THE
ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP
HOLY
NIGHT SERVICE
Music: Third verse of Opening Hymn sung
by congregation.
Reader unveils Emblem and gives greeting:“My
dear Sisters and Brothers, May the Roses
bloom upon your Cross.”
(Response:“And upon yours also.”)
Once
more in the course of a year we are upon the eve of Christmas, the most vital
event for all humanity. To commemorate this night par excellence of the year let
us read the story of the Annunciation and the Birth as told in the first chapter
of Luke and the second chapter of Matthew in our Holy Bible, given to us by the
Recording Angels.
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“And the angel Gabriel was sent from God, unto a city of Galilee, named
Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David; and the virgin´s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said:“Hail,
thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among
women.” And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her
mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her:“Fear
not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold thou shalt bring forth
a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his
kingdom there shall be no end.”
Then said Mary unto the angel:“How shall this be?” And the angel
answered and said unto her:”The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also this Holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
(Luke 1,26-36)
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“Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the King,
behold, there came came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying:”Where is
he that is born King of the Jews? - for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.”
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes
of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And
they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judaea, fur thus it is written by the
prophets:And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not least among the
princes of Juda for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people
in Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to
Bethlehem and said:”Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye
have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”
When they had heard the King, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in
the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child
was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when
they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,
and fell down, and worshipped him; and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned
of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed unto their
own country another way.”(Matthew 2,1 -2,12)
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We learn from the Teachings of the Brothers of the Rose Cross that the
summer and winter solstices, together with the vernal and fall equinoxes, form
turning points in the life of the Great Earth Spirit, a Ray of the Cosmic Christ
who came to enable humanity to supersede law with love. He took the dense and
vital bodies of Jesus that he might appear as a man among men and demonstrate
that only from within is it possible to conquer the separative race-religions
and establish Universal Brotherhood.
In September there is a change in the Earth´s atmosphere; a light begins
to glow in the heavens and to pervade the whole solar universe. Gradually it
grows more intense and envelops our entire globe. Then it penetrates the surface
of our planet and slowly concentrates itself in the center of the Earth. On Holy
Night, when the zodiacal sign of the immaculate celestial Virgin stands upon the
eastern horizon, this light attains its minimum size and maximum power and
brilliancy. Then the concentrated light begins to radiate and gives new life to
the Earth wherewith to carry on the activities of Nature during the coming year.
This is the beginning of the great cosmic drama which is enacted annually during
the winter months.
Thus Christmas is not merely a commemoration of the birth of our beloved
Elder Brother, Jesus of Nazareth, 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 would soon perish
physically, and our orderly progress would be frustrated so far as our present
lines of development are concerned.
It is now that the Earth is nearest the Sun. The spiritual rays fall at
right angles to the Earth´s surface in the Northern Hemisphere, promoting
spirituality, while physical activities are held in abeyance on account of the
oblique angle at which the solar rays strike the surface of the Earth. On this
principle the physical activities are at their lowest ebb and the spiritual
forces reach their highest tidal flow on the night between the 24th
and 25th of December, which is therefore the most “holy night” of
the year.
However,
it must not be forgotten that the birth of Christ upon Earth is the death of
Christ to the glory of heaven; that at the time we rejoice at His annual coming,
He is invested again with the heavy physical load which we have crystallized
about ourselves and which is now our dwelling place — the Earth. In this heavy
body He is encrusted, and anxiously He waits for the day of permanent liberation.
What then should be the goal of the devout and enlightened aspirant who
realizes the greatness of His sacrifice, the greatness of this gift which is
being bestowed upon mankind by God at this time of the year; who realizes this
sacrifice of the Christ for our sake, thus subjecting Himself to a virtual death
that we may live. His wonderful love is being poured out upon the Earth at this
time. The devout person´s aspiration can be to imitate in however small a
measure the wonderful works of God! He should aspire to make himself more the
servant of the Cross than ever before, more closely to follow the Christ in
everything by sacrificing himself for his sisters and brothers, by uplifting
humanity within his immediate sphere of work so as to hasten the final
liberation. If we sincerely work in our own sphere, no matter where it may be,
then we shall find that wonderful soul growth may be attained; and all may see
that Christmas light, the light of the newborn Christ, shining within our sphere
of action.
Spiritual vibrations are strongest at midnight on Holy Night. On this
night it is easiest to achieve conscious contact with the spiritual Sun, and
retrospection and resulting resolutions for the new year are most effective.
Let
us all unite our concentrated spiritual effort of aspiration and pray for
individual and collective soul growth for a spiritually productive year. My dear
Sisters and Brothers, let us strive during the coming year to attain a greater
measure of Christ-likeness than we have ever before attained. May we live such
lives that when another year has passed and we again see the light of Christmas
and hear the bells that call us to the Holy Night Service, we shall then feel
that our lives have been fruitful in the service of the Christ.
Let
us, on the Holiest Night of the year, concentrate on:
SPIRITUAL BIRTH THROUGH SERVING THE CHRIST.
Concentration
period – broken by music. Reader closes curtain and gives Parting Admonition:
PARTING
ADMONITION:
Now let us all go to our own rooms, speaking only that which may be
necessary, and there meditate upon these things, consecrating our lives anew,
forming resolutions for a spiritually productive new year so that day by day we
may, as individuals and as a Fellowship, become more worthy to be used as
self-conscious channels for the beneficial workings of the Elder Brothers in the
service of humanity.
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