On St. Ephrem the Syrian

Zenit News Agency ^ | November 28, 2007 | Benedict XVI

[ELS]

Pope Benedict XVI looks on after the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday Nov. 28, 2007. The pontiff on Wednesday urged stepped-up efforts to stop the spread of the HIV virus, saying he felt 'spiritually close' to those suffering from AIDS. (AP Photo/Ettore Ferrari, Pool)

Mexican faithful attend Pope Benedict XVI's weekly general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican November 28, 2007. REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli (VATICAN)

Pupils from an Italian school attend Pope Benedict XVI's weekly general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican November 28, 2007. REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli (VATICAN)

[ELS]

Previous catecheses on the Early Church Fathers:
On St. Clement of Rome -The Church Has a Sacramental, Not Political Structure (March 7, 2007)
Truly a Doctor of Unity (St. Ignatius of Antioch) (March 14, 2007)
St. Justin Martyr: He Considered Christianity the "True Philosophy" (March 21, 2007)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons: The First Great Theologian of the Church (March 28, 2007)
St. Clement of Alexandria: One of the Great Promoters of Dialogue Between Faith and Reason (April 18, 2007)
On Origen of Alexandria: He Was a True Teacher (April 25, 2007)
Origen: The Privileged Path to Knowing God Is Love (May 2, 2007)
Tertullian: Accomplished a Great Step in the Development of the Trinitarian Dogma (May 30, 2007)
St. Cyprian: His Book on the 'Our Father' Has Helped Me to Pray Better (June 6, 2007)
On Eusebius of Caesarea (June 13, 2007)
On St. Athanasius (June 20, 2007)
On St. Cyril of Jerusalem (June 27, 2007)
On St. Basil (July 4, 2007)
St. Basil (August 1, 2007)
St. Gregory of Nazianzen (August 8, 2007)
St. Gregory Nazianzen's Teachings (August 22, 2007)
St. Gregory of Nyssa - A Pillar of Orthodoxy (August 29, 2007)
Gregory of Nyssa on Perfection (September 5, 2007)
On St. John Chrysostom's Antioch Years (September 19, 2007)
On Chrysostom's Social Doctrine (September 26, 2007)
St. Cyril of Alexandria (October 3, 2007)
On Hilary of Poitiers (October 10, 2007)
On St. Eusebius of Vercelli (October 17, 2007)
On St. Ambrose of Milan (October 24, 2007)
On St. Maximus of Turin (October 31, 2007)
On St. Jerome (November 7, 2007)
St. Jerome on the Bible (November 14, 2007)
On the Teachings of Aphraates (November 21, 2007)

[ELS]

Weekly audience ping!

Please let me know if you want to be on or off this list.

[Kolokotronis]

One of the truly great saints of The Church. He is particularly venerated in Orthodoxy. During Great Lent, we say the following Prayer of +Ephraim the Syrian while doing full body prostrations:

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk.

(Prostration)

But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love.

(Prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own faults and not to judge my brothers and sisters. For blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

(Prostration)

O God, cleanse Thou me a sinner

(12 times, with as many bows, and then again the whole prayer from the beginning throughout, and after that one great prostration)

[NYer]

The Incarnation, according to St. Ephrem, is the central event of Syriac spirituality because God, the One who cannot be contained, became contained within the limitations of a human body. By His nature, God cannot be grasped by the human mind. (4) Yet, He chose to become limited, small and accessible so that He could be bound, scourged and killed. (5)

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Father of the Church.
Picture courtesy of St. Sharbel Foundation, Fr. J. Akiki (1992)

[Kolokotronis]

I have always liked that icon!

[Pyro7480]

That's a wonderful prayer, K! That's something that ALL Christians should pray, including the prostrations.

Did you get a chance to finish reading the address? What do you think?

[Kolokotronis]

“Did you get a chance to finish reading the address? What do you think?”

Indeed I have. Isn’t it wonderful, even a miracle, that God has given the West such a great teacher as this pope at this time. We are seeing a great Father of The Church here, the first in the West in many centuries. Because of his role as First among Equals among the Patriarchs of The Church, when he speaks from Rome, the whole world, but most especially the Western Christian world so degraded by a soul destroying materialism and modernism, should listen.

Do you see what he is doing here with these talks on the Fathers? He is doing nothing less than catechising the West anew, using his position to start to repair the damage done by decades of drift and apostasy by going back to the Patristic roots of The Faith, demonstrating what The Church always and everywhere has believed.

[Pyro7480]

We are seeing a great Father of The Church here, the first in the West in many centuries.

Wow, that's really high praise from you. I've seen you write similar things before about him, but still, it is amazing to behold.

He started with the Apostles, and now has gone to the Fathers. One wonders if he will do the later Doctors of the Catholic Church next, such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis de Sales.

[Kolokotronis]

“St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis de Sales.”

Let’s hope not! :)

[Pyro7480]

Oh, come on! They were saints, even if you disagree with their theology. ;-)

[ELS]

Let’s hope not! :)

And you were doing so well. ;-)

[Kolokotronis]

“And you were doing so well. ;-)”

Well, see, I got the idea from Rome. The latest modus operandi is to look to the pre-schism Church for guidance. That’s why I don’t look for +BXVI to speak about +Gregory Palamas or +Theophan the Recluse. :)

[Tax-chick]

Cool!

[Kolokotronis]

It is cool. The prostration part takes some getting used to; nothing like watching a nave full of Americans bobbing and weaving in the aisles like a bunch of Mohammedans. Of course, it was from us that the Mohammedans learned that prostrating stuff in the first place (end of lesson in Continuing Eastern Christian Ed)! :)

[Kolokotronis]

“I’ve seen you write similar things before about him, but still, it is amazing to behold.”

There’s nothing amazing about my words or reaction. I am the worst of sinners and an often silly old man. What is amazing (though it shouldn’t be) is God’s perfect providence in sending us this pope.

[Tax-chick]

Very informative. Prostrating is a major drag when one is pregnant.

[Kolokotronis]

“Prostrating is a major drag when one is pregnant.”

You have me, ma’m, at a disadvantage! :)

[NYer]

He is doing nothing less than catechising the West anew ...

Indeed ... it's right there in the opening of his dialogue.

According to general opinion, Christianity is a European religion that has exported the culture of this Continent to other countries. The reality, though, is a lot more complex, as the root of the Christian religion is found in the Old Testament, and therefore in Jerusalem and the Semitic world.

[arielguard]

Hear! Hear! Beautifully said Kolo... The first non-protestant book I read was Cardinal Ratzinger’s “God and the World”. In a way he began my journey to Holy Orthodoxy. May God grant him many years!