About Tolle Lege

What is Tolle Lege?

“Tolle lege” — “take up and read” — are the words St. Augustine heard in a garden in Milan, words that changed the course of his life and the history of the Church.

This tool helps you discover what the Catholic Church teaches by searching across the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture using semantic understanding. Ask a question in natural language, and find the passages that speak to it.

How it works

Unlike keyword search, Tolle Lege understands the meaning of your question. Searching “Why does suffering exist?” finds passages about the mystery of suffering, redemptive value of pain, and Christ’s Passion — even if those passages never use the word “suffering.”

Every result is a direct quotation from an authoritative source. No AI-generated commentary, no paraphrasing — the texts speak for themselves.

Sources

• Catechism of the Catholic Church — The official compendium of Catholic doctrine, promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II in 1992. 2,866 paragraphs covering the Creed, Sacraments, Moral Life, and Prayer.
• Sacred Scripture — The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), the translation approved for liturgical use in the United States. All 73 books of the Catholic biblical canon.