earth to such a kingdom patterned after a glorified earth in heaven).

Jesus reigns everlastingly in God's kingdom of Infinity, redeeming souls who look to him for help in making their way to God. It is an unreasonable proposition — not least, a selfishly unkind one — to want the infinite consciousness of Jesus to be confined forever in a limited form to rule a kingdom on earth (or in heaven) of a chosen few from the multitude of God's children, the masses of which (even perhaps one's own beloved family members) would perforce forever thereafter exist in torment in perdition. That would not be an act of an Almighty Loving God nor the judgment of the exquisitely compassionate Jesus who forgave and blessed those who had fallen into sin.

From his home in infinity, Jesus observes with omnipresent awareness, along with other of God's angels and liberated Saints, the affairs of man and the ordered destiny of the cosmic drama. The presence of Jesus and the Great Ones in the immanent Christ Consciousness responds to any outreach of man's heart, and maintains a constant pull toward God in the tug-of-war with the outgoing influence of satanic power. Redemption is nigh at any time for those who loosen their souls from the bonds of cosmic delusion and absorb their consciousness in the uplifting power of divine intercession and God's grace.

To illustrate how the devotee recognises the signs of the unfoldment of Soul-realisation, Jesus spoke of the young leaves of the fig tree that appear as a certainty of summer's approach. So, likewise, a disciple or true devotee who 'lifts up their heads and looks up into the spiritual eye between the eyebrows' and sees through that awakened spiritual eye any materialised vision of Christ or of liberated souls or of some manifested attribute of the Infinite can then know through pure intuition that the tree of their salvation has put forth tender branches of realisation and leaves of divine perception, and that the summer of his final liberation is near at hand.

Jesus foresaw that even his contemporary generation would not pass away before some had begun to experience these signs of approaching liberation through his teachings. But to emphasize that his teachings were for all time, he affirmed that the truth of his words as a path to salvation — being a reflection of Cosmic Consciousness — would outlast even the dissolution of earth and the heavenly realms. Truth and its manifest expression of wisdom are changeless and eternal; creation and its forces are subject to change and extinguishment. The words of Jesus embody eternal truth and hence they will abide to out live all created things.

When Jesus said of the signs of advent of liberation: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." he was praising the singular grandeur of Almighty God who alone can know certain things, concealed even from His greatest devotees. God is the sole Knower unrestricted by the consequential relativities of time and space, cause and effect; everything is revealed in His consciousness of the Eternal Now, while even the angels have a conditional existence and overview in their purpose of serving the universal order through cosmic law. The time of liberation of an individual is entirely problematic, dependant upon the use of one's free will and subject to the acquired spiritual merits and the degree and depth of the devotion with which one imbues one's efforts. Therefore, since the devotee themself determines the day and hour of liberation, according to their spiritual ardour and quality of meditation, which can quicken or delay it, only the Cosmic Consciousness within Itself knows and can foretell that auspicious moment. Liberated souls, however, who can say with Jesus, "I and my Father are one," can thereby realise in a transcendent state the omniscience of God 's Cosmic Consciousness; but this knowing is not always immediately relatable to the here and now of a tedious cause-and-effect cosmos of conditional perspective.

"Take heed therefore, continuously pray, meditate, and watch the tricks of the fickle mind to see if it is centred on God or not; for you know not when trials and delusions will overtake you and test you as to whether you are qualifying for liberation. "

Peace on Earth "And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." Luke 12:29-31 (King James Version)

The earth would be a veritable heaven if nations as well as individuals would heed Jesus' admonition to make God the primary aim of life. When people concentrate on political and business selfishness and personal accumulation of power and luxuries at the expense of others, the divine law of happiness is broken, creating disorder and want in the family, the nation and the world. If the leaders of different nations, instead of extolling aggression and patriotic selfishness, turned the minds of their citizens toward the acquirement of inner peace, love of God and neighbour, and bliss of meditation, then material prosperity, health, and international harmony would automatically be added unto the spiritual treasures of the nations.

Jesus pointed out the supreme wisdom of 'God first' as the best recipe not only for individual happiness but also for national and international well-being: "The nations of the earth seek inordinately and selfishly after material prosperity and power, which inevitably leads to hurtful inequities, wars and destruction. Let them rather seek God and add His principled righteous to their endeavours, and live harmoniously beneath the canopy of international spiritual brotherhood.

