THE CENTRAL SACRAMENT - THE ACT OF CONSECRATION OF MAN

Description is no substitute for personal experience. This introduction will only attempt to prepare you for the experience of the renewed sacraments. Any questions that arise from the experience are best put to a priest. Our priests are very approachable and easily reached by the contact link provided below.

When you first encounter the central sacrament within The Christian Community (we name it 'The Act of Consecration of Man'), you can be there either as an observer, or as a participant. It is difficult to be both at the same time. When we observe we set ourselves apart - observer and observed. Just imagine meeting a person for the first time and simply observing them! It's unlikely that a meeting could actually take place. We need to converse, to listen, to respond, to take in - and to give, and thus - to participate. Then we can step back and observe our experience and maybe ask whether something could come of this meeting. This is a good way to approach The Act of Consecration of Man for the first time. As with every first meeting, it will normally take further encounters before a strong relationship can unfold.

Another aspect of experiencing The Act of Consecration of Man is to liken our experience to beholding a work of art - let's say a work of one of the master painters. Here our visual perception and aesthetic sense will come into play - we look, and we receive something in the looking, yet our mind is quiet and our inner conversing with ourself recedes . A great painting can affect our breathing and our mood. It can go even deeper than that. Some may even experience a healing quality. So it can be, sitting in stillness, - present with The Act of Consecration of Man.

Similarly, we can think of how it is when we listen to a great musical work. We can only truly listen when we quieten our mind. Then we can experience the uplifting power of music and song - and this comes about through our soul being able to subtly resonate with the sound that is flowing around us. With The Act of Consecration, the activity of listening can receive a musical quality, but above all there is the flow of words that resound poetically and rhythmically. It is this power of the Word that is at the heart of the sacrament. It is the Word that sustains and gives life and meaning to all words experienced as living within The Act of Consecration of Man - and within all of life itself.

Within the central sacrament we experience communion. Some call it the 'Communion Service'. For many, the service is what makes possible the healing of the inner division - the sense of separation that is so evident as we experience our normal human condition. Separation moves towards union or unity. We experience this process with others - thus there is a common-union or a common-unity ... hence, communion and community.

Finally a question: Where is Christ in relation to The Act of Consecration of Man? As we can see from the name of the service - this act or deed has to do with man - the human being. The 'becoming whole' of the human being - the consecration of man - is made possible by what we know as Christ's deed, Christ's act. It rests upon it. Thus Christ is woven into the substance and form of the service. Sometimes we hear his words. Other times our words are addressed to him. His deed gives the essential form and substance to the service. The transforming power within The Act of Consecration of Man can be experienced as Christ.

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