Suggested Books, Podcasts and Resources for the Easter Season

The weekdays and Sundays of the Easter Season are dominated by the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John.  Sundays of Easter are also dominated by the First Letter of St John. Below is a list of resources relating to these readings which you may wish to acquaint yourself with. Unless noted otherwise, all material is Catholic. I’ve also included some listings on the Psalms. This post was originally  posted and updated last year, I hope to add further updates latter today. To distinguish them from previous updates that will be designated as UPDATE using purple text. I cannot guarantee that all links are currently working so please notify me if one is broke and I’ll try and fix it.

PODCASTS: All free and online for listening. St Irenaeus Ministries has an online store where you can purchase talks and studies.

• Victorious Life in Christ Through the Spirit.  A biblical spirituality retreat. A great preparation for Pentecost.
• The Church and the Mystery of Pentecost. Talk by Dr. Brant Pitre. Part of a conference on the Splendor of the Church. Other talks by Pitre, Scott Hahn, and John Bergsma are linked on the right side of the page.
• The “Rest” of the Story: From Sabbath to Pentecost. Talk by Dr. Scott Hahn. Part of a conference on Jewish Feasts and their fulfillment in the NT. Other talks by Hahn, Brant Pitre, and Mihael Barber are linked on the right side of the page.
• Father Philip’s Podcast on Acts of the Apostles. Scroll down to find links.
• EWTN’s Podcast on the Gospel of John.
• St Irenaeus Ministries Podcast Study of John’s Gospel.
• Historical Questions About the Resurrection of Jesus. Podcast and blog post by Catholic biblical scholar Dr Michael Barber.

TEXT COMMENTARIES ONLINE~Acts, 1 John, Gospel of John, Psalms,

• St John Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles. Translation is a bit dated.
• St John Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Gospel of St John. Translation is a bit dated.
• St Augustine’s Tractates on the Gospel of John. Translation a bit dated.
• St Augustine’s Homilies on the First Epistle of John. Translation a bit dated.
• St Augustine’s Exposition of the Psalms. Translation a bit dated.
• St Albert the Greats Commentary on the Psalms. On select Psalms.
• St Thomas Aquinas’ Lectures on the Psalms. On select Psalms.
• UPDATE: The Resurrection: A Biblical Study. Father F.X. Durrwell’s seminal study.

BOOKS~ Acts of the Apostles:

• Acts of the Apostles: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. Text with study notes. A good place for those not well acquainted with AoA to begin.
• Acts of the Apostles: Collegeville Bible Commentary Series. I’m not a big fan of this series from the 1980’s, however, this particular volume will be useful to the beginner. See next link.
• The Acts of the Apostles: The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament. A bit better than the last Collegeville series (previous link) but I’m still not a fan. I did like this particular volume.
• Invitation to Acts: Doubleday New Testament Commentary Series. A good place for a beginner’s study. Focuses on context.
• The Acts: New Testament Message Series. For those seeking to go beyond the beginner’s level.
• Acts of the Apostles: Navarre Bible Commentary. Designed for study, prayer and meditation.
• A Once and Coming Spirit at Pentecost: Essays on the Liturgical Readings Between Easter and Pentecost. By Fr. Raymond Brown, the famed (and controversial) exegete. Non-technical.
• Witness of the Messiah: Kingdom Series. A small but extremely useful study of the first 15 chapters of AoA. See next link.
• Envoy of the Messiah: Kingdom Series. On Acts 16-28. A companion to the previous book.
• The Venerable Bede’s Commentary on Acts of the Apostles. I haven’t yet read this work by the great, early Medieval commentator, but I doubt I will be disappointed when I do.
• Acts: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Commentaries garnered from the Early Church Fathers and Medieval writers. An ecumenical endeavor with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox contributors.
• Acts of the Apostles: Sacra Pagina Series. Slightly technical, not out of reach for the average person.
• The Acts of the Apostles: Yale Anchor Bible Commentaries. The series is ecumenical, this commentary by Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer is quite technical.

