‘Where there is darkness, light’

    

The Catholic Store

The inkling for this Magpie post has been rolling around the cavern of my skull for years but, as today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, it occurs to me to type it up.

Aside from Grotto once yearly, it’s been more than two decades since I’ve truly filled any chaplaincy role in Freemasonry—I was working my way East in the local Rose Croix chapter, and I must say I was good at it—but my thinking here concerns adapting what is known as the Prayer of St. Francis for Masonic use.

One English translation of the original:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

It really fits. So, if you happen to be a chaplain or grand chaplain somewhere, maybe this idea could work for you in certain circumstances. Customize as needed.

N.B.  There is nothing historical that actually connects the prayer to St. Francis. The Franciscan Order does not include it among the prayers attributed to its founder, for example.

     

‘Rosicrucian Summer in the City’

     
Five wonderful events (and I suspect more will be announced) are scheduled for the Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City in the coming months. Remember, one need not be a member of either the Rosicrucian Order or the Traditional Martinist Order to enjoy these Rosicrucian and Martinist workshops and programs, although one of them is bound to get you thinking about partaking in these philosophies and practices.

The Rosicrucian Cultural Center is located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in New York City.

The Way of the Heart:

The Sophia Tradition

Monday, June 16 through Friday, June 20

Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

One of the central pillars of the Western Esoteric Tradition is the Sophia Tradition, or the Path of Divine Wisdom. Essential in Martinism, it is strongly present in mystical Judaism, Christianity. and Islam as well, and is connected to similar paths in many world spiritualities.

With its feminine imagery for the Divine, the Sophia Tradition leads us into the very core of our being, where the soul is united to its Divine Source in a Mystical Marriage. According to Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin:

“The only initiation I advocate and search for with all the ardor of my soul is the one through which we can enter into the heart of God and make God’s heart enter our own, there to make an indissoluble marriage which makes us friend, brother, and spouse of our Divine Repairer.”

This workshop will explore some of the major figures in this ancient manifestation of the Primordial Tradition, and its themes and spirituality. Included will be practical suggestions for learning more about Sophia, and entering into the practice of the Tradition.

The facilitator of this workshop, Steven A. Armstrong, M.A. Hum., M.A., M.Div., is a professional historian, philosopher, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay area. He currently serves at the Grand Lodge (San Jose) in Membership Services. He is an active member of both the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC and the Traditional Martinist Order, and has served as an officer in both Orders.

His current areas of interest include how the Primordial Tradition permeates all world traditions, and the way in which the Rosicrucian and Martinist paths provide a unique and unifying viewpoint on those traditions.

The Prayer of the Heart Practicum

Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27

Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

Deep, heart-centered prayer is at the core of the mystical practice of Martinism, as well as many world spiritual traditions. It is a practical and real way to actualize the Sophia Tradition and the Way of the Heart. This work allows practitioners to realize the union of their heart with the Divine Heart, beating with the rhythm of the Cosmos. As Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin puts it:

“There is no other mystery to arrive at this holy initiation than to go more and more down into the depths of our being, and not let go till we can bring forth the living vivifying root, because then all the fruit which we ought to bear, according to our kind, will be produced within and without us naturally, as we see occurs with our earthly trees, because they are attached to their particular root, and do not cease to draw up its sap.”

This five-day practicum will assist participants in meditation practices, leading up to and including the Prayer of the Heart. The exercises are non-sectarian, as the Prayer of the Heart is found virtually in all world spiritualities.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.

Learn Rosicrucian Healing Techniques

Tuesday, July 8 through Thursday, July 10

Nightly from 6:30 to 8

This experiential workshop will guide participants in learning how to use many Rosicrucian techniques to create radiant physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Julie Scott, Grand Master of the Rosicrucian Order.

Tarot: A Rosicrucian Approach

Monday, August 18 through Friday, August 22

Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

The Tarot is of perennial interest to students of esotericism. Its compact symbolism and connections to other Mystical Paths continue to intrigue us.

In this workshop, we will consider the Major and Minor Arcana of the Tarot from a Rosicrucian perspective, seeing how they connect with Kabbalah, Alchemy and meditation. After having taken a look at the history of Tarot, workshop participants will then have a chance to consider the symbolism of the Trumps and Suits, and to begin to develop a personal numerology, which comes from their own experience, as well as from the Primordial Tradition.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.

Mystics for Moderns

Monday, August 25 through Friday, August 29

Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

Mysticism, according to the Rosicrucian approach, is not only for those on mountaintops and in monasteries. It is a real and vibrant practice available to all women and men in the modern world.

This participatory workshop will introduce / re-familiarize participants with some of the greatest mystics and their writings from our Rosicrucian lineage, across time and cultures. A brief historical introduction to each will then be complemented with meditative exercises utilizing their mystical writings and approaches.

Among the goals of the workshop is to assist us in growing in our ability to see the world and our lives as mystics—a holographic view which keeps the reality of “As Above, So Below” in our awareness.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.
     

‘We are thinking about God’

     
I don’t know how many Magpie readers pay any attention to the scores of links listed along the left side of the page, but one of them brings you to The Seforim Blog, a website concerning writings on Jewish faith, tradition, law, and related subjects. The blogger’s post yesterday addresses something near and dear to me: pipe smoking. His angle specifically is tobacco smoking as a spiritual aid, preparatory to prayer even.

Some of the wares available at the New York Pipe Club show last month.

