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In today’s readings, Tatian presses hard against the idea of fate, arguing that human life is not determined by the stars but shaped by free will, and that the real problem is not destiny but sin—something we ourselves have chosen, and therefore something we are responsible to reject . Then Augustine of Hippo clarifies the nature of evil itself, concluding that it is not a substance but a deprivation of good, and that everything that exists is good insofar as it exists, since all things come from God. Finally, Thomas Aquinas brings these ideas to their conclusion by explaining that perfect happiness cannot be attained in this life or by our own power, but must be given by God, and once truly possessed, it cannot be lost. Together, these readings strip away two common illusions—that we are controlled by fate and that we can fix ourselves—and replace them with a harder but clearer truth: we are responsible for our condition, dependent on God for our fulfillment, and called to a happiness that lies beyond what we can achieve on our own.

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