“Golden Chain,” aka Saint Thomas Aquinas' “Catena Aurea”
A wondrous commentary of the Gospels is given us by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his “Catena Aurea,” translated into English by Saint John Henry Neumann as “Golden Chain.” Imagine Saint Thomas inviting you to join a fire-side table tucked in the back corner of the local pub with a large halo of Saints and faith filled Catholic writers discussing the day's Gospel. To read the “Golden Chain” after reading the day's Gospel is to sit at that table and witness a masterful conversation unfold beyond time, at least through the centuries up to Saint Thomas' time.
A modern halo can hardly begin better than by reading the daily Gospel and the accompanying “Golden Chain” to deepen their intentional journey of entering into the eternal mysteries and applying them to our own lives, chatting, as is the experience, with Saints Augustine, Chrysostom, Gregory, Jerome, and many others. If you are looking for something for after having gone through the second reading of the Office of Readings for a year, here is your next year. May God startle you with joy!