Commentary on St Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. St. Thomas Aquinas, trans. Matthew L. Lamb, OCSO. Magi Books, Inc. 1966. hardcover with dust jacket. 311 pages.
€10.
This is a collection of lectures on Ephesians given by St. Thomas Aquinas during his tenure as a lecturer at the University of Paris. This book consists of five chapters, each chapter consisting of 5-10 lectures. Each lecture begins with a section of the Epistle. After a brief explanation, St. Thomas gives a few phrases in which he tells what St. Paul says in the quoted section. He then proceeds to provide a few pages of his exegesis of the quoted section.
The lectures give the reader an insight into St. Thomas’ explanations for the scriptural texts. The explanations vary from insightful to difficult to understand.
One of the best parts of this book is the Introduction. The Introduction explains St. Thomas’ approach to Biblical exegesis and his view toward understanding of the Scriptures. The distinction between the literal meaning of a passage and its distinction between the literal meaning of a passage and its mystical meaning are explained. From the introduction and the lectures I gained an understanding as to how an intricate explanation of mystical interpretation could encourage a backlash of strictly literal understanding. By the end I felt that I had a better understanding of Ephesians. All in all this book is an excellent portal to Scriptural study.
Commentary on St Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. St. Thomas Aquinas, trans. F. R Larcher, O.P. Magi Books, Inc. 1966. hardcover with dustjacket. 211 pages.
€10.
This is a collection of lectures on Galatians by St. Thomas Aquinas during his tenure as a professor the University of Paris, as recorded by a student. The book consists of six chapters, each with 5-9 lectures. Each lecture begins with a few lines from the Epistle. He then mentions a few points about the quoted lines, frequently doing this twice in the lecture.
The subjects of the Epistle include the questions of the relative importance of faith and works and the question of the role of the Jewish Law in Salvation after the Resurrection of Christ. I found that St. Thomas’ explanations opened my mind to some meanings within the Epistle that I had not previously seen. For these insights alone this book is very worthwhile.
