A Divine Lent #11: What could I say except: "I'm coming now"?


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

Canto 5 of Purgatory begins with the distractions that we've seen thus far in Dante's journey.  While climbing, the pilgrim stops and turns around due to the attention he is getting from the crowd of indolent souls left behind.  Virgil chides Dante:

"What do you care, if they are whispering?
...let the people talk!
...the man who lets his thoughts be turned aside
by one thing or another, will lose sight
of his true goal, his mind sapped of its strength."

Virgil echoes the acronyms leaders have told undisciplined teams:  FOTAH!  Focus On The Task At Hand!  Dante's answer is one of the most human responses possible.

What could I say except, "I'm coming now"?

Everyday I face multiple non-productive, meaningless distractions.  Yes, silly cat videos on YouTube are a prime example.  There is truly no excuse.  I blush as Dante did, and say "OK. Coming!", the same words used when one of my parents wondered what on earth was keeping me.  When words would provide no justification, the only acceptable response is movement in the desired direction.

The next group of souls they encounter are those who died a violent death but repented in their final hour.  They too are still waiting to enter Purgatory, but they move very quickly, contrasted with the slow and lazy souls Dante met below.  Dante receives three pleas for intercessory prayers from the souls' friends and family still on earth.  While this recurrent petition seems selfish, it is explained as a natural and appropriate request.  One soul explains,

"...and yet we were sinners to our final hour;
but then the light of Heaven lit our minds,
and penitent and pardoning, we left
that life at peace with God, Who left our hearts
with longing for the holy sight of Him."

The longing that they are trying to fulfill in their pursuit of the mountain was instilled as a response to their repentance.  Another soul recognizes both Dante and his own desire for fulfillment.

..."Oh, may the desire
that draws you up the mountain be fulfilled;
and you, please help me satisfy my own. ..."

How fitting that these souls were chanting Miserere on Dante and Virgil's approach, Psalm 51.  The psalm is a plea, an exhortation to God for mercy and for cleansing.  The psalm is a foreshadow of what is to come for Dante and these souls, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ... Create in me a clean heart, O God."  For these souls and for all, the first and sufficient step was a contrite heart.

This is the task at hand for Dante and for me.  May we all in Lent seek a clean and contrite heart to pursue the ultimate desire instilled within us by grace.  

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