Daily Devotion

This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.

Devotion for Sunday, January 21, 2024

The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard

An Invitation to Prayer

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” ^{Matt 5:3}
-let us cast away every vestige of egotistical self-sufficiency
and put off a false sense of spiritual security.

Psalm 28/29

Ascribe to the Lord, you children of God,
ascribe to the Lord glory and honor,
ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in his holy court.

The voice of the Lord over the waters-
the God of glory has thundered,
the Lord over torrents of water.

The voice of the Lord is strong,
the voice of the Lord is magnificent,
the voice of the Lord shattering cedars.
The voice of the Lord will shatter the cedars of Lebanon.

He whips up Lebanon like a calf,
and Mount Hermon like a young ox.
The voice of the Lord strikes sparks-
the voice of the Lord, as it shakes the wilderness.

The Lord will shake the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord alarms the deer
and strips the oak thickets bare,
and in his Temple everyone proclaims his glory.

The Lord will abide above the flood,
and the Lord will sit as king forever.
The Lord will give strength to his people,
the Lord will bless his people with peace.

A reading adapted from Basil’s, Homily on Proverbs 1:1-5

Now how does wisdom confer insight? It is said, “Wealth will get you nothing on the day of tragedy.” Wealth weighs down your heart with anxieties over a day when it will get you nothing, nor save you from unending punishment. Solomon also says, “The innocent will inherit the earth.”^{Cf. Prov. 2:21} The Psalms also speak of the meek inheriting the earth^36:11, and the Lord himself said it in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.^{Matt 5:5} Solomon stirs the soul to desire these promised goods. This is the insight which he gives to the youth: to fear those things with which sinners are threatened and to desire those things prepared for the just.

A Prayer

Almighty God, whose blessed Son, Jesus Christ, went about doing good and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people,continue-we beseech you-his gracious work through the endeavors of our Order. Prosper our work, O Lord, with your continual blessing, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen!