Daily Devotional: January 2nd

Daily Prayer IV

Blessed are those who shun the grip of selfish greed,

With a wisdom that forbids harmful deeds.

In emulation of the gods, they seek the good,

Endeavoring to mirror divine brotherhood.

They hold in reverence the common good of the race,

Aware that gods' concern resides in this shared space.

They do not abandon the communal thread,

For in unity, the divine essence is spread.

Blessed are those who, with gratitude, give thanks,

To the gods for every boon, with hearts that flank

Jove, the source whence fair and good first spring,

In all things, a hymn of gratitude we sing.

Daily Meditation

"Therefore the effort to arrive at the Truth, and especially the truth about the gods, is a longing for the divine.”

—Plutarch

Isis and Osiris 21

Our desire to know and learn about the gods is ultimately a longing within the soul for the divine. While our impulse to study philosophy may be to know the divine, our studies often take detours along the way. There is the potential to use philosophy to ingratiate our egos and speculate endlessly when we would be better served to sit in stillness with the divine. Our longing should be for the divine in all things but we should be aware of when we stray from the goal.

Monthly Ascesis: Praying for Virtue

“Ask from God those things that you cannot receive from man.”

-Sextus

“In the Pythagorean sentences, we are also advised not to pray for things that we can do for ourselves. For example, we should not pray for money or material goods because these are things we can work to gain by ourselves. Rather, the things we should ask the gods for are things that are, like them, immaterial and perfect. The best things for us to ask the gods for are virtues.

When we pray, we should ask the gods to show us the way to immaterial things that are aligned with their perfect nature. Cardinal virtues like prudence, courage, justice, and temperance are great starting points. But any virtue is worthy of our prayers of petition.”

Excerpt from Ascesis: The Handbook of Platonic Practice

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