St. Ephrem & Being Light | June 9

Click here to read the daily readings from the USCCB website.

It’s strange to think now that Easter was almost 2 months ago. Of course, we weren’t able to gather for a public Easter Vigil due to the pandemic and one of the things I missed was the lighting of candles. As you remember on Holy Saturday, the Easter candle leads the procession into a dark church. When the candle gets to the middle of the church, the flame is shared and everyone lights their candles starting in the middle aisle and moving outward. It’s an incredible sight as the “light of Christ” spreads across the entire congregation.

I was reminded of this image when I read today’s Gospel. Jesus had just shaken things up when he preached the beatitudes that we heard yesterday. Jesus called his disciples then, as he calls us now, to be salt of the earth and light of the world. The disciple who does not live the beatitudes by example is like salt that loses it’s taste…no longer good for anything. In the same way, Jesus calls His disciples to make our lives an example of the beatitudes so the world may see our good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father.

Our Saint for today certainly took this to heart. St. Ephrem was a 4th century Syrian deacon who was recognized as a doctor of the Church for his prolific works of theology, scriptural commentary and apologetics. He was one of the 1st to introduce song into public worship and wrote over 400 hymns to console, encourage and teach his fellow Christians, most of which did not have access to books or able to read. The light of Christ that blazed in the life of St. Ephrem has spread out like the candles at Easter vigil to every music ministers since then.

As we let the light of Christ shine forth in our lives today, let us ask for the intercession of St. Ephrem to help us to spread that light in the darkness of our world.

 

-Deacon Steve Whiteman