And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, ...That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; ... For we are also his offspring. Acts 17:26-28 (King James Version) "On nations who live in peace with one another, and in the pursuit of God-consciousness, the Heavenly Father bestows lasting prosperity, well earned by aid to the world family, goodwill, and international business co-operation. God, who is the Provider of the cosmos, knows the needs of individuals and nations; if He feeds the raven and clothes the lily, how much more would He provide to the individual and the nation who are tune with His ideals!"

The state of money-mad modern civilisation distinctly shows that selfishness wrecks individual and national happiness. The excessive competitiveness is pernicious because each one tries to take away the possessions of others. Thus in a community of 1,000 each businessperson has 999 enemies and competitors. Jesus urged people to share their possessions with all; when that law is observed each person in a community of 1,000 has 999 helpers.

Survival in the present-day cut-throat commercial environment is so demanding that the business person is run ragged and is unable to concentrate on making their life truly and spiritually happy. Business was made for the happiness of man; man was not made for business. Only that much enterprise is necessary which does not interfere with the spiritual development of man. Advancement in science and technology is to be applauded when used for the betterment of the human race; but in practical application, nations of the earth could enhance the happiness of their citizens if they advocated a consciousness of plain living and high thinking — concentrating their minds more on spiritual development, inspirational literature, philosophy, knowledge of the wonders and workings of creation, and less on frenetic technologies that encourage money-madness.

If nations of the earth did not complicate civilisation by industrial selfishness, which leads to over-production and over-consumption in rich countries, and exploitation and miserliness toward weaker nations, then all peoples would have plenty to eat and live well. But since patriotic selfishness and material superiority are the aims of almost all developed nations, regardless of the needs of their neighbours, the world suffers episodes of chaos and confusion of isms resulting in famine, poverty and the avoidable miseries of wars.

Modern chaotic conditions the world over are the result of ungodly living. Individuals and nations can be protected from self-generated utter destruction if they live by heavenly ideals of brotherhood, industrial co-operation and the international exchange of earthly goods and spiritual experiences. The present economic system of profiteering and exploitation has failed; a brotherhood of nations and a brotherhood of necessary industries and industrialists can alone bring lasting prosperity to the world.

The recent near collapse of the world's financial system humbled many billionaires who were sure of their financial acumen to preserve their mighty fortunes. Even some of the shrewdest businessmen became bewildered children in the hands of destiny and recession not knowing which way to turn. The spiritual laws of 'unselfishness' and 'including the prosperity of others in one's own prosperity' were broken; hence the near total collapse of the international banking system. Industrial selfishness was precipitated from dire human greed, leading to suicidal business practices by banks and competition amongst other banks in terms of who could profit the most from it.

When the greedy materialist's brain is befuddled with greed, their intelligence institutes plans that fail one after the other. This is the price all materialistic God-forgetting egotists are bound to meet sometime or other.

By giving artificial monetary value to industrial production, man has created strife between capital and labour, systematically causing recurrent booms and recessions / depressions. Capital and labour, like brain and limbs, should co-operate for the overall welfare of the body and soul of the nation, rather than fighting each other and thereby ensuring their own mutual destruction. Brain and hands both co-operate to maintain the body and share the food in the stomach; so also capital (the brains of society) and the labour (its hands and feet) must co-operate to make life prosperous and to share the bounty they produce. Neither capital nor labour should get special preference, avoiding the pitfalls of both imperialistic and socialistic forms of government. Capital and labour each has its confirmed place and both must do their respective duties in equality. Everybody should be provided food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care through sharing the national wealth; or everybody should equally shoulder the burden of poverty if it comes unavoidably through the inclemencies of nature. There should be no inequitable distribution of basic necessities for a progressive material, mental and spiritual existence; the have-nots against those who have is the root cause of crime, greed, selfishness and other untold social evils.

A family member who becomes sick or disabled is not an object of charity, but honourably partakes of the family food and financial means. The same should hold good for each member of the world family. No one should starve because they are unable to find employment or because they are old or disabled. If the nations of the earth want to please God, they should live according to Christ-like principles as brother and sister in the United Nations of the world, exchanging commodities so that no individual would suffer from lack, famine or poverty.

