The Sacred Monster of Thomism (the epithet comes from Francois Mauriac) is the first full-length study of the life and thought of the most influential Dominican theologian in the first half of the twentieth century, and the scourge of liberal theologians everywhere. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange taught at the Angelicum for fifty years, held the first chair of spiritual theology in the Church's history, and authored twenty-eight books and over six hundred articles. He was also the doctoral dissertation director for Pope John Paul II. The Sacred Monster of Thomism sketches the life and general context of Garrigou's life, discusses at length the most important factor in his life - his affiliation with the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) - and examines his philosophical disputes with Henri Bergson and Maurice Blondel, his theological (and political) disputes with Jacques Maritain and M.-Dominique Chenu, and ends with chapters examining Garrigou's Thomism and his approaches to theology and spirituality. Book jacket.