Through the Church Fathers: January 12

Here we are confronted with three voices speaking from very different moments in the Church’s life, yet circling the same concern: what it means to live rightly before God. Polycarp exhorts the Philippians to faithfulness, moral integrity, and ordered Christian life rooted in obedience and love. Augustine turns inward, confessing the disorder of his youthful desires and tracing how love, when misdirected, fractures the soul. Aquinas then brings theological precision, showing that God Himself is utterly unlike us—not composed, not changeable, not divided—pure act without mixture or limitation. Together, these readings move from pastoral instruction, to personal confession, to metaphysical clarity, helping us see both our need for transformation and the unchanging God toward whom that transformation is directed.

Readings:

Polycarp, The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Chapters 1–5

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 2, Chapters 1–2 (Sections 1–2)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 3, Article 2

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