Louis of Granada: The Layman's Theologian
Jordan Aumann, O.P.
Louis of Granada stands without a peer among Dominican
ascetical writers, and throughout the seventeenth century
his writings were a constant source of inspiration and
education for Christians throughout the civilized world. He
reached his maturity during the Council of Trent and at the
high point of the Golden Age of Spain. He died in 1588, when
the imperial supremacy of Spain was beginning to wane.
Both as a preacher and a writer, Fray Louis dedicated
himself assiduously to the indoctrination and spiritual
formation of the common people. A contemporary writer
stated: "Water girls carried his books under their arms and
the market women read them as they waited to sell their
merchandise." But another contemporary said of him with
disdain that he wrote for the "wives of carpenters,"
forgetting, perhaps, that the wife of a carpenter was the
Mother of God and the Queen of angels and saints.
Long before St. Francis de Sales appeared on the scene,
Louis of Granada was preaching the traditional, orthodox
doctrine of the universal vocation of all Christians to the
perfection of charity. He was <par excellence> a theologian
for the laity, but in addition to the rank-and-file
Christians, the books of Fray Louis were read with great
profit by some of the great saints of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. We mention only the following: St.
Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Charles
Borromeo, St. Peter Alc�ntara, St. Rose of Lima, St. Francis
de Sales and St. Louise de Marillac.
The bibliography of Louis of Granada would run for several
pages but we should at least make mention of four
outstanding works: <Book of Prayer and Meditation (Libro de
Oraci�n y Meditaci�n), The Sinners' Guide (Gu�a de
Pecadores), Memorial of the Christian Life (Memorial de la
Vida Cristiana)> and <Introduction to the Creed
(Introducci�n del Simbolo de la Fe>). The first two books
received the widest diffusion; in a short time they were
translated into more than twenty foreign languages. For
example, a modern Jesuit historian, Father Bayle, has stated
that "<The Sinners' Guide> was one of the bulwarks that
sustained a hidden but vital Christianity for two centuries
[in Japan], while both in Europe and Japan it was believed
dead."
St. Charles Borromeo, a great admirer of Fray Louis and a
defender of his teaching, paid him this tribute: "Of all
those who up to our time have written on spiritual matters .
. it can be stated that no one has written books either in
greater number or of greater selection and profit than Fray
Louis of Granada . . . In fact, I do not know if in matters
of this type there is today a man more beneficial to the
Church than he is."
Another testimony comes from a letter written by St. Francis
de Sales to a bishop-elect: "I urge you to have on hand the
complete works of Fray Louis of Granada and to use them as a
second breviary. In my opinion you should begin by reading
<The Sinners' Guide>, secondly the <Memorial>, and then all
the rest. But to derive profit from them, they should not be
read rapidly and in gulps, but you should ponder over them
and savor them, chapter by chapter, meditating in your soul
with much attention and prayers to God. They must be read
with reverence and devotion as books that contain the most
useful inspirations."
<The Life of Fray Louis>
Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic King and Queen of Spain
(<los reyes cat�licos>), finally reconquered Spain from the
hands of the Moors on January 2, 1492. Spain had been under
the domination of the Moors for eight centuries, but with
the conquest of Granada, it became at last a united nation
and a Catholic nation. In that same year, on October 12,
Christopher Columbus discovered the New World that was to
become known as the Americas. The fortunes and the political
power of Spain now rapidly ascend to their greatest height.
As a Catholic nation, Spain also becomes the "evangelizer of
half the world, the hammer of heretics, and the light of the
Council of Trent."
Although the conquest of Granada was a great victory for
Ferdinand and Isabella, it also gave rise to a serious
problem. The Moors who remained as residents in Andaluc�a
were allowed to retain their religion, their language and
their customs, but this posed a constant threat to the peace
and harmony of the city. Consequently, <los reyes cat�licos>
encouraged Spaniards from other regions of Spain to migrate
to Andaluc�a, perhaps in the hope that eventually, through
intermarriage, the Moors would be absorbed into the Spanish
religion, language and culture.
Among the many immigrants to Granada early in the 1500's was
a young married couple from Galicia in northern Spain.
Shortly after their arrival, Francis de Sarria and his wife
(whose name we do not know) were blessed with the birth of a
son whom they named Louis. Unfortunately, the little family
was not blessed with good fortune, but lived in great
poverty. To this cross was added yet another and a heavier
one _ the death of the father in 1509, when Louis was only
five years old. The widowed mother and her child were
reduced to begging for their daily bread, as Louis himself
related in a letter to St. Charles Borromeo: "I was the son
of a woman who was so poor that she lived on the alms that
were given to her at the gate of the monastery." The
monastery, of course, was the Dominican priory of Holy
Cross, founded by Ferdinand and Isabella in testimony to
their great devotion to St. Dominic Guzm�n.