It is imperative now that individuals and nations forsake selfishness to feed and clothe the international body. National citizenry should subdue preoccupation with self-interest and learn to acquire wisdom, and to meditate and be in tune with the Infinite, so that they collectively feed the national soul with all-round happiness. Nations living in tune with God and His ideals of brotherhood and peace can endure for centuries without wars or famine, in perpetual prosperity and spiritual happiness. Nations who are rich in prosperity but lacking in wisdom and God-bliss may lose their top-heavy materiality through civil war, fights between capital and labour, and troubles with envious neighbours jealous of their prosperity. One nation possessing abundance side-by-side with another nation starving to death can never be a productive formula for peace on earth.

Nations must look after one another or they are doomed. That is why Jesus speaks to the nations of the earth: "O you nations, do not be selfish and think only of food, industry and raiment, in utter forgetfulness of brotherhood and God, the Giver of all things, or you will bring self-created disaster on yourselves through your ignorance and its attendant wars, pestilence and other miseries."

Prosperity often dulls the social conscience: "What do we care for other nations: we worked to create our prosperity so that we could roll in plenty! Why should they not do the same?" Callous arrogance is short-sighted. Enduring national prosperity depends not only upon natural resources and the initiative of the nations's citizens, but primarily on the moral conduct, harmony and spiritual living of the people. No matter how successful a nation may be, if it becomes debauched, selfish, and inharmonious, it will have civil wars, treachery and foreign aggression to disrupt its complacency and good fortune.

Hence, the admonition of Jesus that no individual or nation should be selfish and give entire thought to food or raiment or acquirement of earthly treasure, but should be humble, share prosperity with needy brothers, and acknowledge God as the only Owner and Giver of all the gifts of the earth.

Of course most of the world's people have become so gripped by spiritual poverty that they have wandered away from the Shepherd. What is needed is a Second Coming of Christ in consciousness of the world's people.



The role of a strong Church


He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah)" John 1:21-23(King James Version)

The word 'straight' as it is used in context with John the Baptist's statement signifies the straight path of truth, through which alone the soul can reach God. It is very difficult to choose the right course amid varied religious opinions. John declared to the people the straight path out of ignorance, and exhorted them to follow it to receive the teachings of Jesus in attaining Christ Consciousness. People who wander from church to church, from preacher to preacher seeking intellectual satisfaction seldom find God, for intellectual nourishment is necessary only to inspire one to 'drink' God. When the intellect forgets to actually taste God, it is a detriment to Soul-realisation. Spiritual truth and wisdom are found not in any words of a priest or preacher, but in the 'wilderness' of inner silence.

True religion lies within oneself, in the cave of stillness, in the cave of intuitive wisdom, in the cave of the spiritual eye. By concentrating on the point between the eyebrows in meditation and delving into the depths of quiet in the luminous spiritual eye, one can find answers to all religious queries of the heart.


"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26 (King James Version)


By the right method of meditation on the Holy Spirit as the light of the spiritual eye and the holy sound of the cosmic vibration Aum, any persevering devotee, by constant practice can experience the blessings of the manifested vibratory presence of God. The Sacred Vibration, the Great Comforter, being imbued with the universal, reflected God-consciousness, contains the all-encompassing bliss of God.

For all the reasons given the purpose of a church should obviously be to give God-contact. If it claims to meet that criterion then it must do so or it will cease to exist as a powerful spiritual force. Toward this end, it is the paramount duty of all clergy to improve themselves by daily deep meditation for communion with God, and to reform their congregations likewise with spiritual habits and the joy of divine communion. The Soul-realisation of true seekers would spontaneously, without urging, hold those members to their respective path that is leading them to God. A strong congregation is united in uncoerced loyalty born of each member's Soul-realisation garnered from the inner discipline and meditation taught by the church.

The hives of organised churches should be filled with the honey of God's presence. Congregational worship should therefore stress primarily meditation, interiorisation with cessation of bodily motions, absence of mental restlessness and the presence of God contact. When bodily motions cease and thoughts become quiet, God begins to appear as the blessedness of stillness and divine bliss on the altar of peace and changelessness.

