Date: June 9, 2020 ()

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The saint we are honoring today lived to be truly a salt of the earth and light of the world. He was given the attribute “Harp of Faith” and proclaimed Doctor of the church for his great contribution to the growing church. In his biography, St. Ephrem wrote polemical verse and poems - over one thousand works in all, with a total of over unbelievably 3,000,000 lines. Some of his works were great references in the defense of our faith, particularly against the agnostics and Arians, as well as, this particular Bar-Daisan, and other adversaries of the faith. He had great devotion to the Theotokos and wrote praises for Mary and metrical sermons and homilies on Faith. He also wrote prose commentaries on the Old Testament and the Epistles of St. Paul and annotated the Greek-Syriac New Testament Diatessaron. His descriptions of heaven and hell are said to have inspired Dante. St. Ephrem died in the year 373 while ministering to people who had the plague. His was a whole lifetime of generous giving of the self for the Lord and for our dear faith.

The first reading today recalls the story of a widow designated by God to provide food for Elijah. The widow almost did not want to give up the last meal she and her son could have during a time of famine, but eventually she did what Elijah asked and shared the very little food that she had.

This reminds us of the beautiful story somewhere in the gospel about a widow in the temple. She puts a very small amount into the Temple treasury, but by doing it, she pleased Jesus because she gave all she had to live on. Both widows shared with kindness from the little they have. Both widows remind us that being generous is measured not by the amount we give but by what we give in proportion to what we have. Real generosity leaves us vulnerable. That was the generosity that characterized Jesus who allowed himself to be vulnerable to his critics and eventually gave up His all by laying down His life for our sake.

We become truly salt of the earth and light of the world when we make a difference in the lives of others, and it is our generosity that will make it happen. May we truly become generous in heart, in spirit, in mind, as well as in what we possess, whether it be our material resources or our time or our gifts. And, know that whenever we are generous, even with the little we have, it will open for us even more blessings from the Lord God, who said: “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry.”