Louis received his early education at one of the free
schools established by the Archbishop of Granada. He also
had the good fortune to come under the patronage of Count de
Tendilla, the mayor of the Alhambra, and to serve as an
acolyte in the royal chapel of St. Francis in the Alhambra.
But eventually the time came when Louis was faced with the
choice of a vocation in life. In those days a poor youth had
three possibilities: the barracks, the sea, or the Church.
In other words, he could enlist as a soldier in the service
of the King; he could sail across the ocean to the New World
in search of his fortune; or he could enter the religious
life or the diocesan priesthood in the service of the
Church. Louis de Sarria chose the religious life as a Friar
Preacher.
As we have seen, the Dominican monastery of Holy Cross had
been founded by Ferdinand and Isabella. Moreover, it
belonged to the Congregation of Observance by express order
of the King and was thus juridically separated from the
Dominican Province of Spain in 1515, to become the Dominican
Province of Andaluc�a. The new Province flourished and in a
short time it had sent so many missionaries to the New World
that all the Dominican foundations in Latin America were
placed under the government of the Province of Andaluc�a.
It was in the monastery of Holy Cross that Louis de Sarria
received the Dominican habit in 1524 and began his year of
novitiate. After one year as a novice, followed by four
years of study at Holy Cross, he was assigned to further
studies at the famous College of St. Gregory, conducted by
the Dominicans at Valladolid. Louis arrived there at the age
of twenty-five and upon his registration he dropped the
family name of Louis de Sarria and adopted the name of Fray
Louis of Granada, a name that he carried with pride for the
rest of his life.
In 1534 Fray Dominic Betanzos returned to Spain from Latin
America to seek volunteers for a new Dominican Province in
Mexico. Fray Louis eagerly responded to the call and by
August of that year, together with twenty other friars,
Louis was in Seville to inscribe his name as a volunteer for
the missions of Latin America. However, when the day of
departure arrived, Fray Louis was not on board the ship that
sailed to the Americas. The change in plans was not due to
Fray Louis, however, but was the result of an intervention
by others. A brief resume of the historical facts will
clarify the issue.
Pope Adrian VI had granted an unusual privilege to all
friars desirous of going to Latin America as missionaries:
they could of their own accord decide to go and no superior,
under pain of excommunication, could prevent their
departure. But because certain abuses had arisen in the use
of the papal privilege, Pope Clement VI revoked the
privilege in 1533. Now no friar could go to the Americas
without permission of his Provincial. That is what happened:
the Provincial of Andaluc�a had the name of Fray Louis
removed from the list of missionaries and assigned him to
C�rdoba.
The task given to Fray Louis was to restore an abandoned
Dominican convent named Escalaceli, founded a century
earlier by Blessed Alvaro of C�rdoba. It had been a place of
pilgrimage at one time, due largely to the outdoor <Via
Crucis>, the first even in Europe, and later due to the
veneration of the remains of Blessed Alvaro which were
buried in the church. Fray Louis spent a total of almost
eleven years at Escalaceli and although he found the leisure
and solitude there for the composition of a small treatise
on prayer, he frequently walked the seven kilometers to the
city of C�rdoba to preach in various churches. Indeed, he
became so beloved of the people and the city officials that
when he was named prior at Palma del R�o, they sent official
requests that Fray Louis be allowed to remain in C�rdoba,
but to no avail. In 1546, a little more than a year after
Fray Louis had become prior at Palma del R�o, the Master
General of the Dominican Order conferred on him the enviable
privilege of preaching anywhere in Spain, with a companion
of his own choosing, and no one could prevent him from doing
so. Fray Louis had already received the honored title of
Preacher General in 1540, so now he was free to dedicate
himself exclusively to the ministry of the word by preaching
and writing.
From that day in 1534, when he left the College of St.
Gregory in Valladolid in the hope of going as a missionary
to the Americas, Fray Louis was resolutely determined to be
a preacher rather than a professor. There were others who
thought differently, and especially his close friend Fray
Bartholomew Carranza, who had been a fellow student at the
College of St. Gregory in Valladolid. In fact, when Fray
Bartholomew became Regent of St. Gregory's and went to Rome
to be installed as a Master of Sacred Theology in 1539, he
used the occasion to have the Master General of the
Dominicans transfer Fray Louis to the Province of Castile
and assign him as a professor at St. Gregory's. Fray Louis
declined the honor and in a letter to Fray Bartholomew he
respectfully points out that an intellectual may also preach
but the conversion of souls does not come from letters or
knowledge but from God; and God effects the conversion of
souls much more through his humble servants than through
haughty scholars.
