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Mother of the Saviour: And Our Interior Life
Written by a pre-eminent authority, with brevity, economy and absence of novelty, speculation or merely "metaphorical expressions." Suffused with the spirit of faith and love begotten by sanctity. Not the author\'s personal opinions, but what the Church actually teaches. Says Mary is greater in grace than all Angels and Saints combined; is the mother of all men and of each individually. A great comprehensive, concise statement of all the Church teaches about Mary!! Impr. 290 pgs, PB
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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342 people want to read
About the author
Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange
96 books147 followersRéginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (February 21, 1877, Auch, France – February 15, 1964, Rome) was a Catholic theologian and, among Thomists of the scholastic tradition, is generally thought to be the greatest Catholic Thomist of the 20th century. He taught at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, commonly known as the Angelicum, in Rome from 1909 to 1960.
Father Garrigou-Lagrange initially attracted attention when he wrote against the theological movement later called Modernism. He is also said to be the drafter or "ghostwriter" of Pope Pius XII's 1950 encyclical Humani Generis, subtitled "Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine."
He is best known for his spiritual theology. His magnum opus in the field is The Three Ages of the Interior Life, in which he propounded the thesis that infused contemplation and the resulting mystical life are in the normal way of holiness of Christian perfection.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald...
Father Garrigou-Lagrange initially attracted attention when he wrote against the theological movement later called Modernism. He is also said to be the drafter or "ghostwriter" of Pope Pius XII's 1950 encyclical Humani Generis, subtitled "Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine."
He is best known for his spiritual theology. His magnum opus in the field is The Three Ages of the Interior Life, in which he propounded the thesis that infused contemplation and the resulting mystical life are in the normal way of holiness of Christian perfection.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 27, 2015
This is the great treatise on the Blessed Virgin Mary by the great French Dominican theologian Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Garrigou-Lagrange himself is a fascinating scholar. A theologian of the early 20th Century, prior to the Second Vatican Council, he treasured the historical teachings of the Catholic Church. As a Dominican, he was very much a scholar of St. Thomas Aquinas. As a professor, he was a favorite of Pope Pius XII and a mentor of the young Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, when the latter was a student at the Roman Institute of the Angelicum while he was a professor there. But in addition to all of this, Garrigou-Lagrange was a scholar of the great Catholic mystics of the counter-reformation era, such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. All of this together gives him a perspective that you don't find in the works of other Catholic theologians.
This book was a worthy product of this talented author. In this short work, Garrigou-Lagrange explains the Catholic teachings regarding Mary the Mother of God. He goes into all of the various Marian doctrines and explains their origins and practice in Catholic spiritual life. The way that the author combines the spiritual and theological aspects of all of these teachings is very good. In this way, I think that more Catholics should read Garrigou-Lagrange, and particularly this book.
My one criticism of this work is its academic focus. I suppose it is unfair to criticise Garrigou-Lagrange as an academic, since he is one and does not ever claim to be different. Still, for the Catholic who is not well versed in Church history, who does not understand the various schools of Catholic thought or the development of Church dogma over the centuries, this work may at times become out of reach. Indeed, I would not recommend this work for someone who does not have a firm grounding in Catholic teaching. But for those who do, this work is a must read when it comes to Marian dogma.
This book was a worthy product of this talented author. In this short work, Garrigou-Lagrange explains the Catholic teachings regarding Mary the Mother of God. He goes into all of the various Marian doctrines and explains their origins and practice in Catholic spiritual life. The way that the author combines the spiritual and theological aspects of all of these teachings is very good. In this way, I think that more Catholics should read Garrigou-Lagrange, and particularly this book.
My one criticism of this work is its academic focus. I suppose it is unfair to criticise Garrigou-Lagrange as an academic, since he is one and does not ever claim to be different. Still, for the Catholic who is not well versed in Church history, who does not understand the various schools of Catholic thought or the development of Church dogma over the centuries, this work may at times become out of reach. Indeed, I would not recommend this work for someone who does not have a firm grounding in Catholic teaching. But for those who do, this work is a must read when it comes to Marian dogma.
