The Litany of the Tree of Life is intended for daily use as an alternative to the form of discursive meditation taught in the knowledge lectures of the Order of the Golden Dawn, and specifically for those who are engaged in intensive study of the Cabalistic Tree of Life. It may also be found suitable for practice on a more occasional basis, such as once per week, as a helpful addition to the regular meditations taught by the Order. A litany such as this falls somewhere in the space between ritual and meditation. Like a meditation, it works primarily with consciousness rather than with the subtle energies directed in magic; like magic, it is in some sense a performance, in which performer and audience are one. Meditative attention on the symbols and concepts is important for the litany to have its proper effect, but so are the vocal and performative dimensions that give magic its power. Regular practice will teach each initiate to find a personally appropriate balance between these themes.
DISCIPLE IV: Under the Tree of Life, is the final study in the four-phase DISCIPLE program and is prepared for those who have completed Disciple I: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study. The study concentrates on the Writings (Old Testament books not in the Torah or the Prophets), the Gospel of John, and Revelation. Emphasis on the Psalms as Israel’s hymnbook and prayer book leads naturally to an emphasis on worship in the study. Present through the entire study is the sense of living toward completion – toward the climax of the message and the promise, extravagantly pictured in Revelation. The image of the tree and the color gold emphasize the prod and promise in the Scriptures for DISCIPLE IV: Under the Tree of Life. The word under in the title is meant to convey invitation, welcome, sheltering, security, and rest – home at last. Commitment and Time Involved 32 week study three and one-half to four hours of independent study each week (40 minutes daily for leaders and 30 minutes daily for group members) in preparation for weekly group meetings. Attendance at weekly 2.5 hour meetings. Teacher Helps The Teacher Helps provides an outline for an orientation session and process suggestions for each of the weekly group sessions. It does not contain new or additional content for the leader to present to the group. A one-page teaching plan is provided for each session. Weekly group sessions follow a set patter, with designated amounts of time for each step. Suggestions for group activity are specific and clearly related to the Scripture being studied. Ample questions for use in discussion are included. The leader both guides the process and participates in all small- group activities in the weekly group session. Leaders will find detailed information and instructions on making necessary arrangements for and preparing group members to participate in three potentially life-changing experiences at the conclusion of Under the Tree of Life – a video-led worship experience of the book of Revelation in Session 31 and a service of foot washing and a service of Holy Communion in Session 32. In the front of the teacher helps is a section of general information on effectively using the study manual, preparing to lead the weekly group meeting, following the proper schedule and procedure, tips for leading discussion, and suggestions for creating and maintaining a caring climate in the study group. Process suggestions in the teacher helps enable full participation by all members of the group as a result of disciplined daily study. A one-page plan for each of the weekly group sessions follows an established schedule and procedure, with an amount of time designated for each section in the plan. Each session plan includes suggestions for group study of a selected passage of Scripture.
This book is filled with a wide variety of relevant, action-centered resources to help young people better appreciate God's word in the Sunday Scriptures. The resources for each Sunday's lectionary reading of the C cycle include lectionary and Scripture citations, themes that relate to young people, a synopsis of the Scripture readings, a fully described and directed activity, and several activity ideas -- all aimed at engaging the participants with God's word. This is an excellent resource for youth ministers high school religion teachers, parish leaders, and liturgists working with youth.
“Saint Gregory of Narek, a monk of the tenth century, knew how to express the sentiments of your people more than anyone. He gave voice to the cry, which became a prayer of a sinful and sorrowful humanity, oppressed by the anguish of its powerlessness, but illuminated by the splendor of God’s love and open to the hope of his salvific intervention, which is capable of transforming all things.” —Pope Francis, April 12, 2015 This is the first translation in any language of the surviving corpus of the festal works of St. Gregory of Narek, a tenth-century Armenian mystic theologian and poet par excellence (d. 1003). Composed as liturgical works for the various Dominical and related feasts, these poetic writings are literary masterpieces in both lyrical verse and narrative. Unlike Gregory’s better-known penitential prayers, these show a jubilant author in a celebratory mood. In this volume Abraham Terian, an eminent scholar of medieval Armenian literature, provides the nonspecialist reader with an illuminating translation of St. Gregory of Narek’s festal works. Introducing each composition with an explanatory note, Terian places the works under consideration in their author’s thought-world and in their tenth-century landscape.
Volume 6 of 9 These books are the first to fully map out the history of alien interaction with the Earth, past, present, and into the near future. Extending the work of noted researchers such as Erich Von Daniken and Zecharia Sitchin, the book series goal is to show its readers the extensive repercussions this interaction has had on life on this planet, especially its formative role in the global conspiracy known as the New World Order.
By looking at the nightly news and simply observing for themselves the denigration of homes and communities across our country, many would agree that family foundations are cracking and shifting out of place. This has resulted in untold devastation within the home and our other social systems; therefore, many households and lives have simply given way and collapsed under the weight of a host of societal pressures. Many believe that a generation of social experimentation along with our cultures fixation at redefining virtually every foundational institution (especially the first human institutionmarriage) are responsible for placing the family and society on very shaky ground indeed, leaving a very dubious moral and economic legacy for successive generations. When cracks begin to appear upon the walls of a house, it may indicate a shifting or damaged foundation, which may indicate poor foundation work. As a result, builders typically reexamine the blueprintsthe masterplansto determine the manner and materials with which the house and foundations built in order to pinpoint and repair a weak or damaged foundation. It is the authors conviction that in many households within society, weak or faulty spiritual and moral foundations have been laid, resulting in the cultural cataclysm we witness throughout our land. In his book, The House that God Built: Gods Master Plan for Marriage and His Blueprint for Blessing, Book One of his Strong Foundation for Strong Families series, the author discusses the need for a RE-Vision, of marriage and the familybut not by redefining, replacing or removing these honorable foundations and pillars which have supported societies from the beginning of time. Rather, by employing the word RE-Vision, he calls for a refocusa fresh new look at Gods original design for the marriage and family. This plan is found in Gods Holy Word, specially, the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis because this, he feels, is where marriage, family and social systems began. Therefore, the book is a thorough exposition of the first chapters of Genesis which explore the motivations and the methods through which God Himself built His house (the heavens and the earth). This study provides keen spiritual and practical insights as to how we can build our homes according to Gods plans so as to receive His best blessings upon our homes and upon our communities.
