Through the Church Fathers

Augustine opens On Christian Doctrine by splitting the whole work of Christian teaching in two: find what Scripture means, then give that meaning away—and he will not let the Church rest in the world as if the road were home. The same mind then turns inward in The Confessions and takes the present apart until “now” has no space left at all. Aquinas gathers the day with a quieter virtue: modesty, the part of temperance that puts measure not only on fierce desire, but on speech, study, recreation, dress, and the ordinary habit of knowing when enough is enough.

Today’s Readings:

Augustine of Hippo — On Christian Doctrine, Book 1, Chapters 1–6 (Sections 1–6)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 15 (Section 20)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 160 (Modesty)

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A new bishop starts a handbook for teachers. An old bishop finishes it almost 30 years later. In between, Augustine of Hippo preaches, argues, rereads Scripture, and learns how much he still has to correct. On Christian Doctrine is not a systematic theology. It is Augustine asking how Christian teaching is found in Scripture and then given away to someone else—and why that work is supposed to reorder what we love, not just sharpen what we can explain.

Today’s Readings:

Augustine of Hippo — On Christian Doctrine (Introduction)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How do we distinguish the true voice of Scripture from those who twist it, and how do we hold both firm judgment and restrained passion in the same heart? In today’s readings, Vincent of Lérins shows that heretics always appeal to the Bible, wrapping their errors in its language the way a wolf puts on sheep’s clothing, and he gives the Church the rule of universality, antiquity, and consent by which such deceptions are exposed. Thomas Aquinas then examines the virtues of clemency and meekness—one moderating the severity of punishment, the other restraining the passion of anger—while distinguishing the ordered anger that serves justice from the disordered anger that destroys it. Finally, Augustine turns inward to the mystery of time itself, asking how we can call any time “long” when the past no longer exists and the future is not yet, and discovering that only the fleeting present can bear the weight of duration.

Today’s Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 25–28 (Sections 64–75)

Augustine — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 15 (Section 18)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 157–158 (Clemency, Meekness, and Anger)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

What happens when even the most gifted teachers fall into error? In these chapters of the Commonitory, Vincent of Lérins holds up Tertullian as a sobering example and then lays down the marks of a true Catholic: one who loves the Church more than any individual teacher and guards the sacred deposit without addition or alteration. He insists that real progress in the faith is growth, not change—wheat remaining wheat. Alongside him, Augustine wrestles with the mystery of time itself, and Aquinas distinguishes continence from temperance, showing the firm resistance of the will against strong disordered desires.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 18–24 (Sections 46–63)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 14 (Section 17)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 155–156 (Continence and Incontinence)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How carefully must the Church confess the unity of Christ’s Person from the very moment of His conception? In these chapters of the Commonitory, Vincent of Lérins defends the title Theotokos—Mother of God—and sets the Catholic faith against the errors of Photinus, Apollinaris, and Nestorius. He then turns to the sobering example of Origen, whose extraordinary gifts became a great trial for the Church when novelty entered through a trusted teacher. Alongside him, Augustine contemplates the eternal present of God that stands above all time, and Aquinas examines the vice of lust and its various species that disorder the sexual appetite against the rule of reason.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 15–17 (Sections 40–45)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 13 (Section 16)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 153–154 (Lust and Its Species)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How does the Church confess one Christ in two natures without falling into the errors that divide Him or diminish Him? In these chapters of the Commonitory, Vincent of Lérins carefully sets forth the Catholic faith against Photinus, Apollinaris, and Nestorius, showing that the Church worships one Godhead in the Trinity and confesses one Christ who is truly God and truly man. Alongside him, Augustine contemplates the eternal present of God that stands above all time, and Aquinas teaches the virtues of chastity and virginity that order the strongest of the bodily desires under the rule of reason and for the sake of God.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 12–14 (Sections 32–39)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 13 (Section 16)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 151–152 (Chastity and Virginity)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

Paul’s warning still stands for every age: if anyone preaches a gospel other than the one already received, let him be accursed. In these chapters of the Commonitory, Vincent of Lérins presses the point home—neither time, nor place, nor the reputation of a teacher can justify altering the faith once delivered. He shows why God sometimes permits even distinguished men to introduce novelty: so that the love of His people may be tested. Alongside him, Augustine answers the question of what God was doing before creation by reminding us that time itself is a creature, and Aquinas teaches the virtue of sobriety that keeps the mind clear under the rule of reason.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 9–11 (Sections 24–31)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 13 (Section 15)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 149–150 (Sobriety and Drunkenness)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

When novelty rises in the Church, what must we do? Vincent of Lérins shows us the steadfast example of Pope Stephen, who answered the push for rebaptism with a simple rule: “Let there be no innovation—only what has been handed down.” In these chapters he defends the ancient faith against the danger of new teachings, warning that even gifted and persuasive error must fall when it departs from what the Church has always received. Alongside him, Augustine refuses the mocking answer to the question of what God was doing before creation, and Aquinas teaches us how abstinence, fasting, and the vice of gluttony order the desires of the body under the rule of reason.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 6–8 (Sections 15–22)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 12 (Section 14)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 146–148 (Abstinence, Fasting, and Gluttony)

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Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How do we hold the faith when new teachings press in from every side? Vincent of Lérins gives us a clear and enduring rule: what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. In these opening chapters of the Commonitory, he shows why Scripture must be read with the Church, why novelty is dangerous, and how the ancient faith once rescued the Church from the storm of Arianism. Alongside him, Augustine lifts our eyes to the eternity of God that stands outside of time, and Aquinas teaches us how shamefacedness and honesty guard the beauty of a temperate life.

Readings:

Vincent of Lérins — The Commonitory, Chapters 1–5 (Sections 1–14)

Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 11 (Section 13)

Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Questions 144–145 (Shamefacedness and Honesty)

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