Daily Devotional: November 30th
Calends Eve
Hymn for Calends Eve
O Juno, Queen of Heaven’s bright expanse,
Majestic Goddess, with your regal glance,
On this eve of Calends, we raise our song,
To thee, whose power and might have ruled so long.
O wife of Jove, whose voice the skies obey,
In golden chariot, thou dost lead the day,
With peacock plumes that trail in splendor bright,
And eyes that glitter with celestial light.
On this sacred eve, we humbly pray,
With offerings pure, we seek thy favor's ray,
Bestow thy blessings, keep us in thy care,
O Queen of Heaven, hear our solemn prayer.
Thy power is boundless, thy wisdom vast,
In every age, through eons that have passed,
With reverence, we honor thee tonight,
O Juno, Goddess, in thy radiance bright.
Daily Meditation
"God sends evil to men, not as being influenced by anger, but for the sake of purification; for anger is foreign from God, since it arises from circumstances taking place contrary to the will; but nothing contrary to the will can happen to a god.”
—Demophilus
Sentence 3
God admits no evil and is not influenced by passions. The evils we experience in life are here for the sake of our own purification. They lead us back to God, even when we struggle to see that as the ultimate end.
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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