Only days after the untimely death of Father Raymond E. Brown, S.S., on August 8, 1998, his final book in the Liturgical Press series on preaching the Scriptures in the liturgical year appeared, Christ in the Gospels of the Ordinary Sundays. The arrival of this slim volume brought to completion a project that had begun in the mid-1970s. At that time Father Brown had published in Worship several popular essays on the Christmas stories narrated in Matthew and Luke. These essays were a convenient digest of his monumental The Birth of the Messiah. The result of this popularization, An Adult Christ at Christmas, resonated with many people, especially Catholics who were eager to learn more about the Gospels but who often lacked the inclination or background to plow through the larger, more technical study. Thus began the series of six volumes (published over a span of twenty years, 1978–1998) that are now collected here in one volume to mark the tenth anniversary of Father Brown’s death.
This volume began in a conversation with Peter Dwyer of Liturgical Press when I suggested that it might be good to reissue all six volumes in a new and updated format to reach a new audience. As individual volumes, they have continued to attract interest. Yet since more than thirty years have passed since the appearance of the first volume, it seemed opportune to enhance the collection with a few useful additions. First, there are two new essays on preaching the liturgical year and on Father Brown’s hermeneutical method, respectively, by John R. Donahue, S.J., and myself. In addition, Father Donahue has provided a bibliography of useful resources for preaching the word of God in the context of the lectionary. There are also useful indexes and a revised chart on the liturgical year. It should also be emphasized that I have used some literary license in merging the six forewords of the original volumes into one introduction that attempts to preserve the tone and content of the originals but in a unified edition. (I trust the author would be indulgent to a Sulpician confrere!)
Also, the order of the volumes has now been adjusted somewhat. The first chapter of the last-published volume on Ordinary Time has been placed at the head of the entire collection because it provides the clearest statement of Brown’s intention and method. This essay orients the reader to the whole enterprise. The rest of the essays are arranged to follow the flow of the liturgical year, from Advent through Pentecost and into Ordinary Time. Otherwise, the text and notes have not been revised other than to make changes necessitated by this reorganization. No attempt has been made to update Brown’s bibliography in the notes, except in obvious instances of revised works now available.
It is my hope that this commemorative edition will reach a whole new generation of readers and, especially, preachers of the word, for the original essays still contain a lot of wisdom that can inform our understanding of God’s word for today. As is well known, Father Brown, a scholar’s scholar, had the rare capacity to simplify complex biblical studies in a manner that did not “dumb down” the material but allowed it to be understood by a wide audience devoid of technical expertise in biblical studies. He did this in a fashion that was both inspiring and educational.
I wish to thank sincerely Peter Dwyer and his colleagues at Liturgical Press for supporting this project enthusiastically from the beginning. I am also grateful to John Donahue, S.J., Research Professor in Theology at Loyola College in Maryland, for his willingness to contribute to this volume from his own vast experience of biblical exegesis and preaching the word of God. Father Donahue was the first Raymond E. Brown Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at St. Mary’s Seminary & University (2001–2004), and his essay on liturgical preaching and his list of annotated bibliographical resources have greatly enhanced the utility of this book.
R.D.W.
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 2008