Purgatorio and Paradiso

[Jeremy Jernigan]

Finished the other two parts of the Divine Comedy. Surprisingly,
Purgatorio was my favorite and Paradiso was my least favorite. Here
are some quotes I loved from Purgatorio:

“Horrible were my sins, but infinite
is the abiding Goodness which holds out
Its open arms to all who turn to It.”

“For when a man lets his attention range
toward every wisp, he loses true direction,
sapping his mind’s force with continual change.”

“When we had crossed the threshold of that gate
so seldom used because man’s perverse love
so often makes the crooked path seem straight,”

“Let come to us the sweet peace of Thy reign,
for if it come not we cannot ourselves
attain to it however much we strain.”

“Thus you may understand that love alone
is the true seed of every merit in you,
and of all acts for which you must atone.”

So, the goal of this reading group was that everyone would post their
thoughts but I'm still waiting to hear from you guys! Am I the only
one reading???

[Dani]

The thing I always find most fascinating about The Comedia is how
Dante's focus shifts towards the end. He began writing this epic poem
FOR the woman he loved, Beatrice, but as he wrote, his "light" became
true, Divine light. Beatrice becomes a part of the heavenly love,
rather than the carnal, earthly love that Dante had been seeking. As
readers, we can actually watch this shift unfold and be a part of the
transformation from earthly love to focus on the Pure Love of the
Divine. Although his religious bent is distinctly Catholic, there is
so much to glean from his imagery and devotion.

My favorite passage from Paradiso is St. Bernard's praise of Mary:

"Oh Virgin Mother, daughter of your son,
most humble, most exalted of all creatures
chosen of God in His eternal plan,

you are the on who ennobled human nature
to the extent that He did not disdain,
Who was its Maker, to make Himself man.

Within your womb rekindled was the love
that gave the warmth that did allow this flower
to come to bloom within this timeless peace."
(Canto XXXIII ll 1-9)

It just always strikes me as beautiful and true. This specific passage
is copied almost verbatim in Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale (of the
Canterbury Tales), although not attributed to St. Bernard.

Anyways, I hope to hear from everyone else as well!