In January of 1547 Fray Louis attended the Provincial
Chapter at Jerez de la Frontera and preached the sermon to
the members of the Chapter. Also in attendance as a patron
of the Province was the Duke de Medina Sidonia, a descendant
of the family of St. Dominic Guzm�n. He was so impressed by
the preaching of Fray Louis that he obtained the services of
Fray Louis as chaplain of his estates. In a short time
numerous other nobles asked and obtained the services of the
humble Dominican who in fact had no taste for life in courts
and palaces.
Fray Louis frequently crossed into Portugal to preach and
eventually his reputation reached the ears of the Cardinal
Infante, Archbishop of Evora. In the autumn of 1551 the
Archbishop invited Fray Louis to Evora in order to explain
to the people and clergy the vocation and mission of the
Jesuits. Being of a rather recent foundation, the Society of
Jesus encountered numerous obstacles in Spain and Portugal,
both on the part of the clergy and the laity. They needed
friends who would defend them, and Fray Louis succeeded so
well that one of the Jesuits at Coimbra wrote a letter to
St. Ignatius Loyola, describing how successfully Fray Louis
had explained the nature and purpose of the Society. From
that time on, the Jesuits were always counted among
Granada's friends.
Practically the rest of his life was spent in Portugal, with
occasional preaching journeys to Spain. Fray Louis was
installed as the confessor of Queen Catherine, the sister of
Charles V. As a result he could travel less but he had the
leisure for prayer and writing. Between 1554 and 1559 he
published twelve books.
On April 14, 1556, Fray Louis was elected Provincial of the
Dominican Province of Portugal and thus he became a member
of that Province. He was scarcely a year in that office when
Queen Catherine offered to submit his name as Archbishop of
Braga. But Fray Louis declined the honor and suggested that
the Queen submit the name of Fray Bartholomew de los
M�rtires, which she did. It was this same Fray Bartholomew
de los M�rtires who stated at Trent: "The most reverend and
eminent Cardinals need a most reverend and eminent reform."
Fray Louis was becoming known far and wide not only as a
preacher but as a writer of spiritual books. But dark clouds
were gathering on the horizon. Because of the rapid spread
of Lutheran doctrine north of the Pyrenees and the contagion
of Illuminism spread by false mystics (<alumbrados>) in
Spain, the authorities felt it necessary to institute the
Spanish Inquisition. As early as 1525 the Inquisitor General
had published an edict against the <alumbrados> and a
syllabus of false spiritual doctrines. Twenty-five years
later Fray Louis became a victim of the Inquisition and, sad
to say, at the hands of the Dominican censor Melchior Cano,
who had been a fellow student years ago at Valladolid. It
seems that when suspected <alumbrados> were investigated for
heresy, some of the books of Fray Louis were found in their
possession.
But there is more to it than that. By this time _ 1559 _
Fray Bartholomew Carranza was Archbishop of Toledo and he
had enemies who sought his downfall. The Inquisitor had
ordered Melchior Cano to censor a catechism published by
Carranza and also the works of Fray Louis of Granada. Cano,
an irreconcilable enemy of Archbishop Carranza, condemned
the catechism of Carranza and accused Fray Louis of heresy.
For his part, Fray Louis had friends and supporters, among
them the Jesuit St. Francis Borgia. But to no avail; in
August, 1559, the Inquisitor General signed the list of
condemned books and among them were the works of Fray Louis
of Granada. A few days later Archbishop Carranza was
arrested and brought to Valladolid. He entered the city,
riding on a mule and surrounded by constables and archers,
like a common criminal, and was later imprisoned.
Through the machinations of Valdes and Melchior Cano, Fray
Louis was suspected of heresy, and especially for the
teaching contained in his <Book of Prayer and Meditation>.
And what precisely was the heretical teaching? Melchior Cano
listed four points of doctrine for which Fray Louis should
be censured: 1) he is trying to make contemplatives and
perfect Christians out of everybody and although this
doctrine is profitable for only a few, for the majority of
Christians it is imprudent and dangerous; 2) he is teaching
a common and general way of perfection for states of life
which lack the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; 3)
in his <Book of Prayer and Meditation> there are serious
errors that have the flavor of the <alumbrados> or are
manifestly against the faith and sound Catholic doctrine; 4)
the teaching of Fray Louis on vocal and mental prayer is
identical with the teaching of the Illuminists, although he
uses different examples to illustrate his teaching.
