Saint Ephraim the Syrian the

👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾 #Saint #Ephraim the #Syrian, the Harp of the Holy Spirit (Sene 15) Beloved of Christ, blessed flock of the Lord, attend now to the glorious witness of our father, the righteous luminary of Mesopotamia, the fragrant lily of the desert, the golden harp of the Holy Spirit Saint Ephraim the Syrian, whose feast we solemnly keep on the fifteenth day of Sene. Let your hearts be opened, and your ears attentive, for his life is not merely a history to admire, but a ladder set toward heaven for all who would ascend. I. The Noble Beginning and Heavenly Instruction Saint Ephraim was born in the year 306 after the Incarnation of our Lord, in a land called Ntsibyn in Mesopotamia, where the soil was dry but the Spirit rich. It was no accident that he was born in the diocese of Saint Jacob, one of the 318 god-bearing bishops who thundered at the Council of Nicaea and laid low the heretic Arius. Saint Jacob, a man adorned with the crown of martyrdom, apostleship, and wisdom, became a father not of the flesh, but of the soul, to young Ephraim. As the child listened to his preaching, the divine Word pierced him like a sword. The Spirit, brooding like a dove over his soul, drew him to Saint Jacob. There he was baptized, not only with water but with tears, not only with doctrine but with fire. At ten years of age, he parted from his earthly parents and was raised under the wings of the bishop, learning the mysteries of Christ as bees draw nectar from the flower. Is this not the beginning of true wisdom? That the child hears the voice of God in the voice of the preacher? That the soul is taught from youth to tremble before holiness? II. The Warrior of Truth and Defender of Doctrine Through many fastings and unceasing prayers, Saint Ephraim was filled with the Holy Spirit. Like a sword forged in the furnace of asceticism, he went forth to contend with the Gentiles—not with violence, but with truth; not with wrath, but with conviction. His words, like arrows, pierced through error. He became a living shield of orthodoxy. In the year 325, that holy synod was called at Nicaea, where bishops assembled like stars in the firmament to rebuke the pride of Arius. Ephraim, still young but inflamed with zeal, stood at the side of Abba Jacob. When the heretic was cast down and truth triumphed, Ephraim beheld that night a vision a pillar of light, stretching from earth to heaven, testifying to the glory of the truth preserved. Can you not see, O brethren, what God bestows upon His friends? That they see what flesh cannot see, that they stand firm when the Church is shaken, and that they are granted the visions of heaven? III. Ordained for Glory and Teacher of the Nations Saint Basil the Great, another pillar of fire, ordained Ephraim a bishop, and shortly thereafter, a priest. His lips became fountains of doctrine, and his mouth a treasury of hymns. His words did not echo in one land, but flowed like the rivers of Eden, refreshing the ends of the earth. His diocese became his pulpit, and the world his audience. His tongue became the tongue of angels, and his soul the harp of heaven. Continues 👇🏾