Through the Church Fathers: November 27

Clement of Alexandria, Augustine’s Letter 84, Aquinas Q50 A5 — Whether Any Habit Is in the Will)

The human soul bends toward what it loves most—Clement warns me not to hide behind displays of wisdom, for the true adornment of the Christian is humility and restraint, even down to the sandals on our feet. Augustine then writes with the gentleness of a bishop and the precision of a theologian, guiding a troubled friend through the tension between action and contemplation—between the outer work of charity and the inward rest of grace. Aquinas closes the day by explaining that the will, too, carries habits just as the intellect does, for we grow into the good not by accident but by steady choosing. Virtue becomes second nature when the will learns to delight in the good itself (Philippians 2:13).

Readings: Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Chapter 12 (“On Shoes”)

Augustine, Letter 84

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 50, Article 5

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