Father Reginald Garrigou Lagrange: Applying His Work for the Restoration of the Church
Matthew Bellisario O.P. 2020
Historical Context
There is an important question that we must seek an answer to. Why do we currently find ourselves in one of the worst moral and doctrinal crisis in the history of the Church? Why do we see the Sacraments of the Church being downplayed by so many in the Church today? While we have witnessed the liturgical, theological and moral demolition in the Church over the past 50 or 60 years, this current "virus" crisis has given even more insight as to the spiritual health of the Church. There is no question as to the preference Catholics as a whole are now giving to the natural over the supernatural. I believe there are many causes of this disastrous state of the Church, but I will address only one in this article.
I am firmly convinced that one of the main reasons many Catholics today do not understand their Catholic faith is that the philosophical and theological principles of Saint Thomas Aquinas have largely been abandoned by many in the Church in recent years. Despite the warnings of over one hundred years of papal proclamations not to abandon Thomism, we have as a large majority not heeded their words! This is the reason why many of today's pop-apologists do not know how to explain Catholic moral or Sacramental theology. It also the reason why many bishops have been duped into buying into this erroneous definition of "human dignity" and end up falling into supporting feeble crusades such as those promoting secular humanism disguised under the name of Catholic social justice. This is done to the detriment of leading the faithful to their ultimate end for which we were created, which is eternal life with God. This is one of the reasons that many bishops today are downplaying the necessity of the Sacraments. They simply do not have the proper formation of the intellect, and as we know the will follows the intellect.
If you have visited this website before you know I am an avid promoter of traditional Catholic literature. I believe that at this point in history it is our moral obligation as Catholics to spend more time than ever reading and studying our faith. There is a body of work that offers us a cure for this philosophical and theological sickness we are experiencing in the Church. Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, known as Saint Thomas' ultimate mouthpiece of the 20th century has given us such a body of work. He was born in 1877 in France and lived until 1964. He was known to be a thorn in the sides of the 'New Theologians' for years. Fr. Lagrange is known to have been a staunch defender against the modernist movement in the Church which came to prominence during his life. Lagrange exposed many errors of the "New Theologians" such as those espoused by Henri de Lubac, Maurice Blondel, Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx and Hans Urs von Balthasar among others. These "New Theologians" were avid supporters of modern philosophy which badly skewed their theology. Those who followed them down this dangerous road are many and their influence has been felt in almost every aspect of Catholic theology.
Thomas as the Model
As we know, Saint Thomas has been championed by the Church since the 14th century. Although I could quote popes ad-nauseum one quote will suffice to make my point on how important it is that every Catholic takes the time to study Saint Thomas. There is a lot packed into this one paragraph so read carefully.
"27. Again, if we are to avoid the errors which are the source and fountain-head of all the miseries of our time, the teaching of Aquinas must be adhered to more religiously than ever. For Thomas refutes the theories propounded by Modernists in every sphere, in philosophy, by protecting, as We have reminded you, the force and power of the human mind and by demonstrating the existence of God by the most cogent arguments; in dogmatic theology, by distinguishing the supernatural from the natural order and explaining the reasons for belief and the dogmas themselves; in theology, by showing that the articles of faith are not based upon mere opinion but upon truth and therefore cannot possibly change; in exegesis, by transmitting the true conception of divine inspiration; in the science of morals, in sociology and law, by laying down sound principles of legal and social, commutative and distributive, justice and explaining the relations between justice and charity; in the theory of asceticism, by his precepts concerning the perfection of the Christian life and his confutation of the enemies of the religious orders in his own day. Lastly, against the much vaunted liberty of the human reason and its independence in regard to God he asserts the rights of primary Truth and the authority over us of the Supreme Master. It is therefore clear why Modernists are so amply justified in fearing no Doctor of the Church so much as Thomas Aquinas."
