Customer Reviews

The Mother of The Saviour

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This is the most profound work on Our Lady that I've found. Garrigou-Lagrange explains the Catholic Doctrine concerning Mary and her unique priviledges coherently and with a forthright simplicity. He shows that all of Mary's privledges stem from her maternity of Jesus which gives her an unique relation to the Blessed Trinity. From this foundation Mary's various priviledges are to be understood, e.g. the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the hyper-dulia owed to her by us. Moreover, practical consequences for our spiritual life are drawn from these theological points of doctrine. Garrigou-Lagrange provides a solid intellectual basis for devotion to Our Lady which is lacking in so much of the literature on religious topics.

This is perhaps the finest summation of the Catholic Church's teaching about the Mother of God ever penned. Written by a pre-eminent authority, with brevity, economy and absence of novelty or speculation or "merely metaphorical expressions." The book is suffused with the spirit of faith and inspired by love begotten of sanctity. Shows how Mary is greater in grace than all angels and all men combined. Explains her role in relation to us: How she is the Mother of all men and of each individually; her role as Co-Redemptrix of all men; her power of intercession for us and in the distribution of all graces; her Queenship of Heaven and earth and the honor of hyperdulia we pay her, which is best expressed in true devotion to Mary; why true devotion to Mary is such a certain means of sanctification; and finally, why the human race should be consecrated to Mary for the peace of the world. A comprehensive yet concise statement of all that the Church teaches about Mary. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that anyone having read this masterpiece of Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange will ever again question the exalted position of Mary recognized by the Church or ever thereafter denigrate or question her stature in the order of nature or of grace. 290pp. PB. Imprimi Potest.

This is the finest book on Mariology I have seen. Garrigou-Lagrange is very thorough in his Thomistic presentation of Mary the Mother of God. Her dignity as God's greatest creature, surpassing all the angels, is rigorously defended from her Divine Maternity. From this starting point the other Marian doctrines are explained and defended, conceived without sin, the Assumption into heaven, etc.

GL covers the key points in Mary's life that were catylysts in her receiving even further grace, which she without any sin, would not impede. Every charitable act that Mary did was worthy of all merit possible, from the daily kiss on the forehead of the child Jesus to her co-suffering in Christ's passion. As the Mother of God, Mary is described by Lagrange as having "supplicant omnipotence" (she gets what she asks for). How could a soul that constantly pleaded for her intercession be lost? As Trent noted, devotion to the Mary is a sign of predestination.

Read this and you will be unable to walk away without an increased appreciation for our Blessed Mother.

I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in knowing and loving the Mother of God more. Far from being a dry work of theology, this work will move your heart to praise God for the gifts he bestowed on His Mother and will make you seek to imitate her more closely.

Loving the mother of our Lord I wanted to learn more about her --- this book, however, was written in style and based on a lot of religious history I am unfamiliar with; it was way above my comprehension level. This was not what I expected. I think for religious scholars this would be an excellent resource. For the novice on a quest to increase their faith, this is not the book to get.