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Commentary on the Apocalypse, Part 1: From Christ with Love, by St. Beatus of Liebana. Translated by M. S. O’Brien.

The first ever English translation of Beatus’ great medieval book of commentary on the Book of Revelation! Wise words from early Christianity are blended with timeless advice on how to live in a world where not every Christian is holy.

In Part 2, John sees the Door to heaven open, and then God’s Throne surrounded by saints and angels. He sees the Lamb unseal six of the seven seals, as well as the Four Horses and other signs of the Apocalypse. He also examines various calculations of the date of the end of the world, and why it’s not a good idea to try to outguess God.

Includes a full translation of Books III and IV of Beatus’ Commentarius in Apocalypsin (covering Revelation chapters 4-7), an appendix with translated excerpts from contemporary writers talking about Beatus, as well as extensive indexes and a bibliography.

Two more volumes will be forthcoming.

On the Valiant Woman (De muliere forti) by the Venerable Bede. This classic early medieval Bible commentary on Proverbs 31:10-31 is both a Bible study and a call to action in our everyday lives. If Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is His Bride, what can we learn about her from the Valiant Woman, the ideal businesswoman and wife? As part of Christ and His Church, how do we take the initiative is using our talents for other people’s good?

The book also includes the respect for women which is typical of Bede’s writing. (For example, he composed his commentary On the Song of Habakkuk for a religious sister, and there is obvious affection in the section of his Ecclesiastical History dedicated to St. Aethelthryth (Audrey); he even included his own poem about her.)

Only a few years after the pagan English of his region had been converted to Christianity, the Venerable Bede became the greatest Scripture scholar and historian of his day, as well as writing about astronomy, music, mathematics, grammar, theology, poetry, and anything else that needed a textbook and creating Old English translations of various books of the Bible. His works were influential all over Europe, and he is counted as one of the early Church Fathers and a Doctor of the Church.

This book also appears as the final section of De Proverbia Salomonis (On the Proverbs of Solomon), a commentary on the entire Book of Proverbs which has never been translated into English.

On Magic by Fr. Francisco de Vitoria, O.P.

Salamanca was a great university for theology and international law, but legend said the Devil ran a college of magic there. On July 10, 1540, Friar Francisco de Vitoria, theologian and pioneer of human rights law, gave a university-wide presentation, “De Magia,” on the theology and philosophy of magic. (Also trying to keep the university students from trying anything stupid.)

Did magic exist? Could it perform miracles? Could it be done without dealing with the devil? Did people using magic even realize the moral implications? And had perfectly natural scientific curiosities, like magnetism, often been mistaken for magic?

Never before translated into English, here is an interesting glimpse into a world in transition between medieval and modern, as classical literature, philosophy, and patristics meet Spanish folklore.

Commentary on the Apocalypse, Part 1: From Christ with Love, by St. Beatus of Liebana. Translated by M. S. O’Brien.

The first ever English translation of Beatus’ great medieval book of commentary on the Book of Revelation! Wise words from early Christianity are blended with timeless advice on how to live in a world where not every Christian is holy.

Part 1 focuses on the seven letters Christ sends with love to the seven churches in Chapters 1-3 of Revelation, while also including broad overviews of how to interpret the whole book. (This includes Beatus’ prologues, the Summa Dicendorum, and Books 1 and 2 of his Commentary. Plus tons of footnotes, a Bible quote index, and a bibliography.) About 375 pages.

Beatus was a monk and priest from the famous mountain monastery of Liebana (Lebanon) in the kingdom of Asturias, in Spain.

Additional volumes forthcoming.