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Meditations

The Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Intent: Confidence

THE COLLECT

We praise thee, God of Gods, who ever restorest the universe and storest away the deep upon its throne of setting, which no eye can see; who fixes heaven and earth apart, and coverest the heaven with thy golden everlasting wings, establishing the earth on its throne. O thou who hangest up the Ether in the lofty Height, and scatterest the Air with motion, who makest Water to eddy round in circling wheels; O thou who raisest up the fiery Whirlwind and makest thunder, lightning, rain and earthquakes; O God of Aeons, mighty art thou, Lord God, O Master of All!
Amen.

THE LESSON

The lesson is taken from the Chaldean Oracles:

There is the End of Understanding, which thou must understand with the flower of mind. For shouldst thou turn thy Mind inwards upon it and understand it as understanding something, thou shalt not understand it at all. For there is a power of the mind's prime which shines out in all directions, flashing with intellectual rays. Yet indeed thou shouldst not strive with vehemence to understand the End of Understanding, not even with the spreading flame of wide-extending mind that measures all things. But thou shouldst see thy soul in purity, turned from everything else so as to make thy mind empty, attentive to that end in order to learn that end of understanding, for it subsists beyond the mind. Keep silence, thou who art admitted to the secret rites.

THE GOSPEL

The gospel is taken from the Gospel according to St. Thomas:

Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I guard it until the world is afire. Jesus said: Men possibly think that I come to bring peace upon the world and they do not know that I have come to bring divisions upon the earth, fire, sword, war. For there shall be five in a house; three shall be against two and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father and they will stand as single ones. Jesus said: I will give you what eye has not seen and what ear has not heard and what hand has not touched and what has not arisen in the heart of man.

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