Catena Aurea: Commentary of the Four Gospels Collected Out of the Works of the Fathers, Volume 1, Part 2This commentary on the Four Gospels - the Catena Aurea, or 'Chain of Gold' - is a useful and insightful today as it was when Thomas Aquinas compiled it in the mid-thirteenth century. For each segment of the Gospels he lined up a sequence (the chain of the title), of paragraph-length comments from the writers of the Early Church. This relatively unknown treasure trove is a gift to the preacher, or to anyone who wants to reflect on the Gospels in the company of the church fathers. The way Aquinas arranges his material, following sections in the Gospel text (what a biblical scholar might call a 'pericope'), usually aligns with lectionary portions even today. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is revered by Roman Catholics as their 'universal' doctor or teacher, and is also highly studies and respected today by Protestants and Anglicans, as one of the greatest of all Christian thinkers. He is well known for his skill in synthesizing theological and philosophical insights, but his greatness also rests on his knowledge of patristic sources, which was remarkably wide for his time: he knew a good many early Greek Christian traditions, as well as to the Latin traditions that might be more obviously for a Western European of his time. He brought his capacious knowledge of those sources to bear in compiling this work, collecting what he saw to be the most illuminating and spiritually productive comments on the Gospels. Unusually, Aquinas goes out of his way to attribute his sources (although more recent scholarship occasionally has to put him right on that score). Recent decades have seen a revival of interest in the biblical commentary of the church fathers, reflected for instance in the ongoing publication of two major patristic commentaries by Eerdmans and InterVarsity Press. They too present a chain of excerpts for each section of the scriptural text, as contemporary witnesses to the value of this approach. Aquinas's Catena, dating from the mid-twentieth century, stands out in the history of the church as a perennially useful example of this kind of commentary. Compiled by the greatest son of the Order of Preachers, no preacher today could fail to be aided and enlightened by it. |
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Page 479
... falls . 6. He spake also this parable ; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought ... fall . For the first people of the synagogue fell off as a useless fruit , in order that out of the fruitfulness of ...
... falls . 6. He spake also this parable ; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought ... fall . For the first people of the synagogue fell off as a useless fruit , in order that out of the fruitfulness of ...
Page 659
... falls indeed upon the stone and is shaken , for he is preserved by penitence unto salvation . But upon whomsoever it shall fall , that is , upon whom the stone itself has come down be- cause he denied it , it shall grind him to powder ...
... falls indeed upon the stone and is shaken , for he is preserved by penitence unto salvation . But upon whomsoever it shall fall , that is , upon whom the stone itself has come down be- cause he denied it , it shall grind him to powder ...
Page 687
... fall , that is , men who shine in glory fall when the bitterness of perse- cution waxes sharp and prevails . And this must be until the multitude of the Church be gathered in , for thus are the good tried and the weak made manifest ...
... fall , that is , men who shine in glory fall when the bitterness of perse- cution waxes sharp and prevails . And this must be until the multitude of the Church be gathered in , for thus are the good tried and the weak made manifest ...
Common terms and phrases
adds AMBROSE angels answer Antichrist Apostles BASIL BEDE Beelzebub behold believe blasphemy blessed body bread called cast Christ CHRYS Church coming commanded condemned confess crucified CYRIL dead death desire despised devil disciples divine earth earthly EUSEB evil faith Father fear flesh fruit Galilee Gentiles give glory Gospel grace GREG hath hear heart heaven heavenly Hence it follows Herod Holy Spirit Jerusalem Jesus Jews judge kingdom kingdom of God kingdom of heaven Lazarus lest Lord Lord's Luke Master Matt Matthew mercy NYSS ORIGEN parable pass Passion Passover Peter Pharisees Pilate pray prayer preaching priests Prophets punishment receive repentance resurrection rich righteousness rightly sabbath Saviour say unto Scriptures seek servant shalt shew signifies sinners sins soul speak suffer synagogue teaching temple thee THEOPHYL things thou art thou hast truth ubi sup vineyard virtue wicked words