Through the Church Fathers: January 5

Today’s readings press us into the heart of Christian life by holding faith, humility, and obedience together without confusion or compromise. Clement of Rome reminds us that while we are justified by faith and not by our own works, this faith never excuses sloth, pride, or neglect of righteousness, but instead energizes love, discipline, and harmony within the Church (Psalm 25:9; Isaiah 64:6; Habakkuk 2:4). Augustine reflects on his early years to show how human formation is marked by disordered loves even in childhood, revealing both our dependence on authority and our deep need for grace to rightly order desire, learning, and discipline (Psalm 22:9; Proverbs 22:6). Thomas Aquinas grounds all of this theologically by clarifying that sacred doctrine has God Himself as its object, and that every subject it treats—creation, morality, salvation—is considered only insofar as it comes from God and leads back to Him (Romans 11:36).

Readings:

Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapters 30–35

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 1, Chapters 8–9 (Sections 13–15)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 1, Article 7

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