Louis of Granada, OP (1504 – 31 December 1588), was a Dominicanfriar who was noted as theologian, writer and preacher.[1] The cause for his canonization has been long open with the Holy See, with his current status being Venerable.[2]
Louis was born in Granada of poor parents named Sarria.[1] At the age of nineteen he was received into the Dominican Order in the Priory of the Holy Cross in Granada. His philosophical studies once over, he was chosen by his superiors to represent his community at the College of St. Gregory [es] at Valladolid, an institution of the Dominican Order reserved for extraordinary students.
When Louis had completed these studies, he embarked upon the career of a preacher, in which he continued with extraordinary success during forty years. The fame of his preaching spread beyond the boundaries of his native land, and at the request of the Cardinal-Infante, Dom Henrique of Portugal, son of King Manuel, he was transferred to Portugal, where he became Prior Provincial of the Portuguese Dominicans in 1557. His extraordinary sanctity, learning, and wisdom soon attracted the attention of the queen regent, who appointed him her confessor and counselor. The Bishopric of Viseu and the Archbishopric of Braga were successively offered to him only to be courteously, but firmly, refused. The honours of the cardinalate, offered to him by Pope Sixtus V, were also declined.
Besides ascetical theology, his published works treat of Scripture, dogma, ethics, biography and church history. He is best known, however, for his ascetical writings. Most of them were translated into many languages. The best known of his ascetical writings, and the one that achieved the greatest measure of success, is The Sinner's Guide (La Guia de Pecadores), published in 1555. It is marked by a smooth, harmonious style of purest Spanish idiom which has merited for it the reputation of a classic, and by an unctuous eloquence that has made it a perennial source of religious inspiration. It has been compared with Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ. Within a comparatively short time after its first appearance it was translated into Italian, Latin, French, German, Polish, and Greek. He earned much money for his writings, all of which went to the poor.
In 1539, at the age of 35, he wrote a small tract on the method of prayer for a student who had written to him for advice. This tract developed into his first book, The Book of Prayer and Meditation, published in 1554. The unexpected success of the book led him to dedicate himself to writing on spiritual themes for all. He led a life of an ascetic, his cell being poor and having few possessions. He wrote for 35 years, producing 49 works.
Luis de Granada produced in total 45 works, in Spanish, Latin and Portuguese, comprising original works, as well as translations of others' works and revisions and additions to his own previously published works. Among the works authored by him are:
Libro de la Oracion y Meditacion (The Book of Prayer and Meditation), (Salamanca: Andrés de Portonariis, 1554; revised, 1566)
Memorial de la Vida Cristiana (A Memorial of a Christian life), 2 vols, (Lisbon, 1565).
Guía de pecadores (The Sinner's Guide), 2 vols, (Lisbon, 1556, 1557) – available here (HTML version) or here (archive.org version).
Introducción del símbolo de la fe, (Salamanca, 1584).
Vida de Jesucristo: para conocer, amar e imitar a nuestro Señor.
Vida de María: vida y misterio de la Santísima Virgen.
Los seis libros de la Retórica Eclesiástica o Método de Predicar.
Adiciones al Memorial de la Vida Cristiana.
Compendio y Explicacion de la Doctrina Cristiana.
Oracion al Glorioso Patriarca Sancto Domingo.
Vida de fray Bartolome de los Martires.
Trece sermones.
A collected edition of his works was published in 9 volumes at Antwerp in 1578.[1]
Later reputation
A biography was written by L. Munoz, La Vida y virtudes de Luis de Granada (Madrid, 1639).[1]
Rose of Lima's favorite book by Louis was The Book of Prayer and Meditation—a book that laments the miseries of life and manifests spiritual contempt for the world. Once, it was said, she banished the devil's temptations by reading this book, causing the devil to snatch the book from her and throw it onto a rubbish heap. Rose remained calm, certain that the Lord would return it to her, and she got it back.
Francis de Sales highly commended to a bishop-elect to have the whole works of Louis of Granada, and to regard them as a second breviary. He advised him to read them carefully, beginning with The Sinner's Guide. He said, "But to read him with fruit you must not run through him hastily ; he must be pondered, and have his full weight, and chapter after chapter must be mused upon and applied to the soul with much thought and prayer to God. You must read him with reverence and devotion, like a book containing the most useful inspirations man can receive from on high, and thereby reform all the powers of the soul."[3]
References
^ abcdChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Granada, Luis de" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 334.
