St. Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea is a masterpiece anthology of Patristic commentary on the Gospels and includes the work over eighty Church Fathers.

St. Thomas's work demonstrates an intimate acquaintance with the Church Fathers and provides an excellent complement to modern attempts to understand scripture. For each of the four Gospel writers, the Catena Aurea starts by indicating the verses to be analyzed, then taking each verse phrase-by-phrase, provides the early Fathers' insights into the passage.

St. Thomas was commissioned to write the Catena Aurea by Pope Urban IV, in order that an orthodox Patristic commentary on the Gospels was readily available to the academic public. The catalyst for this English translation was John Henry Newman who has recently been beatified.

Cardinal Newman's hope was that the Catena Aurea would become a source of actechesis within the family and the church.

Imagine the Catena Aurea as a discussion of the Gospels among the supreme theologians of the Church. A worthy recommendation for those studying the Bible.

Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in Sicily. He joined the Abbey of Montecassino at the age of five to begin his studies. As a renowned theologian, he travelled all over Europe. In addition to lecturing, Thomass Aquinas participated in public life and was an advisor to both kings and popes.

Fifty years after his death, Pope John XXII proclaimed Thomas Aquinas a saint. In 1879, Pope Leo XII made St. Thomas Aquinas the patron saint of education.