The Life of Jesus Christ: Part One, Volume 1, Chapters 1-40

by Ludolph of Saxony, Milton T. Walsh (Translator)

Overview

The Vita Christi of the fourteenth century Carthusian, Ludolph of Saxony, is the most comprehensive series of meditations on the life of Christ of the late Middle Ages. Ludolph assembles a wealth of commentary from the fathers of the church and the great medieval spiritual writers and weaves them into a seamless exposition on the Gospel. This is the first English translation of this classic work, and it also is the first edition in any language to identify the thousands of sources used by Ludolph, both those he quotes and the many he cites without attribution. It will be of great interest to students of Christian spirituality, but it is intended, as was the original text, for ordinary believers seeking to enter more deeply into the meaning of the life of Christ. When complete, there will be 4 volumes. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879070083
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	03/22/2018
Series:	Cistercian Studies Series , #267
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	832
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Milton T. Walsh holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. For many years, he taught theology at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. He is the author of several books, including Second Friends: C. S. Lewis and Ronald Knox in Conversation, In Memory of Me: A Meditation on the Roman Canon, and Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Table of Contents

Contents
List of Abbreviations for Works Cited   xiii
Introduction   xxiii
 
The Life of Christ
Part OnePrologue   3CHAPTER 1
The Eternal, Divine Generation of Christ (John 1:1-5)   26
CHAPTER 2
The Remedy of Human Salvation; the Birth of Mary   39
CHAPTER 3
The Blessed Virgin’s Marriage   55
CHAPTER 4
The Conception of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25)   66
CHAPTER 5
The Savior’s Conception (Luke 1:26-38)   77
CHAPTER 6
The Birth and Circumcision of the Lord’s Forerunner (Luke 1:39-80)   116
CHAPTER 7
The Savior’s Genealogy (Matt 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38)   134
CHAPTER 8
Joseph’s Wish to Send Mary Away (Matt 1:18-25)   145
CHAPTER 9
The Birth of the Savior (Luke 2:1-20)   158
CHAPTER 10
The Lord’s Circumcision (Luke 2:21)   191
CHAPTER 11
The Epiphany of the Lord to the Three Magi (Matt 2:1-12)   203
CHAPTER 12
The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:22-39)   229
CHAPTER 13
The Flight into Egypt and the Slaughter of the Innocents (Matt 2:13-18)   264
CHAPTER 14
The Lord’s Return from Egypt and the Beginning of John the Baptist’s Penance (Matt 2:19-23)   283
CHAPTER 15
The Boy Jesus Remains Behind in Jerusalem and Is Found in the Temple (Luke 2:40-52)   295
CHAPTER 16
What the Lord Jesus Did between the Years of Twelve and Thirty (Luke 2:51-52)   314
CHAPTER 17
The Mission and Life of John the Baptist (Matt 3:1-10; Luke 3:1-4)   330
CHAPTER 18
John’s Mission Is from God, Not Himself (John 1:6-18)   356
CHAPTER 19
John States That He Is Not the Messiah but His Forerunner (Matt 3:11-12; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:15-17; John 1:19-28)   373
CHAPTER 20
The Need to Do Penance   392
CHAPTER 21
The Lord’s Baptism (Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)   418
CHAPTER 22
The Lord’s Fast and Temptation (Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-14; Luke 4:1-13)   444
CHAPTER 23
John Announces That Christ Is the Lamb of God (John 1:29-34)   481
CHAPTER 24
John’s Further Testimony and the Calling of the First Disciples (John 1:35-51)   490
CHAPTER 25
Water Changed into Wine (John 2:1-11)   505
CHAPTER 26
The First Cleansing of the Temple and the Visit of Nicodemus (John 2:12–3:21)   524
CHAPTER 27
John Is Imprisoned (Matt 14:1-9; Mark 6:24-29; Luke 3:19-20; John 3:22-30)   538
CHAPTER 28
The Lord Jesus Begins His Public Ministry (Matt 4:12-17)   547
CHAPTER 29
The Second and Third Calls of the Disciples (Luke 5:1-11; Mark 1:16-20)   555
CHAPTER 30
Conclusion of the Call of the Disciples; Christ’s Zeal to Preach   568
CHAPTER 31
The Call of Matthew and His Feast (Matt 9:9-17; Mark 2:14-22; Luke 5:27-39)   579
CHAPTER 32
The Choosing of the Twelve Apostles (Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16)   594
CHAPTER 33
The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12; Luke 6:17-26)   604
CHAPTER 34
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: Pastors Should Enlighten by Preaching and Works; Christ Has Come to Fulfill the Law (Matt 5:13-37)   630
CHAPTER 35
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: Love of Enemies (Matt 5:39-48; Luke 6:27-36)   654
CHAPTER 36
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: Do Not Seek Human Praise for Good Works (Matt 6:1-8, 16-18)   675
CHAPTER 37
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-15; Luke 11:2-4)   688
CHAPTER 38
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: Treasure in Heaven (Matt 6:19-34; Luke 12:22-34)   711
CHAPTER 39
The Sermon on the Mount, Continued: The Need to Be Merciful; the Importance of Prayer (Matt 7:1-12; Luke 6:36-49; 11:5-13)   734
CHAPTER 40
The Sermon on the Mount: Conclusion (Matt 7:13-29; Luke 6:46-49; 13:24)   757
 
