Catena Aurea (St. Thomas Aquinas)

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These books are a great collection of writings of the Church Fathers. An excellent resource for study and meditation, showing how the early Church interpreted the Scriptures, and how we too must understand them. These 4 books contain commentaries on the 4 Gospels only - not the entire Bible.

This is the first time in more than 150 years that the English translation of the Catena Aurea has been entirely re-typeset, meaning that the text is crisp, clear and easy to read, unlike many facsimile editions. It accurately reproduces the original text and incorporates all errors noted in the original volumes' errata sheets.

Beautiful leather-bound cover with two-colour blocking. Gilded page edges Two ribbons Fine Marbled endpapers.

St. Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea is a masterpiece anthology of Patristic commentary on the Gospels it includes the work of over eighty Church Fathers. St. Thomas Aquinas work demonstrates intimate acquaintance with the Church Fathers and is an excellent complement to the more recent attempts to understand the inner meaning of the Sacred Scriptures. For each of the four Gospel writers, the Catena Aurea starts by indicating the verses to be analysed, then phrase-by-phrase, provides the early Fathers insights into the passage.

John Henry Newman, was responsible for its translation into English in 1841. Cardinal Newman hoped that the Catena would become a source of catechesis within the family and the Church. Cardinal Newman s edition of the Catena Aurea is one of the jewels of the 19th century Catholic Restoration, making the scholarship of the Fathers available to a wider audience. As with many 19th century texts it employs a sober, dignified style of English, which is eminently suitable to the unsurpassable mysteries of the Catholic Faith. The Catena Aurea, compiled by one of the Catholic Church s greatest minds, is of immeasurable use to priests writing homilies, lay people engaged in private or family study or of the Gospels and religious instructors will find it an invaluable help in preparing lessons. It is the perfect companion to study the Scriptures in detail and receive the wisdom of St. Thomas on particular passages. Consider the Catena Aurea as a discussion of the Gospels among the supreme theologians of the Church. Their exegesis is astonishing! A worthy recommendation for the serious student of the Bible.

  • Leather Bound: 2832 pages
  • Author: St. Thomas Aquinas (Translation: Blessed John Henry Newman)
  • Publisher: Baronius Press Ltd; Leather Gift edition (1 Dec. 2009)
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905574506