The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain: A Spiritual Life

The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain is distinguished philosopher 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 modeled 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, Raïssa. Through this unique blending of biography and meditation, McInerny creates a powerful portrait of the Maritains, one that reveals a model of the intellectual life as lived by Christian believers. McInerny’s authoritative work provides an interesting and accessible avenue of entry to 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 skillfully 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.

Ralph McInerny (1929-2010) was Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies and director emeritus of the Jacques Maritain Center, University of Notre Dame. He was the author of numerous works in philosophy, literature, fiction, and journalism, including A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas, Characters in Search of Their Author, and his autobiography, I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You, all published by the University of Notre Dame Press.