Through the Church Fathers

• Through the Church Fathers: Nov-17

  When holiness is misunderstood, it becomes dangerous. Augustine warns against rewarding disobedience among monks who abandon their vows, reminding us that spiritual office must never be treated as an escape from discipline but as its reward (Letter LXI). Clement of Alexandria explores the virtue of temperance, using the image of wine and water to symbolize how the Word and Spirit mingle in us—wine must be used rightly, not worshiped as pleasure itself (The Instructor, Book 2, Chapter 2). Aquinas completes the triad with his reflection on courage, showing that true bravery begins strong but steadies under trial, seeking not danger itself but the good that danger protects (Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 45, Article 4). Together, they reveal that strength without order—and desire without restraint—quickly becomes ruin.Readings:Augustine, Letters, LXIClement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, Chapter 2Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 45, Article 4Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#ChurchFathers #Augustine #Clement #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #Temperance #Courage #MonasticLife

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• Through the Church Fathers: Novermber 16

  The Word becomes both teacher and physician—Christ instructs by law and prophets, forming us in the divine likeness. Augustine writes to Crispinus, appealing for unity and truth against division; Aquinas turns to love as the hidden cause of fear, showing how love perfects and sanctifies the soul (Psalm 1:1–3; John 14:27; 1 John 4:18).Readings:Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapters 11–12 (“That the Word Instructed by the Law and the Prophets” and “The Instructor Characterized by the Severity and Benignity of Paternal Affection”)Augustine, Letter 51 to CrispinusThomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 43, Article 1 (“Whether Love Is the Cause of Fear”)Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#Clement #Augustine #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #FearAndLove #ChurchFathers #ChristianWisdom

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• Through the Church Fathers: November 15

  The Word that restrains and heals—the one who threatens sin also saves through mercy. Clement shows Christ’s dual voice of discipline and love; Augustine recalls how unity depends not on uniformity but on charity; and Aquinas explores how daring can either glorify God or defy Him, depending on reason’s rule (Proverbs 8:4–6; Romans 5:3; Matthew 11:28).Readings:Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 10 (“That the Same God, by the Same Word, Restrains from Sin by Threatening and Saves by Exhorting”)Augustine, Letter 54 to JanuariusThomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 45 (Combined articles—Of Daring, its Nature, Cause, and Moral Character)Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#Clement #Augustine #SummaTheologica #ChurchFathers #Virtue #ChristianUnity #DivineLove

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• Through the Church Fathers: November 14

  Divine justice is never cruelty; it is love in action. In the second half of Clement’s Instructor, God’s rebuke is revealed as mercy—discipline that shapes the soul toward holiness. He heals as He wounds, striking only to save. Augustine’s Letter 37 to Simplicianus captures this same humility: the bishop of Hippo submits his writings to the judgment of a spiritual father, asking that what is good be approved and what is flawed be corrected—a portrait of learning that still bows before grace. Aquinas follows with the mystery of divine fear: that it springs from love itself. We tremble not because God is harsh, but because His goodness is weighty. Perfect love, far from erasing fear, transforms it into reverence that endures forever (1 John 4:18; Psalm 19:9).Readings:Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 9 (Part 2)Augustine, Letter 37Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 43, Article 1Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#Clement #Augustine #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #ChurchFathers #LoveAndFear #ThroughTheFathers

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• Through the Church Fathers: November 13

  The Fathers never feared to call God both good and severe. Clement of Alexandria shows us why: divine love rebukes precisely because it desires healing. The Instructor, Christ Himself, uses correction, fear, and compassion to bring souls back from ruin, much like a physician who cuts to cure. Augustine, in Letter 50, thunders against the pagan magistrates of Suffectum, whose idolatry led them to massacre Christians. He shames them with irony—offering to rebuild their lifeless Hercules if only they will restore the lives they took—and then turns their cruelty into a call to repentance. Aquinas, in Summa Theologica, reminds us that every fear grows from love: we fear only the loss of what we cherish. To love rightly, then, is to fear rightly—not the loss of worldly goods, but the loss of God Himself (Psalm 19:9).Readings:Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 9 (Part 1)Augustine, Letter 50Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 43, Article 1Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#Clement #Augustine #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #ChurchFathers #FearOfGod #HistoricalTheology

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