Happiness—what is it really? Today Origen reminds us that the devil and hostile powers seek to entice us, but not all sin comes directly from them—our bodily appetites and misuse of natural desires also play their part (James 1:14). Augustine shows us that Moses may have meant many true things in Genesis, but our confidence must rest in God’s truth, not our own pride of interpretation. Aquinas begins his treatment of happiness by insisting it is not some created possession but the perfected act of the soul beholding God (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 2 Augustine, Confessions, Book 12, Chapter 22 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Q.3, Articles 1–3

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