Churches will profit spiritually when they have become temples where both leaders and members in unison sit together to discuss spiritual principles; and then together or individually, through proven techniques of concentration and meditation, they try to commune with God and to realise truth through the direct experience of soul intuition.

By this means the deeper meanings of the teachings of Christ can be revived and most importantly lived. Then if Christ Consciousness that was manifest in Jesus can first be established in the hearts of people, it will reign strongly in the church also. Then silent prayer, meditation and pure devotion to God will be found to be the common denominator that can unite the denominations of all religions in the love of God.

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." Matthew 10:5-8 (King James Version)

Thus did Jesus command his disciples that they should not go to the self-satisfied worldly people, "the Gentiles," worshipers of gods of fame and fortune, or to the Samaritans, fixed in their convictions, but rather go to truth-seekers who are repentant for having strayed away from God. "Vibrate into them your God-realisation and show them that the kingdom of heaven, the state of attunement with the heavenly powers of finer vibration, wisdom, bliss and God-consciousness, lies within their reach, just behind the human consciousness of wakefulness and subconsciousness, in the state of super-consciousness and God-contact as realised in deep meditation. As you heal the soul of material consciousness by establishing the kingdom of heaven of God-consciousness there, so also heal the ailments of the bodily instrument of the soul.

"Free the truly repentant God seekers not only from physical sickness but also from mental, moral, and spiritual sickness. Raise spiritually dead people into the consciousness of God; and by transmitting your God-given-power, release them from devils and obsessions of cosmic delusion and ignorance and evil disembodied souls. Bring to life the good departed souls who have more good than evil subconscious tendencies, or at least equal good and bad, because such acts are now sanctioned by the Heavenly Father to assure benighted mankind that all things are possible with God's true devotees and followers of the path of goodness. The worthy souls you resurrect will do much good on earth.

"You have received by your own free accord, through your uninfluenced, spontaneously spiritual free will, and through my own free will and God's divine compassion, the God-consciousness transmitted into your self-disciplined meditating lives. In the way you have grasped God-consciousness, teach the same to the people. You exercised your divine ardour, reason, and free will to meditate and advance spiritually, and so you awakened the spontaneous response in God and desire in me to transmit into you Our divine consciousness. Likewise teach other devotees to rouse their free will and to meditate and thereby receive the God-consciousness freely available to them."

Every pastor should pass their life more in meditation and in order to be able to transmit spirituality to real seekers — those whom they meet through the will of God and proper moral publicity — regularly meditate with them whenever they can, in small groups, preferably in quiet or secluded centrally located places. If churches get together and follow the above practice they will bring about a revival in Christ Consciousness in the hearts of true worshippers. In deeply meditating together in small sincere groups, such seekers will find the Christ Consciousness which was in Jesus will manifest in them and bring about in their consciousness the Second Coming of Christ.


"As many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God." (John 1:12)

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 (King James Version)

To save the modern world's lost 'Gentiles' and 'Samaritans' one needs to first be the change one wants to see in others. All lost sheep in the wilderness of spiritual poverty and stuck fast in the mud of ignorance, desire happiness and freedom from suffering. But for them to trust the hand that reaches out to help them they must first see real, God-given peace in the eyes and God-given happiness in the smiles of their would-be rescuers. Words alone will not reach them if their eyes and ears are closed. Such people can only be taught by the example of loving action which melts their hearts and encourages them to choose of their own free will to come unto and follow the shepherd who possesses abundant inner joy and will lead them to the green pastures of the Lord. A message of courage to those who fear change

It can be very easy to become settled into habitual, regular routines and patterns of established thought. For this reason some can come to fear significant change. Some fear what the future will hold if the wind of change is allowed to blow through holy Mother Church. Will it blow away the cobwebs and dust or will it blow the whole Church down?

Since the time of Jesus we have seen rapid changes in the mental capabilities of man to unravel, manipulate and harness the mysterious workings of nature. We've gone from thinking the earth was flat to detecting other planets around far away stars. Everything in the Universe is in a constant state of change; only God the Father beyond Creation remains permanent and unchanging. For this reason if holy Mother Church does not adapt sufficiently to the times in which she lives she will find herself under relentless siege from modernity. If she is to maintain her relevance in the eyes of the people she must not see modernity as an enemy but embrace it as a friend. Adapting to the challenges that modernity brings requires much soul-searching which encourages new spiritual growth.

