A Divine Lent #7: Have new decisions now been made in Heaven?


A daily reflection during Lent on Dante's The Divine Comedy.

In the first canto of Purgatory, Dante and Virgil have emerged from the path out of Hell onto the foot of Purgatory's mountain.  Dante is marveling at the stars, the lightness of the air, and the beautiful twilight sky, sharp contrasts to the filth of the Inferno.  The pair is approached by an old man, Cato of Utica, the guard of the entrance to Purgatory.  Cato is not happy.

Are all the laws of God's Abyss destroyed?
Have new decisions now been made in Heaven
so that, though damned, you come up to my cliff?

Cato is the man in the remote office wondering what in world has headquarters done to him now.  In the words of a popular business book, someone moved his cheese.  Literally, Hell has been turned loose.  Laws that have been good enough for millenia are now changing? Why didn't anyone consult with me or let me know?  Do these type of people really belong here?

How many times has the church seemed a bit like Cato?  How many times have I seemed a bit like Cato?

Cato quickly redeems himself.  First, he listens to Virgil's explanation.  Second, he readily accepts the divine authority on which Virgil bases their validity.  Finally, Cato offers the newcomers guidance and advice.  May I turn as quickly as Cato when faced with an unexpected perspective.

It seems that deep within Cato's initially negative reaction is a question of worth: should they be here?  The question implies that the one asking has already attained that level of worth.  I'm here because I should be, but what about them?

Dante's second tercet in the canto iniaties this theme of worth.

And I shall sing about that second realm
where man's soul goes to purify itself
and become worthy to ascend to Heaven.

Dante and the rest of the medieval church felt that baptism earned you the right to purgation which in its process would make you worth to ascend, to be part of that which is holy.  I am grateful that the laws of Heaven (or really of the Church) were changed.  I enter into a time of reflection during Lent not to make myself worthy, because communion with God is not something earned.  Our communion is based on grace that despite our faults call us into communion with our creator.  A Lenten discipline is a response to grace, not a path of worthiness, to prepare us to fully celebrate the miracle of Easter.

Cato advises Virgil,

..take care to bathe his face
till every trace of filth has disappeared,
for it would not be fitting that he go
with vision clouded by the mists of Hell...

The time of reflection in Lent is a time to clear my own eyes, to uncloud my vision, to help me see that grace.  A vision based on grace rather than worth sees that all should be welcomed since none are blameless.

With clear vision, Dante and Virgil begin their ascent.

We made our way along that lonely plain
like men who seek the right path they have lost,
counting each step a loss till it is found.

Said another way, "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."

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