Daily Devotional: January 3rd

Daily Prayer III

O noble progeny of All-father, Jove, and Being,

Benevolent rulers under his command, foreseeing.

Guide us with justice, in your esteemed reign,

As we follow laws, right and dear, not in vain.

May our obedience align with your noble decree,

Laws divinely crafted for humanity to see.

O gods, illuminate our path with celestial light,

Straighten our minds, fashioned in nature's delight.

Grant us the harmony of well-ordered living,

As we celebrate great Jove, eternally giving.

In reverence, we seek your guiding grace,

O divine offspring, in this mortal space.

Daily Meditation

"God is the Good because, as the cause of all good, he brings good to all things according to His power. He is Beauty because natural perfection is complete and harmonious. He is Truth because He is the source of all truth as the sun is of all light. He is the Father because He is the author of all things, and He guides the celestial intelligence and the world soul to Himself and His thoughts.”

—Alcinous

Handbook of Platonism 10

We know God through his energies and operations. Truth, Beauty, and Goodness are the three most prominent of these. All things find their completion and purpose in the Good. Beauty brings harmony and perfection. Truth lights the way by dispelling falsehood and illusion. He is the father of Gods and Men and draws all intellectual beings and all souls to himself.

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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