THE 494TH anniversary of Fr Martin Luther’s famous nailing of the 95 thesis on the church door at Wittenburg, Germany, resulting in the largest split in Christianity, was commemorated around the Protestant world this past week. The Protestant Reformation is not a topic you would hear being discussed in the Catholic fraternity these days. I have never heard it being talked about in the local church by our local people. Anyhow, coming from a Protestant background, I heard sermon after sermon being preached on Reformation Sundays gone by, making the case for Luther’s split with the Roman Catholic Church of the day. It was a sort of indoctrination, which I could not help going to find out for myself; the true details of the Protestant Reformation which sparked a bloody series of events that would only follow years after 1517. Of course, that being said, I later discovered the one, true church, the Roman Catholic Church, with which I am still in love today and for all time.
But Luther had good intentions. It was reported that he trembled with the chalice in his hand each time he would celebrate Mass (see Movie ‘Luther’ if you have the chance), because he was convinced that what he believed in was true; he wanted with all his heart for Rome to change her ways back then. The sale of indulgences, abuse of power from some of the bishops and popes, and a return to the Biblical teachings were just a few of the main grouses Luther had with the church then. Sola Scriputura (Scriputre alone), Sola Gratia (Grace alone), Sola Fide (Faith alone), Sola Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (for the Glory of God alone) were the five bases on which the Reformation rested. Luther wanted Rome to address these causes.
Indeed, Luther was a brilliant man who saw widespread corruption within the Catholic Church as something which needed to be addressed. The church, he feared, was distancing itself further and further away from the Bible and its teachings.
The church did respond with the Counter- Reformation to try to preserve its legacy and a last- minute attempt to reduce the loss of Catholics converting to Luther’s teachings. Luther was later thrown out of the Church for his “disobedience to Rome”. He married Catholic nun, Katherina von Bora, who also left the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church was born. This gave way to other Protestant Reformers, like Calvin, Zwingly, Wesley, et al, rising up against other teachings and starting their own churches as well, many of which we have today, like the Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans.
The extent to which the Protestant Reformation hurt and injured the church is debatable. Luther had a case against Rome, who not surprisingly did not lend an ear to the man. Luther’s last resort was to ever split Catholicism, however, that took place and the reality is still with us today. Perhaps if Rome had listened, accepted faults and tried to reform itself, we might have still had fewer denominations of different beliefs today.
Today, Christianity has split in over 250,000 sects, making it one of the most conflicting religious beliefs in the world, since each sect has different beliefs, and sub- beliefs. There is the Week of Prayer for Unity when Christians, for one week, cover the wounds and come together as one to worship. Yet, they cannot share the Holy Communion with each other because each sect sees this ceremony in different ways, i.e. transubstantiation, consubstantiation. Luther loved devotion to Our Lady. He loved his Catholic Church. He was a revolutionary priest. Even though he was said to have love good German beer, he took his place in life seriously. Many of us can learn lessons from Fr Luther, even as the Catholic Church should continuously learn and ponder on the lessons of the Reformation.
Reforming itself, the Catholic Church must continue on a regular basis. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church today must see reforming itself not as a threat, like those authorities saw Luther’s attempts to reform back in the 16TH Century. Reformation is an ongoing process that allows us to look ourselves in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable and ask ourselves, “Are we, as a church, a parish, a diocese, an Archdiocese, going in the right direction?”