“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! The double woe: woe to the world that produces stumbling-blocks, and woe to the specific person through whom the stumbling-block comes. The necessity of temptations communicates the fallen world's inevitability of producing obstacles; the woe to the one through whom they come communicates the personal accountability of those who are the instruments of others' stumbling.
Church Fathers on Matthew 18:7
The Lord had said, that it is better for him who gives offence, that a mill-stone be hanged about his neck, which He now subjoins the reason, 'Woe unto the world from offences!' i. e. because of offences.
This we may understand not of the material elements of the world; but here the men who are in the world, are called the world. [ed. note: i. e. Mundus, whereas the word commonly used in this sense is, 'saeculum.']
This does not subvert the liberty of the will, or impose a necessity of any act, but foreshews what must come to pass. Offences are hindrances in the right way. But Christ’s prophecy does not bring in the offences, for it is not done because He foretold it, but He foretold it because it was certainly to come to pass.
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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