qumran

"Periodicity" and Catholic Gnostics: A Few Practical Considerations

According to Madam Blavatsky, the Universe, which she also calls Eternity, is "a boundless plane, periodically the playground of numberless Universes incessantly manifesting and disappearing" and involving " the absolute universality of that law of periodicity, of flux and reflux, ebb and flow, which physical science has observed and recorded in all departments of nature" (Algeo, "Secret Doctrine").

The Four Laws of Spiritual Growth

The four laws of spiritual growth (love, light, growth, and justice) are laws in two senses: (1) they are injunctions which we are commanded to obey and (2) they are, like the Law of Gravity or the Second Law of Thermodynamics, descriptions of constant, ineluctable processes in the universe. All four are closely interrelated.

Let us consider each of the four in turn.

Gnostic Catholic Denominations: Exoteric and Esoteric Service

Many clergy and laity in Gnostic Catholic denominations—what might loosely be called the "Leadbeater family" become very frustrated because of the low numbers in their congregations—even though they are offering something of incomparable value, it seems, their denominational offerings never seem to "catch on" as do denominations which ignore or even repudiate the esoteric truths of Gnosticism and, instead, offer only "mainstream" Christianity. As a result of this frustration, an unfortunate development often occurs.

Catholic and Gnostic: Why Be Both?

There would seem to be a problem with being Gnostic and Catholic, since the history of Catholicism is overwhelmingly anti-Gnostic and since, even today, all mainline Catholic churches—Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican-- disavow the major tenets of Gnosticism and even many churches which emanate from the modern apostolic work of C.W. Leadbeater and James Ingall Wedgwood have either disavowed Gnostic tenets or decided to refrain from proclaiming them publicly.

Meditation

We could give many reasons for meditation, but they can all be subsumed under one general purpose: we meditate to accentuate our spiritual evolution.

“Now Is the Acceptable Time”: Reincarnation and Exoteric and Gnostic Christianity

In the early centuries of Christianity those running the Church decided to remove certain esoteric ideas--prominent among them, reincarnation and karma--from the teachings exoterically presented to the many.

Some Things to Think About...

Some things to think about on Low Sunday and every other day: The Meeting with Christ on the Road to Emmaus
(Luke 24:12-35)

Easter Sermon

Good morning to all of you and Happy Easter. I wish particularly to welcome those of you who are not regular attendees at St. Gabriel's, and, even more especially, those of you who are not regular attendees at any church but who join us on one or both of the Two Great Christian Festivals - Christmas and Easter.

Idolatry and Gnostic Catholics

Many Gnostic Catholics not only venerate the saints of mainstream Catholicism, but also worship Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Nordic, and other deities. As a consequence they are often accused of idolatry by not only Catholics but other Christians, and sometimes by Jews and Muslims. Scriptural passages, particularly from The Old Testament are sometimes thrown at them in a very aggressive and even overtly hostile way.

Reflections on the Ascension of Our Lord

Upon first consideration there seems to be something incongruous in celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord, for we are celebrating His departure from us, His leaving the earthly plane on which we live and which is the dominant focus of our experience. “Where I go, you cannot come,” said Jesus (John: 8:21), and now, St. Paul seems to suggest, we are something like blind men, forced to “walk by faith and not by sight”(2 Corinthians:5—7).