Life Sentences

Thomas Small
  • 4.9 (11)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

An exclusive Substack podcast presented by Thomas Small. In each episode, he walks you through an ancient spiritual text, revealing the history behind the text and, even more importantly, translating the text into modern terms. You'll be amazed by how relevant ancient Christian wisdom remains to your life today. wisdomreadings.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 03/30/2025

    Episode 11: Fight wrath with love

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, Evagrius continues to teach us how to combat the demons who attack our tripartite soul, focusing on sloth, vainglory, and pride, but most of all: wrath. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 6m

  2. 03/10/2025

    Episode 10: Restrain your sensual desires

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers, presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, Evagrius acquaints us further with the demons who attack our tripartite soul, and teaches us how best to combat those demons who target our sensual desire: gluttony, fornication, avarice, and sorrow.   Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m

  3. 01/15/2025

    Episode 9: Get to know your demons

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers, presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, Evagrius Ponticus guides us further into the inner workings of the rational soul, revealing the eight basic demonic temptations which subvert our minds and plunge us into irrational and spiritually lethal passion. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 26m

  4. 12/18/2024

    Episode 8: Love, desire, pleasure, passion

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers, presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, we meet John Cassian’s teacher, Evagrius Ponticus, whose penetrating intellectual vision illuminates the narrow path to purity of heart, and who provides us a detailed analysis of the three stages of the spiritual life. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 7m

  5. 11/03/2024

    Episode 7: Know God in wonder

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, Abba Moses tells us more about what contemplation actually is, explaining its different modes, and also teaching us where our thoughts come from and what we’re supposed to do with them. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m

  6. 09/22/2024

    Episode 6: Take your soul seriously

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, we continue our way through St John Cassian’s interview with the great Egyptian ascetic Abba Moses the Black, who shifts his focus from the goal of purity of heart to the ultimate end: the kingdom of God. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 4m

  7. 09/08/2024

    Episode 5: Aim for purity of heart

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, St John Cassian, a great master of the contemplative life, introduces us to the man he considered to be the greatest of all the desert fathers, Abba Moses the Black—who reveals the true goal and the final end of all our spiritual striving. If you’re following the podcast on a podcast app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts or Pocket Casts but have not subscribed to the actual Substack, then I really encourage you to do so. Go to wisdomreadings.substack.com and subscribe. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m

  8. 08/25/2024

    Episode 4: To know God, know yourself

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers, presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode, St Basil the Great continues urging us to be attentive to ourselves, and explains how, because he is made in the divine image, by knowing himself, man can know God. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    57 min

  9. 08/11/2024

    Episode 3: Be attentive to yourself

    Welcome to Life Sentences, an exploration into the wisdom of the ancient Church Fathers presented by me, Thomas Small. In this episode we meet St Basil the Great, a 4th-century Father of the Church who, taking us into the mind, teaches us where our focus of attention should be and that we must strive for purity of heart. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m

  10. 07/28/2024

    Episode 2: You are a mind

    In this episode, St Leo the Great, Pope of Rome, takes us even deeper into the spirituality of asceticism, and we learn how behind the practice of fasting lies a sophisticated doctrine about the nature of the human mind. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m

  11. 07/14/2024

    Episode 1: Starting with the basics

    Welcome to Life Sentences, a new Substack podcast presented by me, Thomas Small. In Life Sentences, I’m going to be reading through ancient spiritual texts by the greatest minds of Christian history, the Church Fathers. I'll add commentary as I go which will, I hope, convince you that ancient Christian wisdom speaks to our human condition just as well now as it did back in the first millennium. In this inaugural episode, we launch with our very first Church Father, St Leo the Great, Pope of Rome. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    57 min
  12. Three days to launch...

    07/11/2024

    Three days to launch...

    A brief audio message, letting you know what you can expect from Life Sentences, a new Substack podcast presented by Thomas Small. Get full access to Life Sentences at wisdomreadings.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  • 12 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

An exclusive Substack podcast presented by Thomas Small. In each episode, he walks you through an ancient spiritual text, revealing the history behind the text and, even more importantly, translating the text into modern terms. You'll be amazed by how relevant ancient Christian wisdom remains to your life today. wisdomreadings.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Thomas Small
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Thomas Small
  • Show Website
    Life Sentences