Today’s Readings Podcast Description

When is a private vow a help, and when is it only more superstition? Calvin allows temporary vows that curb a weakness or stir a sluggish duty, provided they rest on God’s word, fit our calling, and stay within the measure of grace. The one vow required of all is the baptismal promise, confirmed in catechism and the Lord’s Supper. Perpetual and multiplied vows soon lose their solemnity and bind the conscience. The common religion of pilgrimages, special fast-days, and meritorious fatigue he judges empty and impious. He then turns to monastic vows (*vota monastica*). Ancient monachism (*monachatus*) was not a second holiness beside the Church. Monasteries were austere seminaries from which Basil, Nazianzen, Chrysostom, and many others were called to the episcopal office. Augustine’s portr ...