Reginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange,
O.P.The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
(February 21, 1877,
AuchAuch is a commune in south-western France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. At the 1999 census there were 24,725 inhabitants in the urban area of Auch.-The Ausci:Auch is a very ancient town...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
– February 15, 1964,
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
) was a
CatholicCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
theologianThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
and, among Thomists of the manualist tradition, is generally thought to be the greatest
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
thomist of the 20th century. He taught at the
Angelicum in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
from 1909 to 1960.
Father Garrigou-Lagrange initially attracted attention when he wrote against
ModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late...
.
Reginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange,
O.P.The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
(February 21, 1877,
AuchAuch is a commune in south-western France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. At the 1999 census there were 24,725 inhabitants in the urban area of Auch.-The Ausci:Auch is a very ancient town...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
– February 15, 1964,
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
) was a
CatholicCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
theologianThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
and, among Thomists of the manualist tradition, is generally thought to be the greatest
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
thomist of the 20th century. He taught at the
Angelicum in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
from 1909 to 1960.
Father Garrigou-Lagrange initially attracted attention when he wrote against
ModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late...
. He is best known for his spiritual theology. He propounded the thesis that infused
contemplationThe word Contemplation comes from the Latin root templum , and means to separate something from its environment, and to enclose it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek 'theory'...
and the resulting
mysticalMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
life are in the normal way of holiness of
ChristianChristianism refers to Fundamentalist Christianity and/or their followers.It may also refer to:* the belief that Christianity is superior to all other religions...
perfection. His classical work in the field is
The Three Ages of the Interior Life. He taught many eminent Catholic theologians during his academic career, the most illustrious being the future
Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
.
He produced 28 books and hundreds of articles. Among the most famous works are:
- God, His Existence and Nature: A Thomistic Solution of Certain Agnostic Antinomies (1914)
- Christian Perfection and Contemplation according to St Thomas Aquinas and St John of the Cross (1923)
- The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus (1929)
- Providence (1932)
- Predestination (1936)
- The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life (1938)
- The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude of Eternal Life (1938), synthesis of Christian Perfection and Contemplation and Love of God and the Cross of Jesus
- Christ the Saviour (1945), commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
III.1-26, 31-59
- Life Everlasting and Immensity of the Soul (1947)
- Grace (1947), commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
I-II.109-114.
- The Mother of the Saviour and our Interior Life (1948)
- The Priest in Union with Christ (1948)
- The Theological Virtues - Vol. 1: Faith (1948), commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
II-II.1-16
- Beatitude (1951), commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
I-II.1-54
- The One God, commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
I.1-26
- The Trinity and God the Creator, commentary on Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologica is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas , although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time...
I.27-119
- Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought
- Life Everlasting
Quotes
- Comment on an early draft of Karol Wojtyla's (later Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
) thesis, of which Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange was the director:
"Writes much; says little."
External links and references
- The Sacred Monster of Thomism: An Introduction to the Life and Legacy of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. by Richard Peddicord published in 2004 by St. Augustine's Press
- Reason with Piety, Garrigou-Lagrange in the Service of Catholic Thought by Aidan Nichols
The Rev. John Christopher Aidan Nichols O.P. is an academic and Catholic priest, and served as the first John Paul II Memorial Visiting Lecturer at Oxford University for 2006-8, the first lectureship of Catholic theology at that university since the Reformation. He is a member of the Order of...
Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University (2008)
- Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought published in 2007 by Ex Fontibus Co. Softcover. Hardcover.
- Grace: Commentary on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas, Ia IIae, qq. 109-14 Hardcover.
- Life and Work