(Studiorum Ducem-Pope Pius XI, June 29,1923)
After reading this quote it is clear that there is little that does not encompass Thomas' great wisdom in learning and living the Catholic faith. Although we label Thomas' "system" of philosophy and theology as 'Thomism' it is nothing more than the pursuit of truth in light of the two types of ways we learn the truth, which is through natural reason, and Divine Revelation. We learn the truth through our senses and our intellects reflect and deliberate on what we learn. We then act upon this knowledge with the help of God's grace to do God's will. Thomism then teaches us the proper relation of objective truth with our subjective action in relation to that truth. Pope Pius XI and his predecessors understood well the importance of this proper intellectual formation. It is important that we properly order our intellects towards God. In order to defeat the modernist mentality that pervades the Church today, it will take immense individual effort to begin a Thomistic revival.
Lagrange's Body of Work
There are many great books available today on Saint Thomas and his theology, and I have listed some of them in earlier blog posts. I, however, believe that Fr. Lagrange's work, though challenging, is a great place to start to truly get an idea of what Thomism looks like in the life of the believer. Like anything worthwhile, it takes some effort to reap the benefits of his books. Lagrange's work is extensive and it would probably take a lifetime for the average person to study his body of work. This being the case I have recommended just a few of Lagrange's books that I think should be part of every Catholic's library, although you truly can't go wrong with any of his books. You can find most of these books on Amazon, or other Catholic bookstores online. Some are out of print so look for used copies when necessary. Look at the sidebar on the main page of this website for recommended traditional Catholic book stores. I have also included some online source links of these works if they are available.
1. 'Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought', is a good summary of the work and thinking of Saint Thomas. Fr Lagrange goes through and explains many of St. Thomas' work and gives you a firm grounding in Thomistic philosophy and theology. An online version can be found here at the EWTN Library.
2. 'Christian Perfection and Contemplation', is an exposition on traditional Catholic teaching regarding the spiritual life of grace and perfection. He covers the basics of how to live the Christian life and how to understand the basics of Catholic theology. This is a must for every Catholic. An online version can be found on the Internet Archive.
3. 'The Sacred Monster of Thomism', is a biography on Fr. Lagrange. It is a fairly quick read but gives you some insight into the time in which Fr. Lagrange lived and the evil forces of modernism that he battled around him.
4. 'Our Savior and His Love for Us', is another spiritual guide on the interior life, focusing on Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The book focuses on Christ, His incarnation, the priesthood and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass among other topics.
5. No Catholic library is complete, (it's never complete!;) unless it contains his insightful work on Mariology titled, 'Mother of the Saviour.' This book covers all of the dogmas on Our Blessed Mother and how they apply to our spiritual life. Grab it if you can find one at a reasonable price, otherwise make your own copy from this website.
6. 'The Three Ages of the Interior Life' is one of the great classics on Catholic spirituality ever written. This two-volume set is one to be read perpetually and meditated upon. If you cannot find the set at a reasonable price, you can go to this website and print off a few pages each day and make your own copy!
7. Finally, if you want to take a dive into one of the most perplexing teachings of the Church, predestination, his book of the same title is an interesting read. He covers all of the views on predestination and clearly outlines the difference between the Dominican view against others such as the Molinist view. Again, you can find the text online if needed.
These seven books are a good place to begin delving into Lagrange's extensive work. The effort to integrate these into your prayer and study time will be sure to produce great fruit in the pursuit of truth, in the love of God and in your quest for the restoration of Holy Mother Church.
A Brief Biography
The Dominican theologian Father Thomas Crean has written a great article about Lagrange which I have posted some of below. Be sure to click on the link below the article to read the rest of it!
From 'A Saint in Heaven' By Father Thomas Crean O.P.
Gontran-Marie Garrigou-Lagrange was born in 1877 into a solid Catholic family living in the south-west of France. In 1896 he began studies in medicine at the university of Bordeaux, but whilst there he read a book by the Catholic philosopher Ernest Hello which changed the direction of his life. Years later Fr Garrigou described the impression this one book made upon him: "I glimpsed how the doctrine of the Catholic Church is the absolute Truth about God, about His inner life, and about man, his origins and his supernatural destiny. As if in an instant of time, I saw how this doctrine is not simply 'the best we can put forward based on our present knowledge', but the absolute truth which shall not pass away..."
To this intuition the young university student would remain faithful for the remaining sixty-eight years of his life.
