Today’s readings center on the battle for truth, purity, and rightly ordered desire. Tertullian argues that truth always comes before its counterfeit, reminding us that the apostolic faith existed long before the later innovations of the heretics and that every false doctrine is ultimately a corruption of something first delivered by Christ and His apostles. Augustine turns inward, confessing his continuing struggle with sinful desires and praying that God would so heal his soul that even the temptations of dreams would lose their power. Aquinas then concludes his treatment of prayer by showing that Christ not only taught us to pray, but taught us what to desire. The Lord’s Prayer orders our hearts toward God first and ourselves second, teaching us that the deepest purpose of prayer is not merely to receive gifts but to be formed into people who  ...