Jesuits -- Periodicals

Jesuits -- Periodicals

Monasticism and religious orders -- Periodicals

Kelly

City of Saint Louis (Mo.), http://www.geonames.org/4407084

http://cdm17321.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/rfr/id/165

6’u~/~respectftill’~h{imbl~

- loving and ve}y ~iml~ig t’fiat "urges ’~n~l’ presses° it’ to’:lov4 G0d,~toYadd~e Hirri~ ev4n to’ elfibr~e Hi~’q~ith inexpresbible tenderness such ’as only.expeiience chn.make us imagine. Let Brother Law, fence tell how, he himself practiced this doctrifie f~orn the’very beginning of his religious~ life. From ~the moment of m~’~entrance into rehg,on,’ I "10ok~d u~on God as the limit and the ~nd 0f a11 the t~oug1"its and affections of s6ul. At the 13e~inning of my novitiate

during tile hours designated for prayer I odci~ied m~self in convincing myself of the truth Of this Divine Being, rather by th~ light of faith thanby the labor of medi-tation and reading

and by th~s short and sure means I advanced m the ’knowledge" of ~tb~is lovable Person, with whom I resolved to dwell alwal

s. T14en, wholly penltrgted as I was °~ith the’ grandeur.’6f this infifiite Being, I usedto ~hut mysd~up in the place that obedience had d~stined ~0r me, White’Was the kitchen. There, alone, after havin~ arranged all the thii~gs necessary for my .duty, I used to dev6te tO p.rayer all the tim4 that w, as left a.s much before my work !as a~ter it,’ At the beginning Of m~r duties I would say to God with filial cohfi-. dence, "My God, since T.hou art with me and ~inCe by Thine order I must occupy my mi~id with~these eR{ernal things, I beg Thee~{6’ g~ant me the grace’to remain with Thee and tok4ep Thee company

but that it may be the better done, my Lord, work with._me, receive my labors and pgssess all my aff{ctions." Then, during my work, I continued to speak to Him f,amiliarly, to offer Him my little services an~l to ask His graces. At the’end the action, I used to.examine how I had done it. If I found gbod in At, I thanked God. ~f I noticed faults, I "a~ked His pardon for them and ~Lithout being discouraged I purified my intention and b~gan again to d~vell with God as if I had not strayed from Him. Thus, rising up after’my f~lls and making a multiplicity of acts Of faith and of love, I have arrived at a state in’which it would be as imposbible for ~e not to think 6f God as, it Was~ difficult for "me to accu.4tom myself to it ih the begirining. ~ °..We must turn to Abb4 de’Beaufort for more details. AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reuie~ for Religious The Abb~ says that Brother Lawrence considered the prac-tice of the presence of God "an application of our soul to God

or a remembrance of God present, which can bemade either by the imagir~ation or by the intellect." Brother Lawrence practiced an intellectual presence of God, to which, however, he gave several other names. Sometimes he calls it a simple act, or a clear and distinct knowl-edge of God, sometimes a vague view or general and loving look at God, a remembrance of God. Other times he te~ms it attention to God, mute intercourse with God, confidence in God, the life and peace of the soul. To sum it up .... all these manners of the presenc.e of God are but synonyms which signify one identical thing .... He Says that by means of acts, frequently recalling to his mind the presence of God, he has formed such a habit that, as soon as he is free of his exterior occupations and even often when he is engaged in them, the tip of his spirit, or the highest part of his soul, rises without any effort on his part and remains as suspended and fixed in God. above all things, as in its center and place of repose. Since in this repose be feels his soul almost always, accompanied by faith, that suffices. That is what he calls the actual presence ~f God, whlch ¯ includes all the other kinds of presence and much more. Now he lives as if there were no one but God and he [sic] in the world, he converses everywhere with God, asks Him for what he needs, and rejoices with Him ceaselessly in a thousand ways. Nevertheless, one should realize that this conversation with God occurs .in the depth and center of the soul. It is there that the soul speaks to God heart to heart, and always in a great and profound peace that the soul enjoys in God. Everything that happens outside is to the soul ~nly a blaze of straw that goes out while it is catching fire, and scarcely ever disturbs its interior peace .... This gentle and loving gazing at God insensibly lights in. the soul a divine fire which so enkindles it with the love of God that a person is obliged to-d~ many exterior things to temper it .... The presence of God is, then,. the life and nourishment of the soul, which.can be acquired with the grace of God. To ~um up briefly, Brother Lawrence considered the practice of God’s presence a matter of repeated acts, par-~. ticularly of adoration and love of God present in the depths 196 Mag 1946 PRESENCE OF GOD of~ the soul.. These acts,~’~e~rsisted, in everywhere and any~ whele