June 8, 2020
Phenomenal book. Not the easiest read - there were several points in the book that just soared over my head. However, what I did get out of it was truly worthwhile. I wanted to grow in love of our Lady and what Garrigou-Lagrange reveals of our Lady certainly inspires a far greater love. First he explains how she is full of grace from her predestination to her coronation in heaven (several points in this part just were way beyond me) then he explains how she mediates for us in our interior life. It is this second part that really inspires gratitude. She saves us at every turn and it's almost impossible to have a relationship with God without her mediation. If I wasn't bowled over enough by this, the last chapter focuses on the sanctity of St Joseph and is just pure joy to read. I am so glad I read this and will definitely read it again and again.
May 26, 2025
Bardzo dobra książka, otwierająca nowe horyzonty na płaszczyźnie życia wewnętrznego.
May 28, 2017
This book was really informative on all things concerning the Nature and Role of the Blessed Virgin Mary for Salvation History as well as Her relevance to your particular souls own story in coming to Christ. Fr. G-Lagrange as always pairs perfectly lofty and abstract language to simple spiritual reflection, all while staying faithful to Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and The Magisterium throughout Church History. While every chapter could in theory act as a stand alone, I found that reading the whole book at once helps to increase devotion. I found the Last 3rd of the book to be really the most illuminating, but that illumination was attained in part because I read First 3rd of the book which laid down principles and dogma and explained it more clearly. Now you could read a book about The Rosary or you could read this book about the Blessed Virgin and understand in a better context the efficaciousness of The Holy Rosary.
October 11, 2015
One of my favorite book book on the Blessed Mother. Anyone interested in spirituality, philosophy, or theology should read Fr Garigou-Lagrange.
December 18, 2025
This is a great book. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange does state it is not supposed to be a standard devotional book, but a more precise statemente would be that it is in fact a devotional book but for those familiar with a kind of Thomistic spirituality, which is admittedly not for everyone. So, familiarity with the Thomistic framework is recommended and, arguably, necessary. One must in particular recall that Saint Thomas had always at the forefront the truth that Christ is the Logos and, therefore, reasoning about mysteries can itself be a mystical experience, contemplating the mysteries alongside Christ as it were.
Now, the book is meticulous when it comes to references, but the main two drawbacks are that, first, these are, for obvious reasons, not up-to-date, which is really unfortunate given the existence of newer Magisterial documents extremely pertinent to certain sections (e.g. St. JPII's on the Rosary). To give an idea of how dated the book is, some sections are dedicated to arguing for what are now but not back then Marian dogmata. The second drawback is that the references are most certainly skewed in favour of the Latin tradition. It is noteworthy that St Ephrem's name appears several times, but here Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange did not seem very motivated to provide precise and extensive references to St Ephrem's work, let alone to that of other authors' of the Syriac tradition (whose works, admittedly, have begun to become widely available only recently, certainly much later than when this book was written).
Now, the book is meticulous when it comes to references, but the main two drawbacks are that, first, these are, for obvious reasons, not up-to-date, which is really unfortunate given the existence of newer Magisterial documents extremely pertinent to certain sections (e.g. St. JPII's on the Rosary). To give an idea of how dated the book is, some sections are dedicated to arguing for what are now but not back then Marian dogmata. The second drawback is that the references are most certainly skewed in favour of the Latin tradition. It is noteworthy that St Ephrem's name appears several times, but here Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange did not seem very motivated to provide precise and extensive references to St Ephrem's work, let alone to that of other authors' of the Syriac tradition (whose works, admittedly, have begun to become widely available only recently, certainly much later than when this book was written).
December 16, 2019
Reverend Carrigou-Lagrange's analysis seems to revolve around the concept of Mary's predestination to the divine maternity, fullness of glory and grace. He explains the importance of Mary in God's plan to save humanity through His son Jesus Christ. Reverend Carrigou-Lagrange discusses how Mary's infallible submission to God's will is an unfailing source of virtues such faith, hope, and humility. He discusses how Mary's role as the mother of the redeemer and mother of all men justifies her title of universal queen. He relies on scriptures to explain the significance of the prayers embedded in the rosary. The structure of sentences in the book and the English translation from the original version makes it difficult to read at times. The book is mainly intended for theologians.
