[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)

[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)