Daily Primer — August 15, Iona — Inner Hebrides, Scotland
Each day you will be given:
A Florilegium entry
A Daily Prayer
and a Night Prayer.
A Florilegium entry
A Daily Prayer
and a Night Prayer.
Cassian said that discernment is the eye and lamp of the body . . . The monk who discerns
Ais kept from veering to the left in carelessness
in sluggishness of spirit, and pretext of control;
Ais kept from veering to the right in stupid presumption and excessive fervor beyond restraint.
Cassian also offered the image of the test applied by the money-changer who discerned true gold. We are to place thoughts on the scales of our heart and weigh them with exacting care.
Is it filled with what is good for all?
Is it heavy with the fear of God?
Is it genuine in the feelings which underlie it?
Is it lightweight because of human show or because of some thrust toward novelty?
Has the burden of vainglory lessened its merit or diminished its luster?'
For Cassian, humility was the path for the search. A monk was to disclose his thoughts to his spiritual guide. Self-disclosure and obedience, which produce humility, lead to discernment.
Ais kept from veering to the left in carelessness
in sluggishness of spirit, and pretext of control;
Ais kept from veering to the right in stupid presumption and excessive fervor beyond restraint.
Cassian also offered the image of the test applied by the money-changer who discerned true gold. We are to place thoughts on the scales of our heart and weigh them with exacting care.
Is it filled with what is good for all?
Is it heavy with the fear of God?
Is it genuine in the feelings which underlie it?
Is it lightweight because of human show or because of some thrust toward novelty?
Has the burden of vainglory lessened its merit or diminished its luster?'
For Cassian, humility was the path for the search. A monk was to disclose his thoughts to his spiritual guide. Self-disclosure and obedience, which produce humility, lead to discernment.
Discerning God's Will Together by Morris and Olsen p.30.
Florilegium is the Medieval Latin word for bouquet, or more literally flowers (flos, flor-) which are gathered (legere). The word florilegium was used to refer to a compilation of writings, often religious or philosophical. These florilegium are literary flowers—beautiful words/prayers/thoughts I have gathered. During my sabbatical they will give me something to ponder each day. — PHL.
See that you be at peace among yourselves my children, and love one another.
Follow the example of the good ones of old,
And God will comfort you and help you,
Both in this world and in
the world which is to come.
Follow the example of the good ones of old,
And God will comfort you and help you,
Both in this world and in
the world which is to come.
A final blessing given by Saint Columba as given in Celtic Daily Prayer:Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community.
I am placing my soul and body
Under Thy guiding this night, Brigit,
O calm foster-mother of the Christ without sin,
O calm foster-mother of the Christ of wounds.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under thy guarding this night, O Mary,
O tender mother of the Christ of the poor,
O tender mother of the Christ of tears.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under Thy guarding this night, O Christ,
O Thou Son of the tears, of the wounds, of the piercings,
May Thy cross this night be shielding me.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under Thy guarding this night, O God,
O Thou Father of help to the poor feeble pilgrims,
Protector of earth and of heaven — protector of earth and
heaven.
Under Thy guiding this night, Brigit,
O calm foster-mother of the Christ without sin,
O calm foster-mother of the Christ of wounds.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under thy guarding this night, O Mary,
O tender mother of the Christ of the poor,
O tender mother of the Christ of tears.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under Thy guarding this night, O Christ,
O Thou Son of the tears, of the wounds, of the piercings,
May Thy cross this night be shielding me.
I am placing my soul and my body
Under Thy guarding this night, O God,
O Thou Father of help to the poor feeble pilgrims,
Protector of earth and of heaven — protector of earth and
heaven.
Carmina Gadelica: Hymns & Incantations collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Alexander Carmichael. #321 The Pilgrim’s Safeguarding