becohie a habit, bringing about a .state of actual union of the~soul with God," characterized eventually by~ the prayer of simple, regard~ ~ All this is the frifit of a lively faith and persevering cooperation with the grace~.of God. Principal Means As a first-means of acquiring the practice of the presence ofGod, the,Carmelite brother urges puritg of life, that is~ the constant.striving for p~rogress in.perfection, Thelsecond is ’:a great ~delitg to the practice of this presen.ce and~tQ the interior gazin~ upon God.in faith. This must always, b~ done gently, humbly, and lovingly, wit_hout giving way to any trouble or anxiety.’~’ .... Indeed, the pract.ke must become a firm habit, and for this purpose "you must take particu-lar care that this interior, glance

although it may last onl~ moment, precedes your exterior acts, that from time to time it accompanies them, and that you finish all of them with it." Hence, "W~e must do all our actions with deliberation and care, with6ut impetuosity or p.recipitation, for these show a disordered spirit. We °must work gently, calmly and lovingly with God, and beg Him. to accept our work.-" For beginners he re’commends the use of ejaculations: It will not be out of place for those who are beginning this prac-tice to form interiorly some phrase, such as, "My God, I am all Thine"

"God of love, I love Thee with all my heart

"Lord with me accor.ding to Thy~will"

or some other wo~ds that love inspires at the time. But they r~ust take care that their mind does not wander nor return to creatures, and they.must hold it attached to God alone, so-that, pressed and forced by the will, it may be obliged to dwell with God. Neither great ~skill, nor knowl-edge are needed to practice the presence of God, but only courage and go(Yd will, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be, even though it be the bb, ttlefield. "A little lif.ting of the heart sufficds. A 197 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reulew [oc RdigioUs ¯ brief remembrance of God, an interior act of adoration, eveh while one may be running with sword in ,hand, are piayers wbicb, however short ~hey are, are nevertheless very pleasing to God," Finally, earnest prager for this’ gift. must accompany all our efforts., Obstacles ~ What are the main obstacles? Brother Lawrence admits that "he ForgetFulness is one. had some difficulty about it. at first, that he did pass some time.without remem-bering his exercise

but that, after having humbly confessed his fault, he took up the practice again without trouble." Then there are dis}factions, which hinder the practice. "Sometimes a crowd of extravagant thoughts violently took the place of God and he content~ed himself with setting them aside gently, to return to his

customary converse." And so he counsels us: In prayer, hold yourself before God like a poor dumb man and a paralytic/it the door of a rich man, and occupy yourself in keeping your soul in the presence of the Lord. If it wanders and withdraws from Him at times, do not be upset, for troubles of mind serve rather to distract than to recall it, the will must recall it ’gently. If you persevere in this way, God will have pity on,you. Disco[~ragernent will come, especially in the beginning. "Since time and much effort are needed to acquire this prac-tice, one should not be discouraged when one fails, because a habit can be formed only with difficulty