A cumulative index to the four volumes of Ludolph of Saxony’s The Life of Jesus Christ will appear in the fourth volume,
The Life of Jesus Christ: Part Two; Volume 4, Chapters 58–59, Cistercian Studies Series 284.
 

Editorial Reviews

"Walsh has done pioneering work. [This book] will prove an invaluable tool for scholars researching the late medieval engagement with the humanity of Christ, while simultaneously catering for general readers and religious practitioners interested in learning more about a traditional and influential imaginative meditational practice."
Christiania Whitehead, Professor of Middle English Literature, University of Warwick


"Milton T. Walsh has taken on a Herculean task of translating The Life of Christ by the fourteenth-century Carthusian, Ludolph of Saxony. He has more than risen to the challenge! Ludolph's text was one of the most widely spread and influential treatments of the theme in the later Middle Ages and has, until now, been available only in an insufficient late nineteenth-century edition (Rigollot). The manuscript tradition of The Life of Christ is extremely complex, and Walsh, while basing his translation on the edition, has gone beyond in providing critical apparatus that will be of significant use to scholars, as well as making the text available for students and all interested in the theology, spirituality, and religious life of the later Middle Ages. His introduction expertly places Ludolph's work in the textual tradition and is itself a contribution to scholarship. Simply put, this is an amazing achievement! Walsh's work fills an essential gap inour understanding of the text and its world, and will be the standard point of departure for all future research on Ludolph and treatises dealing with the life of Christ in the later Middle Ages. Accessible and readable, Walsh's translation should be on the shelf of every library, and anyone who actively concerns themselves with the later Middle Ages will want their own copy. The first volume, here translated, takes the narrative through the Sermon on the Mount. We can only eagerly await the appearance of the rest of the work!"
Eric Leland Saak, Professor of History, Indiana University


"This translation—the first into English—of The Life of Jesus Christ by Ludolph of Saxony will be welcomed both by scholars in various fields and by practicing Christians. It is at the same time an encyclopedia of biblical, patristic, and medieval learning and a compendium of late medieval spirituality, stressing the importance of meditation in the life of individual believers. It draws on an astonishing number of sources and sheds light on many aspects of the doctrinal and institutional history of the Church down to the fourteenth century."
Giles Constable


"Modern readers will find Ludolph's work fanciful. This is much here for meditation, and each section concludes with a prayer. The Life of Christ is not for the gullible, but it can be recommended for lectio and spiritual reading."
Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB, Spirit and Life

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