This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Sunday, February 12, 2023
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
An Invitation to Prayer
How great and wonderful are your works,
O Lord God almighty;
and how just and correct your ways! Rev. 15:3
—May our prayers bring us your truth,
and your Spirit guide our actions.
The Canticle of Azariah from Daniel 3:32-38
You have put us in the power of our enemies—
lawless and hateful rebels,
under a criminal king,
the most wicked in all the world.
And now we cannot even open our mouth!
It has become the shame and disgrace of your servants
and all those who worship you.
For your name’s sake, do not abandon us completely;
and do not annul your covenant.
Do not take your mercy from us
for the sake of Abraham whom you loved,
and Isaac your servant,
and Israel your holy one.
You told them their descendants would increase
like the stars in the sky
and the sand on the shore.
But now we have become smaller than any other nation,
and brought low upon the earth
all because of our sins.
Now there is no ruler, no prophet, no leader,
no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense,
no place to make an offering before you to find mercy.
From Basil’s “Lakizois” Homily
“Do not move the old boundary markers, and do not encroach on an orphan’s property.” Prov. 23:10 Do not appropriate the orphan’s possession so that you may not lose your own. Your possession is the kingdom of heaven prepared for you. Cf. Matt 25:34 So do not move the old boundary markers of your ancestors. Do not lust for your neighbor’s field. Do not add inch by inch to extend your own property little by little. The more you enlarge your own property by surreptitiously annexing someone else’s to it, the more deeply you implant sin in yourself. And the land that you gained little by little through greed remains here. In time it will no longer be yours, but will belong to your heirs. And so you will hand on stolen goods to your heirs. And while “the land remains forever” cf. Eccl. 1:4, the sin will follow you like a dark cloud in your soul. Just as its shadow follows a body, so does a sin stick close to a soul.
A Prayer
One big sin may scar my memory for a long time while I forget the little transgressions I commit. But little by little the constant repetition of these smaller offences may do far more damage than the one sin my mind cannot forget. May your Holy Spirit lead me to guard against even small sins and offences lest, little by little, the restitution becomes more than I can bear. Amen!