Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours

by Milton Walsh

Overview

The writings of the Fathers of the Church have never been more widely available, yet obtaining an exhaustive and user-friendly volume of patristics can still be a daunting task. Without realizing it, many priests, seminarians, members of religious communities, and even laity already own a patristic library-their Liturgy of the Hours.

In the four volumes of the Liturgy of the Hours, the official daily prayer of the Catholic Church, there are nearly 600 selections from the writings of Fathers and saints. Seeing the potential of this vast collection as a theological resource, Milton Walsh has organized these selections by topics according to the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This topical concordance allows the reader to compare what the various authors have written on the same themes, while a chronological timeline of the readings shows their relationship to each other in time.

Walsh has also provided background on the liturgical celebrations of the Church, as well as historical information on each author. In addition, there is a chapter on how patristic readings can assist in understanding the Bible.

This fresh and original presentation of material that is literally at the fingertips of anyone praying the Liturgy of the Hours can be a tremendous aid to both religious devotion and theological study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681496344
Publisher:	Ignatius Press
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	728
File size:	639 KB

About the Author

Milton 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 In Memory of Me: A Meditation on the Roman Canon and Second Friends: C.S. Lewis and Ronald Knox in Conversation. 

Table of Contents

Preface 11

Abbreviations 17

Introductory Material 19

1 Some History: Vigils, Matins, Office of Readings 21

Appendix: A Chronological List of Readings from the Fathers and Saints 37

2 Reading the Bible with the Saints 43

Authors and Their Writings 55

A Topical Concordance Following the Catechism of the Catholic Church 169

Part 1 The Profession of Faith

Section 1 "I Believe"-"We Believe" 173

Chapter 1 Man's Capacity, for God 173

Chapter 2 God Comes to Meet Man 185

Article 1 The Revelation of God 185

Article 2 The Transmission of Divine Revelation 193

Article 3 Sacred Scripture 197

Chapter 3 Man's Response to God 203

Article 1 Believe 203

Article 2 We Believe 211

Section 2 The Profession of the Christian Faith 215

Chapter 1 Believe in God the Father 215

Article 1 "I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth" 215

Paragraph 1 I Believe in God 215

Paragraph 2 The Father 217

Paragraph 3 The Almighty 225

Paragraph 4 The Creator 226

Paragraph 5 Heaven and Earth 231

Paragraph 6 Man 234

Paragraph 7 The Fall 237

Chapter 2 Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God 239

Article 2 "And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord" 239

Article 3 "Who was Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary" 247

Paragraph 1 The Son of God Became Man 247

Paragraph 2 "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary" 260

Paragraph 3 The Mysteries of Christ's Life 271

I Christ's Whole Life Is Mystery 271

II The Mysteries of Jesus' Infancy and Hidden Life 274

III The Mysteries of Jesus' Public Life 279

Article 4 "Jesus Christ Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died, and Was Buried" 286

Article 5 "He Descended into Hell; On the Third Day He Rose Again" 307

Paragraph 1 Christ Descended into Hell 307

Paragraph 2 On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead 308

Article 6 "He Ascended into Heaven, and Is Seated at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty" 316

Article 7 "From There He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead" 319

Chapter 3 Believe in the Holy Spirit 322

Article 8 "I Believe in the Holy Spirit" 322

Article 9 "I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church" 341

Paragraph 1 The Church in God's Plan 341

Paragraph 2 The Church-People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit 349

Paragraph 3 The Church Is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic 359

Paragraph 4 Christ's Faithful-Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life 373