The name of the old Craftsmen’s Calumet Club was selected, in part, because American Indians employed pipes (calumet) and tobacco in their faith and practice. I’m a member of a different tribe, and it delights me to no end to have found this information via The Seforim Blog. A copy of the book in question is destined to reach my reading chair – next to my smoking stand.

Here are a few excerpts. Read all about it here.


1)  References in literature to the use of tobacco by hasidic Jews are numerous. Although there is little direct evidence to indicate how widespread it was, the references suggest it was fairly extensive. Let us examine some of these. In his autobiography Solomon Maimon (d. 1800) describes a youthful visit to the court of Dov Ber of Mezhirech, the founder of the hasidic movement. Maimon remarks:

‘Some simple men of this sect, who saunter about idly the entire day, pipe in mouth, when asked what they were thinking about, replied, “We are thinking about God”.’


2)  There do not seem to be any references to tobacco in the classical hasidic works of doctrine, the hasidic Torah. Their absence from these sources may be because aids to contemplation (such as tobacco) were considered irrelevant to the ideal itself, although contemplation was clearly important in hasidic thought. Rabbi Phinehas of Koretz (Korzec) (1725-91), an associate of the Baal Shem Tov, reportedly observed:

These excerpts come
from this book.

With regard to imbibing tobacco, anything the body requires for it to be healthy is the same for all men. Therefore, since not everyone imbibes tobacco, it follows that it is not a permanent feature in creation, but only has healing powers for some. It has no healing power, and can do harm, to the majority of men, since it dries up the [bodily] fluid.


3)  Rabbi Abraham Judah Schwartz (1827-83), a prominent non-hasidic Hungarian rabbi, was eventually won over to Hasidism. In the biography written by Dov Beer Spitzer (Schwartz’s grandson), we read:

From Pipe and Pouch.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, used to smoke tobacco (including cigars) to the extent that, occasionally, when he was engrossed in his studies and also when he taught his pupils in the beit midrash, it was as if he stood in the midst of a cloud so that it was impossible to come near to him. His son Naphtali Hakohen, of blessed memory, repeated in his name that the zaddikim intend great tikunim and have the following in mind. The pipe is made of clay, which is a mineral. The wood stem represents the plant. The bone mouthpiece comes from an animal. The smoker is a speaking creature [medaber, a human being, and fourth among the categories of mineral, plant, animal, and human] and he elevates all the stages beneath him (mineral, plant, and animal) to the stage of the speaking creature. For the zaddikim never carry out any empty act, Heaven forbid, but have their hearts concentrated on Heaven.

It is also reported that Rabbi Henikh of Olesko (1800-84), son-in-law of Rabbi Shalom Roke’ah of Belz (1779-1855), would take his snuff-box in his hand and inhale the snuff on Friday nights when he recited ‘Kegavna,’ the kabbalistic prayer. He would sing certain tones as he inhaled, and if any people were present who were ill or possessed by a dybbuk, a wandering soul which enters the body of a human being as a refuge from the demons which pursue it, they would begin to dance and move while the rabbi inhaled the snuff. Those close to him realized that it was an especially propitious time. Further, Rabbi Eliezer Zevi of Komarno (d. 1898) was reported to have said that the letters of the word tabak have the same numerical value (112) as those of the word yabok, which stands for yihud, berakhah, kedushah (‘unification,’ ‘blessing,’ and ‘holiness’) and also ya’anenu beyom korenu (‘He will answer us on the day we call’). Thus, he believed that tobacco helped the zaddik to achieve union, bestow blessings on his followers, and raise himself to greater heights of holiness, as well as predispose God to answer his prayers.
     

‘Obligation and opportunity’

     
The first event took place Wednesday night, but I didn’t get word of this series until just now. Drisha Institute, in midtown, offers a highly interesting program of workshops, prayer, and lectures in the coming two weeks that examines the act of prayer. From the publicity:

Prayer: What Are We Doing?

Prayer is both an obligation and an opportunity, yet we encounter many obstacles in prayer—practical challenges as well as theological ones. This series will discuss ways to understand what we are doing when we pray, and introduce practices that help us sustain concentration and cultivate presence of mind and heart in our prayer.

Wednesday, March 26

and

Wednesday, April 2

Workshops at 6:30 p.m.

Lectures at seven o’clock

Drisha Institute for Jewish Education

37 West 65th Street, Fifth Floor

Manhattan

Each evening will begin at 6:30 with a choice of workshops on practices that we might choose to introduce into our tefilla. Workshops will be followed at 7:15 by tefillat ma’ariv (with a choice of minyanim) and a brief break for refreshments. The evening will conclude with a lecture at 7:45 on approaches to the theology of prayer.

6:30 to 7:15 p.m. – Choice of Three Workshops:

Soul Connection: Meditations for Prayer according to the Aish Kodesh (with Mira Niculescu);

Trembling Joy: Quieting the Noise and Amplifying the Song of the Heart (with Rabbi Dani Segal); or

Niggun Ha’Lev: Melodies to Awaken our Hearts in Prayer (with Rabbi David Silber).

7:15 – Tefillat Ma’ariv

Courtesy Drisha

7:45 to 9 – Lecture:

March 26: Words Filled with Light: Hasidic Mystical Reflections on Kavvanah and Contemplative Prayer (with Professor Eitan Fishbane).

April 2: Prayer and Human Needs: R. Soloveitchik and Other Recent Thinkers (with Professor David Shatz).

There is no fee, but we welcome contributions to support our work. Pre-registration in not required, but we recommend pre-registering in order to sign up for your first choice workshop. For those who cannot attend, lectures will be live streamed as well as available for viewing after the lecture.