Today is the Feast of Saint Athanasius who was Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt in the 4th century and was a great defender of the orthodox Catholic faith against the widespread contemporary heresy of Arianism which denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.
“Athansius kept the faith through hope and love, over a lifetime that included plenty of controversy and doctrinal debates,” explains Doug Taylor-Weiss of the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan which serves parishes and forms parishioners across the Diocese of Lansing, May 2.
“Athanasius asked the big questions, the deep ones, pondering, ‘What was God to do in face of this dehumanizing of mankind?’ seen across the thousands of years of the Old Testament. Answer? The incarnation, not a lowering of divinity, but as a raising up of humanity, us! Christ’s human nature is no limitation of his power but is instead the instrument by which he saves us.”
Saint Athanasius took part in the Council of Nicea in 325AD and until the end of his life remained a champion of the orthodox Catholic faith as upheld by the Council. He was subjected to many persecutions for defending the true teaching concerning the person of Christ and was sent into exile from his diocese no less than five times. He died at Alexandria in 373 after an episcopate of 46 years.
Founded in 2009, the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan offers courses that make the entire Bible accessible to ordinary Catholics, through the engaging, kerygma-filled teaching of expert, seminary-level teachers. Their courses range from 5 weeks to 28 weeks and are offered in-person and online. To find out more, go to: https://cbsmich.org/
Saint Athanasius, pray for us!
• Additional material courtesy of Catholic Culture at https://www.catholicculture.org/