Feast of St Ephrem the Deacon, Doctor of the Church.

"WHEN PEOPLE SEE THAT THEY HAVE LOST EVERYTHING, THAT RICHES DO NOT ENDURE & CARNAL DESIRES NO LONGER EXIST, THAT BEAUTY & POWER DISAPPEAR & VANISH, THEN THEY RECOLLECT THEMSELVES & ARE FILLED WITH REMORSE." (ST EPHREM, DEACON & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH).

How much are you aware of the love of Jesus for you? A little or great?

"Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna."  (Matthew 5: 20.... 26).

Thursday 9th June 2022, 10th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of St Ephrem the Syrian (306 - 373). Deacon and Doctor of the Church. There is so much to write about the accomplishments of Ephrem the Syrian. Let us consider these:
Ephrem had a keen intellect. His pen was like a sharp sword. Part of his genius is that he used poems and hymns to combat the heresies of his time. He expounded the mysteries of Christ and the Glorious Virgin Mary. Ephrem had a great devotion to Mary and was not shy about it.

Are you a minimalist or one who lives Magis in everything. Magis simply means More. It is an attitude of the heart and mind that goes for More in everything and never for the least or minimum.  This is a core principle of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

In Matthew 5: 20, Jesus says that the Minimum will never get you into Heaven.  For example, the Church law states that you must receive Holy Communion "at least" once a year. The minimalist rejoices and says to himself:  "This is great. I can do this."

"Dearest Lord,
teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will."  (St Ignatius Loyola).

6. 9. "In our age of religious indifference, when fervor and charity have grown cold, Jesus exhibits to the world His Sacred Heart as the symbol of God’s infinite love—the symbol of His own generous self-sacrificing love for men. Jesus shows His Divine Heart as a furnace whose burning rays of love are able to reanimate faith and rekindle love in hearts grown cold and ungrateful." (Anonymous. Likely author: Fr Lukas Etlin, O.S.B. (1864-1927).

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