Theme: Discernment, illumination, and rightly ordered delight guard the soul. These three readings form a tight pastoral sequence: in Tertullian (Chapters 4–6) we hear apostolic warnings against heresy and schism and are reminded that heresy is often a willful turning away from the apostolic rule; Augustine (Book 11, Ch. 3) amplifies that warning by locating true illumination in the Creator’s light—what the first “Let there be light” signifies for the spiritual creature; and Aquinas (Question 10) completes the arc by explaining enjoyment as a willful rest in a good apprehended by the intellect. Put together they teach us how to discern false teachers (test their conformity to apostolic doctrine), how to seek the transforming light that makes created goods intelligible, and how to train the will to enjoy rightly so that desire does not become a spring of division or idolatry. The pastoral thrust is plain: test teachings by the apostolic rule, receive the illuminating grace that converts desire, and let enjoyment follow possession only when the will is ordered by truth. (Matt. 7:15; Gal. 1:8; Gen. 1:3; Ps. 36:9; Ps. 16:11)

• Readings: Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum, Chapters 4–6

• Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 3 (Genesis 1:3 — Of “Light”)

• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 10 (Of Enjoyment)

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• #Tertullian #Augustine #Aquinas #Confessions #Enjoyment #SpiritualDiscernment

Theme: How truth resists counterfeit wisdom and the will must be ordered to the good. In these readings we face three related dangers and remedies: Tertullian shows how pagan philosophy supplies the raw materials for heresy, turning speculative systems into counterfeit gospels and seducing curious minds with dialectical sleights; Augustine responds theologically by reminding us that all things come from the plenitude of God’s goodness—creation is not a patch to fill God’s lack but a gift to be converted toward the fountain of life; Aquinas then brings this home practically by showing how the will’s intention must be rightly formed by the intellect so that our actions cohere toward true ends. Read together they warn: refuse the temptation to graft speculative systems onto the apostolic faith; receive instead the Scriptural light that locates all created goods in their dependence on God; and let the intellect and will collaborate so that our choices aim at rightly ordered enjoyment of the good rather than at private curiosity or prestige. These readings press a single pastoral conclusion — guard the deposit of faith, pursue illumination, and order your loves so that delight follows possession of what is truly good. (Matt. 7:15; Col. 2:8; Gen. 1:3; Ps. 36:9; Phil. 3:14)

• Readings: Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum, Chapters 7–8

• Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 4 (All things created by the grace of God)

• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 12 (Of Intention)

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Tertullian’s De praescriptione provides a sharply juridical defense of ecclesial authority: the Church’s long possession of apostolic teaching (as embodied in baptismal formulas, prayers, and liturgy) confers a prescriptive right against novelty; Augustine’s insistence on inward formation and Origen’s metaphysical sense of participation together problematize mere procedural claims if the Church’s memory is not embodied in faithful life, while Aquinas reminds us that causality and moral agency still require interior apprehension; read together the set invites Christians to weigh institutional continuity, inward holiness, and coherent causation when adjudicating doctrinal claims. (Matthew 28:19; 1 John 2:19; Psalm 22:27)

Readings:

Tertullian, De praescriptione haereticorum (On the Prescription of Heretics)

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 13, Chapter 2

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 9, Articles 5–6

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#Tertullian #Praescriptio #RegulaFidei #EcclesialMemory