A hidden architecture runs beneath Scripture’s surface. Today we follow that architecture from Origen’s layered reading, through Augustine’s meditation on Genesis’ humble clarity, to Aquinas on whether external goods truly belong to happiness. Origen shows why some texts yield body, soul, and spirit and how the Church reads the Law as shadow and promise; Augustine protects beginners with simple words even as he invites the mature to pluck deeper fruit; Aquinas distinguishes perfect beatitude from our pilgrim flourishing, keeping external goods as helpful tools rather than the heart of joy. (1 Corinthians 2:10–16; Luke 11:52; 1 Corinthians 10:11; John 2:6; Matthew 6:19–21)

Readings:

Origen, De Principiis, Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 10–12)

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 12, Chapter 27

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 4, Article 7

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