Daily Devotional: January 7th
Daily Prayer VII
O gods, shield me from accidents that may befall,
My mortal frame fragile, but my soul stands tall.
Immortal, divine, separate from earthly plight,
Let not misfortunes dim my inner light.
Grant me serenity in the exercise of my will,
Troubles that befall, let them not instill
Disruption in my pursuit of liberty,
Nor bind my soul to base necessity.
When the call for goodness resonates within,
Let not my mortal self shy away from the din.
Guide me to prioritize my immortal soul's quest,
In caring for it, may I truly be blessed.
Daily Meditation
"He is the All-Seeing, He is the All-Knowing, He is the All-Doing God of us all. Let us, then, speak to them thus:—“O men, that God who, as old tradition tells, holdeth the beginning, the end, and the center of all things that exist.”
—Plato
Laws 4.715
King Jove holds together the cosmos in absolute unity. His sovereignty is absolute and admits no dissolution. For if unity were to falter, all things would end. This idea was already old tradition by Plato’s time, coming down originally from Orpheus before the epics of the Trojan War.
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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