It is not necessary for us to reply to the accusations of
Melchior Cano because subsequent history has done so. First
of all, we have the teaching of St. Francis de Sales in his
<Introduction to the Devout Life>:
Almost all those who have hitherto written about devotion
have been concerned with instructing persons wholly
withdrawn from the world or have at least taught a kind of
devotion that leads to such complete retirement. My purpose
is to instruct those who live in town, within families, or
at court, and by their state of life are obliged to live an
ordinary life as to outward appearances. Frequently, on the
pretext of some supposed impossibility, they will not even
think of undertaking a devout life. It is their opinion that
. . no one should aspire to the palm of Christian piety as
long as he is living under the pressure of worldly affairs.
I shall show to such men that . . . a strong, resolute soul
can live in the world without being infected by any of its
moods, find sweet springs of piety amid its salty waves, and
fly through the flames of earthly lusts without burning the
wings of its holy desires for a devout life. (Preface)
It is an error, or rather a heresy, to wish to banish the
devout life from the regiment of soldiers, the mechanic's
shop, the court of princes or the home of married people. It
is true, Philothea, that purely contemplative, monastic life
and the devotion of religious cannot be exercised in such
states of life. However, besides those three kinds of
devotion there are several others adapted to bring
perfection to those living in the secular state . . .
Wherever we may be, we can and should aspire to a perfect
life. (Part I, no. 3)
Secondly, we have the teaching of Vatican Council II, which
is diametrically opposed to the opinion of Melchior Cano:
The Lord Jesus, divine teacher and model of all perfection,
preached holiness of life (of which he is the author and
maker) to each and every one of his disciples without
distinction: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect, (Mt. 5:48) . . . It is therefore quite
clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are
called to the fullness of Christian life and to the
perfection of charity, and by this holiness a more human
manner of life is fostered also in earthly society . . . The
forms and tasks of life are many but holiness is one _ that
sanctity which is cultivated by all who act under God's
Spirit and, obeying the Father's voice and adoring God the
Father in spirit and in truth, follow Christ, poor, humble
and cross-bearing, that they may deserve to be partakers of
his glory. Each one, however, according to his own gifts and
duties must steadfastly advance along the way of a living
faith which arouses hope and works through love. (<Lumen
Gentium>, n. 40-41)
To placate the censor Melchior Cano and the Inquisitor
General, Fray Louis did make some revisions of his works,
although they were still being widely read in Italy as
originally written. After the painful experience in
Valladolid, Fray Louis returned to Portugal to make a
visitation of the various houses and to prepare for the
Provincial Chapter of 1560. At that Chapter Fray Jerome de
Azambuja, who had gained great renown at the Council of
Trent, was elected Provincial, and Fray Louis could once
again take his place in the ranks. He retired to the priory
of St. Dominic in Lisbon and for the next decade he
dedicated himself to prayer, religious observance and
writing, although he was called to the royal court almost
every day for spiritual ministry or to give advice on
temporal matters.
But Fray Louis was not forgotten. On June 20, 1562, the
Master General of the Dominican Order conferred on him the
envious title of Master of Sacred Theology, which was
confirmed later at the General Chapter in Bologna in 1564.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, <The Sinners' Guide>
and other works of Fray Louis were examined at the Council
of Trent and declared to be orthodox Catholic teaching.
Finally, in the last years of his life his name was put
forward by St. Charles Borromeo and Cardinal Paleotti for
receiving the cardinal's hat, which Fray Louis steadfastly
refused.
In the last years of his life Fray Louis was incapacitated
by almost total blindness, though he had a secretary to whom
he could dictate his writings. In fact, he was already in
his 80's when he composed a brief treatise or catechism for
teaching religion to the natives in the Americas. He had
never lost his nostalgia for the missions in the New World
and even in the evening of life he wanted, as he said, to
"contribute some small part" to the evangelization of the
Indians.
