Dogmatic Theology, Catholic Church, God 

Providence

God's loving care for man and the need for confidence in Almighty God.

In Providence, the famous Garrigou-Lagrange explains Divine Providence in both its deep doctrinal foundations and in its working in our daily lives. Unlike many modern theologians, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange holds that the salvation of souls is more important than anything else on earth, and this great truth enlightens his entire book. He shows how God's Providence works in the Gospels, and he explains how Providence relates to prayer, to the duty of the present moment, to faithfulness in little things, to charity toward our neighbor, to the grace of a happy death and so forth. He also tells how God responds to those who abandon themselves completely to His Providence.

Within his discussion, the author also shows that both Jansenism and Protestantism oscillate between presumption on the one hand and despair on the other, and are never able to provide a true Christian view of God's Providence. He points out among many other interesting observations that our salvation is more secure in God's hands than it is in our own, if we will only entrust it to Him. He shows that the trials of the just actually serve a higher purpose, and he explains how a person can have spiritual light and understanding even in this earthly darkness.

In short, this great book demonstrates an entire philosophy of life based on the firm rock of confidence in God's Providence for us - which in turn is a position based solidly on Catholic doctrine. Further, this book demonstrates how we can have the confidence and joy of the Saints, even amid the trials of this earth, which is one of the great paradoxes of the Catholic way of life, but which for its part depends upon the level of our trust in Divine Providence. Providence is a profound but intelligible book that will richly reward the reader for whatever time he spends in probing the thought of the great Garrigou-Lagrange.

Taken from the back cover.