Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Luke 9:58

Eastern Fathers

John Chrysostom

See how our Lord sets forth by his works the poverty which he taught. For him was no table spread, no lights, no house, nor any such thing.

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗

Clement of Alexandria

This, I think, is signified by the utterance of the Saviour, "The foxes have holes, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." For on the believer alone, who is separated entirely from the rest, who by the Scripture are called wild beasts, rests the head of the universe, the kind and gentle Word, "who taketh the wise in their own craftiness. For the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain;"...

The Stromata Book 1 ↗

Western Saints

Ambrose of Milan

He compares foxes to heretics, because they are indeed a wily animal, and, ever intent upon fraud, commit their robberies by stealth. They let nothing be safe, nothing be at rest, nothing secure, for they hunt their prey into the very abodes of men. The fox again, an animal full of craft, makes no hole for itself, yet likes to lie always concealed in a hole. So the heretics, who know not how to construct a house for themselves, circumscribe and deceive others. This animal is never tamed, nor is it of use to man. …

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗

Bede

And Jesus said to them: Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man does not have a place to lay his head. From the words of the Lord, it is shown that this man who promises service is rejected because, seeing the magnitude of the signs, he wished to follow the Savior, seeking profits from the miraculous works, desiring the same thing that Simon Magus had wished to buy from Peter. …

On the Gospel of Luke ↗

Bonaventure

Second, regarding the detection of duplicity, it is added: And Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, in which, namely, they hide, and the birds of the air have nests, in which they lodge by night: but the Son of man has not where to lay his head. In this, remarkably, he showed his poverty, as if to say that he did not wish to have a companion who loves earthly things; whence below, chapter 14: "Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple," that is, a perfect imitator. …

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9 ↗