The St. Bede Psalmcast: Episode 3

This the second half of the Introduction to the Psalms that we started last week in Episode 2. In this episode we discuss reading the psalms alongside the Church Fathers, and how we go about reading the psalms within the context of the Church.

https://soundcloud.com/user-657912221/ep003-intro-to-the-psalms

The image is from Michael Pacher’s Altarpiece of the Church Fathers completed in 1483, and depicts several of the commentators mentioned by Cassiodorus: St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, and St. Ambrose. (St. Augustine and St. Gregory are shown here.)

Here is the text of the Letter of Athanasius to Marcellinus

Here is the Brief Rule of Abbot Romuald

And, as promised, a link to John Cassian’s, Conferences: Abbot Nesteros on Spiritual Knowledge

Recommended Books:

Athanasius : The Life of Antony and the Letter To Marcellinus

John Cassian: The Conferences (Ancient Christian Writers Series, No. 57)

Augustine’s psalm commentary is six volumes long in the latest modern edition! It can be found and read for free here at the New Advent website, though.

This is a good intro to how Augustine interpreted the psalms: Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine (Radical Traditions)

The commentaries by Cassiodorus are in three volumes and can be a hard slog at times. While I like him, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend getting them unless you really want to! I’m including them here for the sake of completeness, though.

  1. Cassiodorus, Vol. 1: Explanation of the Psalms (Ancient Christian Writers)
  2. Cassiodorus, Vol. 2: Explanation of the Psalms (Ancient Christian Writers)
  3. Cassiodorus, Vol. 3: Explanation of the Psalms (Ancient Christian Writers)

3 thoughts on “The St. Bede Psalmcast: Episode 3

  1. Barbara S.

    I agree: a great podcast. I was over at Soundcloud so had no idea all these links were here. Thanks for that, too!

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