Today’s readings show how faith protects, purifies, and lifts the soul toward God. Cyprian continues On the Unity of the Church by contrasting the gentleness of the dove with the violence of wolves, warning that heresy and schism often arise from restless, divided hearts that misuse Scripture and separate themselves from the Church’s unity. Augustine then recalls a quiet moment with Monica at Ostia, where mother and son speak together about the eternal life of the saints and open “the mouth of the heart” toward the fountain of life in God. Aquinas completes the theme by showing that faith produces fear and purification: fear because faith recognizes God’s judgment, and purification because faith submits the mind to divine truth and, when formed by love, cleanses the heart. Together, these readings remind us that true faith does not merel ...