3rd Sunday of Advent

In this Sunday's Catena St. Thomas shows us what first appear to be contradictory interpretations of the Fathers on the passage about John the Baptist wanting to know if Christ was "the one who was to come". The apparent argument is over whether John was asking out of ignorance or a kind of Petrine disbelief or from some hidden purpose, or even whether John was referring to Christ's descent into hell. Through the confusion of interpretation Chrysostom shines consistently.

There is a story that when St. Thomas and some companions were approaching Paris and came to an overlook, one of the companions asked him if he too admired the obvious wealth and beauty of the city. St. Thomas replied that while Paris was indeed beautiful, he'd give it all away for a volume of Chrysostom on Matthew's Gospel.

Today we share a glimpse with St. Thomas of that grander view St. John Chrysostom offers us into the heavenly city.

2nd Sunday of Advent

The catena for this Sunday's Gospel is by far the longest I've posted. One reason for this is the length the Fathers go to in meditating on and explaining the details of John the Baptist's life and character.

The translation of the Catena on Matthew seems better than the one on Luke. I've had to correct only a few egregious errors (e.g., fight for the correct flight) and revise fewer passages into smoother, dare I say, more felicitous English.

First Sunday in Advent

In this Sunday's Catena we are introduced to two relatively late Fathers, namely, Rabanus Maurus, a 9th century Benedictine theologian, and Remigius of Auxerre, a 10th century Benedictine teacher. Although St. Thomas uses them only once each in today's Catena, unlike the frequently appearing Chrysostom or Augustine, nevertheless he certainly relied heavily upon their pioneering work of establishing the study of theology as a kind of science.

Christ the King

The Catena for this Sunday's Gospel includes several Fathers discussing the correct interpretation of the passage about the good thief entering into Paradise. Some, according to St. John Chrysostom, argued that the passage proves there is no resurrection.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Fathers wax eloquent on the end times in this Catena for today's Gospel.

Once again I've had to make several important corrections in the Newman-team translation. For example, denuntiat gets translated as "denounces", when the clear (and ordinary) translation is "announces". Perhaps a 19th century denunciation was less derogatory than today's, but be that as it may, we have certainly lost the sense of the original when the translation reads:

"God denounces the woes that shall forerun the destruction of the world...."

Here is the original:

Perituri mundi praecurrentia mala denuntiat Dominus....

Here is my translation:

"The Lord makes known the evils that will come before the end of the world...."

This is just one of many corrections I've had to make in today's selection.

The Catena Aurea is a work of incredible genius that can be of invaluable help in reconnecting us orphans with our Fathers in faith--if they're allowed to speak to us in our language.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week's Catena is supplemented with an excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the resurrection. Not to take away at all from the depth of the Father's comments on this Gospel. Just the opposite. The juxtaposition demonstrates how much of our catechesis is an echo of the Fathers.

I was surprised by the number of errors in the Newman-team translation this week. There are always a couple in any given selection, not to mention several infelicitous turns of phrase (by today's standards), but this week's sets a record. Castitas, for example, gets translated as charity. The term "faculty" gets inserted into a sentence, rendering it impossible to understand. What is "faculty discourse"? And so on. I sincerely hope that those who are republishing Newman's translation go over it with a fine toothed comb. Actually, we should, with all due respect to the great work of Newman's team, re-translate the entire Catena.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

A classic Catena for this Sunday's Gospel, complete with literal, allegorical, anagogical and moral interpretations.