On Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange

Now that the interest in father Garrigou-Lagrange is rapidly growing, not at least due to the many English translations by Matthew Minerd, scholarly articles are appearing as well.

The latest issue of Archivum Fratrum Predicatorum (2021) contains three highly interesting articles.

Sylvio Hermann De Franceschi continues his research on the formation of a distinctively Dominican and Thomistic idea of mysticism which father Garrigou-Lagrange developed in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s and which culminated in his Perfection chrétienne et contemplation. His most recent article (“La contemplation selon la moderne École dominicaine de spiritualité. La querelle mystique au temps de la suprematie des theses Garrigou-Lagrangiennes (1923-1928)”, 349-376) discusses the aftermath of the publication of the book and its reception by the Jesuit order.

The two other articles draw heavily on the archives of the Dominican Order but also on the archives of the pontificate of Pius XII, which were opened to the public in 2020. Father Augustin Laffay (“Le père Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange et Maria Sieler (1939-1945): La rencontre romaine d’un théologien et d’une mystique”, 377-400) explores a hitherto unknown conversation between father Garrigou-Lagrange and the Austrian mystic Maria Sieler, whose “understanding of divine things … is similar to the language of Garrigou-Lagrange’s spiritual theology”.

Philippe Chenaux (“Maritain devant le Saint-Office: le rôle du père Garrigou-Lagrange, OP”, 401-420) explores Garrigou-Lagrange’s role as censor of Maritain’s political writings by way of analysis of two vota which Garrigou-Lagrange composed in the late 1950’s as a consultor of the Holy Office. These vota were to serve as a preparation for a list of erroneous propositions to be published but without mentioning Maritain’s name. The article contains a letter written in November 1957 by Garrigou-Lagrange at the behest of Pius XIII to Maritain but never send to him. Although Garrigou-Lagrange recognizes Maritain’s best intentions, he also remarks that Maritain has insufficiently taken into account the principles of catholic doctrine and also the fact that many of Maritain’s disciples have defended more extreme positions on the basis of his writings. In the letter Garrigou-Lagrange asks Maritain to write an article in a major journal (“dans une grande Revue”) in which Maritain clarifies his position in light of the encyclicals of Leo XIII. Garrigou-Lagrange adds that “this would be the best way to prevent Integral Humanism from being withdrawn from publication.”

New Journal for the Study of St. Thomas

The Thomas Institute in Utrecht has announced the launch of a new open access journal for the study of St. Thomas: The European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas (EJSTA). It is a joint initiative of  the Thomas Instituut Utrecht (NL), the Faculty of Theology of Nicolaus Copernicus University of Toruń (PL) and the Saint Thomas Aquinas Institute for Theology and Culture of the Faculty of Theology (ISTAC) of the University of Fribourg (CH).

Included is a call for contributions (deadline: February 1, 2019)

For more information, visit their website

ACPQ Rising Scholar Contest - $3000

The ACPQ is holding its Rising Scholar Contest again:

“The American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly (ACPQ) is pleased to announce its third annual Rising Scholar Essay Contest. Any scholar who will not have attained the rank of associate professor by September 1, 2015, is invited to submit a paper that contributes to the development or elucidation of the Catholic philosophical tradition. The winning essay will be published in the ACPQ and specially designated in the journal as winner of the contest.

The author of a single-authored winning paper will receive a $3000 award and a free one-year membership in the American Catholic Philosophical Association (ACPA). Each co-author of a co-authored winning paper will receive a share, equal to that of the other co-author(s), of a $3000 award, together with a free one-year membership for in the ACPA. All co-authors of the winning paper must be below the rank of associate professor at the time of the submission deadline, September 1, 2015. Author(s) need not be members of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. ”

Essays on Garrigou-Lagrange "Teacher of Thomism"

An assortment of essays titled "Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange OP: Teacher of Thomism" is offered by the free online journal Educational Theoria. The essays are available in a single PDF here.

Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.: A Biographical Sketch 

Richard A. Peddicord, O.P.

My Personal Memories of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange 
Joseph M. de Torre

Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange on Subsistence 
Christopher Albright

Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange on the Real Distinction 
Jude Chua Soo Meng

Garrigou-Langrange’s General Proof of God’s Existence 
+F. F. Centore

Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange on Physical Premotion 
Steven A. Long

Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange and the Renewal of the Contemplative Life 
+James Arraj

Garrigou-Lagrange OP and la vie théologale 
Romanus Cessario OP

Garrigou-Langrange, Leo XIII and Liberalism 
Thomas Crean OP

De natura accidentis

The latest issue of the venerable Revue Thomiste (2012/1, pp. 5-231) is devoted to the “nature of the accident” (Autour de la nature de l’accident”) and contains the proceedings of a symposium held at the Sorbonne on September 8-9, 2011 with the aim of preparing a critical edition of the unauthentic work of St. Thomas De natura accidentis. The preparation of this edition is part of a much larger research-project “Thomisme et Anti-Thomisme au Moyen Âge”, mentioned earlier on Thomistica.net

Here is the table of contents:

