Daily Devotional: November 4th
Nones Eve
Hymn for Nones Eve
O Bacchus, Liberator, hear our plea,
In sacred song, we lift our hymn to thee,
On this holy Eve of Nones, we sing,
To thee, O Bacchus, ever-freeing King.
With ivy crown and thyrsus in your hand,
You guide our souls to freedom, as you planned,
In mysteries profound, your truth we find,
Unchain our spirits, free our mortal mind.
On this sacred night, we seek your light,
With offerings pure, we honor your might,
Unveil the paths to realms of divine,
O Bacchus, guide us to the truth's design.
O Liberator, break the bonds we bear,
In your embrace, we find the freedom rare,
With reverence deep, we honor you this night,
O Bacchus, lead us to the endless light.
Daily Meditation
"For he who distinguishes himself by his virtue enjoys pleasures that are never followed by repentance, pleasures that imitate the solidity and permanence of the virtues that procure them.”
—Hierocles
Commentary on the 31st Golden Verse
Platonic ascesis allows a space for pleasure. Pleasures that are in line with virtue are, in fact, the greatest and most enjoyable pleasures. However, we may often mistake a lower pleasure for the higher. The greatest of pleasures are planted in virtue. They are not intense and fleeting but more measured and bring our souls into harmony and closer to God. Part of our ascesis is to seek out these higher pleasures and replace them with the lesser shameful ones.
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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