This is a site by and for members and friends of The Rosicrucian Fellowship
Jan 18th, 2012 by admin
The photographer caught this special moment,
what a privilege to see.
Reminds me of Psalm 91:4,
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings thou shalt trust;
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
There is absolutely nothing to fear about tomorrow;
for God is already there.
[Forwarded by Alan Gregory]
Jan 13th, 2012 by admin
Veggie Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy 
(Serves 8)
1 1/2 cups prepared lentils
1 1/2 cups carrots, grated (one large or two medium-size)
1 1/2 cups onion, grated (one medium-size)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack)
2 – 3 cups finely ground walnuts (6 ozs.)
2 extra large eggs
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
Cover the lentils with an inch of water and boil for five minutes. Cool and drain.
Peel the onion and carrot and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a blender with the water and pulse until the vegetables are finely grated but not liquefied.
Pour the blender contents into a medium bowl and add lentils, bread crumbs, and cheese.
Add the nuts, eggs, and the seasonings and mix well. Add additional water as needed; it should be the consistency of “mush.” Pour into a shallow, well-oiled ceramic or pyrex baking dish and dot with pieces of the butter, pressing them into the surface. Bake at 375° for the first 15 minutes and 350° for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy. Use the leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches.
Mashed Potatoes
(Serves 4)
4 medium russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
½ cup milk or cream
Place the cut-up potatoes in a medium saucepan and add just enough cold water to cover them. Add half of the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
When they are done, reduce the heat to warm, pour off the cooking water and replace the pan of potatoes on the warm burner. Mash them with a potato masher until they are fluffy. Add the butter and milk and mash again, until they are of the desired consistency. Stir in the remaining salt and pepper to taste and serve with vegetarian onion gravy. 
Vegetarian Onion Gravy
(Serves 4)
2 tablespoons coconut oil, (or butter, or margarine)
1 medium onion, cut in half top-to-bottom and thinly sliced
1 dash of salt
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
4 tablespoons flour (or 2 tablespoons corn starch)
salt and pepper to taste
Caramelize the onion slices by sautéing them in the coconut oil with a little salt over medium-high heat until the moisture evaporates and the onions are a rich golden brown and becoming crisp, stirring frequently to prevent burning, usually 15 to 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat and make a roué by stirring in the flour. Then, gradually add the liquid, briskly stirring the broth until it is thick and bubbly. Another option is to first add the liquid to the caramelized onions, then stir in corn starch until it simmers and is completely blended and slightly thickened.
Optional ingredients for color and flavor:
Add 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms and a clove of garlic, minced, after the onion is browned but before making the roué, sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes.
This gravy tastes great with only the simplest, common ingredients – caramelized onion and water. Flour makes fuller-bodied gravy; whereas cornstarch gives more clarity and a lighter sauce. Coconut oil has a high smoking point, so it is the best choice for caramelizing the onions. It also gives a pleasant, nutty taste.
Many vegetarian gravy, soup, and salad products contain autolyzed yeast or yeast extract as does Vegemite or Marmite. These contain glutamic acid which causes adverse reactions in MSG-sensitive people.
Glutamic acid naturally occurs in both mushrooms and tomatoes, and to a lesser extent in beans. When these foods are cooked for extended periods, glutamic acid is freed from the vegetable protein, creating pleasing taste enhancement, but also causing serious health problems for some individuals. If you suspect that MSG may be causing you problems such as: headaches, stomach problems, depression, asthma, chronic fatigue, hyperactivity, ADD, rosacea, joint pain, restless legs, or sleeplessness, the website, www.msgmyth.com, is a wonderful resource of self-help information.
Jan 12th, 2012 by admin
The Polish Rider - 1655 - Rembrandt van Rijn
When a Spirit steps apart from the multitude and resolves to follow the path that leads upward, then the eyes of all are upon him.
[From Reader’s Questions, Rays from the Rose Cross, August 1984]
The members of the Fellowship are as a city set upon a hill whose light cannot be hid. They must attune themselves so that they give forth only a true keynote. If they respond to anything that is false, they, by that falsity of tone, draw to the Fellowship what is undesirable and untrue. When they find among their numbers what they recognize as not being the true light, let each inquire of himself what he has done to attract such a condition. Each will have to plead guilty at the bar of conscience; there is not one who is free from sin.
One can best keep his vow by every moment keeping an earnest watch on thought, word, and deed – by never allowing anything impure to enter the mind, no hasty word to escape the lips, no dishonorable act to sully the name.