The Sacred Liturgy now needs to be reformed in the light of the sacred truth revealed. Does that mean ritual practice and traditions established over centuries should be caste aside? Of course not! It's important that the Mother Church does not lose her sacred identity. What is needed is a determined new effort to establish God-communion as the living heart and soul of the Sacred Liturgy and to spiritualise existing ritual practice and traditions in the light of that.

To those who fear such significant changes in their lives and in our holy Mother Church, take courage from the words of the may Saints and Martyrs that echo from the past:

"I have bled for your Name oh Lord; and for your Name’s sake I am willing ever to bleed. Like a mighty warrior, with gory limbs, injured body, wounded honour, and a thorn crown of derision, undismayed I fight on. My scars I wear as roses of courage, of inspiration to persevere in the battle against evil. I may continue to suffer blows on my arms outstretched to help others, and receive persecution instead of love, but my soul shall ever bask in the sunshine of your blessings, O Lord. You do guide your soldier’s campaigns that conquer for you the lands of human hearts now oppressed by sadness."

Remember the words of our beloved Jesus and say unto any fear, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Matthew 16:23)

Jesus was born in a human body; he was crucified; and he resurrected himself. He rebuilt his body, and his soul entered that resurrected form. But he did not re-create a body to remain confined in it. Though he appeared in physical form to his disciples many times after crucifixion, he dissolved that body again. To understand him only as incarnate in a body that was crucified and then resurrected is not appreciably to understand Christ as he is. Incarnate or after resurrection, Jesus was not only a physical personality, but a vessel of the infinite Christ Consciousness. While he resurrected himself in a body, he resurrected his spirit from the confinement of form into omnipresent Spirit. In oneness with the infinite Christ, he is resurrected in every new born baby, and in you and me, and in all people on earth, and everything that has life. He is resurrected in the winking stars, in the planets, and in the cosmic blue. He is resurrected in all things that grow from the earth — in the grass and the tenderest rose. He feels his resurrection in every form that exists. He is risen in every atom and cell of the vast cosmos.

This is how Jesus wants his devotees to know him: not to limit him to a form, but to understand his resurrection in omnipresence, to perceive him as one with the Infinite Light of Christ Consciousness. We're told in the Gospels that on the occasions that the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples and followers they regularly did not recognise him by his physical appearance. Instead they only recognised him through his words and actions. Yet we know that if Jesus wanted to he could have appeared in the same familiar form as he appeared before he was arrested. Why didn’t he? Was it because he wanted his disciples to focus on him as the formless Christ rather than merely as a personality and physical body that temporarily gave his omnipresent consciousness a manifest physical form?

Through the spiritual eye, the worshipper can not only behold the Christ with form, but the formless Christ felt in the vastness of inner perception, because Christ is already present at that divine centre of consciousness in all human beings. To experience Christ as the Cosmic Intelligence is far more wonderful than just seeing an image formed out of that Infinite Christ. That is the transcendental Christ which is the 'only begotten son,' the only begotten reflection of the Heavenly Father's Cosmic Consciousness in all creation.

"Behold, he cometh with clouds (he shall come out of the clouds of ignorance) and every eye (spiritual eye) shall see him."(Revelation 1:7) It is the Spirit behind the body of Christ with which one should strive to be united — to rise from the tomb of ignorance and realise in the ascension of the soul the resurrection of the Christ within.

Let us revitalise a mighty work of love, 'the new testament', to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ.




Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium

1. This sacred Council has several aims in view: it desires to impart an ever increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to adapt more suitably to the needs of our own times those institutions which are subject to change; to foster whatever can promote union among all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever can help to call the whole of mankind into the household of the Church. The Council therefore sees particularly cogent reasons for undertaking the reform and promotion of the liturgy.

