Christian Perfection & Contemplation: According to St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross

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French unabridged original; Abp. Lefebvre recommended.

"Is the infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith and the union with God which results therefrom an intrinsically extraordinary grace, or is it, on the contrary, in the normal way of sanctity?" Fr. G.-L. argues it is in the normal way of sanctity.

Fr. Royo-Marín, O.P., says (Theology of Christian Perfection p. 183 // PDF p. 95) that ch. 6 ("THE CALL TO CONTEMPLATION OR TO THE MYSTICAL LIFE") is a must-read to understand the universal call to the mystical life. He says it's a "point of convergence for all the schools of spirituality".

contra the phenomenological "Descriptive or inductive method.", religious orders are due to supernatural (not natural, sociological) causes (ref:9.28):

Other mystical facts, which are deeper and hence less apparently supernatural, it declares inexplicable, or it tries to explain them by placing undue stress on the merely natural powers of the soul. The same remark applies to biographies of the saints, and to the history of religious orders and even of the Church.

ref:12.113 on the universal call, St. Teresa of Ávila, Way of Perfection ch. 19 (commenting on Jn. 7:37 "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink."):

Remember, our Lord invited 'Any man': He is truth itself; His word cannot be doubted. If all had not been included He would not have addressed everybody, nor would He have said: 'I will give you to drink.' He might have said: 'Let all men come, for they will lose nothing by it, and I will give to drink to those I think fit for it.' But as He said, unconditionally: 'If any man thirst let him come to Me,' I feel sure that, unless they stop halfway, none will fail to drink of this living water.

ref:14.84 "St. Thomas says that, when a person is called from the contemplative to the active life, it should not be by way of subtraction from the first, but by addition of the second. [II-II q. 182 a. 1 ad 3]"

ref:14.137: "divine reading (lectio divina) by pious study (studium) leads to meditation (meditatio), then to prayer (oratio), and finally to contemplation (contemplatio).[II-II q. 180 a. 3]"

Sr. Doyle's translation lacks the "ch. 6: Synthèse et confirmation " (DjVu pp. 163ff. of vol. 2 of the French), which contains the très intéressant §"Article 3: L'union de la vie intérieure et de la vie intellectuelle " (DjVu pp. 222-38) on the relation between the intellectual and spiritual/contemplative lives.

Christian Perfection and Contemplation is an entire treatise on the operation of grace in the spiritual life that clearly and skillfully explains the great principles of the spiritual life according to St. Thomas Aquinas and other sterling Catholic Sources. In fact, the author's fascinating and extremely informative footnotes are themselves worth the price of the book. Impr. 470 pgs,