And, suddenly, there it is. The Self-Creating Light which manifests itself out of the darkness, out of the unmanifest. It comes forth shining alone in the darkness. From emptiness has come forth the ONE, the absolute.

And the miracle, the mystery happens. Creation takes place. The one becomes two and four, eight, sixteen as the parishioners come to light their candles from the one light held by the priest, and soon the church is illuminescent with hundreds of flames, all which have come from, and are one in the same with the original self-igniting Flame, which came from behind the altar. No matter how many flames are lit from that one flame, it is never diminished in any way, it remains as its own original self. It the same way, all of creation comes forth from the one God, who is not diminished in any way, just as eternity is never depleted no matter how much time passes.

The same flame, the same life essence, the same divine power exists in all the flames. They are candles of various sizes, colors and forms, with various types of decorations, but they all contain the same flame. They have all come from the same source and are sustained by the same power, the power of the Original Flame, the Logos (the Word).

In the same way each of us is a part of that spiritual essence now existing in the many forms of beings occupying the earth. We seem different on the outside. We have differences of appearance, size, color, religion, beliefs, nationalities, characters, social class etc. But these are of little significance in relationship to our flame, our light, our spiritual consciousness, which is our basic reality.

If we try to put two candles together and make them become one, it is impossible. Two objects can not occupy the same space at the same time. But if we tilt one towards the other, their flames can become one flame. Our bodies and characters can never find perfect and lasting unity, but our spirits, our inner consciousness can.

We can, and must, become one in spirit. All these separate flames must once again become unified into one Universal Flame.

That is reunion with the Divine can be manifested by unifying spiritually with all of its expressions through love.