Medical studies abandoned, Gontran-Marie entered the French Dominicans at the age of twenty, and received the religious name Reginald. (Blessed Reginald of Orleans was a contemporary of St Dominic: our Lady appeared to him in a vision, cured him of a mortal sickness and gave to him a white scapular that thereupon became part of the Dominican habit.) Friar Reginald had the good fortune to receive his initial training from Dominicans committed to implementing Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter Aeterni Patris, the document that insisted upon the unique place of St Thomas Aquinas in philosophy and theology. It was by studying the angelic doctor that the young Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange nourished the conviction that had brought him to the cloister: the unchangeableness of revealed truth.
His superiors clearly perceived his abilities, for after ordination in 1902 Fr Reginald was enrolled for further philosophical studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was a mark of the trust that his superiors placed in him that he was sent to so aggressively secular an environment while still a young priest. Among his lecturers were Henri Bergson, Emile Durkheim, and the not yet excommunicated Alfred Loïsy, 'father of Modernism'. His fellow students included the future philosopher Jacques Maritain, not yet a Catholic and indeed driven almost to despair by the prevailing nihilism of the great French university. Father Garrigou's relations with Maritain were later to be both fruitful and troubled.
In 1906, Fr Reginald was assigned to teach philosophy at Le Saulchoir, the house of studies of the French Dominicans. His pedagogic skill was such that in 1909, at the age of thirty-two, he was sent to teach at the Dominican University in Rome, the Angelicum. Here he remained for the next fifty years, teaching three courses: Aristotle, apologetics and spiritual theology. He had the gift of making the most difficult subjects clear, and of showing how sound philosophy and revealed truth fit together in a wonderful harmony. Father Garrigou clearly loved his work: one of his students remembered him exclaiming, "I could teach Aristotle for three hundred years and never grow tired!" He also possessed what is perhaps the rarer gift of communicating his own zest for a subject to his listeners, for his lectures, abstract though they were, were not dull affairs. One student paints this portrait of Fr Garrigou lecturing: "His small eyes were filled with mischief and laughter, his body was constantly moving, his face was able to assume attitudes of horror, anger, irony, indignation and wonder."
For the rest of Crean's article visit this website link!
Matthew Bellisario O.P. 2020
 |
| Pope Pius XI |
Historical Context
There is an important question that we must seek an answer to. Why do we currently find ourselves in one of the worst moral and doctrinal crisis in the history of the Church? Why do we see the Sacraments of the Church being downplayed by so many in the Church today? While we have witnessed the liturgical, theological and moral demolition in the Church over the past 50 or 60 years, this current "virus" crisis has given even more insight as to the spiritual health of the Church. There is no question as to the preference Catholics as a whole are now giving to the natural over the supernatural. I believe there are many causes of this disastrous state of the Church, but I will address only one in this article.
I am firmly convinced that one of the main reasons many Catholics today do not understand their Catholic faith is that the philosophical and theological principles of Saint Thomas Aquinas have largely been abandoned by many in the Church in recent years. Despite the warnings of over one hundred years of papal proclamations not to abandon Thomism, we have as a large majority not heeded their words! This is the reason why many of today's pop-apologists do not know how to explain Catholic moral or Sacramental theology. It also the reason why many bishops have been duped into buying into this erroneous definition of "human dignity" and end up falling into supporting feeble crusades such as those promoting secular humanism disguised under the name of Catholic social justice. This is done to the detriment of leading the faithful to their ultimate end for which we were created, which is eternal life with God. This is one of the reasons that many bishops today are downplaying the necessity of the Sacraments. They simply do not have the proper formation of the intellect, and as we know the will follows the intellect.
If you have visited this website before you know I am an avid promoter of traditional Catholic literature. I believe that at this point in history it is our moral obligation as Catholics to spend more time than ever reading and studying our faith. There is a body of work that offers us a cure for this philosophical and theological sickness we are experiencing in the Church. Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, known as Saint Thomas' ultimate mouthpiece of the 20th century has given us such a body of work. He was born in 1877 in France and lived until 1964. He was known to be a thorn in the sides of the 'New Theologians' for years. Fr. Lagrange is known to have been a staunch defender against the modernist movement in the Church which came to prominence during his life. Lagrange exposed many errors of the "New Theologians" such as those espoused by Henri de Lubac, Maurice Blondel, Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx and Hans Urs von Balthasar among others. These "New Theologians" were avid supporters of modern philosophy which badly skewed their theology. Those who followed them down this dangerous road are many and their influence has been felt in almost every aspect of Catholic theology.
