The Gospel according to Luke

The New Collegeville Bible Commentary series aims to make the Bible comprehensive and understandable to preachers, teachers, Bible study groups, and other readers, bringing recent scholarship to bear on issues of background and context. The present volume, authored by a member of the faculty of Saint John’s School of Theology/Seminary, fits this rubric well, with the added note that this short commentary will appeal especially to persons in congregations of the Roman Church. This is not simply because the commentary is based on the New American Bible but also because Patella writes with special sensitivity to Catholic theological concerns and ecclesial life. Thus, for example, Luke 1:46–55 is identified as “the Canticle of Mary,” “traditionally called the Magnificat in the Western church where it is sung at Evening Prayer” (15); the question of Mary’s “perpetual virginity” receives significant attention in the comments on 8:19–21 (57); and the text of the Gospel is indexed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Discussion questions are provided at the end of the commentary, a helpful addition for groups from any Christian tradition working through the Gospel of Luke. After the briefest of introductions, Patella moves into a section-by-section commentary. [Full Review]