Holy Night 4

December 27-28 – Aries

Consciously purify the astral body (soul). The antipathies and sympathies are transformed into love, complete love, always through love. Love silences the passions and desires. The strength of Christ enlightens and fortifies us in our battles with Lucifer and Ahriman for our metamorphosis.
Mystery: Personal work is to be placed in the service of all for the good of all. The archangel Uriel places us before a mirror in which we see ourselves as we are.
R. Steiner

Fourth Contemplation: Kristina Kaine

Do we really know what love is? Most of the time we love because it suits us, and we hate because it suits us. This love is biased and rooted in our karmic past-life experiences. True love can only be experienced when we love another person regardless.

To experience this true love we begin by thinking love not feeling it. Feeling-love arises in our astral body, thinking-love is a spiritual act arising out of mental picturing. It is through the strength of our mental picturing that we can truly love Christ and in this same way love each other.

When we are able to love another person in this pure way, with no ulterior motive, they are transformed and they respond by being more loving. This is the secret behind the New Commandment in the Gospel of St John. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34

Strange as it is, love can often arise out of hatred. When we strongly disagree with something or someone, we join forces with those who share our disagreement. We feel united with them in our ‘cause’as we oppose the ideas and actions of the other person. It is easy to think that we are right and they are wrong, that we are united in love for each other but, in actual fact, it is a lack of love that causes this disagreement.

One of the reasons we find it so hard to love others purely is because pure love is so intense that we can be fearful of it. This is why it is so important for us to learn to love Christ through the process of mental picturing. He then gives us the strength and courage to love ourselves as we are, and to love others as they are.

Image: Uriel, right, in the Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre version) by Leonardo da Vinci, 1483–86.