It is necessary to understand the constitution of man fully to comprehend the situation. Man is a three-fold Spirit which has emanated from and is still a part of God. This is spoken of as the Ego, or God within. Each aspect of the Spirit has built a body in concrete matter, a reflection of itself. Naturally one would expect that these lower vehicles would be under control of their higher counterparts, but unfortunately other influences have crept in and estranged the lower from the higher.
Now a direct path has been constructed between the spiritual and material parts of man’s constitution. This path is the mind. It is still very feeble and not under control, but by degrees it will become more usable. Our will to do will cause this link of mind to grow stronger. The light from the Higher Self will lead the lower self by the path of mind if we are true to our vow and follow the injunctions of the Spirit.
Let each Student and Probationer realize that he, united with all the others, forms The Rosicrucian Fellowship; that his every thought and action reacts upon the whole. Each time his love and compassion are stirred, he raises the vibration of the whole. Each time he is self-seeking, dishonorable, thinks thoughts that pull down instead of building up, he thus causes the whole Fellowship to suffer. Not only does it suffer by the lowered vibration this caused, but the criticism of the world is directed against the whole body and it is weakened thereby. We’re all, each moment, either helping the spiritual beings who are behind this wonderful movement, or we are fighting against them.
When a Spirit steps apart from the multitude and resolves to follow the path that leads upward, then the eyes of all are upon him. The Angels rejoice; the evil forces seek to lay a trap hoping perchance he may trip and fall. Often he will trip, often he may fall, but every time he starts again forward, he helps the whole Fellowship. The steady striving will show the watchers and the scoffers that there is a power not of Earth helping the earnest Spirit to reach the goal. Therefore, keep on trying every day “just where you are,” following closely the life of the Christ.
The Ecclesia
Dec 23rd, 2011 by admin
Virgin of the Rose Bower - Stefan Lochner
Gracious, loving and merciful God, on this Christmas Eve, as the light of your Word penetrates our hearts, as we are reminded of the gift of life and faith, as the glories of the heavenly hosts are echoed in our midst, we open ourselves up to your Spirit and give you thanks. We are grateful, Lord Jesus, that your story has become our story, and we celebrate your birth.
Continue, we pray, to instill in us a profound sense of your abiding presence, and help us to take to heart the wonder of your love, that we may walk in your ways and delight in your will.
Help us, oh God, to be the faithful, gracious, loving, giving and forgiving people you would have us be.
Amen.
Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Leontyne Price Click on picture
George Friderik Handel by Balthasar Denner
Dec 23rd, 2011 by admin
A RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION CHALLENGE
Discovery of the Prophecies of Joachim of Fiore regarding the Holy Trinity and his notion of three epochs of time with the corresponding three phases of Christianity, (scroll down or check the archive for the article on Joachim, below) intriguing as they were, prompted questions on how this one view compares with the writings of Heindel. What did Max Heindel tell us about the Holy Trinity? What is the Holy Spirit, known also as the human spirit and as the Holy Ghost; the third segment of the tripartite manifestation of God?
To do a thorough study on the subject, we first may examine writings about Fiore and his life and ideas and then search through the Heindel works for passages relating to the topic. The internet provides a good start for a study on Fiore, even if we reference only Wikipedia, a most popular source of information on any topic. For the Heindel writings, The Rosicrucian Fellowship provides the downloadable Collected Works of Heindel with an integrated search engine, free, at its website, http://www.rosicrucian.com/ebooks/ebooks.htm.
To save you some of the trouble of the search, The Rosicrucian Fellowship MMX recently created a new brochure titled, The Holy Trinity and The Lord’s Prayer. You can find this brochure with added illustrations under the same title below at this site if you scroll down or check the archive.
This brings us to the next source of study and enlightenment, which would be other artistic or literary works on the topic. Some of us are more visual in our perceptions and some are more left-brain or logic-oriented in the cognitive processes. Therefore, to do a group study on any topic, it helps to have both, words and illustrations; hence, the works of art that you see in the article, below.
Paintings abound on the topic of the second of the tripartite manifestation, the Son, but the Holy Spirit is not so easy to paint, because not many artists have sufficient imagination. Therefore, it is often given only in symbolism. That still may be better than just words. Now, let’s take a look at the first illustration that approaches the topic of The Holy Trinity.
Disputation Over the Trinity - Andrea del Sarto 1517
We found one which will not give answers to our questions but it will instead lead us on a treasure hunt of ideas as it alludes to “A Disputation Over the Holy Trinity” among saints who lived in different eras and did not know each other personally, but who had opposing ideas, evidently, about The Holy Trinity.
