Daily Devotional: November 25th
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
"This is life, my beloved; this is beauty, this is the Supreme Good, this is God.
And if you want to understand this in practice, what happens when you desire to beget. But it is not this way with Him; for He does not experience the pleasure, since He has no partner. For working by Himself, He is always in His work, for He is what He creates. If He were separated from it, all would collapse, and all would by necessity perish, because life would be no more. Since everything is alive and life is on, God is also one.”
—Corpus Hermeticum 11.13
God is life, beauty, and the Supreme Good. He is also not separate from his works. He permeates through all creation. Without God, there could be nothing, for he is the basis upon which all other things exist. He is the unmoved mover, the ground of being, and the first cause.
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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