This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Sunday, January 22, 2023
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
An Invitation to Prayer
“Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.” Matt 5:4
-“Let us weep with those who weep,
and be of like mind with each other.” Rom 12:15-16
Psalm 60/61
Hear my supplication, O God;
attend to my prayer.
I called to you from the ends of the earth
when my heart was weary.
You set me high on a rock.
You guided me, for you became my hope-
a strong bastion in the face of my foe.
I will dwell in your tent forever,
I will shelter in the shadow of your wings.
For you have heard my prayers, O God,
you provided an inheritance for those who fear your name.
You will lengthen the days of the king-
for generations and generations more.
He shall endure before God forever,
seeking his mercy and truth.
So I will sing to your name for ages of ages,
and pay my vows days after day.
A reading adapted from Basil’s, Homily on Proverbs 1:1-5
“A wise person will become wiser, and a discerning person will learn how to guide.” Anyone who seeks to take up a particular craft must have the endowments needed for it. Someone who wishes to steer must have a mind that is sharp and alert. That is why Scripture says not just anyone should steer (i.e, guide) other than a discerning person. So what is needed to steer? A guide is needed who has the knowledge of the soul that deals with navigating the unstable nature of human circumstances in an appropriate manner, so that when life is tranquil and everything is going in an orderly and predictable way, you may yet expect changes to occur and not be lulled by the circumstances of the moment as if they will never change; and when things get bad you may not despair or be overwhelmed by excessive sadness and be dragged under, because neither physical health, nor the bloom of youth, nor a family’s prosperity, nor any stroke of good fortune in life, is permanent.
A Prayer
Give us the sympathy, O Lord, to know the pain of those ill and destitute, so that we may respond in kindness and concern. Give us the maturity to grieve with those who have been overlooked or mistreated, so that we might take the initiative in coming to their aid. Make us valiant warriors in the battle against indifference and injustice so that-as you ordered us-we might let our light shine that others might give glory to the Father in heaven.
Amen!