Thomas as the Model
As we know, Saint Thomas has been championed by the Church since the 14th century. Although I could quote popes ad-nauseum one quote will suffice to make my point on how important it is that every Catholic takes the time to study Saint Thomas. There is a lot packed into this one paragraph so read carefully.
"27. Again, if we are to avoid the errors which are the source and fountain-head of all the miseries of our time, the teaching of Aquinas must be adhered to more religiously than ever. For Thomas refutes the theories propounded by Modernists in every sphere, in philosophy, by protecting, as We have reminded you, the force and power of the human mind and by demonstrating the existence of God by the most cogent arguments; in dogmatic theology, by distinguishing the supernatural from the natural order and explaining the reasons for belief and the dogmas themselves; in theology, by showing that the articles of faith are not based upon mere opinion but upon truth and therefore cannot possibly change; in exegesis, by transmitting the true conception of divine inspiration; in the science of morals, in sociology and law, by laying down sound principles of legal and social, commutative and distributive, justice and explaining the relations between justice and charity; in the theory of asceticism, by his precepts concerning the perfection of the Christian life and his confutation of the enemies of the religious orders in his own day. Lastly, against the much vaunted liberty of the human reason and its independence in regard to God he asserts the rights of primary Truth and the authority over us of the Supreme Master. It is therefore clear why Modernists are so amply justified in fearing no Doctor of the Church so much as Thomas Aquinas."
(Studiorum Ducem-Pope Pius XI, June 29,1923)
After reading this quote it is clear that there is little that does not encompass Thomas' great wisdom in learning and living the Catholic faith. Although we label Thomas' "system" of philosophy and theology as 'Thomism' it is nothing more than the pursuit of truth in light of the two types of ways we learn the truth, which is through natural reason, and Divine Revelation. We learn the truth through our senses and our intellects reflect and deliberate on what we learn. We then act upon this knowledge with the help of God's grace to do God's will. Thomism then teaches us the proper relation of objective truth with our subjective action in relation to that truth. Pope Pius XI and his predecessors understood well the importance of this proper intellectual formation. It is important that we properly order our intellects towards God. In order to defeat the modernist mentality that pervades the Church today, it will take immense individual effort to begin a Thomistic revival.
 |
| Father Lagrange |
Lagrange's Body of Work
There are many great books available today on Saint Thomas and his theology, and I have listed some of them in earlier blog posts. I, however, believe that Fr. Lagrange's work, though challenging, is a great place to start to truly get an idea of what Thomism looks like in the life of the believer. Like anything worthwhile, it takes some effort to reap the benefits of his books. Lagrange's work is extensive and it would probably take a lifetime for the average person to study his body of work. This being the case I have recommended just a few of Lagrange's books that I think should be part of every Catholic's library, although you truly can't go wrong with any of his books. You can find most of these books on Amazon, or other Catholic bookstores online. Some are out of print so look for used copies when necessary. Look at the sidebar on the main page of this website for recommended traditional Catholic book stores. I have also included some online source links of these works if they are available.
1. 'Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought', is a good summary of the work and thinking of Saint Thomas. Fr Lagrange goes through and explains many of St. Thomas' work and gives you a firm grounding in Thomistic philosophy and theology. An online version can be found here at the EWTN Library.
2. 'Christian Perfection and Contemplation', is an exposition on traditional Catholic teaching regarding the spiritual life of grace and perfection. He covers the basics of how to live the Christian life and how to understand the basics of Catholic theology. This is a must for every Catholic. An online version can be found on the Internet Archive.
3. 'The Sacred Monster of Thomism', is a biography on Fr. Lagrange. It is a fairly quick read but gives you some insight into the time in which Fr. Lagrange lived and the evil forces of modernism that he battled around him.
4. 'Our Savior and His Love for Us', is another spiritual guide on the interior life, focusing on Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The book focuses on Christ, His incarnation, the priesthood and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass among other topics.
