“The law of the Old Testament through practical philosophy cleanses human nature of all defilements. The law of the New Testament, through initiation into the mysteries of contemplation, raises the intellect by means of spiritual knowledge from the sight of material things to the vision of spiritual realities.

“Those who are beginners and stand at the gate of the divine court of the virtues are called ‘God fearing’ by Scripture (cf. Acts 10:2, 13:16, 26). Those who with some measure of stability have acquired the principles and qualities of the virtues, it describes as ‘advancing’. … Thus those who have abandoned their former passion-dominated way of life will lack none of the blessings which are appropriate to beginners, even though they have not yet acquired stability in the practice of the virtues or come to share in the Wisdom spoken among those who are perfect. And those who are advancing will not lack any of the blessings which belong to their degree, even though they have not acquired the transcendent knowledge of divine realities possessed by the perfect. For the perfect have already been initiated mystically into contemplative theology: having purified their intellects of every material fantasy and bearing always the stamp of the image of divine beauty in all its fullness, they manifest the Divine Love present in their hearts.” ~The Philokalia

The Old Testament

Some think that the Old Testament of the Bible should be completely ignored, while others who consider themselves Christians give it more say in their beliefs and behavior than the New Testament. As is usual in such cases, the truth lies somewhere between those two. The Old Testament does contain useful spiritual instruction, but when it is contradicted by the New Testament, Christians should go with the New Testament. We also must remember with all of the Bible, and most other scripture, that much of it is written as an allegory, so a literal understanding produces nonsense. You have to learn the language of the mystics and be able to glean the intended meaning from the allegorical words.

The Philokalia says the Old Testament teaches practical philosophy. I think a better way to put it is to say that most of the Old Testament teaches proper behavior in the material world, while the New Testament is all about going beyond the material and reaching out to the spiritual.

The New Testament

The Philokalia says the New Testament is more about the spiritual rather than the physical, and that is true. It says the New Testament takes us into the “mysteries of contemplation.” That is true if we have the key to understanding the allegorical meanings behind the written words. We must also be aware that not all of the New Testament was written by the apostles and disciples of Jesus who spoke with him directly. In truth, most of it was written at least a century after Jesus left the world. It is unreasonable to think that the stories passed from generation to generation verbally for all that time remained in their original state. In addition, some of it was written based more on the teachings of Paul rather than those of Jesus.

Fearing and Advancing

Those who follow God’s Law out of fear are the beginners on the path of enlightenment. It is not God that we should fear, but the dark beings and forces that control the realm of matter. When we live in fear of God, we don’t advance. We need to let go of fear and realize that God loves us and wants all of us to be redeemed. When you live in fear of God, you don’t try to get closer to God. Those who advance spiritually do move closer to God because they know that God is not to be feared.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

This photo shows the kind of snow we are getting in the mountains this winter. We are posting this picture just to give you an idea why we have so far had to suspend sunrise services at the Sanctuary during our usual vigil time.

The photo was taken on Mt. Rose Highway December 27, 2021 by Dave Marriner of Incline Village, Nevada.

Saturday, January 1, 2022
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
Service suspended due to Vigil

6:00 PM 143RD PANNUCHES MEAL RITE
Chapel of The Holy Child
RC Robert Petrovich
Concelebrant:
RM Elizabeth Reece

Sunday, January 2, 2022
7:04 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
End Times Parsonage
Leave: 6:00
Gate: 6:50
Sunrise: 7:20
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

7:45 AM CHILDREN’S BLESSING
End Times Parsonage
RM Elizabeth Reece
Sabrina Savoy

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Suspended due to festivities

January 1-January 6, 2022
(Weather Permitting)
7:05 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:00
Gate: 6:50
Sunrise: 7:20
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

Wednesday, January 5, 2022
12:00 NOON COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
Service suspended due to Vigil

Friday, January 7, 2022
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
RM Elizabeth Reece

“The writings of old declare the wisdom of our forefathers, which is the treasure trove of man and the inheritance of our days. Thus it is written:

“All things on Earth are compounded of two flowing powers, the right hand power and the left hand power; the first predominates in men and the second in women. Where they fall nearly equal, the being is neither wholly man nor wholly women.

“The Spirit of Life resides in the air men breathe and is shared with the beasts, the trees, the things that crawl, the birds, the fishes, the herbs and the grass. It quickens the living hearts of men and is diffused through the blood of the body.