Now, we have quite a task, indeed. How do Fiore’s and Sebastian’s and Peter’s and Lawrence’s and Augustine’s and Francis’ and Magdalene’s ideas differ or compare with Heindel’s ideas about The Holy Trinity? This seems to be what the artist is suggesting – that we investigate the question.
To get you started, there are a few well-known facts about each of these individuals that may help you to identify who they were.
Sebastian: is most often depicted in art and literature tied to a post and shot with arrows; however, he was rescued and healed by Saint Irene of Rome before criticizing the emperor and ultimately being clubbed to death; he died in c.288.
Peter: was the impetuous apostle who was named “the rock” by Christ.
Lawrence: was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258. He was grilled to death and so is associated with the “gridiron.” His name in Latin means laurelled.
Augustine: in his early years was heavily influenced by Manicheaeism and neo-Platonism and later was considered to be independent in his theology and philosophy. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom and formed the concepts of original sin and just war. Born November 13, 354.
Francis: was the gentle Italian Catholic friar who had the audacity to want to reform the vatican; he received an audience from the pope. Died October 3, 1226.
Magdalene: was the most important female disciple in the movement of Jesus who cleansed her of seven demons. She was present at the cross during the crucifixion and she was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.
If this challenge stimulated your curiosity, it is for you only to decide how to and when to pursue the challenge or begin your own independent study. ………….Comments?
Dec 20th, 2011 by admin
The Holy Trinity
and
The Lord’s Prayer
And so it is in the very truest and most literal sense a NEW-BORN CHRIST that we hail at each approaching Yule-feast, and Christmas is the most vital annual event for all humanity, whether we realize it or not.
Max Heindel
What is meant by the Second Aspect of the Triune God?
Disputation Over the Trinity - Andrea del Sarto - 1517
God is one, just as the light is one, but, as the light passing through the atmosphere is refracted into three primary colors–red, yellow and blue–so also God, when he manifests or reflects himself in nature, is threefold in his manifestation. There is first the Creative principle, next there is the Preservative principle, and in the third place there is the principle of Destruction of the forms which have been created, preserved for a time while useful, then to be destroyed in order that the material from which they were constructed may be used in the building of new forms.
These three principles of God have been called by different names in different religions, and much ink and many goose quills have been used in latter years to defend or decry the idea of a Trinity, though that ought to be manifest to anyone who will look about him in nature with a thoughtful mind. In the Western World, we have been used to calling the Second Aspect of the Triune God, the unified preserving principle, Christ; and it is very appropriate in a certain sense, because the Christ came as the teacher of Love and Universal Brotherhood which was to supersede nations that war against one another, and He Himself said that there was a still higher stage when the kingdom He was to establish should be delivered to the Father and all should be one in Him. Questions and Answers I, 150 – 151.
Trinity - detail - Lucas Cranach, the Elder 1515-1518
To pray to a purpose we must pray aright, and in the Lord’s Prayer we have a most wonderful pattern, for it caters to the needs of man as no other formula could do. Within a few short sentences it encompasses all the complexities of the relationship of God to man.
To properly understand this sublime prayer and to be able to render it understandingly and efficiently, let us briefly state some of the teachings given in earlier lectures.
The Father is the highest Initiate of the Saturn Period.
The Son is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period.
The Holy Spirit is the highest Initiate of the Moon Period.
The Divine Spirit and the dense body of man started their evolution in the Saturn Period and are therefore under the special care of the Father.
The Life Spirit and the vital body started their evolution in the Sun Period and are consequently the particular charges of the Son.
The Human Spirit and the desire body commenced to evolve in the Moon Period and are therefore the special wards of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the creative energy in nature, and the sex energy is its reflection in man.
The Mind was added in the Earth Period and is not cared for by other or outside beings, but is to be subdued by man himself, without any outside assistance.
In the Lord’s Prayer there are seven prayers; or rather, there are three sets of two prayers and one single supplication. Each of the three sets has reference to the needs of one of the aspects of the threefold spirit and its counterpart in the threefold body. The opening sentence, “Our Father who art in Heaven,” is merely as the address upon an envelope. It relates the Trinity to the threefold Spirit, the three-fold body, and the mind. Each aspect of the Spirit connects with the prayer as specifically suited to its counterpart in the threefold body and addresses its guardian aspect in the Trinity.
The Human Spirit lifts itself upon wings of devotion to its parent aspects in the Holy Trinity and intones the opening incantation, Hallowed be Thy name.
The Life Spirit raises itself upon pinions of love and addresses the fount of its being, The Son: Thy Kingdom come.