Finally, after a long illness, Fray Louis passed into
eternal life on December 31, 1588, at the age of 84. The
General Chapter of the Dominican Order, held at Rome in
1589, communicated the news of his death to the entire Order
of Preachers and commented as follows: "<Vir doctrina et
sanctitate insignis et in tot orbe celebris.>" He was, as
St. Teresa of Avila said, "a man given to the world by God
for the great and universal good of souls." His mortal
remains rest in Lisbon, near the sea, but neither time nor
forgetfulness will ever bury his spiritual doctrine.1
<Theology for the Laity>
Unlike many of the great spiritual masters who preceded him,
Fray Louis of Granada did not write his books for priests
and religious, although they also can derive much profit
from his works. He preached and he wrote primarily for the
laity, because he was convinced that they, as living members
of the Church, are called to the fullness of the Christian
life: the perfection of charity. Therefore every Christian
should strive to become a <perfect Christian>. As a worthy
son of St. Dominic, Fray Louis exerted every effort to give
the laity sound doctrine so that they could realize their
Christian vocation to holiness. And rather than paraphrase
the teaching of Fray Louis, we shall let him speak for
himself, although this will necessitate some rather lengthy
quotations.
The first quotation is taken from the <Memorial of the
Christian Life>, wherein Fray Louis explains the purpose for
which he wrote this two-volume work:
It is certain that of all human vocations there is none more
lofty than that of the perfect Christian who, being ordained
to a supernatural end, lives a life that is likewise
supernatural . . . Now if authors have most diligently
taught whatever is required for those other vocations in
life, . . . how much more necessary it is to do the same
thing as regards the Christian vocation which, since it is
so much more lofty than the others, is much more difficult
to attain . . . If there is no occupation, however lowly,
that does not require rules and regulations in order to be
well done, how much more is this true of the greatest of all
occupations, which is to serve and please God . . .
How will the uneducated man know what this occupation
demands if he is not reminded of God's promise and warnings
and the weighty obligations that he has of serving him? How
will he be able to confess correctly if he is not taught the
parts of the sacrament of penance and how to perform each
one of them? How can he have sorrow for his sins and a
purpose of amendment if he is not reminded of the reasons
and motives for lamenting them? How can he receive Communion
worthily and profitably if he is not taught the things
required for this? How will he be able to regulate his life,
cultivate virtue, and flee from sin if he does not know the
means by which he must seek the former and avoid the latter
and does not recognize the temptations and snares of the
enemy? How can he formulate a prayer that will be fruitful
and accompany it with the necessary conditions and virtues
if he has not the doctrine for this? How can he ever reach
the love of God if he knows not the means by which it is
attained, as well as the things that impede it?2
In this same Prologue to the <Memorial of the Christian
Life>, Fray Louis gives his reasons for writing the
<Memorial> and insists strongly on the importance of
spiritual reading in the life of the devout Christian:
For many years I have desired to see a book that would treat
of the formation of the perfect Christian and would be a
<summa> of all that pertains to the Christian vocation . . .
Possessing such a compendium, those who truly desire to
serve God would easily find doctrine and light for their
life, while preachers and confessors zealous for the good of
souls would have something from which they could readily
dispense to their hearers whatever is necessary for the
fulfillment of the Christian vocation.
I am well aware that there is no lack of books on sound
Catholic doctrine, but most of them treat of some particular
aspect and do not attempt to treat of everything in a brief
space. Furthermore, although the various catechisms . . .
treat of everything that pertains to the Christian life,
they state merely the bare substance of doctrine and only
that which is necessary for a clear understanding. They are
more speculative than practical, for they are meant to
enlighten the understanding rather than move the will to the
practice of the virtues. . . . My purpose is the formation
of the perfect Christian and I shall lead him through all
the steps and exercises of the Christian life from the
beginning of his conversion to the summit of perfection.
The project that we are here attempting _ the formation of
the perfect Christian _ is properly the work of the Holy
Spirit, but just as grace does not preclude our own industry
but rather concurs with it, so also neither does the
interior instruction of God exclude the exterior teaching of
men, but necessarily demands it. This office belongs
especially to the priests and ministers of the Church . . .
Although it is the office of preachers to cure this
blindness with the light of God's word, preachers are not
always available nor do they always treat of the matters
that are most necessary. Neither are they able, as a rule,
to descend to the particulars that moral doctrine demands,
for this requires individual instruction which is not
usually given from the pulpit. Therefore the reading of good
books is highly profitable, for books are mute preachers
that neither weary us because of their length, for we can
always put them aside, nor leave us wanting because of their
brevity, for it is within our power to continue reading as
long as is necessary.
Although spiritual reading has always been necessary, it is
even more so at the present time . . . Many priests think
that nothing more is required of them than the
administration of the sacraments and the celebration of Mass
at specified times, and they content themselves with this.
Therefore, the greater the lack in preaching, the greater
the necessity of supplying for this deficiency by means of
good books . . .
