Through the Church Fathers

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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The letters of Ignatius of Antioch drop us into Christianity at its most fragile moment, when the apostles are gone, persecution is real, and faith must survive without safety, prestige, or power. Written around 107–110 AD as Ignatius is escorted under guard from Antioch to Rome to be executed, these seven letters are not theoretical theology but pastoral urgency—calls to unity, warnings against false teaching, and a fierce insistence that Christ truly suffered in the flesh. Ignatius writes as a bishop who knows he will die and refuses rescue, longing instead to imitate Christ fully, even in martyrdom, because he believes the Church is preserved not by novelty or force but by faithfulness, ordered love, and visible unity around bishop, presbyters, and deacons. In Ignatius we see a Church still close to the apostles, already structured, already sacramental, already confessing Christ as fully God and fully man, and willing to lose everything rather than lose Him (John 12:24; Philippians 1:21).
Readings:
Ignatius of Antioch, Letters to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, and Polycarp
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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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