Thy Kingdom Come

September 2, 2018

Most of us enjoy a wonderful life in our little city. And along with the blessings some of us also, to one degree or another, lose some heart from time to time. Some of us have gone through or are going through significant challenges.

I once saw a church sign that read: "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always."

These personal battles may be large or small, frequent or rare, but they are real and can be discouraging.

At one point in the Sacrament of Confirmation, the bishop turns the back of his hand to the candidate and lightly touches their cheek with two fingers. This is symbolic of the need of the candidate to be prepared to meet the blows of life, but that the Lord's peace will always follow and protect.

Renewal of Heart is for those who have lost heart to the inevitable blows of life.

Today's collect says that God, through loving-kindness, has established a ministry of reconciliation. A process we can trust that will lift us out of the misery and back onto the path of happiness and joy – even the Kingdom of Heaven – on Earth preferably, and in our time preferably.

Sometimes people get the idea that we teach that there is no such thing as sin. That's not exactly right. It is just that The Liberal Catholic Church does not teach the doctrine of Original Sin.

The word sin in the bible is a translation of the Greek word hamartiea. It means "to miss the mark in a game of archery". You can always take another shot. So sin is just a mistake.

We do make mistakes. We've been given free will, so it is possible for us to make choices which bring us results we do not want.

Most mistakes are not much to worry over. We try again and do better, or sometimes one step forward, two steps back. Our Confiteor prayer and Absolution early in the service, are usually enough to loosen the grip of this type of sin.

Actually hurting ourselves or others, voluntarily or involuntarily, is a mistake we should always treat seriously, and do whatever it takes to rectify or make amends. In some cases it may be a good idea to make an appointment for confession with any of our clergy to help unburden yourself and start making progress again.

But there is one mistake that is the most important. And ignoring it provides a weed garden for all the lesser mistakes. It is something that really holds us back from the heavenly joy that is our spiritual heritage, our birthright.

"Sin consists in disagreeing with God’s estimate of me and saying back to God, no I’m really nothing much to write home about. Sin is the failure to love ourselves as God loves us." Sebastian Moore, OSB Before the Deluge 1968

"What does sin do? It idolizes the ego at its present stage of development. Sin is our deep-seated refusal to grow."
Jesus: Liberator of Desire 1989, Let this Mind Be in You

(The refusal may be so deep seated that we may not realize that we are refusing. +Thomas)

(A cowardly imagination – I’ve lost sight of the one who invites me to the mark of love. M.P Gallagher)

"If there’s a devil, he has a factory, and he manufactures only one thing, and it works, and he gives it out for free, and we accept it. A negative magnifying glass. It magnifies the negatives on the page of your life, but prevents you from reading the rest of the page.

Put it away and read the whole page - with the negatives - but in the perspective of the whole." M.P. Gallagher

So reconciliation is coming around to God's view of His creation. To us it may appear to be a tall order – to deeply and truthfully forgive ourselves and ask God's forgiveness with honesty and deepest sincerity. But guess what? God desires nothing more than a giant forgiveness party.

And guess what? God will supply all the help we need. It is going to come anyway, eventually, whether we ask or not. Evolution is the direction of life. But if we ask, God's love and reconciliation cannot help but flow into us swiftly, with power and grace.

Prayer is one of those personal actions that multiplies in its effectiveness when practiced as a group. Prayer groups are traditional in religious communities and are active in most denominations. Many of the new religious movements of the past century, such as the Unity and Science of Mind churches, operate 24 hour “prayer services.” Supplicants call a hotline with requests, and trained groups of “pray-ers” (sic) collectively focus on the specific calls for divine aid.

The Holy Eucharist is a powerfully effective prayer service that you can join on any Sunday. An extended, collective prayer, Holy Eucharist is clearly a “prayer service” in every sense of that term. Each Liberal Catholic church maintains a list of names to be prayed for, submitted by the congregation. The needs of these people are raised up to God at a very significant moment during the service, just prior to the Consecration of the bread and wine as the Blessed Sacrament.

During the approximately first half of the Eucharist, the congregation members intentionally focus on building up of the luminous, glowing inner temple of praise and devotion through singing, adoration, and collective prayer. About half way through the service, in the very early moments of the Prayer of Consecration, the names on the prayer list are recited mentally by the priest, on behalf of the entire congregation.

C. W. Leadbeater (noted clairvoyant and a founding bishop of the LCC), observed that in the inner world, as each name is recited, an angel attending the Eucharist is dispatched with a portion of the energy generated by the service to be employed on the inner planes for that person’s welfare.

The energy of each Holy Eucharist showers a powerful, evolutionary influence on all those attending, on the local neighborhood, and the world as a whole. At just the moment before we ask God to be present to us in the earthly bodies of Bread and Wine, we also ask a blessing on those in need, especially those who are unable to attend in person.

Our founding bishops had advice about the use of the prayer list. Each person participating in Holy Eucharist comes in close connection with the Lord Christ and the holy angels. Our Lord and his divine messengers know and attend to each spiritual need. It is therefore not necessary, and somewhat redundant, for the names of those attending the service to be on the list as well.

There is no harm, and no one keeps track, but the prayer energy of the congregation can be more efficiently employed by the angels if the list is used mainly for those who cannot attend. This understanding also helps to focus our awareness on the great influx of spiritual influence that we are receiving by participating in the service.

St. Gabriel and All Angels has always welcomed anyone in the community to submit names for the prayer list. The spiritual energy which goes out to aid the person is initially generated by the devotion of the persons present at the Holy Eucharist and multiplied by the angels . If there is someone we truly wish to aid with prayer, submitting their name to the prayer list is good. However, to attend and contribute devotion in the Holy Eucharist multiplies the actual force sent out.

If our friend is in critical need, it would be advantageous to bring more people to come and pray for them in the service. Intuitively, it seems obvious that the persons with the greatest care and concern for a friend in difficulty would have the deepest motivation and most fervent intentions for that person. If these feelings are added directly to the edifice of worship generated in Holy Eucharist, the benefit to that person would be greater.

Our bishops also advised that we pray not for our own idea of what the healing should be, but for healing “as far as may be expedient”. We sincerely offer our own heartful energy and intentions for good, and then leave it for the Divine will to work out the best result, whatever that may be. Sometimes a spiritual healing comes before a physical healing, and it may be difficult for us to understand the course of evolution and working out of the Good Law of cause and effect.

The spiritually inspiring music, liturgy, and Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist provide a very powerful healing ministry in which all may participate effectively. The Divine provides this remarkable powerhouse as a way for us to cooperate with the Holy Angels in their mission of assisting anyone in need. You are very welcome to join us in multiplying the energy of spiritual radiance in this beautiful, ceremonial prayer “hotline”.