Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Wednesday, December 3rd, and the scripture reading is Psalm 118, verse 1, 8-9.
And the scripture to reflect on is Psalm 118, 1.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His love endures forever.
I really want to focus on the psalm today because it’s one of my favorite scripture verses, because we memorized it in our homeschool religion class.
It’s easy to see the wonderful things God has created all around us.
Maybe it’s the snow that you have.
Yikes, we have a lot right now.
Or maybe it’s the sun shining.
What about animals?
Do you have a pet or favorite animal?
You can thank God for that too.
That’s another thing He created.
We can even thank God for all of Earth.
He created that just because He loves us. Today’s Saint of the Day, Saint John of Damascus.
He was born 676 B.C.
and died 749.
He is the patron saint of pharmacists.
John of Damascus was an outstanding theologian who wrote many important works.
The breadth of his theological writings makes him an important bridge between East and West.
Born in Damascus, Syria to Christian parents, John received a good education and became a monk and was ordained a priest in the early 8th century.
A major controversy broke out over the veneration of sacred images.
The Empire of Leo III was an iconoclast, those who opposed the veneration of icons.
John virgously defended the use of sacred images. His masterful work, An Exact Explanation of the Orthodox Faith, became an important source for later writers.
This great medieval theologian, including Thomas Aquaintance, often relied on it to develop their own teachings.
He is also an important writer in the field of Martin theology.
The seminarians of the Assumption of Mary testify to the devote of this doctrine. John died in his monastery Mar Sabat near Jerusalem in 1883.
Pope Leo III declared him a doctor of the church. When we take care of what God gives us, we are giving him praise.
The things he created are beauty gifts.
Maybe take time today to write a gratitude journal.
Say what you’re grateful for.
God, I thank you for my family.
Now you think of something else. John was a great theologian and poet who wrote many beautiful hymns.
Through his hymns, the eloquent defense of icons, John testified to the role of beauty in our faith and worship.
Christian art and music is not the only enrichment of our understanding and practice of the faith, but they also enrich our culture. Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God, help me to admire your creation today and always give you praise.
And help us to know how to express our faith in the works of art and beauty.
Saint John of Damascus, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow, scattering more flowers.
See ya!