Numbers in parentheses refer to pages in Fr. Reginald
Garrigou-Lagrange, OP,
The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life (TAN, 1997 reprint)
Philosophy: The study of
what man can know through his unaided natural reason.
Theology: The study of what
man can know when natural reason is aided by God’s revelation.
God: (in the philosophical
sense) the always existent omnipotent creator of all things; the True; the
Good
God: (in the theological
sense) the omnipotent Creator, existing in three divine Persons, who knows
and loves His creations.
Angels: God’s first
created rational beings, pure spirit, endowed with knowledge and free will.
Man: God’s composite
creature of matter and spirit (body and soul). “Male and female He created
them.” Capable of knowledge, endowed with free will.
Matter: A being limited by
time, space, and the presence of other material beings; perhaps capable of
being informed by a soul.
Spirit: A being capable of
knowledge and will, operating independently (God, angels) or in conjunction
with (man) matter.
Soul (material): The formal
principle of life in creatures
Soul (spiritual or
rational): The immortal, spiritual, life principle of a rational creature.
Faculties of the soul are intellect and will; both of which can be used for
morally good or bad purposes.
Intellect: A power of the
soul, by which it knows and reasons.
Will: A power of the soul
by which it seeks good and avoids evil.
Natural: The normal
operations of a creature. E.g. man eats, thinks, grows, dies.
Preternatural: Operations
of a creature beyond the normal, but still consistent with its basic design.
E.g. man preserved from pain, or able to learn without study.
Supernatural: Operations of
a creature beyond its design. E.g. man able to behold and converse with God.
Grace: (6) Infused
supernatural life. “Created” or “sanctifying” grace makes us holy by
participation in God’s life; “uncreated” grace is the dwelling of the
Holy Ghost in the soul of the just.
Participation in God’s life:
The life of grace; the lifting up of man in the natural order to an
operation in the supernatural order. Sometimes called “divinization,”
but never to be confused with the erroneous notion that man can
become God.
Interior Life: (7)
Knowledge of the True, Love of the Good.
Justification: (7) Blotting
out of sin by the infusion of new life (of grace).
Original Justice: The state
of grace - the infused supernatural life - of Adam and Eve before the fall.
Purgative Way: Beginning
stage of the spiritual life. Meditation (discursive prayer): Reflection,
especially on the last four things, to stir the will to acts of faith, hope,
and charity
Illuminative Way: Middle
stage of the spiritual life. Affective Prayer (Prayer of Simplicity):
Affection replaces reflection. Acts of faith, hope, and charity with little
or no need for reflection
Unitive Way: Final stage of
the spiritual life on earth. Passive Contemplation: Mystical union, prayer
of union.(394)
Contemplation: In the
mystical sense, the prayer of union with God. In the general sense, a
careful consideration of the matter at hand,
