Gospel Commentary from the Church Fathers
Ever wonder what the Church Fathers thought about the gospels? None other than St. Thomas Aquinas assembled the Catena Aurea (or Golden Chain) to provide an easy reference to their thoughts on the gospels.
Not a single word of the commentary in the Catena Aurea was written by Aquinas. But as you read the cut and pasted commentary, you get the feeling that you are reading one coherent work.
How to read the Catena Aurea
In the Catena Aurea, Aquinas cites a passage of the gospel, often three or four verses, and then lays out quotations from early Church Fathers that speak only to that gospel passage.
Since the verses the fathers are commenting on don’t always quite line up with the verses used in that day’s Gospel (or other proper), Sermonry reprints the Gospel passage from the Catena Aurea.
Each quote from an early Church Father is prefaced with either his name, or an abbreviation of it, to distinguish who is saying what. A citation for the work being quoted is not provided.