Sunday
\n*Meditations this week from Catholic Bishop Challoneer<\/p>\n
(For New Year’s\/Feast of the Circumcision)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0that our infant Saviour, being now but eight
\ndays old, began already to shed his sacred blood in obedience
\nto his Father’s will, and subjected himself on this day to that
\nmost painful and most humbling ceremony of circumcision; as
\nif he, like the rest of sinful mortals, had wanted any expiation.
\nNo, Christians! He came to discharge the immense debt contracted
\nby our sins to his Father’s justice, by shedding the last
\ndrop of his blood in expiation for them; and, lo! he has here
\ngiven us an earnest of the payment, by submitting himself this
\nday to the painful knife of circumcision.<\/p>\n
.Consider, thirdly, that it is the duty of all Christians to imitate
\nour Lord’s circumcision by a spiritual circumcising of the heart.
\nThis God often calls for in holy scripture, and always preferred
\nbefore the carnal circumcision? It consists in cutting off or renouncing
\nall disorderly affections to the world and vanity; to
\nthe vice of avarice, and the lusts of the flesh; that is, our sinful
\npassions and depraved inclinations. Do you heartily embrace
\nand “daily put in practice’ this circumcision of the heart?
\n‘ Conclude to give your heart “to your infant Saviour, who began on this day to shed his blood for you: but let it be a heart
\npurified from all such affections as are disagreeable to him.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
\n*Sub Tuum Praesidium<\/p>\n
Monday
\nCONSIDER, first, how many years of your life are now past
\nand gone; how long it is since you first came to the knowledge
\nof good and evil, and in what manner you have spent all this
\nprecious time given you for no other end, hut that you might
\nemploy it in the love and service of your God, and in securing
\nthe salvation of your immortal soul. Alas! have any of these
\npast years been spent in such manner as to answer this great
\nend? Have they not all, one after another, flowed away unprofitably
\ninto the gulf of eternity, and been utterly lost to
\nyour soul? It is well if they have not.
\nConsider, secondly, the present state and condition of your
\nconscience. How stand accounts between your soul and God?
\nWhat if this very day you -were called to the bar of divine Justice?
\nAh! do not deceive yourself, nor suffer yourself to be
\nimposed upon by the enemy. Your time in all appearance will
\nbe much shorter than you are willing to imagine. Many thousands
\nwho expect death as little as yourself, will close their life
\nwith the present year. Set then your house in order: begin this
\nvery day to rectify the whole state of your interior; and live,
\nhenceforward, as you desire to die.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.<\/p>\n
Tuesday
\nCONSIDER, first, that in the epistle read on New Year’s Day,
\n(Titus ii. 11 15,) the apostle has, in few words, declared to
\nus the rules we are to follow in the conduct of our lives: what
\nwe are to renounce; what we are to practise; what we are to
\nlook for; and to what we are to tend. “The grace of God our
\nSaviour,” says he, “hath appeared to all men; instructing us, that
\ndenying ungodliness and worldly desires, -we should live soberly,
\nand justly, and godly in this world, looking for that blessed
\nhope, and the coming of the glory of that great God, and our
\nSaviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem
\nus from all iniquity, and might cleanse to himself a people
\nacceptable, a pursuer of good works.”
\nConsider, secondly, therefore, the end for which our God and
\nSaviour came down amongst us, by the mystery of his incarnation.
\nIt was to redeem us from all iniquity, by freeing us from
\nthe slavery of Satan, Sin, and Hell; by breaking in sunder all
\nthe chains of our vices and passions; and by purchasing for us
\nmercy, grace, and salvation. 0! let us seriously resolve to
\nlead lives a worthy our vocation.
\nConsider, thirdly, that having been purchased by the Son of
\nGod at so great a price, we must esteem ourselves henceforward
\nas his property. This should bo our rule in all we do; absolutely
\nto renounce whatever we know to be displeasing to him,
\nand to pursue with all our strength what we know to be agreeable
\nto his divine pleasure. “You are not your own,” says the
\napostle, (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20,) “you are bought<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Holy angel of the Lord by guardian, pray to God for me.<\/p>\n
Wednesday
\nCONSIDER, first, that we are enjoined by the rule above mentioned,
\nto “deny all ungodliness and worldly desires,” and to
\nbe clean “from all iniquity.’* We are all obliged to dedicate
\nourselves to God from our first coming to the use of reason.
\nBut the sinner, like the apostate angels, turns himself away
\nfrom God; he refuses him his heart, and gives it up to vanities.
\nThis is ungodliness; this is a kind of idolatry, in preferring
\n“the creature before the Creator, who is blessed for ever and
\never.”
\nConsider, secondly, that the tempter, in order to draw us
\naway from God, sets before us the deceitful appearances of
\nsome worldly honor, profit, or pleasure; and with these he allures
\ndeluded mortals to his service: These are the gilded pills
\nwith which he poisons the soul. Hence the Christian’s rule requires
\nthat, with ungodliness, he should also deny all worldly
\ndesires. For when we thus despise and abhor the choicest allurements
\nof Satan, he stands confounded, and can do no more.
\nConsider, thirdly, what are these worldly lusts and desires.
