St. Matthew, originally called Levi, was probably born in Galilee - the
son of Alphaeus.  He became a publican tax collector - a social status
that was considered low by Jewish religious society and is associated
with sinners.  When he was in his post as tax collector one day, Jesus
called him and he immediately responded and soon became one of the
apostles of Jesus (Mt 9:9-13; 10:3).

Matthew is the author of the first gospel, which was written at about
the same time as the gospel of Luke was written - ca. 70-80 A.D. The
gospel was originally in Aramaic, a Hebrew tongue which is also known
to be the native language of Jesus of Nazareth.  Although what we have
now is the Greek translation of the gospel, many passages in the gospel
reveal without question that the author is a Jewish Christian of
Palestinian origin who was writing to Jewish Christians.

According to tradition, St. Matthew preached in Judea first and then
went to the East where he suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia. This is what
is recorded in the Roman martyrology.  A legend tells that he may also
have been martyred in Persia.

Art often represents the gospel of Matthew with a human face.  This is
because Matthew starts his gospel with the human genealogy of Jesus.
Mark is represented by a lion [since the gospel starts with John the
Baptist in the wilderness]; Luke is represented by an ox [signifying
an animal of sacrifice]; and John is represented by an eagle [signifying
the high and lofty beginning of the gospel through the prologue].

The gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as a “new Moses” who often
preaches and teaches from a mountain [cf. Sermon on the Mount]. Bible
scholars teach us that just as Moses went up the mountain of Sinai
to help seal the covenant of God with His people Israel, so does
Jesus who seals the new covenant, not with the blood of animals,
as was the tradition of the Jews in the Old Testament, but with
His own blood on the cross at Calvary.

As secretary to Bishop Alexander, he attended the Council of Nicaea (325
A.D.) - the council that condemned Arianism, a heresy in early Christianity
that denied the divinity of Christ. Upon the death of Bishop Alexander
years after that Council, he was then chosen to succeed as bishop of
Alexandria.  From that time on, he became a very outspoken champion for
the doctrine that Jesus is divine.  He battled Arianism which continued
on despite its condemnation. This struggle went on for several years.

In 355 A.D., Arianism spread wide among the Christians since its proponents
propagated the teaching through popular songs.  St. Athanasius was such a
staunch defender of the Church’s doctrine that his battle with the Arians
caused his exile five times for a total of 17 years.  And to escape attempts
on his life, he took refuge among the monks of the desert.  It was only
in 364 A.D. that St. Athanasius returned back victoriously to his diocesan
see of Alexandria - spending the rest of his life in peace, writing
inspiring books.  He died on May 2, 373 A.D.

The major treatises St. Athanasius authored during his exile were: Apologia
to constantius, Defense of Flight, Letter to the Monks, and History of the
Arians.  Although St. Athanasius did not write the well-known “Athanasian
Creed”, many believe that this creed was drawn from his writings, and
edited by a cleric in his time.

An apropos to St. Athanasius’ orthodoxy is his treatise On the Incarnation.
Below is an excerpt which is similar in meaning to the prologue in the first
chapter of the gospel of John:

“The Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible and immaterial, entered our
world. Yet it was not as if he had been remote from it up to that time.
For there is no part of the world that was ever without his presence;
together with his Father, he continually filled all things and places.”

St. Hilary studied philosophy and then pursued Christianity after reading
the Bible.  He was baptized, got married, and had a daughter named Apra.
The people of Poitiers wanted him to be their bishop, but St. Hilary
declined in humility. History tells us that the insistence of the people
soon led to his assent and events proved him to be the excellent choice
the people conceived him to be.

Though St. Hilary started writing simply - as was the case with his
commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, events again in the Church
propelled him in a different direction: making him the Church’s defense
against Arianism.  This led to his waging battles against the Arian
leaders and his eventual exile to Phrygia.

In his exile of four years, St. Hilary wrote his masterpiece - twelve
“books” (more like long chapters) of De Trinitate (On the Trinity).
He was then released back to Gaul and returned to his diocese - welcomed
by one of his disciples, Martin [soon to become St. Martin of Tours].
He then got involved in a final battle with the Arians in Milan,
engaging Arian bishop Auxentius in a public debate. St. Hilary won this
battle and then afterwards settled down to a more peaceful life.

St. Hilary continued to write, writing on the Scriptures - more
particularly on the Psalms.  His other treatises were De synodis and
Opus historicum.

St. Hilary passed away ca. 386, and was proclaimed Doctor of the Church
by Pope Pius IX in 1851.

St. Hilary was one of the leading and most respected theologians of his
times.  An apropos to the soundness of his theology is the following
passage taken from “On the Trinity”:

“In the sacrament of his body he [Christ] actually gives us his own flesh,
which he has united to his divinity. This is why we are all one, because
the Father is in Christ, and Christ is in us. He is in us through his
flesh and we are in him. With him we form a unity which is in God.”

