“Among this ever so numerous throng of pure spirits, the highest of hierarchies is that of the great contemplative angels… Next comes those who are ministers of the Most High… and finally there are the angels who simply execute the orders of God, as are the invisible guardians of men, communities, and nations.”
An excerpt from The Sense of Mystery: Clarity and Obscurity in the Intellectual Life, by French Dominican theologian Garrigou-Lagrange.
In this chapter, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes from the perspective of an angel. In the angel's own words, he describes the nature, knowledge, and limits of the created pure spirit, and by way of contrast elucidates the limits of our own human intellect.
Links
Translation courtesy of Emmaus Academic: https://www.emmausacademic.com/publications/2018/5/18/sense-of-mystery
The Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 38—Garrigou-Lagrange, The Sacred Monster of Thomism—w/ Matthew K. Minerd: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-38-sacred-monster-matthew-k-minerd/
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