2. For the liturgy, "through which the work of our redemption is accomplished," [1] most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet invisibly equipped, eager to act and yet intent on contemplation, present in this world and yet not at home in it; and she is all these things in such wise that in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, which we seek [2]. While the liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of the Lord, into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit [3], to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ [4], at the same time it marvellously strengthens their power to preach Christ, and thus shows forth the Church to those who are outside as a sign lifted up among the nations [5] under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together [6], until there is one sheepfold and one shepherd [7].

3. Wherefore the sacred Council judges that the following principles concerning the promotion and reform of the liturgy should be called to mind, and that practical norms should be established.

Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other rites. The practical norms which follow, however, should be taken as applying only to the Roman rite, except for those which, in the very nature of things, affect other rites as well.

4. Lastly, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. The Council also desires that, where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigour to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times. The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church's Life

5. God who "wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4), "who in many and various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets" (Heb. 1:1), when the fullness of time had come sent His Son, the Word made flesh, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to preach the the gospel to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart [8], to be a "bodily and spiritual medicine" [9], the Mediator between God and man [10]. For His humanity, united with the person of the Word, was the instrument of our salvation. Therefore in Christ "the perfect achievement of our reconciliation came forth, and the fullness of divine worship was given to us" [11].



10....the (sacred) liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper.

The liturgy in its turn moves the faithful, filled with "the paschal sacraments," to be "one in holiness" [26]; it prays that "they may hold fast in their lives to what they have grasped by their faith" [27]; the renewal in the Eucharist of the covenant between the Lord and man draws the faithful into the compelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to which all other activities of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achieved in the most efficacious possible way.

11. But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to (God ) their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive it in vain. [28] Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.

12. The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with his brethren, but he must also enter into his chamber to pray to the Father, in secret [29]; yet more, according to the teaching of the Apostle, he should pray without ceasing [30]. We learn from the same Apostle that we must always bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodily frame [31]. This is why we ask the Lord in the sacrifice of the Mass that, "receiving the offering of the spiritual victim," he may fashion us for himself "as an eternal gift" [32].


13. '...But these devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.'

The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Participation

14. Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy.

Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Peter. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.

In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit; and therefore pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it, by means of the necessary instruction, in all their pastoral work.

Yet it would be futile to entertain any hopes of realizing this unless the pastors themselves, in the first place, become thoroughly imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy, and undertake to give instruction about it. A prime need, therefore, is that attention be directed, first of all, to the liturgical instruction of the clergy. '

15. Professors who are appointed to teach liturgy in seminaries, religious houses of study, and theological faculties must be properly trained for their work in institutes which specialize in this subject.

16. The study of sacred liturgy is to be ranked among the compulsory and major courses in seminaries and religions houses of studies; in theological faculties it is to rank among the principal courses. It is to be taught under its theological, historical, spiritual, pastoral, and juridical aspects. Moreover, other professors, while striving to expound the mystery of Christ and the history of salvation from the angle proper to each of their own subjects, must nevertheless do so in a way which will clearly bring out the connection between their subjects and the liturgy, as also the unity which underlies all priestly training. This consideration is especially important for professors of dogmatic, spiritual, and pastoral theology and for those of Holy Scripture.


17. In seminaries and houses of religious, clerics shall be given a liturgical formation in their spiritual life. For this they will need proper direction, so that they may be able to understand the sacred rites and take part in them wholeheartedly; and they will also need personally to celebrate the sacred mysteries, as well as popular devotions which are imbued with the spirit of the liturgy. In addition they must learn how to observe the liturgical laws, so that life in seminaries and houses of religious may be thoroughly influenced by the spirit of the liturgy.

18. Priests, both secular and religious, who are already working in the Lord's vineyard are to be helped by every suitable means to understand ever more fully what it is that they are doing when they perform sacred rites; they are to be aided to live the liturgical life and to share it with the faithful entrusted to their care.

19. With zeal and patience, pastors of souls must promote the liturgical instruction of the faithful, and also their active participation in the liturgy both internally and externally, taking into account their age and condition, their way of life, and standard of religious culture. By so doing, pastors will be fulfilling one of the chief duties of a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God; and in this matter they must lead their flock not only in word but also by example.

The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy

21. In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. For the liturgy is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it.


33. Although the sacred liturgy is above all things the worship of the divine Majesty, it likewise contains much instruction for the faithful [34]. For in the liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer.