February 1, 2025
Ein nicht ganz einfaches Buch (besonders der erste Teil) über die Mutter Gottes. Das Buch gibt jedoch einen guten Überblick über alle Glaubenswahrheiten über Maria und warum wir sie als Katholiken so sehr verehren. Viele der Themen, die in dem Buch behandelt werden, sind beispielsweise grundlegend für fruchtbare Betrachtungen über das Leben der Mutter Gottes. Besonders der zweite Teil des Buches „Maria, die Mutter aller Menschen“ ist sehr schön und bietet viel Stoff für Betrachtungen.
April 29, 2021
Livro claro, objetivo e sublime. Um dos melhores que já li de Mariologia.
Want to read
September 28, 2021Recommended by Senior.
November 15, 2025
I don’t know if there’s any thing more one could ever need to know about Our Lady than is in this book, but I doubt it. Not super challenging either. The concepts are, but the book isn’t.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange’s writing (and the translator’s translating) is so clear. You can’t say he makes theology “easy” (because it’s not) but he makes it simple, in the sense that, insofar as something is hard to understand, it’s not because of his writing—he really takes the burden/labor out of the reading, and puts it on the thinking/understanding. The structure of the book sections off ideas/concepts from one another, without reducing it to a collection of disjointed essays. The upshot is that each section builds more and more on itself, while at the same time leaving many satisfying stopping points, allowing it to be taken piecemeal, day by day, and not ever feeling overwhelming.
Also, there’s no chaff in this book. Sometimes, poetic language and imagery is necessary to grasp the concept as an image because it’s a lot more difficult to articulate things in words. Fine. But, here, Fr. GL doesn’t take that as license to compile a bunch of unnecessary, nice sounding, flowery language to pad the page length, show off, or avoid penetrating dense ideas.
It’s also not that long! Would recommend to everyone.
It can be found online for free, too, which always helps. I read it on/downloaded it from eCatholic2000.com.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange’s writing (and the translator’s translating) is so clear. You can’t say he makes theology “easy” (because it’s not) but he makes it simple, in the sense that, insofar as something is hard to understand, it’s not because of his writing—he really takes the burden/labor out of the reading, and puts it on the thinking/understanding. The structure of the book sections off ideas/concepts from one another, without reducing it to a collection of disjointed essays. The upshot is that each section builds more and more on itself, while at the same time leaving many satisfying stopping points, allowing it to be taken piecemeal, day by day, and not ever feeling overwhelming.
Also, there’s no chaff in this book. Sometimes, poetic language and imagery is necessary to grasp the concept as an image because it’s a lot more difficult to articulate things in words. Fine. But, here, Fr. GL doesn’t take that as license to compile a bunch of unnecessary, nice sounding, flowery language to pad the page length, show off, or avoid penetrating dense ideas.
It’s also not that long! Would recommend to everyone.
It can be found online for free, too, which always helps. I read it on/downloaded it from eCatholic2000.com.
December 5, 2019
94/100 (= 5.6/6) ≈ 5 Stars
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Superb! As he promised, a deeper theological look at all of Our Lady's prerogatives to find out in the end, that all of the incredible privileges postulated about her in devotional books are extremely well founded -- and her greatness even goes far beyond popular belief in many instances! Written (by perhaps the best theologian of the 20th century) to increase devotion to her by showing and proving her greatness, this book is wonderfully nourishing.
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Superb! As he promised, a deeper theological look at all of Our Lady's prerogatives to find out in the end, that all of the incredible privileges postulated about her in devotional books are extremely well founded -- and her greatness even goes far beyond popular belief in many instances! Written (by perhaps the best theologian of the 20th century) to increase devotion to her by showing and proving her greatness, this book is wonderfully nourishing.
April 25, 2009
This is a very well written and informative book on Mary and her relationship with those how have a special love for the mother of God. It has many helpful explanations of issue of controversy. For instance the title Mother of God is still disputed by many non-Catholics. I came away with an understanding that true Christians beleieve that Jesus was the result of God becoming man; while false Christians believe Jesus was a man who became god. An exciting book for those devoted to Mary
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews