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 Sunday’s Gospel Reading with the Church Fathers

Have you ever wondered what the Sunday Gospel means?

Was there a passage that threw you? Or perhaps you wished you could dig just a little bit deeper into the meaning of the inspired author?

Come join the Fathers of the Church in a Biblical buzz session, where each Sunday we share the Gospel passage of the week, and roundtable their thoughts!

Now you can enrich your Sunday reading, grab inspiring thoughts from some of the greatest minds in the early life of the Church. It’s a holy hangouts, a faith-filled chat with the Church Fathers.

Enrich & Enjoy!

Since St Thomas basically roundtabled every verse with the Fathers, we’ll pick one of the Gospel verses each Sunday, and sit back to let a handful of them unpack it.

Learn a little more about the meaning in each Sunday’s reading. Enrich your coffee hour discussions. Deepen your personal meditations.

Where does the material come from?

The ‘Catena Aurea’ is a compilation of quotes from all the Church Fathers. St Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest minds in the life of the Church, went through all four Gospels, and pulled together armloads of insights into each and every passage.

It’s a phenomenal book, if you can wade through and understand the clusters of quotes that enrich every verse. For most of us who don’t have that kind of time, a helping of holy comments once a week makes fantastic food for thought.

These comments often dig into the mystical, moral, allegorical, tropical, tropological, or spiritual senses inherent in the Sacred Texts.

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. (Baronius Press)

Who are the Church Fathers?

The ‘Fathers of the Church’ were prominent leaders in the early Church, especially in defending, explaining, and clarifying Catholic doctrines. For the first two centuries, most of these men were bishops, although in later years certain priests and deacons were also recognized as Fathers. Most of them were saints. (Who Were the Church Fathers?)

The period of the Church Fathers (and mothers) ends in the 8th century. One of the reasons the Catena Aurea is incredibly valuable is that it displays a broad consensus among these intellectual and spiritual elites.

Saint or not, none of them are personally infallible. It would be remarkable if they agreed on anything, as this disparate group spans seven centuries and three continents. But their teaching does agree on many points, and this is testimony that such teaching did not originate with them but was transmitted by them.

It is in their consensus that the Church, from the earliest times, has regarded them as infallible commentators on Scripture and the unwritten apostolic Tradition. (Getting Started with the Fathers of the Church)

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