The Harp of the Holy Spirit

Source: Celestial Choir

Yesterday, the feast of Saint Ephrem (the Syrian) was celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Ephrem was a fourth‑century deacon and Doctor of the Church, and he is especially honoured in the Eastern (Syriac) tradition. Living in the eastern part of the Roman Empire (in what is now modern‑day Turkey), he emerged as a significant voice in defending the divinity of Christ against the Arian heresy - the claim that Christ is not fully divine. Elements of this error have reappeared in different forms throughout history and continue to surface in various ways today.

Ephrem never became a priest or bishop. He remained a deacon and used his gifts in many ways, especially through the composition of beautiful hymns and poems, for which he is known as the ‘Harp of the Holy Spirit’. His ministry was expressed through teaching, preaching, and especially through his poetic and musical works. He is associated with the madrāšê (teaching hymns), which were performed by choirs -traditionally including women - with musical accompaniment such as the lyre. One tradition notes that women’s voices played an important role in this form of liturgical instruction, reflecting the dignity of their participation in the life of the Church.

Many of his hymns contain striking reflections on the Eucharist. In one of them he writes:

'In your bread is hidden the Spirit which cannot be eaten.
In your wine dwells the fire that cannot be drunk.
Spirit in your bread, fire in your wine:
it is a wonder that our lips have received!'
(Hymns on Faith, 10)

In common with many early Christian writers, Saint Ephrem did not produce a single systematic treatise on the Eucharist. Instead, he expressed its mystery through poetic and symbolic language. Images such as fire, Spirit, medicine, bread of life and nourishment point to the profound reality of Christ’s presence and the life‑giving grace communicated in the Eucharist.

Eucharist is a community sacrament

Over the centuries, the emphasis within the Christian life - and, within this, on the Eucharist - has shifted between communal and individual dimensions. From the fragmentary evidence available regarding liturgical practice in the early Irish or Celtic Church, it is reasonable to infer that the Eucharist was a central act of the community. This was certainly the case in monastic settings such as the island of Iona, where Saint Columba (Colmcille) lived after his departure from Ireland.

Words of life

At the end of the sixth chapter of John, we may locate ourselves within the scene: among the crowd, among the wider group of disciples, or among the Twelve closest followers of Jesus. The teaching is demanding. As many recognise, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’  (John 6:60). Indeed, the passage bears the depth of reflection of the early Church, already living from the mystery of the Eucharist. Yet, whatever its historical development, Christians trust that Scripture is truly the Word of God, communicated through human witnesses under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The scandal of eucharistic living

Corpus Christi

Sunday 7 June 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16 Psalm 147

1 Corinthians10:16-17 John 6:51-58

Meditatio:

‘..hose who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.’  (John 6:54)

 

Commentary:

In the 1986 film The Mission, set in South America in the 1750s, the Jesuit priest Fr Gabriel leads the people forward, carrying the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament as a joint Portuguese–Spanish force opens fire. The brutal destruction of the people – and the falling of the monstrance – becomes a powerful cinematic image of Christ’s Body suffering in the poor and the oppressed. After Fr Gabriel is cut down, a small child picks up the monstrance and continues the procession. Only a handful escape into the jungle.

Witness, community, persecution, violence, death, scattering, remnant, and new life: flesh, bread, life.

'.....my flesh....'

 “I am the living bread,” declares Jesus in Jesus 6:51. What does this mean for us today?

Bread has always been a basic part of human life. Together with water, it sustains and restores the body. In this sense, bread is a sign of life itself. Yet Jesus reminds us that our lives are sustained by more than physical nourishment: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

We recognise this in our own experience. Our lives are nourished not only by food, but also by love, acceptance, truth, and relationships. Even within Scripture, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of God’s word as something to be ‘eaten’, a way of describing how deeply it can nourish and transform us from within (Jeremiah 15:16).

Corpus Christi – Then and Now: Ireland and Croatia

It has been many decades – perhaps four – since I last attended a Corpus Christi procession. That would have been in Dublin where I grew up. It was, typically, a regular annual event involving the local community: families and individuals processing along a public road from the parish church to a designated outdoor altar. Households were encouraged not only to attend, but also to decorate their homes – many putting up bunting or floral displays along the route.

The highlight was Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at a public place prepared for the occasion. The atmosphere was solemn, joyful and dignified – a genuine expression of shared belief. For various reasons the practice largely died out in Ireland, probably towards the late 1980s.

Whom do I seek?

 

The Bread of Life is a painting by Michael Torevell 

Three serious questions are asked here.

What is it that I seek in life?

Where do I  find joy in my life right now?

Do I find joy in what I seek?

When, as we read in John 6:22-37, Jesus and his disciples saw the crowds looking for them on the other side of sea in the area of Capernaum they knew that the miraculous and the extraordinary had drawn them.  The people were seeking the miracle more than the sign that the evangelist, John, wishes to highlight.

Like the people who followed Jesus to the other side of the lake we can miss the Signs of God in our chaotic, broken but beautiful and mystery-laden world. We seek the wrong type of bread in the wrong sorts of places when the real bread of God’s word and loving sacramental presence is freely on offer. This is the true bread ‘come down from heaven’ and it is also freely available to those who seek and come to be nourished in the Sacrament.   Nobody can take this gift from us.