Luke 16:23 (WEB)
In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
Catechism · 3
Sin
“Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Mk 3:5-6; Lk 16:19-31.
The Seven Petitions
“This petition of the Lord's Prayer cannot be isolated from the parables of the poor man Lazarus and of the Last Judgment.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Lk 16:19-31; Mt 25:31-46.
Christ Descended into Hell
“Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Ps 89:49; I Sam 28:19; Ezek 32:17-32; Lk 16:22-26.
Fathers and councils · 54
Tertullian
“In hell the soul of a certain man is in torment, punished in flames, suffering excruciating thirst, and imploring from the finger of a happier soul, for his tongue, the solace of a drop of water.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“Thus it happens that the rich man in hell has a tongue and poor (Lazarus) a finger and Abraham a bosom.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 23, 24.
Read the whole comment“Nay, even in Hades the admonition has not ceased to speak; where we find in the person of the rich feaster, convivialities tortured; in that of the pauper, fasts refreshed; having—(as convivialities and fasts alike had)—as preceptors “Moses and the prophets.”” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–31.
Read the whole comment“Thus, too, Eleazar in Hades, (attaining refreshment in Abraham’s bosom) and the rich man, (on the other hand, set in the torment of fire) compensate, by an answerable retribution, their alternate vicissitudes of evil and good.” — editor's note: i.e., Lazarus, Luke xvi. 19–31.
Read the whole comment“The remarks I have advanced on this case will be also of use to me in illustrating the subsequent parable of the rich man tormented in hell, and the poor man resting in Abraham’s bosom.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–31.
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Augustine of Hippo
“Whatever that may be which is signified by that bosom, there lives my Nebridius, my sweet friend, Thy son, O Lord, adopted of a freedman; there he liveth.” — editor's note: Though Augustin, in his Quæst. Evang. ii. qu. 38, makes Abraham’s bosom to represent the rest into which the Gentiles entered after the Jews had put it from…
Read the whole comment“But you may already be there, where that beggar, once “covered with sores,” was seen at a distance, at rest, by that proud and unfruitful “rich man” in the midst of his torments.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 20, 23.
Read the whole comment“Most suitably also Lazarus is said to be interpreted, “one aided:” that needy and poor man, that was transported into the bosom of Abraham; and beareth the type of the Church, which ought alway to confess that she hath need of aid.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 23.
Read the whole comment“…inclines unto him His ear, for He knows that his heart is contrite.…Was it really for the merit of his poverty that the poor man was carried away by Angels, or was it for the sin of his riches that the rich man was sent away to be tormented?” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–24.
Read the whole comment“…who were the memorial of his father and mother, without any succeeding offspring, as it is said above, were consumed in the short space of one generation.…” — editor's note: [Here he inquires whether Judas, in Hades, could know the condition of his family; and he replies, “It is indeed a great question, and not one to be discussed…
Read the whole comment“Then he cried, saying, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip his finger in water, and drop it on my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.”” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 22–24.
Read the whole comment“The beggar was taken into custody, so was the rich man: but the one into Abraham’s bosom; the other, where he thirsted, and found not a drop of water.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 22–24.
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John Chrysostom
“From this furnace Lazarus too went forth, not less glorious than those children; but the rich man who was in the place of them that worshipped the image, was condemned to hell.” — editor's note: Gehenna. [But in Luke xvi. 23, “Hades” occurs. The context in the Gospel, however, justifies the interpretation of the passage given here.—R.]
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Jerome
“And, as once the beggar Lazarus saw the rich man, for all his purple, lying in torment, so does Lea see the consul, not now in his triumphal robe but clothed in mourning, and asking for a drop of water from her little finger.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–24.
Read the whole comment“(Hence in the story of Dives and Lazarus, Abraham and the beggar, though really in a place of refreshment, are described as being in hell.)” — editor's note: Apud inferos—Luke xvi. 23.
Read the whole comment“Lazarus, in his lifetime, received evil things, and the rich man, clothed in purple, fat and sleek, while he lived enjoyed the good things of the flesh but, now that they are dead, they occupy different positions.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–25.
Read the whole comment“But I know how terrible was the retribution which fell upon the proud mind of the rich man clothed in purple for not having helped Lazarus.” — editor's note: Luke xvi. 19–24.
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Catena Aurea on Luke
- Pseudo-ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
We have heard how both fared on earth, let us see what their condition is among the dead. That which was temporal has passed away; that which follows is eternal. Both died; the one angels receive, the other torments;…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Luke
Now as to your thinking Abraham’s bosom to be any thing bodily, I am afraid lest you should be thought to treat so weighty a matter rather lightly than seriously. For you could never be guilty of such folly, as to…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
When the two men were below on earth, that is, the poor and the rich, there was one above who saw into their hearts, and by trials exercised the poor man to glory, by endurance awaited the rich man to punishment.…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
He died then indeed in body, but his soul was dead before. For he did none of the works of the soul. All that warmth which issues from the love of our neighbour had fled, and he was more dead than his body. (Conc. 2.…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Luke
The burial in hell is the lowest depth of torment which after this life devours the proud and unmerciful. PSEUDO-BASIL. (In Esai. 5.) Hell is a certain common place in the interior of the earth, shaded on all sides…
Read the whole comment - Pseudo-ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
Or as the prisons of kings are placed at a distance without, so also hell is somewhere far off without the world, and hence it is called the outer darkness.
