Daily Devotional: November 17th
Daily Prayer XV
Hail, King Jove, whose intellect divine does shine,
Grace cascading upon gods and mortal line.
First and last, in timeless majesty enthroned,
Creator, ruler, with wisdom deeply honed.
Thy gaze encompasses realms, both near and far,
Ruling over cosmos, each celestial star.
Infinite and eternal, sovereign of all things,
Jove, from thy throne, divine creation springs.
As the master architect, shaping fate's grand design,
Thy wisdom's radiance, a beacon so divine.
King Jove, in thee, the universe finds its sway,
In thy eternal light, all beings bow and pray.
Daily Meditation
"And there is some reason in supposing that god, who is not a lover of horses or birds, but a lover of men, should be willing to consort with men of superlative goodness, and should not dislike or disdain the company of a wise and holy man. But that an immortal god should take carnal pleasure in a mortal body and its beauty, this, surely, is hard to believe.”
—Plutarch
Parallell Lives, Numa 4
There are many stories of men and gods joining together to produce demigods. We should not quickly take these to be literal stories. As Plutarch says, it’s hard to believe a god would have any interest in carnal pleasures with a mortal. Instead, these connections represent a different kind of union with the gods. We must always be rational about what we hear about the gods, Remembering their nature and never accepting stories without asking, '“Does this make sense?”
Monthly Ascesis: Simple Rituals
“There is a simple formula to follow to begin making offerings to the gods. Since there are many gods, I recommend beginners direct all prayers to Mercury, who is the messenger of the gods. With this simple prayer, you can begin making offerings to all of divinity and know Mercury will deliver your prayers to the proper place.
Begin with this invocation:
Lord Mercury, messenger of heaven, swift-footed guide of mortals, hear my prayer and deliver it to the proper divinity:
[speak your prayer]
After your prayer, present your offering of food or incense and say:
Lord Mercury, be honored by this offering of [incense, food]
When you are finished, end with
Lord Mercury, be blessed. Fiat.
Fiat is pronounced Fee-aht and means 'Let it be done' in Latin.
If you are unable to make a material offering, that is okay. It is a gesture of honor and respect to the gods but is not necessary. Merely offering your thoughts and prayers is enough. The gods do not need our offerings to hear prayers. We offer these things out of gratitude and respect for them, not as a bribe or exchange of goods between us and the gods.”
-Excerpts from, Ascesis: the Handbook of Platonic Practice
Making simple offerings like this regularly sets our minds on the divine and places us in a giving posture toward the gods. The purpose of our rituals is not to ask for material goods but to give thanks to the gods and allow gratitude to fill our hearts. If we ask for anything from them in our prayers, we should ask for things that are like them such as virtues.
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