8/20/2019 Freres d Orient 19

1/2

The Templar Shoes

We cannot proclaim the Gospel of Peace (Salem, Shalom) without first being established in theHoly Gospel, and we cannot bring peace unless we ourselves have the peace of Christ in us!hus, these shoes for our feet that prepare us to proclaim the Gospel of Peace are our spirituallife and practice" specifically, it is the cultivation of a continuum of daily spiritual practicethrough which our interior life unfolds and we are empowered to active love and compassion

#eceiving teachings, we reflect upon them, contemplate them, meditate on them, and labor tointegrate them into our lives" li$ewise, we study and contemplate the Holy Scriptures, see$ingto increase our $nowledge, understanding and wisdom, and we pray, meditate and performsacred ceremony % we actively worship God and entertain good company, spiritual fellowshipWith all of this, we remember and $eep the Shabbat holy, and celebrate Shabbat

!he aim of all of this is the generation of the Sacred Heart, and self&reali'ation in Christ % theSacred Heart and our reali'ation being the foundation of proclaiming the Gospel of Peace

ssentially, we will do whatever it ta$es for the generation of the Sacred Heart and process ofour self&reali'ation in Christ % we will ta$e up whatever practices are necessary, applywhatever self&discipline is called for, and enact all spiritual wor$s we are called to do by theHoly Spirit

s shoes imply, we must be in the spiritual *ourney, the Path of the Great scension, and whenwe proclaim the Holy Gospel, we must spea$ from direct spiritual and mystical e+perience ofthe #isen Christ, spea$ing from faith and gnosis % when the Holy Gospel is our e+perience,then we have the proper foundation to proclaim it We will spea$ of what we have seen andheard and $now, and in such speech there is light&power, something of the Gnostic and ight!ransmission

-ow there is something more subtle within and behind what St Paul is saying, for when weare called to preach or to teach the Holy Gospel, or we are called to facilitate or lead anysacred event, always there is a spiritual wor$ to be done beforehand, preparing the sacredspace and laboring for the removal of obstructions in those who will attend !hus, in one wayor another, we purify and consecrate the sacred space, prepare ourselves, and pray for thepeople who are coming, as well as for all beings !herefore, St Paul is also spea$ing of the

spiritual continuum in preparation for any sacred event % a continuum that begins well beforeany event, of which the event is the culmination

!emplars wor$ very closely with lineage&holders in the tradition, and as much as lineage&holders tend a spiritual continuum before sacred events, so also do the !emplar initiateswor$ing with them % based upon their continuum !emplars ta$e up the sacred duty ofpurifying and consecrate sacred space before an event, clearing it of any shades or shadows,and calling upon Ha&Shem and the She$inah to bless the sacred space and ma$e it holy" then,throughout the event they serve as guardians of that sacred space and the people, ensuringthat no $lippotic influences enter into it

.n the tradition, when we are called to spea$, to preach or teach, we prepare no sermon orspeech, but rather, we ta$e up a continuum of prayer, contemplation and meditation, and webecome open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and when it is time for us to spea$ we let the

/other Spirit spea$ with, in and through us, *ust as 0eshua /essiah taught us to do !his isour way in proclaiming the Holy Gospel or imparting teachings, it is in the power of themoment and in the Spirit % this, of course, assumes a well founded spiritual life and practice,

and the e+perience of rebirth in the /other Spirit

!hus, we may understand preparation to proclaim the Gospel of Peace as whatever it ta$es tobring about our rebirth in the /other Spirit, and whatever it ta$es to be completely open andsensitive to the /other Spirit % whatever the Holy Spirit may call us to do

-ow something must be said of the term St Paul uses for the Holy Gospel, the 1Gospel of

8/20/2019 Freres d Orient 19

2/2

Peace2 Having put on the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness, as shoes for our feetwe are to do whatever it ta$es to prepare us to proclaim the Gospel of Peace % truth is the$nowledge of Christ /elchi'ede$, and the very name of /elchi'ede$ literally means 1$ing ofrighteousness,2 and he is called 3ing of Salem, which means 1$ing of peace2 4n an inner andsecret level this alludes to the Gospel of /elchi'ede$ % the inmost secret teachings of the HolyGospel $nown to initiates of the tradition !hus, on one level, these shoes are the recognitionof the non&dual truth and the self&liberation of all that arises, *ust as it arises, in this

recognition % hence, primordial contemplation as taught in the /elchi'ede$ !ransmission

.n closing we cannot help but mention the connection between these shoes and the Shoengel of /al$ut, Sandalfon % the angel who is said to uplift the prayers of the faithful and electto God !his invo$es the admonition given to initiates during the !hreefold #ite5 “Enflameyourself with prayer – pray without ceasing; invoke often!”  !his, indeed, it what it means toput on these holy shoes, for in so doing we serve as an interface between heaven and earth,

a$in to shoes that are an interface between our body and the road we wal$

6With the mention of road, another aspect of these shoes, as $nown to initiates of the 4rder ,is $nowledge of the direction we are wal$ing and calling upon the corresponding 7ivine Powerswhen we ta$e up a spiritual labor in that direction

.n this, perhaps, you will $now and understand how to put on these holy shoes and beprepared to proclaim the Holy Gospel of Christ