Ideal for Lent and great for any time of the year, spend 40 days on a journey with the help of St. Ephrem the Syrian's Homily on Our Lord. In this devotional, St. Ephrem's breathtaking homily is divided into readings over a 40 day period. Read and reflect on each section day by day. Scripture references are included for additional prayer and reflection. Keep in mind that the 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays. So take a break on Sunday and perhaps spend more time reading the Bible. St. Ephrem was born within Roman territory in the ancient and famous city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, in, or before, the earliest days of the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337 AD). He was a disciple of St. Jacob (aka St. James), Bishop of Nisibis and he lived in it under Jacob and the three Bishops who successively followed him. Ephrem finally settled at Edessa, and took up his abode as a "Solitary" in a cell on the "Mount of Edessa" -- a rocky hill close to the city. Here he rose into repute as a teacher, and a champion against heresy. He was a most copious writer, and left an immense quantity of writings of which a large part is extant: Sermons, Commentaries, and Hymns. These constitute such a body of instruction in the substance of Scripture and the faith of the church, that they have justly earned for him the title of Doctor of the Church within the Catholic Church. Ephrem is venerated as a saint by all traditional Christian Churches. He is held in especially high esteem within Syriac Christianity. Within Eastern Orthodoxy he is a Venerable Father while in Catholicism he is a Doctor of the Church.