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January 28
David Barnhart
January 28, 2025
Window from Lovely Lane Chapel, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, 2021.
Today is the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a theologian in the 1200’s who synthesized Christian faith and Greek philosophy.
Today is also the local Feast day (at Malmesbury) of John Scotus Eriugena, an Irish theologian, who died in 877.
On today’s date in 1521, Martin Luther began his defense of his Reformation theology at the Diet of Worms (“diet” meant an assembly, and Worms is a city just north of Mannheim, Germany). The debate would last until May 25, after which Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms, which condemned Luther as a heretic. This was the first official schism between Roman Catholic and Protestant groups after Luther published his 95 theses in October of the previous year.
Today in 1573, the Warsaw Confederation was signed by the Polish National Assembly, which granted freedom of religion to its citizens. It was one of the first such acts in Europe.
Reflection:
Richard Kearny, explaining the theology of John Scotus Eriugena, wrote:
The fall never took place in historical time; rather for Eriugena, it expresses the metaphysical possibility that man can achieve unity with God if his freewill is utilized correctly. Eriugena has no time for the more literal interpretations of the Bible which sought to blame the devil or Eve for original sin. All human beings are separate from God so long as their free wills are self-centered rather than directed towards the infinite, endless will of God.
Prayer (from Thomas Aquinas):
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.