but when once o it is formed, everything will be done with pleasure." Spiritual Fruits What are some of the spiritual fruits to be derived from the practice so insistently recommended "by Brother Law-rence? What are the benefits accruing to the religious life of, perfection from this ’habitual living in God’s holy presence? ~ The first is an increase of faith: I98 May 1946 PRESENCE OF GOD The first fruit that the soul receives from the practice of the pres-ence of God is that its faith is livelier and more active in all: the cir~ cumstances~ of life, particularly in times of need, since this practice easily obtains for us grace ’in our temptations and in the inevitable intercourse that we must have with creatures. The soul, accustomed by this exercise to the practice of faith, by a simple act of memory sees and feels God present

she invokes Him easily, efficaciously’, and obtains what she needs. One might say that in this she possesses something approaching the state of the Blessed:the more she advances, the more lively her faith becomes, and finally it grows so pen~etrating that she might almost say, "I no longer believe, but I see and experience. ’ The second fruit is a strengthet~ing of hope: The practice of th(presence of God strengthens us in hope. Our hope increases in: proportion to our knowledge--in the measure that our faith penetrates by this holy exercise into the secrets of the Divinity, in the measure that it discovers in God a beauty infinitely surpassing not only that of bodies that we see upon earth, but even that of the most perfect souls and that of the angels-~our hope increases and grows stronger, and the greatness of the good that it expects to enjoy and that in some degree it tastes, reassures anci sus-tains it. The presence Of God brings with it also a perfecting of love: ’ This practice inspires in the will a contempt for created things and sets it aglow with the ]ire of holy love

because the soul is always with God, ~rho is a consuming fire and reduces into powder whatever.can be opposed to Him. The soul thus enkindled can no longer live ex.c~ept in the presence of its God, a presence which produces in’ the heart a holy ardor, a sacred urgency and a violent desire to see this God, Who is loved, known, served and adored by all creatures. From the lively exercise of these three virtues of faitbl hope, and charity come a great familiarity with God and the prayer of simple regard. By the presence of God and by this interior gaze the soul famil-iarizes itself with God to such an extent that. it passes almost its whole life in continual acts of love, adoration, contrition, confidence, thanksgiving, offering, petition, and all the most excellent virtues. 199 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Sometimes it even becomes one single act that does not end, ~because the s6ul is always in the ceaseless exercise of this Divine presence. I know that tlaere are few persons who arrive at this degree,, for it is a gface’,with which God favors only some chosen souls, since this simple regard is a gift ofHis generous~hand. But I will say~ for the consolation o1~ those who wish to embrace this holy practice, that He: gives it.ordinarily to those who dispose themselves for it: and if He ,does not, one can~at least, with the help of His ordinary graces, acquire by the practice of the presence ot~ God a method and state of pr~iyer which approaches very closely to this simple gazing upon,Him, Conclusion In conclusion, picture Brother Lawrence at his po~st of obedience, the°austere, monastery kitcheh, where he spent his long life. There he stands before the stove in his Carmel-ite habit, with ~n apron over it, his sleeves rolled up, He is patiently stirrin~ with a ladle in a huge cauldion, coaxing alon~ ,’l~he ’sou~ f0~ the friars’ noonday meal. ’ ~.~utwa~dly there is nothing remarkable about him

he is, like ma~ny another religious at a ,similar task, perhaps only a bit more recollected. Inwardly, howevei:, he lives in a

