Catena Aurea, St. Matthew - Vol 1, Part 1

In the 13th century, Pope Urban IV asked Thomas Aquinas to do something extraordinary: gather the wisdom of over eighty Church Fathers spanning centuries and weave their insights into a single commentary on the Gospels. The Catena Aurea (Golden Chain) was the result, and it remains one of the most ambitious biblical synthesis projects ever attempted. Here, the thoughts of St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and dozens of others are presented as if they were gathered in one room, debating and clarifying each verse of Matthew. Aquinas was not merely compiling footnotes; he was constructing an argument for how Scripture should be read within the living tradition of the Church. This volume covers the opening chapters of Matthew, from the genealogy of Christ through the Sermon on the Mount. For anyone serious about understanding how the early Church read the Gospels, or how medieval theologians inherited and transmitted that reading, this is an indispensable primary source.