The One God: A Commentary on the First Part of Saint Thomas' Theological Summa

By: Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange

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Synopsis: Expounding St. Thomas Aquinas's teaching on God in the first part of the Summa, Father Garrigou-Lagrange not only discusses the attributes of the one God who revealed Himself to Moses, but treats also of the very basis for this discussion in the first place-the nature of sacra doctrina ("holy teaching" or "sacred doctrine") and the pursuit of theology as a "science" (a body of knowledge) that has God Himself for its object and ultimate goal. To comment, therefore, on the first part of the Summa is to comment not only on God but also on the theological pursuit to which St. Thomas gave himself-a pursuit that has as its goal the beatific vision of God. In discussing the place of St. Thomas amidst patristic, medieval, and modern theologians, Garrigou-Lagrange argues in behalf both of the sanctifying end of theology and the synthetic genius of St. Thomas who, he says, summed up the preceding tradition and left a deposit of reflection on God that can scarcely be surpassed. Translated by Bede Rose.