world of spiritual activity

Conscious.of the :pre~sence of God within his soul, he is quietly adoring Him in spirit an~ .in~. truth, loving Him fervently and without ceasing. His life and work are :a continual prayer,a prayer that,grows simpler with the years. This humble Carmelite brother has a message for ~ili .rehg,0us, above all for tho~e who likehim Sl3(nd their days m the kitchen or in other manual work.° He seems to be beckoning to them to follow in his footsteps, and so we s~halLgive him th.ei!afft word: "The Opractice of the presence of God. draws down in abundance the g0racCs of the LOrd and conducts the soul insensibly to that pure gazing~ that loving sighLof God present e~erywhere, which is the holiest, the firmest,..the easiest and the most efficacious, manner, of prayer." 200 PRACTICE OF THE,PRESENCE OF GOD. , By Brother Lawrence of the. Resurrecfiom, Translated by Sister Mary David, S.S.N.D. Pp. 127.~ ~., The Newman Book Shop, Westminster Maryland, 1945. $2.25. Brother I~awrence, the Discalced Ca~meli~’e, may justly b~-called th~ apbs~tle of the presence 0~f God. His holy life and~his important me~sage "are. cont~ain~d in five 17th century .French documeats-- a eulogy, the ways of BrotherLawrence, interviews, spiritual .maC-ires, letters--all preserved fob us through the efforts Of Brother’s lifelong~ friend, the Abb~ 3oseph de-Beaufort.. These documents Sister Mary David,’ S.S.N.D., has tran.slated with fair :success. They make up~a little book, which, while~it l~cks~unity and is somewhat ¯ re~etitiouL is , nevertheless pleasant and profitable reading. Brother Lawrence" andhis’ simple, :wholesome doctrine on the ~]~ractice .of

the l~resence°of God we recommend t6 busy religious, especially,to.those doing,manual work, and specifically to ’the cooks, of our communities large and small. A. KLA^S, S.3. ° [NOTE. For ana¢c6unt of the life of Brother Lawrence and a summar~ o~ his doc-trine, see "Brother Lawren~ce on the Presence of God." by Augustine Kla~ts. pp. 187 sqq., of this issue.] THE MAN~-WHO BUILT ~THE.SECRET DOOR. By Sister° M. ~harlta~ S.S.N.D. Pp. ix + I~0~ ~The Bruce Pulo

~sMng. Company, M~lwauEee, ~ 194S. $ I.SO. This is a collection.o} essays on saints. The man who built thee secret door to heaven is St. Joseph. The whole book takes it~ title from the first account. ~Eleven other saints are treated: Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, Ruth Of the Old Testament, Ignatius of Loyola., Elizabeth of Hungary, John Bosco (the.best account in the book), Francis Xavier, Paul of Tarsus, Luke" the Evangelist~ and Our Lady. The accounts are biographies only in a loose sense.- Sister Charitas takes events, not ~lways historical, from the lives of the saints and uses them as a basis of worthwhile moral reflections:. T.he moral reflections are easy to take in her readable~ chatty styl..e. The book will be welcomed by priests and religious as’something to recommend to, students and friends, especially high school girls. - ~K: WALLACE,’S:J. 201 BOOK REVIEWS Reoiew Cot Reli~pous WHAT SAY YOU? ~By Dav~id Golds÷eln, LL,D. Pp. ~xii q- 446. Radio Replies Press.’ St, Paul,~4"945. $2~75. ¯ Fo~t~ year~ of ~a~paigning for Christ have given David Gold-stein, occasion to answe~ manwg question frdm his audiences through~ oi~t the country. Here the famous lecturer gathers typical questions and-answers under 27 h_eadings. Logically xhe discussions begin with the existence of God and proceed to. Creation, Man, Immor-tality of the Soul, Salvation, Evolution, Religiotl, the Jews, Christ, the Mother of God, the Church, the Pope, Infallibility, the Bible,. and the.Sacraments. Each c.hapter is headed by a short statement of Cath-olic. teaching on the subject of the section. The ariswers can l~rovide abundant bandy help for teachers. speakers, and instructors of converts and can fascinate any casual reader. For instance, the six pages on Secrecy of the Confessional relate briefly.the stories.of the Jesuit Father Gannett, . hanged after t~h~ Gunpowder Plot,. two Irish priests, an.d)an ’English one. who served prison terms for refusing to reveal penitents’ confessions, the Abb~ Bruneau who was guillotined in" 1911 for like conduct~ and finally St. John Nepomuk. .. This book should be useful on any apologetics shelf. : --R. ,BERNARD, S.J.: CHUNGKING LISTENING POSL B~-~ark Tenn

em ~Pp: x~,

q--, 202: "~:Creative A9~ Press~ N~W York, ’1945. ~2.50~ Father Mark Tennien, M.M., "one of the Maryknoll b6~s

