Today’s readings press us into a single, searching question: if all things come from God and are therefore good, how do we explain the soul’s strange attraction to sin, division, and corruption? Ignatius exhorts the Ephesians to remain unified, peaceable, and rooted in Christ, warning that deception thrives where believers fail to gather, pray, and live out faith through love and humility. Augustine then turns inward and exposes the darker mystery of the heart, confessing that he once loved evil not for gain, pleasure, or advantage, but simply because it was forbidden—a counterfeit imitation of divine freedom that led only to emptiness and death. Aquinas provides the theological grounding beneath both voices, arguing that all things are good insofar as they exist, since being itself comes from God, while evil is not a substance but a privation—a lack of the good that ought to be there. Together, these readings show that sin does not arise because creation is evil, but because the human will turns away from the highest good, mistaking absence for freedom and corruption for power.

Readings:

Ignatius of Antioch, The Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapters 8–15 (Middle Recension)

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 6 (Section 14)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 7, Article 4

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To call something good is never neutral, because goodness always reveals where our unity, desire, and trust are finally anchored. Ignatius writes to the Ephesians as a man on his way to martyrdom, urging them to cling to unity with their bishop and with one another, because communion with the Church is communion with Christ Himself, and division is never spiritually harmless. Augustine then exposes how vice is parasitic, showing that every sin is a distorted imitation of God—pride mimics God’s greatness, lust mimics His love, and envy mimics His excellence—yet only God truly possesses what sin pretends to grasp. Aquinas finally brings this to its metaphysical foundation by arguing that goodness belongs to God alone by essence, since He alone is being itself, while all created goodness exists only by participation, real yet dependent. Together, these readings teach us that goodness, unity, truth, and life are never self-generated: they flow from God alone and are preserved only by remaining joined to Him in love, order, and humility (John 15:5; James 4:6).

Readings:

Ignatius of Antioch, The Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapters 1–7

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 6 (Section 13)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 6, Article 3

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Sin often masquerades as freedom and goodness, yet it always collapses once we see that only God Himself can truly satisfy the human heart. In The Confessions, Augustine probes his own soul and asks why he delighted in stealing pears he did not want, discovering that his pleasure was not in the object but in the rebellion itself—a hollow love that imitated goodness while fleeing from the only true good, God Himself. Aquinas then clarifies this insight theologically by affirming first that God is good by His very essence, not by participation, and then going further to confess that God is the supreme good—the final end for which all other goods exist and toward which every created desire, rightly ordered or not, is ultimately drawn. Together, these readings expose the tragedy of disordered love and the hope of restored desire: we sin when we grasp at lesser goods as if they were ultimate, and we find rest only when our loves return to God, who alone is goodness itself and the highest good of all (Psalm 16:11; James 1:17).

Readings:

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 6 (Section 12)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 6, Article 1

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 6, Article 2

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What looks like cruelty, loss, or even evil only makes sense when seen against the deeper truth that God alone is good, and all created goods either cling to Him rightly or fall apart when loved in the wrong order. In The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, Perpetua shows us this truth lived out under pressure—choosing fidelity to God over family bonds, earthly security, and even her own life, while trusting that God’s goodness governs suffering, judgment, and mercy, as seen most poignantly in her prayer for her brother Dinocrates and the victory promised in her final vision. Augustine then explains why such choices are necessary, arguing that no one ever commits evil for evil’s sake, but always for the sake of some lesser good—wealth, power, revenge, or security—goods that become destructive when loved more than God. Aquinas brings these threads together by grounding them in God Himself, teaching that God is not merely good, but goodness itself, the source from which all created goodness flows, making it possible to affirm both God’s perfect goodness and the reality of suffering without contradiction (Psalm 34:8; James 1:17).

Readings:

The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, Chapters 2–3

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 5 (Section 11)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 6, Article 1

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Faith is not preserved by nostalgia but proven when the same Spirit who strengthened the ancients is seen at work in later witnesses, calling the Church to endurance, right desire, and a clearer vision of the good. In The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, we hear the Church defend the living power of the Holy Spirit through the testimony of Perpetua herself—her unyielding confession before her father, the tenderness and agony of motherhood in prison, and the vision that taught her suffering, not escape, was the path appointed to her, revealing that what appears terrifying is often the very means by which God perfects His servants. Augustine then reflects on the nature of sin, showing that evil is never loved for its own sake but arises when good things—honor, beauty, friendship, power—are loved out of order, displacing God Himself, who alone is the true sweetness of the soul. Aquinas completes the movement by grounding all of this metaphysically, arguing that every being, insofar as it exists, is good, and that evil is not a substance but a privation of a good that ought to be present, helping us understand how martyrdom, temptation, and suffering can exist without denying God’s goodness, because even what is wounded still depends on the good that remains (Joel 2:28–29; Psalm 73:25–26).

Readings:

The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, Preface and Chapter 1

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 5 (Section 10)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 5, Article 3

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Faith is not proven in abstraction but under pressure—when allegiance to Christ collides with fear, reputation, and power, the Church’s true center is revealed. In today’s readings, Polycarp stands unyielding before the flames, Augustine confesses how desire blinded him even while truth surrounded him, and Aquinas clarifies that God sustains all things without ever becoming one of their parts. Together, these texts confront the temptation to compromise—whether through coercion, appetite, or confusion about God’s nature—and call us to a faith that is whole, grounded, and unmixed.

Readings:

The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna Concerning the Martyrdom of the Holy Polycarp (Chapters 8–14)

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 3 (Section 8)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 3, Article 8 — Whether God Enters into the Composition of Other Things

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Faithfulness begins long before the fire is lit. In today’s readings, the Church at Smyrna bears witness to the quiet courage of Polycarp as persecution gathers strength, showing how prayer, hospitality, and submission to God’s will prepare a soul for martyrdom before a single threat is spoken. Augustine then turns inward, exposing the earlier battleground of desire, pride, and the hunger for approval that shaped his youth, reminding us that the same heart that must one day stand firm before rulers must first learn to resist the subtler tyranny of sin. Aquinas brings these testimonies into sharp focus by teaching that God is altogether simple—undivided, uncompounded, and wholly Himself—so that the strength seen in Polycarp and the repentance confessed by Augustine do not arise from fractured human resolve, but from the simple, unchanging God who gives being, courage, and grace without division.

Readings:

The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna Concerning the Martyrdom of the Holy Polycarp (Chapters 1–7)

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 3 (Sections 6–7)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Book 1, Question 3, Article 7

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Faithfulness is learned in ordinary obedience long before it is tested in extraordinary trials. In today’s readings, Polycarp exhorts the Philippians to steadfastness, patience, and moral clarity, reminding the Church that true doctrine is guarded not only by confession, but by prayer, fasting, chastity, and love lived out under pressure. Augustine then reflects on his own youth, exposing the quiet danger of ambition unchecked by holiness, where success in learning masked a heart still untended toward God. Aquinas brings these voices into sharp theological focus by showing that God is not one being among others, nor contained within any category, but stands wholly apart as the source of all being—so that perseverance, repentance, and holiness alike rest not on human order or effort, but on the God who transcends every genus while sustaining every soul.

Readings:

Polycarp of Smyrna, The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (Chapters 7–14)

Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 5

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 3, Article 5

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