This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Friday, December 15, 2023
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
An Invitation to Prayer
Let the heavens rejoice from above,
and the clouds send the Just One
and let the earth bring forth
and blossom with mercy. (Isaiah 45:8)
-Come, let us welcome him!
Samech
I have hated those who violate it,
but I love your law.
You are my helper and my support,
I have put my hope in your word.
Get away from me you evildoers,
and I will study the commandments of my God.
Lift me up by your word and enliven me;
and do not humiliate me for my hope.
Help me and I will be saved,
and I will always meditate on your decrees.
You dismiss all those who abandon your decrees,
for their thinking is wrong.
I reckon as trash all sinners on earth,
for I so loved your testimony.
Settle my flesh with fear of you,
for I stand in awe of your judgments.
A reading adapted from Basil’s, On the Human Condition
Consider how you were molded. Ponder the workmanship of nature. God is your midwife. May what is molded by God not be defiled by evil, not altered by sin. May you not fall from the hand of God. You are a vessel divinely shaped, having come into existence from God. Give glory to your creator, for you came into existence for no other reason except to be an instrument fit for the glory of God. And for you this whole world is, as it were, a book that proclaims the glory of God, announcing in its pages the hidden and invisible greatness of God to you who have a mind for grasping truth. So be mindful of all the things that have been said.
A Prayer
O Father in heaven, as we prepare to celebrate the coming of your Word into this world by his taking on human nature in a human body made from the same dust as our ancient ancestor Adam, and yet remaining eternally God with you, let us become more aware that this incarnation has bestowed upon our lowly dust the glory of the divine indwelling. Let us be mindful of our humanity and all the opportunities it provides, and see in every person made of the dust our true brother and sister
Amen!