.’ as General Stilwel! calls him, held a unique "listening post" in thd nerve center ot: Free China from 1942 to 1945. An experieficed missionary of sevdn year~’he was moved to Chungking shortly’after Pearl Har~ bor to act as gengral.liaison 6fficer for thd 150 M’aryknoll missionarids in’l~ree China." It would help his work to receive the official status,of "

coat correspondent" in this wartime capital~ s~ Field A?ar appointed him i(s "special war correspondent."~ Then began ~three excitihg. years of hard work and service for Maryknoll’ and 1500 other mis-sionaries. On"the side, Father Tennien turned iri a. record of news-g~ th~ring and reporting :,whiCh even Bbb Case~r and Ernie Pyle’might well envy. There were trips on his "murdercycle" and onfriendly. bombers

letters and,, telegrams contantly poured in from "free mis-sionaries"

and. bits of rice paper smuggled through Japanese lines told the story of oncentrati6n camp and occupation. The Japanese 202 Mav~ I946 . BOOK REVIEWS were afraid of Father’s newsgathering,, and offered ten .thousand.:dol-lars" Americari for his head." Few war correspondents were valued so highly. This is an interesting book, dramatic, well-informed, and packed with’exciting, pathetic, and inspiring anecdotes. We see the mis-sionaries

we see the people

and we read the stories, the true intimate stories, behind yesterday’s headlines. This is not just ~i Maryknoll book: it is~a’book of missionary heroism wherever Father could find it, especially among the Divine Word Fathers. - If you areAn.terested inopolitics

this is also your book. ~ The story of China

s troubles, and the whole of the Communist disturbances are told simply with the dir~ec.t assurance of an eyewitness. One cannot ~ecommend ChungkingoL(s~ening P~ost.~too highly. Religious will find inspiration in its pages

and it can be readily recom-mended to la~ people of all classes and creeds. For these pages carry a sermon of deeds, not of pious.phrases.As ... .w..nega r Joe" Stil~ell writes, "If you like people who have courage and live.only for unselfish service to others, you will,enjoy reading Father Tennien’s book."--TR. L. PORTER, S.J. , THE GOLDEN YEAI~S: A Story. of the Holy Family. By a Wife, Mother, and Apostle of Chr

stian Charity, and Joseph Hussle

n, S.J. Pp

197. The‘Bruce Publishlng-Company, Milwaukee, 1945. $1.75. The thirty golden years of the Hidden Life of the Savior have been presented at long last through the eyes of’a wife and a mother "It was h~r gift," writes Father Husslein, the co-author, "and privi-lege to penetrate most deeply into the ~neffable intimacies’between Mary and her Divine Child, and to describe no less truly, with a -woman’s ir~tt~ition, the tender and beautiful relations that existed between the Mother of God and him wbo~was given her as virginal spouse and protector." The main body of the book is the series 6f contemplative reflec-tions on the Holy Family, jotted down in haste as a sort of spiritual journal. It was never re-read or revised. Then by good fortune, this manuscript came into the hands of Father Husslein. As ~o-author and editor, he knit the series into the present book. The wife-mother writer’s desire t0~remain andnymous ha~ been respected by the editor. ’. The r~adei will, perhaps, bedissatisfied with the explanation-, bf the sequence oLevents f/om the espousal of Mary and 3oseph through 203 BOOK REVIEWS - Review [or Religiobs theNativity 9f the,Sa,dor. The most evident weakness, oLsequence is the not too conyincing explanation~ o~ thepassage: "because~there was no room for them in the inn," But in the over-all view of this splendid book,, this is of, small.importance. ~ The passages describing the.Mother-Son relationship during the infancy, boyhood, rand you.ng:manhood years of Christ are superbly beautiful~. In a,word, this sublime story of the Thirty Years_ has never,:been more:appreciatively or, charmingly told.T..HALLEY, S.J. THE SPIRiTUAl: DOCTRINE OF FATHER LOUIS LALLEMANT. (Pre-cedi~ d by an Account of his Life, by Father Champ

on

~ S.J,) ,Edited by Alan. G. McDbucjall. Pp. xvl q-304. The N~wman Boo~k Shop, ..... Westminster, Maryland