So great is the light and fruit of spiritual reading that we
know from experience many persons who have changed their
entire lives by this means . . . Moreover, it serves not
only to arouse those who are sleeping but also to safeguard
those who are already awake . . . If this book has any merit
at all, it is because it treats of everything that pertains
to all Christians, whether they be beginners or proficients
in the Christian life.3
Although Fray Louis was insistent on the universal vocation
of all Christians _ including the faithful _ to the
perfection of the Christian life, he likewise recognized the
variety of ways in which Christians may follow the path that
leads to perfection. He thus avoided what St. John of the
Cross criticized in some spiritual guides, namely, that they
try to lead everybody along the same path.4 Later on, we
find that St. Francis de Sales (1622) teaches the same
doctrine as Fray Louis of Granada.5 The diversity of the
virtues manifested in the lives of holy Christians, says
Fray Louis, "springs partly from nature and partly from
grace":
Some will be pre-eminent in one virtue and others will
especially manifest other virtues. Thus, some persons are
more given to the practice of those virtues which pertain to
the adoration and worship of God and which are
characteristic of the contemplative life. Others will be
outstanding in those virtues that pertain to man's relations
with his neighbor, and these pertain to the active life . .
Yet all the virtues are means of increasing grace and some
persons will receive grace in one way rather than another .
.
However, there is a very common error among Christians in
regard to the practice of the various virtues . . . Thus, a
man who devotes much time to prayer may think that there is
no other way to holiness; he who fasts and practices
mortification may think that all other exercises are
useless; and he who dedicates himself to the contemplative
life may think that those who do not do the same are in
great danger and he may even go so far as to depreciate the
active life. On the other hand, there are some in the active
life who do not know from their own experience what
transpires between God and the soul during contemplation,
whereas they can see tangible results in the active life and
the apostolate. As a result, they may be tempted to belittle
the contemplative life . . .
There is no better cure for this error than that which St.
Paul gives in the passage from his Epistle to the
Corinthians, in which he reminds them that all gifts and
graces have the same source and origin. So also, through the
same baptism they are all members of the same body of which
Christ is the head . . . Therefore, there is a certain
equality among Christians so that there may be unity and
brotherhood, but there is also a certain diversity and
variety that are compatible with this unity.
The diversity among Christians springs partly from nature
and partly from grace. It springs from nature because
although the entire spiritual life pertains to the
supernatural order of grace, grace itself is received like
water into a vessel, that is, it will adapt itself to the
various conditions and circumstances and dispositions of the
one who receives grace . . . The diversity among Christians
also depends on the Holy Spirit, the Author of grace, who
desires that there be variety among the servants of God for
the beauty and glory of the Church. . . .
Therefore, let us leave each one to his vocation and
calling. This is what St. Paul advises when he says: "The
man who will eat anything must not ridicule him who abstains
from certain foods; the man who abstains must not sit in
judgment on him who eats." (Rom 14:3) The musical notes that
are written on the line are as important as those that are
written between the lines; so also, he who does one thing is
as beneficial to the Church as he who does something
entirely different.6
From this teaching it follows that one's temperament or
moral predisposition will be a weighty factor in determining
one's vocation or state of life; then the duties of one's
state of life are the framework within which one works out
one's sanctification and salvation. Thus, Fray Louis advises
the married woman that she "should look first to the care of
the home, provision for her family, satisfaction of her
husband, and all that pertains to the duties of a wife and
mother. Only after she has fulfilled the obligations of a
wife and mother can she give herself to devotions and pious
exercises, for her first duty is to fulfill the obligations
of her state in life."7
And what are the practices that lead to Christian
perfection? Fray Louis lists several, and they are not
mutually exclusive, for a Christian will normally use most
of them. The first and most important is the practice of
prayer, which provides a direct and immediate contact with
God. And if, as St. Thomas Aquinas taught, those who cease
to practice prayer will eventually lose their taste for the
things of God, the converse is also true, namely, that those
who do practice prayer will develop and ever increasing
attraction for the things of God.