The Divine Spirit soars with superior insight to the fountainhead whence it sprang at the dawn of time, The Father, and manifests its confidence in that all-embracing Intelligence in the words, Thy Will be done.
Having thus reached the Throne of Grace, the threefold Spirit in man profers its requests concerning the personality, the threefold body.
The Divine Spirit prays to The Father for its counterpart, the dense body, Give us our daily bread.
The Life Spirit prays to The Son for its counterpart, the vital body, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The Human Spirit utters the supplication for the desire body in the words, Lead us not into temptation.
Then all join in a concentrated appeal concerning the mind, Deliver us from Evil.
The affix, For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever,
are not given by Christ and are not prayers.
Looking at the foregoing explanation from the analytical standpoint, we find that there are three religious teachings to be given to man in helping him to attain to perfection. One is the Religion of The Holy Spirit, the next is the Religion of The Son, and the last is the Religion of the Father.
Under the regime of the Holy Spirit the human race was divided into nations and peoples segregated by their adherence to one group from fellowship with other nations. Each group was further cut off from the rest because of speaking another language. They were all put under certain laws and were taught to reverence The Name of their God.
One people worshiped him as Iao, another as Tao, others as Bel. Everywhere the name of this Lawgiver was holy. The method of segregation had the advantage that the Race Spirit in chief, Jehovah, could use one people to punish another who had transgressed his law, but it has the disadvantage that if fosters egotism and separates humanity in a manner detrimental to universal good.
It is an axiomatic truth that what does not benefit all cannot really benefit any. Therefore ways and means must be found to reunite the scattered nations and weld them into one universal Brotherhood. That is to be the work of the Religion of the Son–Christianity. The warring of nations is fostered by the Race Spirit, but the Christian Religion will eventually unite them, cause them to beat their swords into ploughshares and bring peace and good will on Earth when the Kingdom of the Son has superseded the tribes and races.
Then a still higher religious teaching, the religion of the Father, is to unite
mankind still closer. In the Kingdom of the Son there will be a Universal
Brotherhood of separate individuals having varying interests, but ready
to give and take through love, sinking individual preferences for the common
good, but when the religion of the Father becomes a fact in life, the self will
be entirely submerged in a common purpose, a single will. The Will of God
will then be done on earth as it is in heaven, where there is neither me nor
thee, but where God is All and in All. Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures, 301 –
303.
THE NEWBORN CHRIST
It has often been said in our literature that the sacrifice of Christ was not an event which took place on Golgotha, and was accomplished in a few hours once and for all time, but that the mystic births and deaths of the redeemer are continuous cosmic occurrences. We may therefore conclude that this sacrifice is necessary for our physical and spiritual evolution during the present phase of our development. As the annual birth of the Christ Child is
now approaching, it presents again a never old, ever new theme for meditation from which we may profit by pondering it with a prayer that it may create in our hearts a new light to guide us upon the path of regeneration.
The apostle gave us a wonderful definition of Deity when he said that “God is Light,” and therefore “light” has been used to illustrate the nature of the Divine in the Rosicrucian teachings, especially the mystery of the Trinity in Unity. It is clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures of all times that God is one and indivisible.
At the same time we find that as the one white light is refracted into three
primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, so God appears in a threefold role
during manifestation by the exercise of the three divine functions of Creation, Preservation, and Dissolution.
Immaculate Conception - The Beuronese Murals
When He exercises the attribute of Creation,God appears as Jehovah, the Holy Spirit; He is then Lord of law and generation and projects the solar fertility indirectly through the lunar satellites of all planets where it is necessary to furnish bodies for the evolving beings.
When He exercises the attribute of Preservation for the purpose of sustaining the bodies generated by Jehovah under the laws of nature, God appears as the Redeemer, Christ, and radiates the principles of love and regeneration directly into any planet where the creatures of Jehovah require this help to extricate themselves from the meshes of mortality and egoism in order to attain to altruism and endless life.
When God exercises the divine attitude of Dissolution, He appears as the Father who calls us back to our heavenly home to assimilate the fruits of experience and soul growth garnered by us during the day of manifestation. This Universal Solvent, the ray of the Father, then emanates from the invisible Spiritual Sun.
The Resurrection - William Blake
These divine processes of creation and birth, preservation and life, and dissolution, death, and return to the Author of our being we see everywhere about us, and we recognize the fact that they are activities of the Triune God in manifestation. But have we ever realized that in the spiritual world there are no definite events, no static conditions; that the beginning and the end of all adventures of all ages are present in the eternal “here” and “now”? From the bosom of the Father there is an everlasting out-welling of the seed of things and events which enters the realm of “time” and “space.” There it gradually crystallizes and becomes inert, necessitating dissolution that there may be room for other things and other events.
