Today’s readings guide us through foundational questions of theology and spiritual life. Thomas Aquinas opens with a meditation on the image of God in humanity, asking whether this image exists in all people or only in the just. He explains that while all humans bear the image of God through reason, this image shines most clearly in the righteous, who are conformed to God through grace. Augustine, in Confessions, Book 10, examines the subtle temptations of pride and praise, honestly wrestling with his desire for approval and questioning whether he seeks it for his neighbor’s good or out of self-love. He confesses his uncertainty before God, praying for deeper self-knowledge and for the grace to desire truth above all else. Irenaeus, writing in Against Heresies, continues his sweeping defense of the faith by insisting that the on ...