5. No Catholic library is complete, (it's never complete!;) unless it contains his insightful work on Mariology titled, 'Mother of the Saviour.' This book covers all of the dogmas on Our Blessed Mother and how they apply to our spiritual life. Grab it if you can find one at a reasonable price, otherwise make your own copy from this website.
6. 'The Three Ages of the Interior Life' is one of the great classics on Catholic spirituality ever written. This two-volume set is one to be read perpetually and meditated upon. If you cannot find the set at a reasonable price, you can go to this website and print off a few pages each day and make your own copy!
7. Finally, if you want to take a dive into one of the most perplexing teachings of the Church, predestination, his book of the same title is an interesting read. He covers all of the views on predestination and clearly outlines the difference between the Dominican view against others such as the Molinist view. Again, you can find the text online if needed.
These seven books are a good place to begin delving into Lagrange's extensive work. The effort to integrate these into your prayer and study time will be sure to produce great fruit in the pursuit of truth, in the love of God and in your quest for the restoration of Holy Mother Church.
 |
| Father Lagrange and His Books! |
A Brief Biography
The Dominican theologian Father Thomas Crean has written a great article about Lagrange which I have posted some of below. Be sure to click on the link below the article to read the rest of it!
From 'A Saint in Heaven' By Father Thomas Crean O.P.
Gontran-Marie Garrigou-Lagrange was born in 1877 into a solid Catholic family living in the south-west of France. In 1896 he began studies in medicine at the university of Bordeaux, but whilst there he read a book by the Catholic philosopher Ernest Hello which changed the direction of his life. Years later Fr Garrigou described the impression this one book made upon him: "I glimpsed how the doctrine of the Catholic Church is the absolute Truth about God, about His inner life, and about man, his origins and his supernatural destiny. As if in an instant of time, I saw how this doctrine is not simply 'the best we can put forward based on our present knowledge', but the absolute truth which shall not pass away..."
To this intuition the young university student would remain faithful for the remaining sixty-eight years of his life.
Medical studies abandoned, Gontran-Marie entered the French Dominicans at the age of twenty, and received the religious name Reginald. (Blessed Reginald of Orleans was a contemporary of St Dominic: our Lady appeared to him in a vision, cured him of a mortal sickness and gave to him a white scapular that thereupon became part of the Dominican habit.) Friar Reginald had the good fortune to receive his initial training from Dominicans committed to implementing Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter Aeterni Patris, the document that insisted upon the unique place of St Thomas Aquinas in philosophy and theology. It was by studying the angelic doctor that the young Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange nourished the conviction that had brought him to the cloister: the unchangeableness of revealed truth.
His superiors clearly perceived his abilities, for after ordination in 1902 Fr Reginald was enrolled for further philosophical studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was a mark of the trust that his superiors placed in him that he was sent to so aggressively secular an environment while still a young priest. Among his lecturers were Henri Bergson, Emile Durkheim, and the not yet excommunicated Alfred Loïsy, 'father of Modernism'. His fellow students included the future philosopher Jacques Maritain, not yet a Catholic and indeed driven almost to despair by the prevailing nihilism of the great French university. Father Garrigou's relations with Maritain were later to be both fruitful and troubled.
In 1906, Fr Reginald was assigned to teach philosophy at Le Saulchoir, the house of studies of the French Dominicans. His pedagogic skill was such that in 1909, at the age of thirty-two, he was sent to teach at the Dominican University in Rome, the Angelicum. Here he remained for the next fifty years, teaching three courses: Aristotle, apologetics and spiritual theology. He had the gift of making the most difficult subjects clear, and of showing how sound philosophy and revealed truth fit together in a wonderful harmony. Father Garrigou clearly loved his work: one of his students remembered him exclaiming, "I could teach Aristotle for three hundred years and never grow tired!" He also possessed what is perhaps the rarer gift of communicating his own zest for a subject to his listeners, for his lectures, abstract though they were, were not dull affairs. One student paints this portrait of Fr Garrigou lecturing: "His small eyes were filled with mischief and laughter, his body was constantly moving, his face was able to assume attitudes of horror, anger, irony, indignation and wonder."
For the rest of Crean's article visit this website link!
Comments
Post a Comment