Undusted Texts

Introduction Whatever Biblical commentaries St. Gregory wrote were vastly overshadowed by his historical works, particularly the History of the Franks .  His other works (whether authentic or attributed) include lives and collections of miracles of various saints (including St. Martin of Tours, former occupant of his episcopal seat).  The fragments below seem to be all that remains of Gregory's strictly theological (and not historical or hagiographical) writings. The main fragments included here are less a commentary on the Psalms themselves, and more a "commentary on the inscriptions of the Psalms," which is a separate category of commentary.  (St. Gregory of Nyssa, for instance, wrote such a commentary in full.)  Even these fragments seem in no clear order, as they bounce around the Psalter.  The final two fragments have little clear relation to the Psalms, but the textual source (a manuscript collection on virtues and vices) claims Gregory's Commentar...

  For an introduction to St. Bruno and this work, see the introduction to my translation of the Prologue to St. Bruno's Commentary on the Psalms .  Recall that St. Bruno is commenting on the Vulgate text of the Psalms; to understand the precise phrases he is discussing, one should consult the Vulgate or the Douay-Rheims, which is, generally, a quite literal translation of the Vulgate. St. Bruno of Cologne Commentary on the Psalms Psalm I Blessed the man , etc.  It says “man,” not in regards to the distinction of sexes, but in regards to the sense of maturity.  And this is thus explained: Adam, dying to sin through delight, and consent, and action, and custom, drew all the human race with himself, and so was deservedly unhappy.  But there was someone to come, who would be a man , to do all things, not weakly, like Adam, but manfully and maturely.  And since he will be man , he will be blessed , that is, by God, with virtue and work, and, later, the blessing ...

  Introduction St. Bruno (1030-1101) was from one of the leading families of Cologne; after being ordained as a priest in 1055, he was called to the college at Reims, which he led for eighteen years (1057-1075).  After being chancellor of the Archdiocese of Reims for a few years, he began to feel a monastic vocation.  After a brief time considering the solitary life with St. Robert of Molesme (1028-1111), later founder of the Cistercians, he instead turned to the coenobitic life and lived in an oratory in Chartreuse with a few companions: the first Carthusians.  His life of retirement was shattered when his former pupil, now Pope Urban II (1035-1099, r. 1088-1099), dragged him to Rome to act as his advisor.  He was able to refuse the pope's push to make him an archbishop, but he was not allowed to leave Italy, so he and his companions started a new oratory in Calabria, which is where he lived until his death.   Alongside his teaching work, his founding of a...

My wife and I were praying the Hours recently, and the reading of Psalm 109 (110) was proscribed.  "The Lord says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand...'"  The light of grace has made it abundantly clear to Christians of all times, beginning with the Apostles and Evangelists themselves, that this psalm relates to Christ's "Divine Begetting from the Father and His coming in the flesh" (St. Athanasius).  Thus its announcement of Jesus the Messiah is quoted frequently in the New Testament.  With the light of the Spirit, the key message of most of the verses of this psalm are clearly evident, yet the last line is still "deeply enigmatic," as Pope Benedict XVI admitted.  My wife encountered this enigma and asked me for clarification on this text. "He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head."  These words come following the description of Jesus' victorious kingship, how He executes judgment and shatters...