On Tuesday June 2nd we will be celebrating World Invocation Day, together with many thousands of individuals and groups around the planet.
So what exactly is ‘invocation’?
The etymological meaning of invocation is to “call down” and so when we invoke, it is essentially an act of making a demand to something higher. It is a tried and tested method of appealing for help or intervention. In the Bible, we are told, “Ask and ye shall receive”. This maxim is the basis of invocation.
How many times have we uttered the phrase, ”Give me strength”? Often this is simply a way of venting our emotions and expressing our frustration and is not a consciously performed act of invocation. However, if we were to realize that “energy follows thought” and that everything we demand creates an energetic response, we would be more careful in what we send into the ethers.
If we could open our hearts, clearly formulate a sentence of power and make an invocative appeal such as, “Let the strength and loving wisdom of my soul guide me through this day” we would actually receive this blessing from a higher source. In this case the ‘higher source’ is our own Soul with its deep connection to the resources of Creation and not necessarily the image of some far-removed Deity dispensing justice and favors which is often how the ‘higher’ is commonly perceived.
With ‘invocation’ comes ‘evocation’ just as surely as night follows day because it is brought about by the universal and unfailing Law of Cause and Effect. Evocation (etymologically “to carry out” or “call forth”) is the answer from the ‘higher’ in response to our invocative demand.
Probably the most potent formula that we can use each day is one that was given to humanity last century as a World Prayer and is called The Great Invocation. It is an appeal to the ‘higher’ for Light, Love and Spiritual Power so that the vision of a brighter future (or that which we call the Divine Plan) can be made manifest on Earth. World Invocation Day is an opportunity for us to collectively make this appeal through the power of the Great Invocation.
Back in 1952 in a radio address, Eleanor Roosevelt spoke to the nation about the importance of this day and read The Great Invocation over the airwaves. Sixty-three years later, we invite you to join with your fellow seekers on June 2nd in this global gathering of hearts and minds to call forth the bright future that is so longed for and so appealing to our souls.
Reflections by Michael Lindfield, President of the Board