In the Ephesians 6:12, we are told that our struggle in this world is not physical, but spiritual. This month’s saint drew upon his culture and combined it with his Christian faith to combat against the evils of his time. St. Ephrem the Syrian fought the spiritual battle through the use of hymns and poems. His unconventional method of evangelization raised the spirits and motivated the Christians of his time to endure and remain faithful while they were under violent persecution from the invading Persian army. St Ephrem shows us that if we orient our talents and experiences to serving God, we can do great things!
The Christians in Syria have grown significantly smaller in number due to conflicts in the Middle East, however, the community is one of the earliest and enduring in the history of the Church. Part of this can be attributed to St. Ephrem who helped to sustain it. He was born on 306 A.D. in Nisibis, Mesopotamia (present-day Syria) which was under the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian who was persecuting Christians at the time. This is the world Ephrem was born and raised in as his family struggled to survive. Though it is believed that his family was Christian, Ephrem was not baptized until he began to take the salvation of his soul more seriously.
Jacob, who was the first bishop of Nisibis, served as a pillar of the community and was instrumental in the conversion of the young man who would become a saint. As a new convert, Ephrem was given permission to live as a hermit and adopt a very strict lifestyle of fasting. He supported himself through manual labor and making sails for ships. However, he would be called back by Bishop Jacob to serve as a teacher. Ephrem began to compose hymns, author biblical commentaries, and theological poems as part of his role as an educator. He even established the school of Nisibis which would later become the center of learning for Churches in the east.
In 337, Emperor Constantine I, who had legalized and promoted the practice of Christianity, died. Shapur II of Persia seized this opportunity to begin a series of attacks into Roman North Mesopotamia. Nisibis was besieged in 338, 346, and 350 until finally in 363, Nisibis was conquered by Persia and a persecution of the Christian population began. Ephrem was tasked in leading an exodus of the faithful to Edessa in present-day Turkey. Ordained as a deacon in Edessa, he was known for sermons which combined articulate expressions of Catholic orthodoxy with urgent and fruitful calls to repentance.
It can be difficult for a people to maintain their faith when they are constantly on the move as cultural influences from foreign religions can seep in. That was what happened to the Christians from Nisibis who began to adopt heresies that separated them from God. Ephrem knew he had to be creative in the way he responded so he drew on the methods of early Judaism, the philosophy of the Greeks, and the traditions of Mesopotamia to craft hymns to defend the faith. He was inspired to do this when he heard the heretical ideas that were promoted by songs. Much of his hymnology was directed against false teachings about devotion to Mary, the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the importance of the Holy Spirit in prayer, and the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Ephrem’s colorful depictions of heaven and hell even contributed to inspire Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Throughout his life, Ephrem was credited by the 5th Century Byzantine historian Sozomen for authoring more than 1,000 writings and composing approximately 3,000,000 lines of poetry. His hard work was not in vain when Edessa was besieged by the Arian Emperor Valens who threatened to kill all the Christian inhabitants if they did not submit. However, it was Valens who was the one forced to give up in the face of the courage and steadfastness of the Edessans. By this time, they had been fortified and properly formed by Ephrem's hymns. He shows us that poetry and hymns can be used as a valid vehicle for evangelization. Ephrem’s legacy lives on even today who was praised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 as the “Harp of the Holy Spirit,” for the hymns and writings that sang the praises of God “in an unparalleled way” and “with rare skill.”
Here is a good short prayer to St. Ephrem for his intercession:
Make me whole, O Lord,
And I will become whole!
O only wise and merciful Physician,
I beseech Thy benevolence:
heal the wounds of my soul
and enlighten the eyes of my mind
and I may understand my place
in Thine eternal design!
And in as much as my heart
And mind have been disfigured,
may Thy grace repair them,
for it is as true as salt.
Amen.
Be awesome and blossom 🌱
By: anh Daniel
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