Daily Devotional: September 4th

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

"Yet in excluding the other names of the highest God, have they not shown their foolishness? It matters not a bit what one calls the supreme God — or whether one uses Greek names or Indian names or the names used formerly by the Egyptians.”

—Celsus

On the True Doctrine, II

God is called by many names throughout the world and across time: Deus, Amun-Ra, Brahman, Allah, Jupiter, Yahweh, or Odin. All these names point to the same ultimate truth. God is the same regardless of what we call Him. He is the Creator, The Father, the Lord of Lords, the God of Gods, the Law Giver, and the Savior of All. Nonetheless, the knowledge of God is not distributed evenly among men.

Monthly Ascesis

Developing a practice of watchfulness is a powerful and effective way to create stillness in our souls, allowing us to behold God's presence in our lives.

This month, add this meditation practice to your morning prayers. This is particularly effective following a chanting session.

“The most basic and fundamental meditation practice is watchfulness or Nepsis in Greek. Watchfulness is the act of observing the mind while not chasing any thoughts or emotions that arise. You only need to sit down, close your eyes, and relax to do this practice. Then, watch your thoughts as they arise and fall away. Thoughts will continue to pop into your mind, and that’s ok. The key is not to follow them. For example, if your mind starts thinking about a project at work, don’t follow that idea and start working on the project in your mind. Just acknowledge that thought and watch it. Don’t feed that idea with more ideas; just leave it alone. Eventually, it will pass by, or a new thought will take its place. If that happens, just watch that thought without following it or allowing it to disturb you.”

-Excerpt from our new book, Ascesis: the Handbook of Platonic Practice

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