This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Thursday, January 23, 2025
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
An Invitation to Prayer
“Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5
– O Christ, clothe us with “deep compassion, kindness,
modesty, gentleness and patience” as our uniform.Col 3:12
Psalm 61/62:2-8
Shall not my soul submit to God,
for my salvation comes from him?
He is my God and my savior,
my support and I shall falter no more.
How long will you assail a person,
all of you bringing him down
like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
They conspired to steal my honor-
they rushed thirsting for it.
They bless with their mouth,
but they curse with their heart.
Nevertheless, my soul, submit to God
because my stamina comes from him,
for he is my God and my Savior,
my support, so that I will not be made a fugitive.
For my glory and my salvation lies with him;
he is the God who helps me-
the God in whom I trust.
A reading adapted from Basil’s, Homily on Proverbs 1:1-5
More than that, the art of steering can be applied in another useful way. I know another kind of wave-that terrible breaker that rises up from the passions of the flesh to inundate the soul. For when rage and fear, and pleasure and grief, suddenly arise from the mind of the fleshCf. Rom 8:6 as if from a violent hurricane, they frequently sink that soul if it has no one to steer it. So the mind-as though it were steering from the wheelhouse high above the passions and expertly turning the intrusive thoughts in the right direction like rudders-must navigate the waves vigorously. Remaining high above and beyond the reach of those waves, the mind must never become filled with their bitterness as though swamped with seawater. In such a storm we should pray, “Save me from those who hate me, and from the depths of the flood. Do not let a surge of water drag me under; nor let the deep swallow me.”Ps 68:15-16
A Prayer
Lead us to serve under your banner, O Christ, not for personal recognition or commendation, but simply to be friends with you and serve in your wonderful plan of redemption for the whole human race. And if, along the way, we encounter those who impugn our intentions or our standing, keep us from returning insult for insult. If we encounter those who do not wish us to serve in any proximity to them, for whatever their reasons, keep us gentle and modest, and send us to work where you will open the way.
Amen!