R. Imbach – C. König-Pralong: Aristote au Latran: Eucharistie et philosophie selon Thomas d’Aquin et Dietrich de Freiberg [Elsewhere, however, I have tried to show that St. Thomas does not try to “adept philosophy to theological orthodoxy”, as the authors (p. 17) claim]

S. Donati – La doctrine de l’analogie de l’être dans la tradition des commentaires de la Physique : Quelques modèles interprétatifs (commentaires de la Faculté des arts, autour de 1250-1300)

A. Beccarisi : Le traité bâlois De natura accidentis : Entre thomisme et antithomisme

J. Casteigt : Reduplicatio excludit omne alienum a termino : Accident et qualité redupliquée à partir de l’article 13 d’Eckhart condamné dans la bulle pontificale In agro dominico

D. Demagne : Accidents et relations non convertibles selon Thomas d’Aquin, Pierre Olivi et Jean Duns Scot

S.-Th. Bonino : Le statut ontologique de l’accident selon Thomas de Sutton [Father Bonino describes, more accurately I think, the position of Aquinas regarding the concept of accident as a “ré-élaboration” (p. 140). His contribution shows convincingly among others that “De natura accidentis” cannot be attributed to Thomas of Sutton]

J.-L. Solère : Les variations qualitatives dans les théories post-thomistes [The concept ‘post-thomistes’ refers to are the authors examined here: Gilles of Rome, Godfrey of Fontaines, Peter of Auvergne, Thomas of Sutton and Duns Scotus]

J. Biard : Comment définir un accident ? Le double statut de l’accidentalité selon Buridan et ses conséquences sur la théorie de la définition

Theological Studies web site updated

The website for the journal, Theological Studies, has been completedly revamped, both for a better look and feel and to be “responsive” (ut dicunt) to various devices. The site renders well on computers, smartphones (like the iPhone or even iPod touch), and tablet devices (such as the iPad or Samsung’s Galaxy Tab).

Most important for viewers here at Thomistica.net is the fact that the entire run of the journal, save for articles published in the last five years, is now fully available for PDF download, via the site’s searchable catalog of past articles (going back to its first year of publication, 1940). As visitors to Thomistica.net will know, Theological Studies is primarily a journal for contemporary academic theology, primarily systematic and moral (with occasional historical appearances, too). But articles on Thomas Aquinas directly do appear, and often articles are written with some invocation of Thomas’s doctrine on this or that. Don’t hesitate to visit the site at http://ts.mu.edu to search by author’s name, or keywords in article titles, to find something that aids your research.

The site also now sports a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/theostudies), as well as an RSS feed (via Feedburner).

The journal formerly known as The Modern Schoolman...

is now Res Philosophica. A new website recounts the journal’s early connection with the Scholastic tradition:

The journal was established as The Modern Schoolman in 1925 by the Jesuit Scholastics of the Philosophy Department of Saint Louis University, and was described as the “Bulletin of the Philosophy Seminar of Saint Louis University.” It was a monthly publication of “articles, reviews, items of news and interest” in order to give “some expression in a simple way to the great truths of Scholasticism.”  Throughout its history it has maintained a deep connection to the Scholastic tradition  […].  The November 1933 issue described the journal as “a means of becoming better acquainted with Scholasticism and the principles it champions.” In the November 1954 issue, the journal began describing itself as “a quarterly journal of philosophy, dedicated to furthering the work begun by the great Schoolmen of the Middle Ages.” 

The journal publishes broadly now and seeks to publish “in all areas of philosophy.” In an article titled “An Editor’s Farewell,” William C. Charron notes that in the journal’s history “illustrious contributors include Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, Joseph Owens, Vernon J. Bourke” among others.

The new name change will take effect with volume 90 (2013).

La ciencia tomista Publishes General Index That Covers a Century

The legendary journal of Spanish Thomism, La ciencia tomista, has published a comprehensive index for its now-100 year run. Wow. The issue’s Presentation can be found here.

Are you sure that in your lit-search you covered everything?

The Shapcote Translation

In a short article found at the beginning of the current issue of New Blackfriars, Fergus Kerr discusses the origin of the much-used and often reprinted translation of the Summa Theologica by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Kerr notes: 

This literal translation by ‘Fathers of the English Dominican Province’ was done solely and entirely by one man: Father Laurence Shapcote (1864–1947). 

The article describes the labors of Fr. Shapcote, who also translated the Summa contra Gentiles, De potentia, and some short works by Aquinas. The article concludes with the following observation: 

Laurence Shapcote never wrote anything: there is no way of telling what his own ‘Thomism’ was. It is a century since he started work. He did not respond to suggestions that he should unmask his anonymity. Readers who are thankful for this literal translation would surely be all the more grateful if they knew that it was done by Laurence Shapcote alone, in very austere conditions, on the Rand and in Natal, doggedly translating his way through the major works of St Thomas. 

The full article can be found here, but it requires a subscription.

Henry's books, catalog 7: Philosophy, Theology, and Medieval

My guy, Henry Stachyra, keeps growing his bookselling business, Henry’s Books, and has released catalog 7 of his holdings. Swing on over to his website to forage through the catalog in a bid to be prepared this fall.