June 22

Paulinus of Nola, Avicenna, and August Froehlich

Author

David Barnhart
June 22, 2025

Kells, Ireland, 2022. Own photo.

Today is the feast day of Paulinus of Nola, who was born on this day in 354, and died on this day in 431. He gave up being a rising star in the Roman senate and became a priest and philanthropist. He and his wife Therasia led the community in Nola, and both corresponded with Augustine and Jerome. Paulinus eventually became bishop of Nola.

Today also marks the death, in 1037, of Avicenna (Ibn Sina), a Persian Muslim polymath who wrote during the “Islamic Golden Age” and remains one of the greatest thinkers in the world. In addition to laying the groundwork for modern medicine, he wrote on philosophy, theology, poetry, chemistry, astronomy, and music. 

Today also marks the death at Dachau concentration camp, in 1942, of August Froehlich, a Catholic priest who had been imprisoned for resisting Nazism and particularly because he spoke up for pregnant Polish women who were being forced to work for the Nazis. 

Reflection: 

Paulinus wrote: 

He is the Light of truth, the Path of life, the Power and Mind, Hand and Strength of the Father. He is the Sun of justice, Source of blessings, Flower of God, God’s Son, Creator of the world, Life of our mortality, and Death to our death. He is the Master of the virtues. He is God to us and became Man for us by stripping off His nature and assuming ours, forging eternal relations between man and God, while He Himself is both.

Prayer: Spirit of Truth, enlighten our minds and give courage to our hearts so that we might stand for peace and justice. Amen.