Paragraph 5 The Communion of Saints 388

Paragraph 6 Mary-Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church 394

Article 10 "I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins" 405

Article 11 "I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body" 410

Article 12 "I Believe in Life Everlasting" 421

Part 2 The Celebration of the Christian Mystery

Section 1 The Sacramental Economy 435

Section 2 The Seven Sacraments of the Church 445

Chapter 1 The Sacraments of Christian Initiation 445

Article 1 The Sacrament of Baptism 445

Article 2 The Sacrament of Confirmation 460

Article 3 The Sacrament, of the Eucharist 463

Chapter 2 The Sacraments of Healing 481

Article 4 The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation 481

Article 5 The Anointing of the Sick 489

Chapter 3 The Sacraments, at the Service of Communion 491

Article 6 The Sacrament of Holy Orders 491

Article 7 The Sacrament of Matrimony 509

Part 3 Life in Christ

Section 1 Man's Vocation: Life in the Spirit 513

Chapter 1 The Dignity of the Human Person 513

Article 1 Man: The Image of God 513

Article 2 Our Vocation to Beatitude 517

Article 3 Man's Freedom 526

Article 5 The Morality of the Passions 529

Article 6 Moral Conscience 533

Article 7 The Virtues 535

Article 8 Sin 549

Chapter 2 The Human Community 556

Chapter 3 God's Salvation: Law and Grace 562

Section 2 The Ten Commandments 573

Chapter 1 "You Shall Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart, and With All Your Soul, and With All Your Mind" 573

Article 1 The First Commandment 573

Article 2 The Second Commandment 580

Article 3 The Third Commandment 585

Chapter 2 "You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself" 587

Article 4 The Fourth Commandment 587

Article 5 The Fifth Commandment 593

Article 6 The Sixth Commandment 596

Article 7 The Seventh Commandment 598

Article 8 The Eighth Commandment 607

Article 9 The Ninth Commandment 618

Article 10 The Tenth Commandment 620

Part 4 Christian Prayer

Section 1 Prayer in the Christian Life 625

Chapter 1 The Revelation of Prayer 625

Article 1 In the Old Testament 625

Article 2 In the Fullness of Time 630

Article 3 In the Age of the Church 636

Chapter 2 The Tradition of Prayer 642

Article 1 At the Wellsprings of Prayer 642

Article 2 The Way of Prayer 645

Article 3 Guides for Prayer 651

Chapter 3 The Life of Prayer 655

Article 1 Expressions of Prayer 655

Article 2 The Battle of Prayer 659

Section 2 The Lord's Prayer: "Our Father!" 669

Article 1 "The Summary of the Whole Gospel" 669

Article 2 "Our Father Who Art in Heaven" 670

Article 3 The Seven Petitions 674

For Further Reading 689

Index of Proper Names 711

Index of Topics 719

Editorial Reviews

"Recently the Holy Father devoted time in each of his Wednesday audiences to explaining to the pilgrims who came to Rome the importance of the writings of the Fathers of the Church and the saints in the life of each believer today. Pope Benedict taught them that the true teaching of the Church is not "invented by intellectuals," it is not something that "goes beyond the Church's simple faith." No. The true Gospel is the one imparted by the Bishops, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, who have received this teaching in an uninterrupted line from the apostles.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Milton Walsh who, in his collection Witness of the Saints, has painstakingly arranged important quotations from the patristic lectionary of the Prayer of the Hours (Office of Readings) in such a way that this treasure of the writings of the Fathers and saints that both inspires and informs is now conveniently and immediately accessible to all. Preachers, teachers, parents - all of the faithful who desire to drink from the fountain of true wisdom and to share this life giving nourishment with others will want to keep this volume close at hand. Witness of the Saints is a valuable tool to help all of us "think with the Church" (sentire cum Ecclesia), after the heart and mind of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI."
- Father Samuel F. Weber, O.S.B.

"As usage of the Liturgy of the Hours increases among members of the Church, Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours provides a timely exposition of the rich heritage available in the Church's Prayer. A concise, informative, and well written history of the Liturgy of the Hours serves as introduction to a valuable selection of passages from the Fathers and the saints, taken from the Office of Readings and arranged in accordance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

We can be most grateful to Milton Walsh for this outstanding volume of invaluable resources that will enlighten and inspire readers for years to come."
- Abbot Gregory J. Polan, O.S.B.

"We never pray alone. When we pray, we are in heaven with the Fathers and the saints. They are our contemporaries and our close companions. This book opens our eyes, hour after hour, to that splendid reality. Working with the saints, Milton Walsh can change the way you experience the Church's prayer."
- Mike Aquilina

"The Office of Readings is one of the deepest treasures in the Church's liturgical prayer, but one of the least appreciated. Who are the people who wrote these reflections? Didymus the Blind? Faustinus Luciferanus? John the Serene of Naples? Hedwig? Gertrude? Milton Walsh introduces you to these people as if he has been friends with them for years. He has. And now so can you."
- Fr. Paul Turner, Former President of the North American Academy of Liturgy

From the Publisher