When Anthony Esolen and Angelico Press team up… well… it just doesn’t get any better than that.
I was really excited at the notification that Anthony Esolen (whose translation of the Divine Comedy is terrific) had written an in depth reflection on the Prologue of the Gospel of John. I’m working through it now.
As a priest who uses the Vetus Ordo, the Prologue is “daily bread”, for it is recited at the end of almost every Mass.
If you frequent Mass in the Vetus Ordo your active participation will be massively increased through reading and weighing Esolen’s work. And – think about it – give a copy of this book to every priest you know who says the Vetus Ordo.
So, far, every single page has been enriching.
In the Beginning Was the Word: An Annotated Reading of the Prologue of John
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I will be ordering this.
The “Last Gospel” in the traditional Mass was such a stumbling block for me. I saw it as a bizarre addendum or appendix to the Liturgia Verbi. “Why two Gospels?! The reformers were right to remove it, beginning with the 1965 Missal”.
Eventually, I slowly came to realize that the Last Gospel is not a didactic part of the Mass, but rather a beautiful and meditative prayer of thanksgiving at the end of Mass.
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I recently bought this book. It is great. While it is not very long, it is the kind of book you have to read slowly and let everything digest. I will probably have to go back and read it again when I am done.
In his commentary on the Gospel of John St Thomas quotes St Augustine, who says: The first three Gospels inform us how to live the Active Life. Additionally, the Fourth Gospel in tells us how to live the Contemplative Live.
Nothing is more important to this than the Prologue, which refers to the Word (Verbum, logos) and refers to Christ as full of Grace and Truth. Truth, according to St Thomas, is the object of contemplation
Change to:
The first three Gospels teach us how to live the Active Life. Additionally, the Fourth Gospel teaches us how to live the Contemplative Life.
Also:
Francis has said more than once that the Church is primarily Missionary. IMHO, that in incorrect. The Church is primarily Contemplative: Before the Apostles were sent out, they first knew Christ.