A Divine Lent #21: My mind was stunned by what it did not know


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

In Canto 15 of Purgatory, Dante moves from blindness to light through both literal and figurative reflection.  The blindness comes quickly.

But suddenly I felt my brow forced down
by light far brighter than I sensed before;
my mind was stunned by what it did not know.

He will continued to be stunned throughout the canto.  Dante first assumes the brightness is the reflection of the late afternoon sun off some surface even to the point of reminding the reader that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence.  Virgil, though, explains that it is a heavenly being inviting them to ascend.  He tells Dante that what he cannot see now will become visible in time.

Not long from now, a sight like this will prove
to be no burden, but a joy as great
as Nature has prepared your soul to feel.

Goodness juxtaposed against shortcomings can be hard or really just embarrassing to see.  In looking at light, I am aware of my own darkness.  Recognizing our failings and accepting forgiveness opens eyes to not only see goodness but to rejoice in it.

Dante, reflecting on past dialogue, asks Virgil to explain Guido del Duca's phrase that human "partnerships must always be denied."  Virgil explains that sharing worldly things diminishes whatever is shared.  Heavenly partnerships share love which increases as it is shared.  Dante does not get it, so Virgil chides and instructs.

...Since you insist on limiting
your mind to thoughts of worldly things alone,
from the true light you reap only dark.
...
the more souls there above who are in love
the more there are worth loving; love grows more,
each soul a mirror mutually mirroring.

Dante is still in the dark on the abundance of love.  A gospel of abundance says there is always enough to share, contrasted with a gospel of scarcity that is worried about will I have enough or a gospel of prosperity that is focus on how can I have more.

Dante has now completed his lessons in charity, leaving behind the envious, loosing another P from his forehead.  He soon is caught up in visions of examples of mercy as they reach the next terrace.  Recognizing their meaning, Dante makes a statement that also applies to his dialogue on the abundance of love.

When finally my soul became aware
of the reality that lay beyond,
I recognized my error and its truth.

This Lent, may we all be moved from the blindness of self-interest to the enlightenment of truth, confident that in sharing love, love abounds.

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