Moreover, the prayers addressed to God by the priest who presides over the assembly in the person of Christ are said in the name of the entire holy people and of all present. And the visible signs used by the liturgy to signify invisible divine things have been chosen by Christ or the Church. Thus not only when things are read "which were written for our instruction" (Rom. 15:4), but also when the Church prays or sings or acts, the faith of those taking part is nourished and their minds are raised to God, so that they may offer Him their rational service and more abundantly receive His grace.


43. Zeal for the promotion and restoration of the liturgy is rightly held to be a sign of the providential dispositions of God in our time, as a movement of the Holy Spirit in His Church. It is today a distinguishing mark of the Church's life, indeed of the whole tenor of contemporary religious thought and action.

50. The rite of the Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, may be more clearly manifested, and that devout and active participation by the faithful may be more easily achieved.

For this purpose the rites are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance; elements which, with the passage of time, came to be duplicated, or were added with but little advantage, are now to be discarded; other elements which have suffered injury through accidents of history are now to be restored to the vigour which they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary.

51. The treasures of the bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word. In this way a more representative portion of the Holy Scriptures will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.

56. The two parts which, in a certain sense, go to make up the Mass, namely, the liturgy of the word and the eucharistic liturgy, are so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of worship. Accordingly this sacred Synod strongly urges pastors of souls that, when instructing the faithful, they insistently teach them to take their part in the entire Mass, especially on Sundays and feasts of obligation.

THE OTHER SACRAMENTS AND THE SACRAMENTALS

59. The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ, and, finally, to give worship to God; because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it; that is why they are called "sacraments of faith." They do indeed impart grace, but, in addition, the very act of celebrating them most effectively disposes the faithful to receive this grace in a fruitful manner, to worship God duly, and to practice charity. It is therefore of the highest importance that the faithful should easily understand the sacramental signs, and should frequent with great eagerness those sacraments which were instituted to nourish the Christian life.

62. With the passage of time, however, there have crept into the rites of the sacraments and sacramentals certain features which have rendered their nature and purpose far from clear to the people of today; hence some changes have become necessary to adapt them to the needs of our own times.

106. By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of Christ's resurrection, the Church celebrates the paschal mystery every eighth day; with good reason this, then, bears the name of the Lord's Day or Sunday. For on this day Christ's faithful are bound to come together into one place so that; by hearing the word of God and taking part in the Eucharist, they may call to mind the passion, the resurrection and the glorification of the Lord Jesus, and may thank God who "has begotten them again, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto a living hope" (1 Pet. 1:3). Hence the Lord's day is the original feast day, and it should be proposed to the piety of the faithful and taught to them so that it may become in fact a day of joy and of freedom from work. Other celebrations, unless they be truly of greatest importance, shall not have precedence over the Sunday which is the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year.

107. The liturgical year is to be revised so that the traditional customs and discipline of the sacred seasons shall be preserved or restored to suit the conditions of modern times; their specific character is to be retained, so that they duly nourish the piety of the faithful who celebrate the mysteries of Christian redemption, and above all the paschal mystery. If certain adaptations are considered necessary on account of local conditions, they are to be made in accordance with the provisions of Art. 39 and 40.

112. The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.

Notes from quoted passages in Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium

[1] Secret of the ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
[2] Cf. Heb. 13:14.
[3] Cf. Eph. 2:21-22.
[4] Cf. Eph. 4:13.
[5] Cf. Is. 11:12.
[6] Cf. John 11:52.
[7] Cf. John 10:16.
[8] Cf. Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18.
[9] St. Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians, 7, 2.
[10] Cf. 1 Tim. 2:5.
[11] Sacramentarium Veronese (ed. Mohlberg), n. 1265; cf. also n. 1241, 1248.
[26] Postcommunion for both Masses of Easter Sunday.
[27] Collect of the Mass for Tuesday of Easter Week.
[28] Cf. 2 Cor. 6:1.
[29] Cf. Matt. 6:6.
[30] Cf . 1 Thess. 5:17.
[31] Cf . 2 Cor. 4:10-11.
[32] Secret for Monday of Pentecost Week.
[34] Cf. Council of Trent, Session XXII, Doctrine on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, c. 8.



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