Read the whole comment - Theophylact of OhridCatena Aurea on Luke
But some say that hell is the passing from the visible to the invisible, and the unfashioning of the soul. For as long as the soul of the sinner is in the body, it is visible by means of its own operations. But when…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
As it made the poor man’s affliction heavier while he lived to lie before the rich man’s gate, and to behold the prosperity of others, so when the rich man was dead it added to his desolation, that he lay in hell and…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
Now if Abraham sate below, the rich man placed in torments would not see him. For they who have followed the path to the heavenly country, when they leave the flesh, are kept back by the gates of hell; not that…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
There were many poor righteous men, but he who lay at his door met his sight to add to his woe. For it follows, And Lazarus in his bosom. It may here be observed, that all who are offended by us are exposed to our…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
And this rich man forsooth, now fixed in his doom, seeks as his patron him to whom in this life he would not shew mercy.
Read the whole comment - Theophylact of OhridCatena Aurea on Luke
He does not however direct his words to Lazarus, but to Abraham, because he was perhaps ashamed, and thought Lazarus would remember his injuries; but he judged of him from himself. Hence it follows, And he cried and…
Read the whole comment - Pseudo-ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
Great punishments give forth a great cry. Father Abraham. As if he said, I call thee father by nature, as the son who wasted his living, although by my own fault I have lost thee as a father. Have mercy on me. In…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
For that rich man who would not give to the poor man even the scraps of his table, being in hell came to beg for even the least thing. For he sought for a drop of water, who refused to give a crumb of bread.
Read the whole comment - Basil the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
But he receives a meet reward, fire and the torments of hell; the parched tongue; for the tuneful lyre, wailing; for drink, the intense longing for a drop; for curious or wanton spectacles, profound darkness; for…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
But not because he was rich was he tormented, but because he was not merciful.
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
We may gather from this, with what torments he will be punished who robs another, if he is smitten with the condemnation to hell, who does not distribute what is his own.
Read the whole comment - Ambrose of MilanCatena Aurea on Luke
He is tormented also because to the luxurious man it is a punishment to be without his pleasures; water is also a refreshment to the soul which is set fast in sorrow.
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
But what means it, that when in torments he desires his tongue to be cooled, except that at his feasts having sinned in talking, now by the justice of retribution, his tongue was in fierce flame; for talkativeness is…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
His tongue too had spoken many proud things. Where the sin is, there is the punishment; and because the tongue offended much, it is the more tormented.
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
Or, in that he wishes his tongue to be cooled, when he was altogether burning in the flame, that is signified which is written, Death and life are in the hands of the tongue, (Prov. 18:21.) and with the mouth…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Luke
Thou sayest that the members of the soul are here described, and by the eye thou wouldest have the whole head understood, because he was said to lift up his eyes; by the tongue, the jaws; by the finger, the hand. But…
Read the whole comment - Gregory of NyssaCatena Aurea on Luke
As the most excellent of mirrors represents an image of the face, just such as the face itself which is opposite to it, a joyful image of that which is joyful, a sorrowful of that which is sorrowful; so also is the…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
Behold the kindness of the Patriarch; he calls him son, (which may express his tenderness,) yet gives no aid to him who had deprived himself of cure. Therefore he says, Remember, that is, consider the past, forget…
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Luke
All this then is said to Him because he chose the happiness of the world, and loved no other life but that in which he proudly boasted; but he says, Lazarus received evil things, because he knew that the…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
He says, Thou receivedst good things in thy life, (as if thy due;) as though he said, If thou hast done any good thing for which a reward might be due, thou hast received all things in that world, living luxuriously,…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
Whatsoever then ye have well in this world, when ye recollect to have done any thing good, be very fearful about it, lest the prosperity granted you be your recompense for the same good. And when ye behold poor men…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
But you will say, Is there no one who shall enjoy pardon, both here and there? This is indeed a hard thing, and among those which are impossible. For should poverty press not, ambition urges; if sickness provoke not,…
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
It may also be answered, that evil men receive in this life good things, because they place their whole joy in transitory happiness, but the righteous may indeed have good things here, yet not receive them for…
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
But after the mercy of God, we must seek in our own endeavours for hope of salvation, not in numbering fathers, or relations, or friends. For brother does not deliver brother; and therefore it is added, And beside…
Read the whole comment - Theophylact of OhridCatena Aurea on Luke
The great gulf signifies the distance of the righteous from sinners. For as their affections were different, so also their abiding places do not slightly differ.
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
The gulf is said to be fixed, because it cannot be loosened, moved, or shaken.
Read the whole comment - Ambrose of MilanCatena Aurea on Luke
Between the rich and the poor then there is a great gulf, because after death rewards cannot be changed. Hence it follows, So that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor come thence to us.
Read the whole comment - John ChrysostomCatena Aurea on Luke
As if he says, We can see, we cannot pass; and we see what we have escaped, you what you have lost; our joys enhance your torments, your torments our joys.
Read the whole comment - Gregory the GreatCatena Aurea on Luke
For as the wicked desire to pass over to the elect, that is, to depart from the pangs of their sufferings, so to the afflicted and tormented would the just pass in their mind by compassion, and wish to set them free.…
Read the whole comment - Theophylact of OhridCatena Aurea on Luke
You may from this derive an argument against the followers of Origen, who say, that since an end is to be placed to punishments, there will be a time when sinners shall be gathered to the righteous and to God.
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on Luke
For it is shewn by the unchangeableness of the Divine sentence, that no aid of mercy can be rendered to men by the righteous, even though they should wish to give it; by which he reminds us, that in this life men…
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Cross-references · 13
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Sermons on New Testament Lessons Sermon 52.
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on Luke 16:22–26 (3) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in John Chrysostom on Luke 16:22–26 (6) (Catena Aurea) and 1 other place.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.
Cited together in Catechism §1859.
Cited together in Catechism §1859.
Cited together in Sermons on New Testament Lessons Sermon 52.
Cited together in Confessions IX.3.