" 1946. $3.00. ’Thts repnnt of an old, well known, and htghly prtzed sptrttual classtc may need announcement but hardly recommendatton. Father Eallement ts one of the great spmtual hgfits of the Soctety of 3esus, an~~ tha, ,t , a, lt~though he d.t,d ~ not wr. tte.’ He’hved ~ln~ France tn the seven-teenth century (1587-1635). He Was a nowce-master and’also an instructor for the young 3esuit priests who had completed their intel: lectual training and were making their third year of probation before em3arktng upon thetr (xtertor hfework:~’He was dtstmgum~ed dnly.fdr pe?~offal:,h61i~ess

bat, also, afiO inape~uliar way~ for the holiness of Hi~ ’disciples. ~ertain~of these

discipleL qncluding the famous~Father~Surln, preserved notes which embodied the doctrine of~tbeir master.-, It is ~ compilation m~de, from these by Father Pierre Champion (16,32~1701) that has long, gone under this.title. An indi~atign~ of the abiding~ importance of Father Lallemant is the fact that,:in recent yeays, Father A,. Pottier ~ubli~hed a-critical edition of the ~p]ritual Qoctrine ~gd~ a, three~vol~m9 study called Le P. Louis Lal&mant et les Grands Spirituels de spn Tgmps. According to the editor of this reimpression, the English trans- I~fion was mgdg, by some un~nownpersqn aY the suggqstion of Father Ergd~ick William Faber.~ It was edited also by~ Father Faber and first publishe~ in 1855. Only minor cha0ges have been made by,~the present e~i~or ~,~,An ~pproximate idea o~ the contents of~Father Lallemant’s Sp&itual"D~t?ine. can~be had ,from the,first s~ntence in it, summar-izing the notes o~,~Father Rigbleud under- ~’seven principles: viz,, the consideration 6f the end--the ,idea of p~rfection~purity of heart--. 204 May, 1946 ¯ ¯ BOOKoREV~EWS d6cility in following the leadings of the Holy Spirit recolldction.or the interior life-~union wlth~our Eord--ai~d°the older or steps of,~ the spirituablife." What, Father. Surin adds is comparatively little ~, (,2.2 pages out’of 278). ’ After St. Ignatius’s writings- and’The Practice ofCh~:istiaa Per’-" fe~tion by Rodrigiiez, very probably no bodk~ his contributed’more to the 6fli¢ial trfining ahdi’formation 6f young’Jesuits than’L~alle~- mant’s’~Spiritual Do~trine. /ks Rodriguez is a sort of asceti~:al t’ext-book~ fdr the novices, so Lallem~nt has bften fulfill~d a~similar- func- . tion for those who werd malting their tertia’h~hip.. " j ~- in some sense’Lallemant is the Jes~iit mj

sti~. In :his"cbn~eption therefore of th~ spiritu~il life," and even of the apostolic life: it ii’rnot

urprising that contemplation"

hould play a most important .role. "Meditation" ",~eaii~s find fatigues the mifid, and°its acts~ are of:sh0rt duration: bd~ those of’ contemplation, even such as is of a’ common {onr~d tehre,’ lpaus~tr ew~sht osol.du !hs.’o..ucorsnL we.mith, polau~tt jloanb2o muary ~aenadsi ,w!y?itchqno~ui~t nwuee~a _rsien.ey~sesr

a la"n ddays together, in~ the yery mids.t of, the w~grld~ and th.e.~e~ng.a.gements of business