Secondly, the devout Christian should cultivate a "contempt"
for the things of this world (<contemptus mundi>). This does
not mean that one should condemn the world but that one
never allows any worldly pleasure or gain to become an
obstacle to the love of God and neighbor. Indeed, if one
becomes habituated to the practice of prayer, it necessarily
follows that one will be weaned from the things of this
world. More immediately, however, Fray Louis warns against
the all too human tendency to <inordinate> self-love: "I say
inordinate because if the love of self is regulated and
controlled, it is not evil but good and necessary for the
preservation of life."8 The following passage is remarkably
similar to the teaching of St. John of the Cross in his
<Ascent of Mount Carmel>:
Now, what is more contrary to the love of God than love of
self? Self-love desires everything for the individual,
directing all things to himself and making himself his own
ultimate end. The love of God, on the contrary, directs all
things to God and denies self and even crucifies self for
love of him. Since these two loves are so contrary, so also
are the affections and works that proceed from them and for
that reason it is impossible that both these loves should be
contained in the one heart. For how can we possess at one
and the same time the love of God and love of the world,
love of the earth and love of heaven, love of the flesh and
love of the spirit, selfish love and divine love?9
The third practice leading to the perfection of the
Christian life is the cultivation of the virtues proper to
one's state of life. This is a teaching that was
misunderstood by Melchior Cano, who complained: "He is
trying to make all Christians perfect!" and by the
Inquisitor Valdes, who accused Fray Louis of "writing
sublime truths for the wives of carpenters." Fray Louis
repeatedly emphasized that the clergy, the religious and the
laity should follow the path to holiness that is conformable
to their state of life. All Christians, whatever their state
of life, should cooperate with the graces given, and they do
this by the practice of the virtues according to their
particular vocation. But the pattern of virtues proper to
the contemplative religious life will not be the same as
that of the apostolic religious life; the virtues proper to
the priestly state are different from those proper to the
married state or the lay member of a secular institute.
Yet another important distinction regarding the virtues
pertains to the difference between the internal aspect of
virtue and the external act of virtue. Following the
teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, Fray Louis states that
"there is no doubt that the first is more excellent and
necessary than the second." He then adds:
If you adhere to the doctrine we have expounded, you will
avoid two extremes: that of the Pharisees and that of the
heretics. The Pharisees, a carnal and ambitious group who
could see nothing but the external observance of the law,
took no account of true justice, which is a spiritual and
internal virtue. For that reason they had only the
appearance of virtue without its substance, appearing good
externally while within they were abominable.
The heretics, on the other hand, having seen the error of
the Pharisees, fled from one extreme to the other and
rejected and disdained all external acts of virtue.10
But Catholic doctrine avoids these two extremes by giving
proper recognition to both the internal and the external
virtues, but it gives the internal virtues first place while
not neglecting to give the external virtues the importance
that is due them.11
We come at last, but not least, to the worthy reception of
the sacraments as a necessary practice that leads to the
perfection of the Christian life. Fray Louis describes the
sacraments, instituted by Christ, as "heavenly instruments
by which grace is communicated to us and as fountains which
flow from the open side of Christ into our souls." Unlike
the practice of prayer and the performance of meritorious
good works through the practice of the virtues, the
sacraments do not depend on any activity on our part to be
effective. They work, as the theologians say, <ex opere
operato>, which means that they automatically produce the
grace that is signified by the sacramental rite _ unless
there is an obstacle on the part of the recipient. This
teaching was promulgated officially by the Council of Trent
during the lifetime of Fray Louis.
Fray Louis asserts _ and rightly so _ that God could infuse
grace into the soul without using the instrumentality of the
sacraments, as he often does, but Christ instituted the
various sacraments to supply for the various needs in our
spiritual life. Following very closely the teaching of St.
Thomas Aquinas, Fray Louis briefly states how the various
sacraments supply for our spiritual needs:
Baptism serves for our birth into the spiritual life;
confirmation makes us grow and become strong in the
spiritual life; the Eucharist gives us nourishment in the
spiritual life; penance cures us when we are ill; and
extreme unction gives us back our spiritual strength.
These five sacraments are necessary for man as an individual
person, but we can also consider that man has two possible
functions or offices: the one to propagate and increase the
human race and the other to govern and guide souls to their
ultimate end which is God. For that reason two other
sacraments are necessary: matrimony and holy orders . . .
These are the seven sacraments by which the Holy Spirit,
through the sufferings and merits of the passion of Christ,
communicates grace to the faithful.12
We have given but a very brief and succinct outline of the
ascetical teaching of Fray Louis of Granada. In his various
works he has developed this doctrine in greater detail and
has made practical applications. His writing is not,
however, purely speculative and abstract, nor could it be,
since Fray Louis was teaching the theology of the Christian
life. He was above all a preacher, and his books are sermons
in print.
<Conclusion>
Even from our brief summary of the spiritual teaching of
Fray Louis of Granada it is evident that he was truly a
master of the spiritual life. Like some of the other writers
of the Golden Age of Spain, including St. Teresa of Avila
and St. John of the Cross, he treats each topic so
thoroughly and with such psychological insight that the
reader feels that the books of Fray Louis were written
especially for him or her. The reason for this is that, like
any effective preacher or teacher, Fray Louis understood the
needs of his hearers or readers and could anticipate the
questions and problems that would most likely arise.
