Jacques Maritain: Philosopher of the 20th Century

Jacques Maritain helped to draft the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and re-introduced Thomism for the modern world.

Maritain was one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century. He not only helped to draft the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 but influenced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the preamble to the Constitution of the Fourth French Republic (1946). But perhaps his greatest contribution was to adapt the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas to the modern world.

Early Life, Education and Search for Truth
Jacques Maritain was born in Paris in November, 1882. His father was a lawyer who was neither hostile to religion nor attracted to it. His mother, Genevieve Favré, was brought up to believe that the supernatural had no right in the affairs of state. When Jacques was young his parents separated. He continued to have a great thirst for knowledge and read constantly.
While studying at the Sorbonne, Jacques met Raissa Oumansoff, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. They were both involved in protests against the treatment of Russian socialist students at the Sorbonne. As their friendship grew they found joy in their companionship but were plagued about the absurdity of existence and both had many religious doubts. They married in 1906 and shortly after made a pact to commit suicide if their questions about life were not answered within a year. Then they happened to read a book by Leon Bloy, an intellectual who was a Christian and a Catholic. Jacques and Raissa made an appointment to meet him and eventually they became lifelong friends. The Maritains began to study Catholicism and after much soul-searching they were baptized and received into the Catholic Church in June, 1906. One thing that had bothered them was that some people who called themselves Christian did not live up to the teaching of Jesus. Even with these doubts, after their baptism they both experienced peace and joy that they had never known before.
Not surprisingly, Raissa’s parents viewed her conversion as a betrayal to her heritage and Jacques’ mother was immensely disappointed that he had not followed in his socialist grandfather’s footsteps. The Maritains moved to Heidelberg, Germany where Jacques continued his studies. Although Raissa was unwell she continued to read and study at home.
Introduction to Thomas Aquinas
When they moved back to Paris, a Dominican priest and friend, Father Humbert, recommended St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa theologia to Raissa. She was enthralled by it and passed on her enthusiasm to her husband. They both found answers in Thomism’s rational logic and Jacques said that it was ‘common sense amongst the confusion that reigned in the world’. Both Jacques and Raissa strongly believed, as St. Thomas did, that faith and reason were compatible and not enemies. Scholars have said that Maritain’s most significant contribution in philosophy was to adapt Thomism to modern thought.

Post-War Life and Work
When the Nazis invaded France, Jacques was lecturing at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto. He and Raissa decided not to return to Europe, especially since his wife’s Jewish background was well-known. After the war, Charles de Gaulle asked him to be France’s ambassador to the Holy See (1945-1948). He later taught at Princeton University in New Jersey (1941-1942) and Columbia (1942 -1944) and lectured at The University of Notre Dame and The University of Chicago.

Maritain wrote against anti-Semitism, describing it as a sin against God’s people and, because of these writings, had an influence on those who wrote Vatican II’s statement on the Jews.
Raissa died in 1960 and Jacques returned to France. He lived with a religious community, the Little Brothers of Jesus at Toulouse, until his death in 1973 at the age of ninety-one.

Some of Jacques Maritain’s Books
France, My Country through the Disaster. 1941
Art and Poetry. 1943
Education at the Crossroads. 1943
Christianity and Democracy. 1943
Reflections on America. 1958
Man and the State. 1952
Le paysan de la Garonne. 1967

Sources
Connor, Fr. Charles P. Classic Catholic Converts. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2001.
Myers, Rawley. Faith Experiences of Catholic Converts. Huntingdon, IN: Our Sunday
Visitor, Inc. 1992.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website accessed May 20, 2011.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox

"Grant me, I pray, a will that seeks you, a wisdom that finds you, a life that pleases you, a perseverance that waits for you with trust and a trust that in the end succeeds in possessing you." St. Thomas Aquinas

 

Early Life and Education

Thomas was born in 1224(or 1225) near Aquino, in what is today Sicily. His father was Landulph, the Count of Aquino and his mother was Countess of Teano. The family were related, not only to Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, but also the Kings of Aragon and Castile.
At the age of five, Thomas was sent to be trained by the Benedictine monks at Monte Cassino. It was here that he later studied the works of Aristotle.

Family Oppression
He received the habit of the Order of St. Dominic(between 1240 and 1243) because of his attraction to the preaching of John of St. Julian, a Dominican at Naples. People were surprised that a wealthy son of a Count would don the habit of a Dominican. His brothers, who were soldiers under Emperor Frederick II, kidnapped him and kept him prisoner in the fortress of San Giovanni for two years. During this time, his family attempted to discourage him in his vocation and even laid snares to tempt him into sin. He did not succumb until they finally gave up and he was allowed to return to the Dominicans.
The Dominican Order sent him to Paris to study theology under the renowned teacher, St. Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus). There he continued to study all of Aristotle’s works and the Arab commentaries. Aristotle had written on the nature of knowledge, the natural sciences, On the soul, On ethics and metaphysics. To Thomas in Aristotle the two cultures, pre-Christian Greek culture and Christian culture, met. Eventually, Thomas did not rely on the Arab commentaries but wrote his own.

The Dumb Ox
Thomas was a humble student and often remained silent rather than join in the arguments and raucous behaviour of the others. Because of this, he was known as ‘the dumb ox’. However, when St. Albert heard his brilliant defence of a particular thesis, he exclaimed, “We call this young man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world.”
St. Albert’s remark was prophetic. Theology and philosophy students still marvel at St.Thomas’ astute thought. Pope Benedict XVI commented on the “excellent intellectual gifts of St. Thomas and his literary production,, which he continued until his death ... commentaries on sacred Scripture, commentaries on Aristotle's writings, powerful systematic works, among which excels the Summa Theologiae, treatises and discourses on several arguments.” (Pope Benedict XVI quoted in Zenit.org news release June 2, 2010)

Works
His most famous works are Summa Theologiae (three parts), Summa contra gentiles (Treatise on the Truth of the Catholic faith, against Unbelievers), and Disputed Questions.

Death and Beatification
Thomas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cisterian Monastery at Fossa Nuova where he had been given hospitality when he fell ill during a journey. He was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323. St. Pius V proclaimed St. Thomas a Doctor of the Church in 1567. No longer is he known as the ‘dumb ox’ but now he is known as ‘the Angelic Doctor’.
Normally a Saint’s Feast Day is celebrated on the anniversary of his or her death which in this case would be March 7. However St. Thomas’ memorial was transferred to January 28, the day his relics were moved to Toulouse.