Out of Print Book Excerpts and Commentary

“The Three Ages of the Interior Life” (Prelude of Eternal Life) by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange is one of the most important Catholic books of this century. It is out of print and pricey so I will type in excerpts (green) and my commentary (slate blue.)

Volume Two – Chapter L: The Influence of the Holy Ghost in the Perfect Soul

“If thou didst know the gift of God!” John 4:10

For a clear understanding of the nature of the mystical union, we must treat of the influence of the Holy Ghost in the perfect soul by recalling the most indisputable and lofty principles commonly taught on the subject. To see their meaning and import, we shall consider first the Holy Ghost as the supreme gift, and secondly what follows this gift is the perfect soul.

The Holy Ghost is called the Gift par excellence. Christ alluded and more than alluded to this title when He said to the Samaritan woman: “If thou didst know the gift of God!” The created gift of sanctifying grace, united to charity, in itself immensely surpasses all natural gifts, those of the richest imagination, of the keenest intellect, of the most energetic will. Grace, the seed of eternal life, even immensely exceeds the natural life of the angels, the natural strength of their intellect and will; it also exceeds, and that greatly, as St. Paul says, graces that are gratis datae and, so to speak, extrinsic, like the gift of miracles, the gifts of tongues, and prophecy.

The Holy Ghost is the uncreated Gift, infinitely superior to that of sanctifying grace and of charity, superior to every degree of charity, and every degree of glory.

[Fr. RGL is describing here three levels of gifts from God. The lowest level is the natural gifts. The next highest level is sanctifying grace, united to charity. The third highest level and the highest that can be obtained is the Holy Ghost. ]

He is, first of all, the uncreated Gift, as the final and eternal term of the divine fecundity of the heavenly Father and of His Son. By the eternal generation of the Word, the infinitely good Father communicates to the Son all the divine nature, gives Him to be God of God, light of light. The Father and the Son breathe forth the personal Love that is the Holy Ghost [1]. The third divine Person thus proceeds from the mutual love of the Father and the Son; He is the uncreated Gift which the first two Persons give each other, the unique gift, by an eternal spiration that communicates all the divine nature to the Holy Ghost.

St. Thomas explains why the Holy Ghost is called the personal and uncreated Gift. He says that every gift proceeds from a gratuitous donation whose source is love, and the first thing we give to some one is the love by which we wish him well. Thus love is the first of all gifts, the principle of all the others. Consequently the Holy Ghost, who is the personal subsistent Love, deserves to be called the personal and uncreated Gift.

[Fr. RGL uses a very helpful analogy. He likens sanctifying grace, the second level of the gifts, to be a seed, whose value is even higher than the natural state of angels, who have eternal life already by default through their natures. God gives sanctifying grace, united in charity, to each human as like a seed so that each human can aspire to eternal life in God. Thus sanctifying grace is a created gift, just as a seed is created. However, for that seed to grow, it needs water, air, light, and nutrients, for those make a seed viable and allow its growth. The Holy Ghost is like those needs of the seed that provide the energy and ability to grow. Thus the Holy Ghost is the highest level of gift, for it is the love from and for God that allows the sanctifying grace of the seed of a human to grow into eternal life. It is not a created gift, as are sanctifying grace and charity, because it is emanated from the divine eternal fecundity of God and His Son. “Fecundity” is a biological term, referring to an organism’s ability to live, thrive, and reproduce. So sanctifying grace, united to charity, is the seed to eternal life, but the Holy Ghost is the fecundity of that seed.]

This supreme Gift, which the first two divine Persons make each other from all eternity, has been given to us in time by our Lord Jesus Christ. He had already given us the Eucharist at the Last Supper, and His precious blood on the cross; He has given us grace by all the sacraments. Lastly, He willed to give us the supreme Gift, the uncreated Gift, to crown all His benefactions. He had promised to send us the Holy Ghost and, in fact, He sent Him to us on Pentecost.

[Here, building on the same analogy, you can better understand why Jesus Christ instituted the sacraments. Everyone knows that one seed does not guarantee growth, and certainly not year after year. Every year a seed needs to be sown anew. So the sacraments are the means by which each human’s soul sows seeds for their eternal life throughout their life. The more seeds that are properly planted the more assurance one can have in the crop’s harvest. The sacraments provide continuous seeds of sanctifying grace, and the Holy Ghost ensures their fecundity and growth toward God. Thus people should be eager for access to the sacraments, and then be open to the love and instruction of the Holy Ghost, to allow the seeds to germinate and grow within.]

The grandeur of this supreme gift appears more clearly in comparison with the others, even with the most sublime among them. Our Savior had already merited for us all the effects of our predestination: our vocation to Christian life, our justification or conversion, final perseverance, and the glory of the elect redeemed by His blood; but He willed to give us still more, to bestow on us the uncreated Gift, the Holy Ghost.

When the apostles received the Holy Ghost, they were enlightened, strengthened, confirmed in grace, and transformed; and, under the direction of the Holy Ghost, they persevered even to martyrdom.

This discussion shows why the names proper to the Holy Ghost are personal Love and the uncreated Gift. By appropriation, He is also called the Comforter. He is, indeed, the great spiritual friend who comforts us in the sorrows of life, in anxiety which sometimes grows into anguish. Thus He comforted the apostles, deprived of our Lord’s sensible presence, when the great difficulties of their apostolate were beginning. For each of us Pentecost was renewed when we received confirmation.

[Fr. RGL correctly points out that yes, Jesus Christ has merited for all the ability to have that seed in each person’s possession, growth of which will take the soul to eternal life in God. The Holy Ghost, however, helps to ensure that the seed will grow and make that journey. He uses the example of the Apostles to show that the Holy Ghost is the means through which the small sprouts of each Apostle endured hardship, even to the ultimate harvest of martyrdom. When the physical presence of the Lord was taken to heaven the Holy Ghost was sent to them to work as comforter, strengthening rod, and source of renewal. One does not have to be an expert gardener to understand these principles. Jesus Christ merited for all the vocation to God, the ability to claim the seed of one’s soul to be directed toward eternal life in God. The sacraments provide the renewed provision of viable seeds starting with baptism and continuing throughout the ups and downs of life. A person who is baptized but then no longer pursues the sacraments is betting that the seed he or she is given at baptism will remain viable, without making an effort to accept the gifts that Jesus Christ instituted for that very purpose. Even the oak trees do not shed one acorn throughout their life span. Jesus repeated used examples of sowing of seeds so that all could understand the seeds, and then the ground they grow upon, before the harvest. The sacraments, starting with baptism, are the continual supplies of seeds, of sanctifying grace, for each soul. And then as God the Father and Jesus Christ are not residing physically with human, the Holy Ghost flies among people, breathing on and watering the seeds, so that they can grow to their fruition, and not expire arid and desiccated.]

1 In the Blessed Trinity we distinguish the essential love common to the three divine Persons, the nominal or spiritual love, by which the Father and the Son spirate the Holy Ghost, and personal love, which is the Holy Ghost Himself, the term of active spiration, as the Word is the term of eternal generation.