Although he wrote well on all that he discussed, we should
make special mention of his treatment of the practice of
prayer and the virtue of charity. On these two topics alone
Fray Louis would deserve to be ranked with the other great
masters of the spiritual life such as St. Ignatius Loyola,
St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis de Sales. A selection
from his beautiful and inspiring treatment of the virtue of
charity serves as a fitting conclusion to this article,
especially since it arouses such optimism and confidence in
the heart of the devout Christian.
To come to an end in this matter, let us observe that since
charity is the greatest of all the virtues and the goal of
all the others, the perfection of the Christian life must
consist essentially in charity. Consequently, the measure of
the perfection of just souls, both in this life and in
glory, is taken from the degree of their charity . . . Thus,
if a woman finds herself at the moment of death with greater
charity than that possessed by another who has worked
miracles and has converted many souls, undoubtedly the woman
will receive a much higher degree of glory in heaven,
because she possessed greater charity here on earth . . .
Nor should we marvel that this is so, for whatever a man may
do of himself is little in comparison with that which he
receives from God, he can still do much if he loves much,
because in loving he gives himself and thus performs the
greatest service of which he is capable . . . Then God
responds to this generosity of the Christian soul by giving
himself completely.
This doctrine offers much consolation and encouragement to
those who have little to give; those who, because of lack of
education or ingenuity or because of sickness or old age,
cannot offer great services and labors to the glory of God.
For even without doing these things, they can love God
greatly. Moreover, he who loves much can do much; he who
gives himself through love, already gives much; and he who
desires to do much, has the credit of doing much, for God
sees the heart of man, and in God's sight a good intention
is of no less value than the good work itself.
If, therefore, you cannot do great deeds, then desire to do
much and love as much as you can. In doing so, you will be
doing great things for God.13
ENDNOTES
1 The details of the life of Fray Louis are based on the
most recent biography: <Fray Luis de Granada: Una vida al
servizio de la Iglesia>, by Fr. Alvaro Huerga, O.P.,
published by Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, Madrid, 1988.
2 Cf. <Summa of the Christian Life: Selected Texts from the
Writings of Venerable Louis of Granada, O.P>., Vol. I,
translated and adapted by Jordan Aumann, O.P., St. Louis, B.
Herder Book Co., 1954, pp. 3-4. The three volumes of this
<Summa> were compiled by Fr. Antonio Trancho, O.P., of
Almagro, Spain, using the <Summa Theologiae> of St. Thomas
Aquinas as a framework for the spiritual doctrine of Fray
Louis of Granada. Fr. Trancho did not live to see the
completion of his work; with twenty-six fellow Dominicans,
he gave his life for God and for Spain in the early days of
the Spanish Civil War. The work was completed by the Most
Reverend Francisco Barbado, O.P., Bishop of Salamanca,
Spain. This three-volume series is now available from TAN
Books, P.O. Box 424, Rockford, Illinois 61105.
3 Cf. <Summa of the Christian Life>, Vol. I, pp. 3-4.
4 See St. John of the Cross, <Ascent of Mount Carmel>,
Prologue and <The Living Flame of Love>, Stanza 3,
paragraphs 30 to 62.
5 Cf. <Introduction to the Devout Life>, Preface and First
Part, Section 3.
6 See <Summa of the Christian Life>, Vol. II, pp. 410-415.
7 <Op. cit.>, Vol. II, p. 421.
8 <Op. cit.>, Vol. II, p. 153.
9 <Summa of the Christian Life,> Vol. II, p. 155. For an
excellent treatment of conversion, see Vol. III, pp. 252-
268.
10 Fray Louis is here referring to the Lutheran doctrine of
salvation through faith alone, without good works.
11 <Summa of the Christian Life>, Vol. II, p. 22.
12 <Op. cit>., Vol. III, p. 217.
13 <Ibid.>, Vol. II, pp. 152-153.
Rev. Jordan Aumann, O.P. is professor of Ascetical and
Mystical Theology at the Angelicum in Rome where he is the
Director of the University's Institute of Spirituality.
This article was taken from the Summer 1990 issue of "Faith & Reason".
Subscriptions available from Christendom Press, 2101 Shenandoah Shores Road,
Ft. Royal, VA 22630, 703-636-2900, Fax 703-636-1655. Published quarterly at
$20.00 per year.
Copyright (c) 1996 EWTN
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