“Man sleeps when his spirit departs for refreshment at the fount of its being. Even as the mortal body must sustain itself with things of the earth, so must our spirit seek sustenance in the place of its being. … There, by the underground river, the good are separated from the wicked, but the river is not a river of water. In there, all things are made known, and the river is the River of Life. …

“There is a fine, unbreakable thread, one end of which is secured in the Spirit Center, wherein dwells the Everlasting Being, the Eternal One. The other end is fastened to matter, and between the two is the web of creation.” ~The Kolbrin Bible (Man:17:2-8)

Wisdom of our Forefathers

The authors of the Kolbrin Bible recognized that their forefathers had a wisdom that they should listen to. Today most people ignore the ancient writings, even if they are spiritual students. They instead listen to a few popular spiritual writers of today, not realizing that those writers are usually simply quoting things found in the ancient books, or simplifying them for the new generation that wants instant everything, not realizing that spiritual development cannot be hurried or simplified.

Two Flowing Powers

This is not something new. Anyone can see that the material world is a world of duality: positive and negative, male and female, hot and cold, etc. Some try to deny it, thinking that somehow that will make it go away, but they cannot change the nature of matter. It will always have death as well as life, sorrow as well as joy, poverty as well as wealth, and so on. The way to rid yourself and others of the two flowing powers is to turn away from matter to the realm of spirit and eventually to aid in the process of transforming the world of matter back into spirit. In the spiritual world, there is only Light, no Darkness, only Life, no death, only joy and abundance, no poverty or sorrow.

Nearly Equal

I find it interesting and enlightening that the people who wrote the Kolbrin Bible several hundred years ago recognized that (1) some people are born who are not really male or female, but between the two, (2) that such people should be thought of as neither male nor female, and most of all, (3) they express no condemnation of such people.

The Spirit of Life

I’m not sure if the writer here is using allegory or trying to be literal. If literal, the Spirit of Life does not actually exist “in the air.” It is an energy, not a substance. Likewise, when it enters the body, it travels through energy channels and energy centers (chakras), not the blood. Of course, if it was meant allegorically, then that makes sense. It is true that this Spirit of Life, or Spiritual Light, goes into all beings, not just humans. All beings have a spirit; all beings need to be nourished by the Spiritual Light.

Spirit Departs

The quote states that while we sleep, our spirit departs to “the fount of its being” or the spiritual realm. That may be true, but you don’t have to be asleep for your spirit to visit the higher dimensions. With proper training and a lot of practice, you can do it while awake by going through the Spiritual Sun, which is like a portal between the material and the spiritual world.

Unbreakable Thread

There is indeed an unbreakable thread that connects our spiritual self to our physical and mental self. This Thread of Life also connects us to all other spirits. It is one of the most important spiritual truths that is often overlooked in some of the modern spiritual schools. In Cosolargy, we wear a physical thread around our waist to remind us of the invisible thread that binds us all together. That is how important it is. You can’t become One with the All if you don’t have a connection to the All.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

Saturday, December 25, 2021
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr
Lector: RC Ted Staver
Cantor: Dea. Shane Grady
Reader: Marilyn Taylor
Scriptural Reader: RC Robert Petrovich

Sunday, December 26, 2021
7:05 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:00
Gate: 6:50
Sunrise: 7:20
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

7:45 AM CHILDREN’S BLESSING
End Times Parsonage
RM Elizabeth Reece

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Suspended due to festivities

December 27 – December 31, 2021
(Weather Permitting)
7:05 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:00
Gate: 6:50
Sunrise: 7:20
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

Wednesday, December 29, 2021
12:00 NOON COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RC Peter Foust

Friday, December 31, 2021
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Suspended due to Vigil Services

According to physics, the end of the world is inevitable. Heat death, the big crunch, the big rip, vacuum decay or ‘bounce’ are all ways it could occur.

Physicist Katie Mack explains how likely each of these scenarios are.

Video produced by Melissa Hogenboom & Pomona Pictures

< Watch the entire video at bbc.com. (9:56) >

link submitted by Gene Savoy Jr.

