Sunday Evening Communion
Illustration by Penelope MacEwen
COMMUNION FOR SUNDAY EVENING
SUNDAY EVENING INVOCATION
“Angel of Creative Work, descend upon humanity and give abundance to all mankind.”
PROLOGUE
Let us enter the eternal and infinite Garden of Mystery, our spirits in Oneness with the Heavenly Father; our bodies in Oneness with the Earthly Mother, and our hearts and minds in Oneness with each other and with all of creation.
SUNDAY EVENING COMMUNION
“The Angel of Work, who sings in the humming of the bee, pausing not in its making of golden honey.
In the flute of the shepherd, who sleeps not lest his flocks go astray, in the song of the maiden as she lays her hand to the spindle.
And if you think that these are not as fair in the eyes of the Lord as the loftiest of prayers echoed from the highest mountain, then you do indeed err.
For the honest work of humble hands is a daily prayer of thanksgiving and the music of the plough is a joyful song unto the Lord.
He who eats the bread of idleness must die of hunger, for a field of stones can yield only stones.
For him is the day without meaning, and the night a bitter journey of evil dreams.
The mind of the idle is full of the weeds of discontent, but he who walks with the Angel of Work has within him a field always fertile, where corn and grapes and all manner of sweet-scented herbs and flowers grow in abundance.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
The man of God who has found his task shall not ask any other blessing.”
Essene Communion - Sunday Evening
Who Were The Essenes?
Over 2000 years ago precious scrolls were hidden in the Judean Desert along the North West Shore of the Dead Sea at Qumran – in what is known today as The West Bank. What do we know about the Essenes, the scribes who created these scrolls?
Pliny the Elder, Roman geographer, mentions that “On the Western Shore of the Dead Sea are settled the Essenes …” and they are mentioned by Jewish historian, Josephus, and philosopher, Philo of Alexandria. All three contemporary writers speak of the Essenes with great admiration. Having distanced themselves from the corrupt practices of the Temple priests in Jerusalem, the Essenes followed their leader to live a strict ascetic life in the desert – preparing for the expected end times and a new world order. The community was greatly admired for the way they shared everything in common.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 was hailed as the greatest manuscript find of the age. Many now believe that Jesus of Nazareth (Jeshua) was, himself, an Essene elder, so the scrolls could represent the purist of his writings and teaching. These were the only writings which have survived from a period which saw the beginnings of Christianity and modern Judaism. They were the oldest extant Biblical scrolls. The discovery created enormous interest in Qumran and the Essenes. Excavation showed a well ordered, self-sufficient community where the scribes must have spent many hours daily working on the scrolls.
In her book, The New Essenes, Sophie Edwards describes the beautiful poetic translations of the Scrolls, along with Biblical and other ancient texts, by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely. We owe him a great debt, not only for the translations but for being among the pioneers to introduce the idea of wholistic health through living in harmony with nature. The book and audio recordings are available to purchase here: http://angellight.co.uk/books-cds-cards/
Edwards also highlights the daily communions with the Angels that all Essenes (including Jeshua) practised as part of their daily spiritual practice, and which are still followed today by those commited to the Essene way of life.
Using The Communions
There are seven communions with the Earthly Mother and seven with the Heavenly Father. This completely balances the feminine and masculine energies of the Divine. When Jesus told us to honour our Mother and Father this is what I believe he was referring to. Our Heavenly Father guides our spirit during the sleeping hours and our Earthly Mother our practical daily earthly lives. In this way we can each experience the interconnectedness and harmony of creation. The Communions are recited each day – once in the morning, and once in the evening. Traditionally, the start of the cycle is Friday Evening, on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Start with the Prologue, and then the relevant communion for each day. If you can, sit quietly for a few moments and reflect on the meaning of each message and how you might bring it into your life. If you wish, you can also use the shorter invocation (affirmation) throughout the day to calm your mind and call in angel energy – ideal during those hectic moments!
The New Essenes
The NEW ESSENES network is made up of a group of people who have been brought together by a common interest in the Essenes. It was founded by Sir George Trevelyan, Anne MacEwen, Brian and Jackie Stevenson and others to popularise the wonderful meditations with Angels published by Dr. Edmund Szekely in his book, “The Gospel of the Essenes.”
To find out more, visit their website: http://www.newessenesnetwork.org.uk/