\n“Love not the world,” says the beloved disciple…<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Our Father, Who art in \u00a0Heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.<\/p>\n
Thursday
\nCONSIDER, first, that the Christian’s duty has three branches:
\none of them relates to the regulating of himself; another regards
\nhis neighbor; but the third and chief of all relates to his
\nGod. All these we fulfill, if we live “soberly, and justly, and
\ngodly.” By living soberly, we keep ourselves in perfect order:
\nby living justly, we behave towards our neighbours in all things
\nas we ought; and by living godly, we dedicate our whole lives
\nto God.
\nConsider, secondly, that Christian sobriety excludes not only
\nintemperance in eating and drinking, but also all other excesses
\nand disorders which any way carry us beyond the bounds of
\nstrict regularity: it restrains pride by humility, anger by meekness,
\nlust by purity. Christian justice regulates our whole conduct
\nto our neighbors, by that golden rule of doing as we would
\nbe done by, and thus excludes every thought, every word, action,
\nor dealing, which may tend to his prejudice or disadvantage.
\nAnd true godliness makes us seek God, in all things and above
\nall things.
\nConsider, thirdly, that in endeavoring to comply with these
\nrules, we must not confine our views to the narrow limits -of
\nthis mortal life: we must be ever looking forward to the great
\nobjects of the Christian’s hope, the glorious coming of our God
\nand Saviour Jesus Christ…<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.<\/p>\n
Friday – Eve of Epiphany
\nCONSIDER, first, that on this day our infant Saviour was first
\nmade known to the Gentiles in the persons of the wise men of
\nthe east, who were conducted to him hy an apparition of an extraordinary
\nstar; and on this account it is called the Epiphany.
\nIt is just we should all celebrate with gratitude this day of our
\nfirst calling to the knowledge and faith of Christ, this Christmas
\nday of the Gentiles! How great, Christians, is this benefit
\nof your vocation to the true faith! If this alone had been
\nwanting, all others would have been lost upon you; and you
\nmust have been eternally miserable. Bless then your God who
\nhas brought you, in preference to millions of others, to his admirable
\nlight, and has not suffered you to “sit in darkness and
\nin the shadow of death.”
\nConsider, secondly, the wonderful ways of divine providence,
\nas well as in preparing beforehand both the Jews and
\nthe Gentiles to expect about that time the coming of the Messiah,
\nas in giving early notice of his birth, to the Jews by the
\napparition of angels to the shepherds; and to the Gentiles by
\nthe star. But alas! how few either of the one or the other
\nduly corresponded with this great call! and is it not the case of
\nmillions to this day, who though many ways called and invited
\nby, and to that “light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh
\ninto this world,” (John 1.) choose rather to remain in the
\ndarkness of infidelity, error, or vice, than to follow its unerring
\nconduct!
\nConsider,<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)<\/p>\n
Saturday
\nConsider, thirdly, how the wise men set out without delay
\nunder the guidance of this star, in quest of their new-born king,
\nand were thus happily brought to Christ and to his admirable
\nlight; while their senseless countrymen neglected their summons,
\nand died in their infidelity. See the difference between
\na ready compliance with the grace ,of God, and the neglect of
\nhis heavenly calls, a difference which produces here the distinction
\nof the saint and the sinner…For by an ancient tradition, and by the
\nprophecy of Balaam, (Numbers xxiv. 17,) they understood that
\nwas the place of his nativity. Wherefore, going to Jerusalem,
\nwhere it was most likely they should hear news concerning
\nhim, they inquire, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
\nFor we have seen his star in the east, and we are come to adore
\nhim,” (Matthew ii. 2. ) But as the kingdom of Christ was not
\nof this world, and was to be established upon the ruins of
\nworldly pride, and of all the pomps of Satan, he chose for his
\nbirth the humble stable of Bethlehem, before all the stately
\npalaces of Jerusalem, as more agreeable to his kingdom, the
\nkingdom of humility and of truth. IJappy those souls whose
\neyes are ever open to this heavenly truth, and shut to the vanities
\nof the world. For thus do they become themselves the
\nkingdom of Christ, even that kingdom in which he shall reign
\nfor ever!
\n…upon leaving Jerusalem, the star
\nagain appeared to the wise men, and conducted them to Bethlehem,
\nand to the place where our Saviour lay. They were
\nfilled with exceeding great joy; and, going in, they found him
\nwhom their souls desired, and humbly adored their infant Lord.
\nOhJ how precious, how lovely, how consoling is that light,
\nwhich conducts the soul to Christ, her sovereign good! But
\nthen, generally speaking, it gheds its beams upon those only,
\nwho resolutely conquer every difficulty and opposition in their
\nsearch after truth, and are quite in earnest to find Christ.
\nConclude to imitate the wise men in their ready obedience to
\nthe divine call, in their diligence in seeking Christ, and in
\ntheir faithful perseverance; and you will undoubtedly arrive at
\nthe object of your pious inquiries, your sovereign and eternal
\ngood.<\/p>\n
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sunday *Meditations this week from Catholic Bishop Challoneer (For New Year’s\/Feast of the Circumcision)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0that our infant Saviour, being now but eight days old, began already to shed his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13406"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13409,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions\/13409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}