It may have been St. Hilary’s gift to know much of the truth on the
Trinity because of his mission to defend the Church against Arianism.
Among his peers he was also much respected - most especially by St.
Augustine of Hippo and St. Jerome.  His eloquence was much noted by
them and St. Hilary, aka “the illustrious Doctor of the Churches” and
“the trumpet of the Latins against the Arians”, led the Church well
during a very tumultuous period in history.

Though the Church at present is faced with many challenges and difficulties,
one way she can find directions to overcome these hardships is to seek
wisdom in her own past history - especially in the writings of her
servant-leaders.  One of the periods of history to search for wisdom from
these Church leaders is the era in which St. Ephrem, the Syrian, lived.

St. Ephrem, aka “The Harp of the Holy Spirit”, is a poet and musician of
the Church in the 4th century. He was present in the Council of Nicaea in
325 - an ecumenical council that resolved Christological questions and
issues pertaining to the person of Christ.  When Nisibis (in Syria) fell
into Persian control, St. Ephrem then retired to a lonely mountain cave
near Edessa and devoted his time to prayer, and the writing of spiritual
works and biblical commentaries.

St. Ephrem became a deacon, but out of humility, he refused to be ordained
a priest. This spirit of humility is akin to the humility of St. Francis
of Assisi (in the 13th century) - who also refused to be ordained a priest,
but out of obedience to the Church hierarchy at the time, assented to
become a deacon because of his leadership in the movement and the
communities he founded.

A written work of prayer apropos to the spirit of St. Ephrem’s humility
is as follows:

Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, You have power over life and death. You
know even things that are uncertain and obscure, and our very thoughts
and feelings are not hidden from You. Cleanse me from my secret faults,
and I have done wrong and you saw it. You know how weak I am both in
soul and body. Give me strength, O Lord, in my frailty and sustain me in
my sufferings. Grant me a prudent judgment, dear Lord, and let me always
be mindful of Your blessings. Let me retain until the end the grace that
has protected me till now. Amen.

This is the short form of St. Ephrem’s humble prayer.  The complete prayer
can be found in Linus Mundy’s book, “A Man’s Guide to Prayer”, published
by the Crossroad Publishing Company in New York.

St. Ephrem wrote much in Syriac on many exegetical (’bibical analysis’),
dogmatic (pertaining to doctrine), and ascetical (in relation to ascesis),
themes.  At that time, the Church was battling the teaching of the Arians
and the Gnostics, and St. Ephrem wrote much against them.  Though St.
Ephrem used his scriptural sources well in this theological controversy,
in his ministry to people, he also introduced hymns in public worship
and used it for religious instructions.  Particularly outstanding are his
Nisibeian hymns and the canticles for the liturgical seasons. Thus he was
aka “The Harp of the Holy Spirit”.

Despite being just a deacon, St. Ephrem earned the title of Doctor of the
Church in 1920.  Pope Benedict XV declared him so - making him the only
Syrian to be so honored.

St. Ephrem lived and taught during the same century as Athanasius, Hilary,
Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen, John Chrysostom,
and Ambrose.  He defended much the teaching of the Church in relation to
the truth of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption.  We can
learn much wisdom from St. Ephrem’s writings. They show such deep insight
- especially in relation to his knowledge of Scripture.  St. Ephrem’s
works were translated from Syrian into Greek, Latin, and Armenian.

The Church of today can learn much from this exceptionally humble man.
His humility is an apropos to his being the least known of the 33 Doctors
of the Church.  As a deacon though, he exercised his ministry exceptionally
well and did a lot of charity works - distributing food and money to those
stricken by the famine in Edessa in the year 373 AD.  This famine in 373
exhausted St. Ephrem a lot and may have caused his death a month after.
Below is an excerpt from the Testament of St. Ephrem.

Lay me not with sweet spices,

For this honor avails me not,

Nor yet use incense and perfumes,

For the honor befits me not.

Burn yet the incense in the holy place;

As for me, escort me only with your prayers,

Give ye your incense to God,

And over me send up hymns.

Instead of perfumes and spices,

Be mindful of me in your intercessions.

The author of this blog, “Authors, Apropos, and AKAs”, and the many other
blogs featured in the Catholic Blogs page, is Dennis Cabrera. He is AKA
Dennis V. Cabrera, Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera, Dennis Emmanuel Cabrera and
Dennis Villegas Cabrera.  In his birth certificate and baptismal certificate
in the Catholic Church, the registered official name is Dennis Emmanuel
Villegas Cabrera.  The “Net-name” or pen name which he used for all his
blogs, articles, and authored pages on the Net is Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera.
That is all he wishes to be known of in apropos to his name.

The author hopes that this blog, “Authors, Apropos, and AKAs”, will continue
to develop and build many pages of information that will be of benefit to
Catholics - who wish to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith,
and for non-Catholics - who in their searches, may find in this blog the
information they need to know and learn of the Catholic religion.