There is no escape from this cosmic law; it applies to everything in the realm of “time” and “space,” the Christ-ray included. As the lake which empties itself into the ocean is replenished when the water that left it has been evaporated, and returns to it as rain to flow again ceaselessly toward the sea, so the Spirit of Love is eternally born of the Father, day by day, hour by hour, endlessly flowing into the solar universe to redeem us from the world of matter which enmeshes us in its death grip. Wave upon wave is thus impelled outward from the sun to all the planets giving a rhythmic urge to the evolving creatures there.
Madonna & Child with John the Baptist - Botticelli
And so it is in the very truest and most literal sense a NEW-BORN CHRIST that we hail at each approaching Yule-feast, and Christmas is the most vital annual event for all humanity, whether we realize it or not. It is not merely a commemoration of the birth of our beloved Elder Brother, Jesus, but the advent of the rejuvenating love-life of our Heavenly Father, sent by Him to redeem the world from the wintry death grip.
Without this new infusion of divine life and energy we must soon perish
physically, and our orderly progress would be frustrated so far as our present
lines of development are concerned. The Mystical
Interpretation of Christmas, 41 – 43.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory
forever. Amen
Dec 19th, 2011 by admin
Our Devoted Friend
Marie-Jose Clerc epitomized in full measure one important characteristic of all ardent followers of the Rosicrucian teachings—adherents to the philosophy as outlined by Max Heindel. That is, she recognized the peerless quality of the philosophy, and with respectful reverence, she gave deference to the initiate, author, and messenger who brought these teachings to the western world. In a recent announcement by Allen Edwall:
Marie-Jose Clerc passed away suddenly on December 17, 2011 at 2:19 pm. Marie was my boss when I worked at the Fellowship and she was a wonderful person.
Charles Weber wrote this, “May Marie Jose’s spirit soar to the heavens where it has so long aspired. Surely she was one of Max Heindel’s most devoted, productive and influential students, one of the Fellowship’s most generous, long-term benefactors, unswervingly faithful to the letter of the Teachings, and an enduring friend to many of us. Surely her Spirit will rest in peace; though inactive she will not be.”
Good luck, Marie, with your work on the higher planes. It was my rich fortune to be able to know you and work with you on this physical plane. Thank you for everything.
From Ross Duffel: “Marie-Jose was a strong supporter of the Fellowship for decades. She worked to the very end making sure that Max Heindel’s books would be reprinted. May she enjoy the new challenges and joys that life on the inner planes offers her.”
Christophe Gendre: ”We recognize Christ’s followers by their fruits. Marie-José passed away but her fruits, her works bear witness to her. The Fellowship owes her much. There are two things we take with us – the knowledge and love given to others. Of the two, she had many. Thank you for everything you brought me and thank you for your friendship, Dear Marie-José.”
Daniel Kwabi: “Through this medium, “Friends” I have just
learnt that our dear friend Marie-Jose Clerc has passed away to the other world where she would continue her valuable-love-filled work for TRF and all humanity. We are happy for the beautiful spirit who was known to us as
Marie-Jose Clerc, for her love of the Western Wisdom Teachings and her
indomitable spirit. I never met her personally, but I knew her from her work in France, Ghana and indeed at Mount Ecclesia. I recall with fondness and respect when Centers Ghana wanted to print the Como for the first time. As soon as she knew of our plight she quickly sent some money to us that enabled us to produce copies of the Cosmo. She was a true custodian of Max Heindel’s legacy at Mt Ecclesia, fighting to retain what was right for TRF. We shall surely miss this beautiful individual. But who are we to resist what God and the Elder Brothers want? May her dear spirit find true balance in the Desire World and may she look down upon us left behind with love and compassion so that we can continue with the Great and Good Work of the Elder Brothers. Fare Thee Well, Marie. We shall forever remember you!”
Jorge Rey: “May God bless you, dear Marie-Jose for your wonderful and great works in favor of the Education and the Fellowship with persistence until the end, the Job; now the Higher Planes will welcome you with the Temple music you loved so much; and from the higer spheres help us to construct the new ways to spread the Truth, Till we meet , Till we meet, The Rosy Cross to Greet, Till we meet, Till we meet, God be with you till we meet again.”
Myriam, Jorge and Children
Carlos Ziade: “May she rest in Peace, surrounded by Christ’s Light, so that she goes along with much important and needed works on the Higher Planes, May the Roses bloom upon Your Cross.”