A Good Catholic Book ExplaIning the Parables?

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Hi,

Can anyone please recommend a good Catholic book(s) providing sound Catholic interpretations of the meaning of Jesus’ parables?

I can find plenty of books by protestants, and I’m sure some of them will be very good, but they may miss a particularly Catholic insight. I did buy the 3 book series: Parables for Preachers by Barbara Reid, a Catholic Nun I believe. There are some good orthodox points made, but also a lot unorthodox view points too, which, wading through, spoils the books.
Thank you!
Brian
 
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I have a hardcover book titled “The Parables of Christ” by Leopold Fonck, S.J. (Two earlier editions were called “The Parables of the Gospel”.) It is a good, faithful Catholic book! A footnote on the first page of the Preface says “The author was chosen by His Holiness Pius X to take the first place in the Biblical Institute …”

I don’t think it’s in print anymore, but there are used copies available. The cheapest by far is from abebooks. Prices start at $11.00 plus $4.70 shipping. Be sure to check where it’s shipped from. Noticed a few came from India and U.K. Currency exchange probably comes into play on those. Also found a couple on e-bay - one for $64.99 and one for $49.95.

It’s a large hardcover book (800+ pages) and incudes the Bible texts of the parable in Greek, Latin, and English - which accounts for some of its length. You can actually get the full text online here: Full text of "The parables of the Gospel : an exegetical and practical explanation" You could check it out and see if it’s something you might like. There’s a fair amount of introductory material; first actual parable starts on page 71. It’s not very user friendly - altho the computer’s "control f " word search feature works on it. That would be very helpful. The Table of Contents and the Index are very close to the end.
 
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There are also many good Catholic commentaries on the books of the New Testament, which would include commentary on the parables.
Some that come to mind:
Navarre Study Bible
Ignatius Study Bible
Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aquinas

The Haydock Bible is available online. It has good commentary.
 
Hi Nita,
Thank you for your reply!
I’m going to sound terrible, but I have all of those (electronic versions via Verbum) - and they are very good. But they don’t do cover a parable in the depth and breadth of (valid) interpretations that can be applied - I imagine say taking 6 or 7 pages discussing one parable. Best wishes, Brian
 
Nita,
I only saw your post on Leopold Fonck’s book after my prior post.

Fantastic! I’ve bought a copy from Abebooks.

Thank you so much for making me aware of this book.
Brian
 
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Hi Rob2,

Thank you for the suggestion. I understand he is highly thought of, although I read somewhere he takes the view there is only a single correct interpretation for each parable. I’ll try and see if I can get that on Verbum. Brian
 
Well, now I;m in suspense. How many interpretations of a parable can there be?

Parable is/was a common genre of Jewish thought in Biblical times. Parables teach stories. Modern Jewish thinkers use parables – not as myths but as illustrations of truths. They do not have to be based on fact.
 
Why would they require interpretation and what makes anybody else better at interpreting them than you?
 
Cut to the chase scene - Jesus told parables and even his disciples didn’t understand them.

So,it helps to have people who studied the original languages of the new Testament, for example, to distill the possible meanings. (From a reading of some commentaries, words can have several meanings, against a cultural background, at that.) Yes, it takes more than a glance to think through the possible meanings.

What makes one interpretation better than any other? In the Jewish Talmud “study” (I’m informed) there are often various interpretations and they are all saved and studied. It takes centuries to settle some questions. Numbers 6 talks about Jews taking the Nazirite vow – superficially about not cutting one’s hair or not drinking any alcohol – interpreted as a consecration of oneself to the level of holiness of a Aaronic priest. But no one today can take such a vow because there is no Temple at which to offer the sacrifice required at the end of the period of the vow. This is not a parable, but an interpretation of scripture all the same.

Jesus said that his followers were to obey all that he commanded (mt 28) How does anybody interpret that? Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Is there any part of our life that is or is not a part of all that? In the Catholic Church, the apostolic fathers and modern bishops are the custodians of the interpretations. But certainly it is up to each of us to apply this in our lives, as we find the opportunities.
 
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I also was going to strongly recommend Leopold Fonck’s very excellent “The Parables of the Gospel,” and I am happy to see from the posts there others have found it. As a matter of fact I was just reading what what Father Fonck said about the parable of the good shepherd (excellent for this, by the way).
Someone recommended a book by Joachim Jeremias, but he actually is a Lutheran. Not to knock Protestant writers, but the original poster asked for books by Catholic authors.
 
I think otrrl’s last post maybe answers his/her first post?

I’m no expert on these things: I’m taking a 2 year correspondence course on the faith and my tutor mentioned that parables “should not be reduced to just good moral stories, they have a Christological dimension to them”. So it seems they can be read on at least two levels. Also, they can often be looked at from different angles, e.g. The Prodigal son: son’s, older son’s, father’s view points - each focus giving a distinctly different message. I think parables can also be reinterpreted (to a degree) in light of the current times. I do think Jesus probably had one main message in mind when he told a parable: Take for example the Good Samaritan - clearly this was a response to the question “Who is my neighbour” - but as with a lot of Scripture there is a literal, a moral and an spiritual sense (my tutor specifically refers to this parable as having a Christological dimension).
 
Hi fin,
Thank you for replying. Yes, it’s called: Hints of Heaven: The Parables of Christ and What They Mean for You. I have that on my "list of books to get - sounds like a very good book. Brian
 
I was just going to make a thread asking about this, so I’m glad there’s one already open, and I’m just here to bump it!
 
Hi NJada,

Another book to consider then: The Parables of Jesus by Fr. Denis McBride.
 
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