The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain

Book excerpt: The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain is Ralph McInerny's hymn of praise to the spiritual and intellectual life of the great Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain (1881-1973). The structure of this work is modelled on the medieval book of hours, making use of the daily offices, from Matins through Compline, to examine each stage of the life of Maritain and his wife, Raissa. Through this blending of biography and meditation, McInerny creates a portrait of the Maritains, one that reveals a model of the intellectual life as lived by the Christian believers. Maritain's life and thought. Among the topics McInerny covers are Maritain's remarkable and diverse set of friends, his involvement in French politics and the development of his views on the nature and future of democracy, the Church and Catholic intellectual life. By interweaving Maritain's philosophy with anecdotes from his life, McInerny demonstrates what distinguished Maritain as a Catholic philosopher and why he is a source of inspiration for McInerny and others of his generation. and the work of Ralph McInerny.