Blog 002 -Living in Dante’s Purgatorio
I remember reading Dante's Inferno as a high school student. I was fascinated with the images and logical consequences behind the torment of hell. My imagination went wild. It was the first literary reading I consumed that didn't fit the religious narratives I had learned from the Church.
The Bible doesn't describe hell. My only understanding of what hell could be like came from Sunday school teachings and pulpit preachings from family and friends. Hell was a fiery place. All of a sudden, Dante was saying that hell was a multi-faceted place with levels that descended into a cold, dark, eternity. The torments of punishment in hell fit with the sin that damned someone to a particular level. It was a form of justice that I could understand. Oddly enough, I had no concept or belief in Purgatory. I was interested in "Paradise," but I did not go beyond "Inferno" in Dante's writings. Years later, as I reverted to Catholicism, I had to face the looming, uncomfortable, and misunderstood dogma of Purgatory. As I studied the Catechism and our Church Fathers, I learned about the essentials of Purgatory. It was a process and not a place. It's outside of time. I became thankful for such a place when I realized how many times I followed Jesus in words only and not with my actions. When I realized how deep into sin I was truly living.
Further understanding of the purpose of Purgatory also leads me to additional readings and Saint stories about Purgatory in the world with the living. If Purgatory was a process, why couldn't some of the suffering that we experience here also be relative to the purgation beyond death? I began to understand the process of sanctification. Purgation was a purifying process for sanctification so that I could enter heaven to be with the Father. Jesus is that purgation of my soul to sanctification. I know this is deep, but it made sense and answered many of my lingering questions about Protestantism.
Enter Dante again. Purgatorio visually described this process as climbing a mountain. My heart burned with enthusiasm as the theology connected to one of my life's passions. I completely understand the joy and pains of climbing a mountain. The feeling of accomplishment when you reach the summit. Your body is aching and fighting against the climb. Your mind is working against you to quit, rest, and turn around. The periods of the climb in Purgatorio mirrored many points in my life. During his trip through Purgatory, Dante is led by Virgil. Virgil is a guide, leader, and father figure to Dante. He is a symbol of reason, which helps Dante understand the moral order of Purgatory and the nature of sin and love. Virgil is a pagan who lived before Christ. Still, he is given special permission to enter Purgatory because he is considered virtuous. He cannot accompany Dante beyond Purgatory because he doesn't have the Christian faith or the gift of grace.
Dante later meets Beatrice before he reaches the top of the mountain. Beatrice takes over as Dante's guide in the final four cantos of Purgatorio. Beatrice is the woman Dante has loved from afar since childhood, and her prayers start Dante's journey.
This was so similar to my journey to Christianity. In college, I followed my own Virgil. I believed in stoicism. I knew that the ancient philosophers had explored life truths through deep thought. I believed in the virtues that came from this intellectual thought. In my late 20s, I took the hand of Beatrice and shifted from the realm of human reason into the realm of divine faith and love. It was a change from an earthly sphere to one that was heavenly. Virgil was reason, and Beatrice was divine grace.
Psalm 24
Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face
The Lords are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is in vain.
He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,
a reward from God, his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
The sermon on the mountain.
The law of Moses delivered on a mountain.
The big reveal occurred when I understood that the purgation process begins here and now while we tread through life. When we know who Jesus Christ is and what God desires for our life, we begin working for our sanctification by doing what Jesus taught us to do through modeling in His own life and through His teachings to His Church.
Justification begins through sanctification in this life, but most Protestants agree it cannot be completed here while we live. Protestants believe that justification occurs once in life, and sanctification is the process that follows. This is why Purgatory doesn't make sense to Protestants. Protestants believe in justification through faith alone. Catholics believe that justification begins at baptism and continues through life through faith, works, and receiving sanctification as a gift. Catholics believe that sanctification is a process that occurs in this life and can continue through death in Purgatory if sanctification is not achieved by receiving the sacraments and following Christ as he calls us to do. When we try to bring sin with us in death, it must be purged away from our soul (refined) so that we can be in communion with the Holy Trinity through marriage. I saw a Protestant analogy used to describe sanctification and justification. I thought it was a great metaphor to enhance the Catholic viewpoint.
Justification and sanctification are linked in the same way that a person needs a car and must maintain it to keep it. Justification is the gift, and sanctification is the maintenance.
Protestants believe that you are gifted a car. You must receive the gift; it's free and specifically for you. Once you receive the car, you must continue maintaining the vehicle (actions or works). Still, this maintenance occurs because you own the vehicle. There are varying beliefs on the ownership of this car. Some protestants believe you can never lose this car, and some think you can. Still, if you do, you never took possession of it or were never justified.
Catholics believe in a car lease. The car is a gift, but while we live, the hope of ownership is what they are focused on. Catholics get to use the car, and they are taught how to maintain it so they can receive it someday. Still, if they don't adhere to the owner's manual or model of the car Christ gave to His car (the gift), we will not inherit the vehicle when we die. Some people do a poor job of servicing and taking care of their cars, so when they die, the car needs to go to a mechanic (Jesus) to be fixed and cleaned before we receive it and drive off to heaven. These people loved Jesus and tried to be like him; they tried to follow to the best of their understanding, but they didn't take full advantage of grace in life.
This analogy can get pretty deep, but I like it. It made sense to me. The point behind the story was that it brought me to a place of understanding of sanctification and purgation in life as well as death. It was one of the final stepping stones I needed to move from a practicing protestant to a practicing Catholic. I will go much deeper into Purgatory in my writings and in the workshops. Still, it's different from a topic I would typically lead with. I found that my understandings of Mary, the Mother of God, and Purgatory were some of the most difficult to grasp while I was converting. I am covering the fringe here in this blog post and in the podcast to describe this ministry's mission statement.
I thought it was important to lay the foundation of the "Final Summit" ministry by describing its name and overall purpose. This idea is that we are climbing the mountain of Purgatory here in this life through its struggles and sufferings. What we do and what we can learn from this climb is essential.
Let's go back to Dante. There were distinct Christian ideas about death. They added color and impactful responses to the parts of the prosperity gospel that didn't make sense to me. Why would a devout Christian, deep in prayer, seeking sanctification, experience extreme suffering? What if suffering was necessary for sanctification? If we could work for sanctification in this life to follow the Saints and follow Jesus, shouldn't we expect pain and suffering? Shouldn't we welcome it because, like Christ, we know what's on the other side? I am turning away from sin (repenting) and purging the residual effects of sin from my life now so that I have very little to do in Purgatory later.
I am climbing the mountain of Purgatory now. When I reach each plateau on my climb, I offer all suffering to Jesus on the cross. I cling to God for my hope. I recognize the truth in virtues and repent of sins that have separated me from God.
This is where the title of the ministry is derived. The Final Summit is the climb through Purgatory and the platform, which features the Koinonia small group framework and emphasizes developing laity leaders in the Catholic Church.