BOOKS~The Gospel of John and The First Letter of St John:

• The Letters of St John and the Revelation to St John: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Series. Very basic, the place to start.
• The Gospel According to John and the Johannine Epistles: Collegeville Bible Commentary. I’m not a big fan of this series from the 1980’s, however, this particular volume will be useful to the beginner. See next link.
• Gospel of John and the Johannine Letters: New Collegeville Bible Commentary. I’m not a fan of this newer Collegeville series either, but the beginner will find it useful.
• St John’s Gospel. By popular author, speaker, apologist, Stephen Ray. Longer than the works listed above. The format may not be to everyone’s liking.
• The Gospel and Epistles of St John: A Concise Commentary. A good place to begin.
• The Johannine Epistles: New Testament Message Series. For those seeking to move beyond the beginners level.
• John: New Testament Message Series. For those seeking to move beyond the beginners level.
• St John’s Gospel: The Navarre Bible Commentary Series. A great resource for those looking to study, pray, and meditate on John’s Gospel.
• The Catholic Epistles: Navarre Bible Commentary Series. See previous note. This volume contains commentary on James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, &3 John, and Jude.
• The Three Epistles of St John, The Epistle of Jude: New Testament for Spiritual Reading Series. I haven’t read this particular volume but I have enjoyed other works in the series.
• The Gospel According to St John: New Testament for Spiritual Reading. See previous note.
• John 1-10~Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Commentaries garnered from the Early Church Fathers and Medieval writers. An ecumenical endeavor with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox contributors.
• John 11-21~Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. See previous note.
• The Gospel of John: Sacra Pagina Series. Occasionally technical, but not out of reach for the average person.
• Volume 1: The Gospel According to John: Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. Fr. Raymond Brown. See note on next link.
• Volume 2: The Gospel According to John: Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. Fr. Raymond Brown. These two volumes (see previous link) are exhaustive, technical, and for the serious student.
• The Epistles of John: Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. Fr. Raymond Brown. Like his commentary on the Gospel (see above), exhaustive, technical, and for the serious student.
• 1, 2, 3 John: Sacra Pagina Series. Lengthy, somewhat technical at times.

BOOKS~THE PSALMS:

• The Psalms and the Song of Solomon: Navarre Bible Commentary. Designed for study, prayer and meditation.
• Volume 1~The Psalms: Old Testament Message. See note on next link.
• Volume 2~The Psalms: Old Testament Message. Informative, but the format may not be to everyone’s liking.
• Volume 1~Psalms 1-72: Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries. See note on nest link.
• Volume 2~Psalms 73-150: Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries. An ecumenical series. The author of these two volumes (see previous link) is Father Richard j. Clifford, a leading authority on the Psalms.
• Psalms 1-50~Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. See note on next link.
• Psalms 51-150~Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Commentaries garnered from the Early Church Fathers and Medieval writers. An ecumenical endeavor with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox contributors.
• The Psalms Explained. An older work. Presupposes a working knowledge of Latin.
• Volume 1: Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Medieval Writers. See note on volume 4 below.
• Volume 2: Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Medieval Writers. See note on volume 4 below.
• Volume 3: Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Medieval Writers. See note on volume 4 below.
• Volume 4: Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Medieval Writers. By John Mason Neale, an Anglican scholar of the 19th century.
• UPDATE: Singing in the Reign. A thematic and canonical study of the Psalms. The book attempts to “show how the historical hope for the restoration of  the Davidic Kingdom was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus.“
• UPDATE: Psalms 1-50~Word Biblical Commentary. See note on next link.
• UPDATE: Psalms 51-100~Word Biblical Commentary. See next note.
• UPDATE: Psalms 101-150~Word Biblical Commentary. Protestant. Geared towards seminary students and pastors.
• UPDATE: Psalms 1-50~Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. See next note.
• UPDATE: Psalms 51-100~Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. See next note.
• UPDATE: Psalms 101-150~Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. Father Dahood’s famous three volume work is best left to the the scholars.
• UPDATE: Psalms: Berit Olam Series. Concerned with the structure of each Psalm and how the content relates to it.
• UPDATE: An Exposition of the Seven Penitential Psalms by St John Fisher. “Translated” into modern English for your convenience. I’ve read some of these expository sermons in the “original” English and it’s not an easy task.