“The holy Grail is a symbol both of the lower (or irrational) world and of the bodily nature of man, because both are receptacles for the living essences of the superior worlds. …

“The Holy Cup can be discovered only by those who have raised themselves above the limitations of sensuous existence. In his mystic poem, The Vision of Sir Launful, James Russell Lowell discloses the true nature of the Holy Grail by showing that it is visible only to a certain state of spiritual consciousness. Only upon returning from the vain pursuit of haughty ambition did the aged and broken knight see in the transformed leper’s cup the glowing chalice of his lifelong dream. Some writers trace a similarity between the Grail legend and the stories of the martyred Sun Gods whose blood, descended from heaven into the earth, was caught in the cup of matter and liberated therefrom by the initiatory rites.  The Holy Grail may also be the seed pod so frequently employed in the ancient Mysteries as an emblem of germination and resurrection, and if the cuplike shape of the Grail is derived from the flower, it signifies the regeneration and spiritualization of the generative forces in man.” ~Manly P. Hall

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail, according to Christianity, is the cup that was used to catch the blood of Jesus while he was dying on the cross. It is also supposed to be the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper. It is said to have various supernatural powers including immortality. But what exactly the grail is remains a mystery.

Most Christians believe the Grail story comes from the Bible, but other than simply saying that Jesus drank from a cup at the last supper, and that Joseph of Arimathea caught his blood in it while He hung on the cross, nowhere does it refer to it as a holy object or of having any divine powers. The first tale of the Grail Being something more than a simple cup comes from the French writer Chrétien de Troye, who wrote of it in the 12th century. Many other writers have added to the legend of the Grail, including Dan Brown in modern times.

The Quest for the Grail

There are probably as many stories about various persons or groups seeking the Grail as there are about those trying to find the Fountain of Youth. Some of the Crusaders went seeking the grail. According to some legends, they found it but kept it hidden. The modern Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, built on that legend. Others have claimed to have found the Grail, others have admitted failure. It is as hard to find as the Fountain of Youth, or Eldorado, the lost city of gold. While it may not be obvious, all of these may be related and the real quest may be the same for them all. The problem is that most seekers are looking for something material while in truth the Grail is something spiritual, as is the Fountain of youth.

The True Quest

The real Grail, and the quest for it, is just an allegorical reference for spiritual enlightenment. The Grail as a cup is generally depicted as being of gold, yet it is unlikely that Jesus actually drank from a cup of gold at the Last Supper. It is shown as a gold cup because gold is a symbol of God, God’s Light, and God’s grace. Gold is also a symbol for the sun, especially the Spiritual Sun.

The Legend of Eldorado was originally the City of the Golden Man, not an entire city of gold. The legend says that the Golden Man was covered in powdered gold. Again, we are talking about symbology and allegory. In this case, the Golden Man was the enlightened man, the spiritual master who was One with the All and had great spiritual power and knowledge. The tales of alchemists turning lead into gold actually is another variation of the same allegory. Here lead means the ordinary consciousness of materialistic man, and gold means the higher consciousness of the spiritually developed man.

So the true quest is for spiritual enlightenment, and the means for achieving it. A hint is found in the fact that gold refers to the Spiritual Sun as well as the Grail and the Golden Man. Some say that there are many paths to God, and to some extent, that is true, but if you want to fly from New York to Boston, a route through Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, then Boston is foolish when direct routes are available. The most direct route to spiritual enlightenment and higher levels of consciousness is by taking in the Light of the Spiritual Sun, which flows from God.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

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Saturday, December 18, 2021
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr
Lector: RC Robert Petrovich
Cantor: Rev. Larry Coesens
Reader: Sabrina Savoy

Sunday, December 19, 2021
7:05 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:00
Gate: 6:50
Sunrise: 7:20
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of the Christian Churches   RC Robert Petrovich
Church of  the End Times   Rev. Francine Petrovich

Wednesday, December 22, 2021
12:00 NOON COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RC Peter Foust

Friday, December 24, 2021
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev. Barbara Whitney

PHOTO: PM IMAGES GETTY IMAGES

• Is the universe a conscious being, like a gigantic widely dispersed human brain?
• Scientists have long questioned how consciousness and science mix.
• Two mathematicians have turned one theory into a crunchable math model.

In upcoming research, scientists will attempt to show the universe has consciousness. Yes, really. No matter the outcome, we’ll soon learn more about what it means to be conscious—and which objects around us might have a mind of their own.

Read the entire article online at popularmechanics.com.

link submitted by Elizabeth Reece