^Dyson, Thomas. Lives of Some of the Sons of St. Dominic (1883), p. 280-281
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: O'Connor, John Bonaventure (1910). "Louis of Granada". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
Media related to Luis de Granada at Wikimedia Commons
University of Notre Dame Rare Books and Special Collections Books by Luis (Luys) de Granada
March 04, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Louis of Granada news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Louis of Granada OP 1504 31 December 1588 was a Dominican friar who was noted as theologian writer and preacher 1 The cause for his canonization has been long open with the Holy See with his current status being Venerable 2 VenerableLouis of GranadaOPBornLuis Sarria1504GranadaDied31 December 1588 aged 84 Lisbon PortugalVenerated inCatholic ChurchPhilosophy careerAlma materUniversity of ValladolidErahumanismRegionSpain Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Later reputation 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditLouis was born in Granada of poor parents named Sarria 1 At the age of nineteen he was received into the Dominican Order in the Priory of the Holy Cross in Granada His philosophical studies once over he was chosen by his superiors to represent his community at the College of St Gregory es at Valladolid an institution of the Dominican Order reserved for extraordinary students When Louis had completed these studies he embarked upon the career of a preacher in which he continued with extraordinary success during forty years The fame of his preaching spread beyond the boundaries of his native land and at the request of the Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal son of King Manuel he was transferred to Portugal where he became Prior Provincial of the Portuguese Dominicans in 1557 His extraordinary sanctity learning and wisdom soon attracted the attention of the queen regent who appointed him her confessor and counselor The Bishopric of Viseu and the Archbishopric of Braga were successively offered to him only to be courteously but firmly refused The honours of the cardinalate offered to him by Pope Sixtus V were also declined Besides ascetical theology his published works treat of Scripture dogma ethics biography and church history He is best known however for his ascetical writings Most of them were translated into many languages The best known of his ascetical writings and the one that achieved the greatest measure of success is The Sinner s Guide La Guia de Pecadores published in 1555 It is marked by a smooth harmonious style of purest Spanish idiom which has merited for it the reputation of a classic and by an unctuous eloquence that has made it a perennial source of religious inspiration It has been compared with Thomas a Kempis s The Imitation of Christ Within a comparatively short time after its first appearance it was translated into Italian Latin French German Polish and Greek He earned much money for his writings all of which went to the poor In 1539 at the age of 35 he wrote a small tract on the method of prayer for a student who had written to him for advice This tract developed into his first book The Book of Prayer and Meditation published in 1554 The unexpected success of the book led him to dedicate himself to writing on spiritual themes for all He led a life of an ascetic his cell being poor and having few possessions He wrote for 35 years producing 49 works Louis died at the age of 84 at Lisbon Portugal Works EditLuis de Granada produced in total 45 works in Spanish Latin and Portuguese comprising original works as well as translations of others works and revisions and additions to his own previously published works Among the works authored by him are Libro de la Oracion y Meditacion The Book of Prayer and Meditation Salamanca Andres de Portonariis 1554 revised 1566 Memorial de la Vida Cristiana A Memorial of a Christian life 2 vols Lisbon 1565 Guia de pecadores The Sinner s Guide 2 vols Lisbon 1556 1557 available here HTML version or here archive org version Introduccion del simbolo de la fe Salamanca 1584 Vida de Jesucristo para conocer amar e imitar a nuestro Senor Vida de Maria vida y misterio de la Santisima Virgen Los seis libros de la Retorica Eclesiastica o Metodo de Predicar Adiciones al Memorial de la Vida Cristiana Compendio y Explicacion de la Doctrina Cristiana Oracion al Glorioso Patriarca Sancto Domingo Vida de fray Bartolome de los Martires Trece sermones A collected edition of his works was published in 9 volumes at Antwerp in 1578 1 Later reputation EditA biography was written by L Munoz La Vida y virtudes de Luis de Granada Madrid 1639 1 Rose of Lima s favorite book by Louis was The Book of Prayer and Meditation a book that laments the miseries of life and manifests spiritual contempt for the world Once it was said she banished the devil s temptations by reading this book causing the devil to snatch the book from her and throw it onto a rubbish heap Rose remained calm certain that the Lord would return it to her and she got it back Other famous Catholics who have read and loved the works of Louis of Granada include Vincent de Paul Louise de Marillac Francis de Sales Cardinal Berulle and Jacques Benigne Bossuet all French Charles Borromeo Italian Louis of Leon Spanish and the Jesuit and Barnabite Orders Teresa of Avila read his books and commanded her nuns to do so Francis de Sales highly commended to a bishop elect to have the whole works of Louis of Granada and to regard them as a second breviary He advised him to read them carefully beginning with The Sinner s Guide He said But to read him with fruit you must not run through him hastily he must be pondered and have his full weight and chapter after chapter must be mused upon and applied to the soul with much thought and prayer to God You must read him with reverence and devotion like a book containing the most useful inspirations man can receive from on high and thereby reform all the powers of the soul 3 References Edit a b c d Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Granada Luis de Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 12 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 334 Louis of Granada Venerable Catholic com Dyson Thomas Lives of Some of the Sons of St Dominic 1883 p 280 281 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain O Connor John Bonaventure 1910 Louis of Granada In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 9 New York Robert Appleton Company External links Edit Media related to Luis de Granada at Wikimedia Commons University of Notre Dame Rare Books and Special Collections Books by Luis Luys de Granada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louis of Granada amp oldid 1116993646, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
