When Origen warns about “falling away,” he compares it to a master craftsman losing skill — not overnight, but little by little, through neglect. Augustine then marvels at creation’s beginning, when God brought the world from “almost nothing” into shape and beauty, forming the heavens and earth before any day had dawned. Finally, Aquinas explains how both “seminal virtues” in matter and the influences of the stars truly shape the physical world — but never the human will — reminding us, through Katelynn’s walk along a weathered path, that God’s instruments can incline us without forcing our steps.
Origen – On the Holy Spirit, Chapter 4
Augustine – The Confessions, Book 12, Chapters 7–8
Thomas Aquinas – Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 115 (Articles 2–6)
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