:.. ~:,~-.Contemplation. leads to, heroic~,.acts of charity, .zeal, penance, and other, virtues, as, fo, r e~xamPle0 martyrdom .,: . .~..W~ ith- ~.u.t gontemplation we shall never make much progress in virtue, and Shall never be fitted to n~ak¢ others advance ther,.ein,...~:, . Bu_t .wi~h. it we shall effect more, both for ourselves and for others, in i~ mofitb, than withou.t it we could accomplish in ten years." (Pp. 261~64.) ° "i’ho~e wh0 ih’ink tliat all JeSuit mental i~&fascyuersr~ ’vies

~" ~ " tati6n might do well to consult Father ~Lallemant: --G. AUG. ELLARD, S.J. A.TRYST WITH .THE HOLY TRINITY: Retreat Meditations for Religious.. . bas~ed on Devotion to God the Fathe~.(the Our Father),,Devotlon to’ .Godthe. Son (the Stations of’the Cross), and Devotion to God the Holy Ghost. By the .Very..Reverend Frederick T. Hoeger, C.S:.Sp. .Pp. xvi ~-f- 176. Frederick Pustet .Company, New York.and Cincln-natl, 1945. $2.50. The long subtitle of this little book,gives a clear idea of its con, tents. It indicates also the novel and peculiar:character of the work: The. author hopes’ that if ~eligious: firmly, and intimately associate their retreat with three prayers or devotions that they use daily, they will not.easily forget, its truths and lessons~but’ rath,er daily recall, and 205 BOOK I~EVIEWS Review for Rehg!ous renew "them. The meditations are twenty-nine in number. Thi~ subject matter is that "ivhich is more or less customary in retreats for religious. Howeverthe external form and arrangement are anything but usual. The first twenty-eight meditations fall into quater-naries, and within each quaternary the following order is observed: the first is connect~i with a portion.of the Our Father, the second and third with two stations of the Cross, and the fourth with devotion to the Holy Ghost. According to this scheme one successively goes through ’the retreat,matter

the Our Father, the stations

and points pertaining to the devotion of the Holy Ghost. The author has had much experience in giving retreats and ~vi-d~ ntly was very successful at it, having been in~rited back to the same community as many as five times. Of those who were plgased and helped by the original conferences, many no doubt will be glad to have them now in permanent printed form. G. AUG. ELLARD, S,J. THE TRINITY AND THE UNICITY OF THE INTELLECT. By St. Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Sister Rose Emmanuella Brennan, S’.H.N. Pp. v + 289: B. Herder Book Company, St. Lou

s, 1946. $3.00. This book is a translation of two important opuscula of St. Thomas. Expositio super Boetium De Tdnitate, written, in 1257-58. and De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas, writtetl in" 1270. The first of these treatises is essential for appreciating the Angelic Doctor’s views on the method and hierarchy of sciences, especially on the nature and position of theological science. The second is indis-pensable for understanding one of the gravest controversies in the thirteenth c~entury

it is directed against the Latin Averroists, par-ticul~ rly Siger of Brabant. whose teaching of a single intellec~t for all men logically’ ldads to a denial of the individual’s moral responsibil-ity... I.n’this work St.’Thomas,employs some of the sharpest°language he. ever permitted himself. Above all the hypo~thesis of the "double verity," whereby what is clearly perceived to be false and contra-dictory by reason may nevertheless be true according to faith, aroused his indignation. No one who has carefully followed the Ange.lic,.Doctor"s exposition, with its gradual but complete pulveriza-tion of his adversaries" pseudo-Aristotelianism, can forget the final challenge

when the giant of Scholasticism dares those who have been f6s’te~ing their errors in dark corners and poisoning the minds of 206 Mail, 1946 BOOK REX(IEWS school-boys to step forth into’.the open and i’neet a ’mat6r~ opponent. At first reading the translation seems to be of’exceptional quality. The stiff and stilted style that makes some translations of the Summa so irrita

Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus

none

Heartland Hub

English

full:001:http://cdm17321.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/rfr/id/165