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January 18
Amy Carmichael and Athanasius of Alexandria
David Barnhart
January 18, 2026
Statue of Mary at the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, 2019. Own photo.
I was moved by the evidence of thousands of people who felt compelled to reach out and touch her hand.
Today is a feast day, in the Church of England, for Amy Carmichael, who died on January 18, 1951. She was an Irish-born missionary, first in her own land among working women, and later in India.
Today is also a feast day, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, for Athanasius of Alexandria. (He died on May 2, 373, which is when Western churches observe his feast day.) Athanasius was on of the important early theologians of the church who fought against Arianism, the doctrine that Jesus was made, not begotten of the Father.
Reflection:
Amy Carmichael wrote:
“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”
Athanaisus wrote:
“Christ was made man that we might be made God.”
and
“The Self-revealing of the Word is in every dimension - above, in creation; below, in the Incarnation; in the depth, in Hades; in the breadth, throughout the world. All things have been filled with the knowledge of God.”
Prayer: God, we are so uncomfortable with our own incarnation that we often reject yours. Help us to accept and be overcome by this paradox and mystery. Amen.