I have to admit that I was extremely happy to be given the book Purgatory simply because it meant I was no longer reading Inferno. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find many aspect of Purgatory that I enjoyed. Even though I don’t personally believe in the Purgatory that souls go to before Heaven, I was still able to appreciate the messages Dante presents. I believe that Purgatory is symbolic of the Christian walk through its meaning and the journey of the souls on it.
Purgatory is the meeting of God’s judgment and mercy. Hell exists because of God’s judgment. Ascribed on the gates leading into Hell are the words, “Justice caused my high architect to move: / divine omnipotence created me, / the highest wisdom, and the primal love” (Inferno, 23). As sinful human beings, we deserve punishment in Hell; however, God is merciful and desires for us to be in Heaven with Him. In His mercy, God sent Jesus to endure the judgment we deserve. Purgatory is the middle of the two extremes, Heaven and Hell, and Jesus is the meeting of God’s judgment and mercy. Jesus is our way into God’s mercy.
Purgatory compares to the Christian walk in that the longer souls are on it, the more like God they become. I’ve noticed that whenever I spend a lot of time with someone, I start to talk similarly to them and develop some of the same mannerisms. The more time we spend with God and the more we saturate our minds with His word, the more we will look like God. The souls in Purgatory look more like God through the burdens they bear. The burdens souls bear in Purgatory are because of the sins they committed while living. The burdens help to turn the will of the people towards God. The souls are ready to move further up the mountain when they change their will and bend it back toward Christ. The souls choose when they move on. While traveling to the ring of gluttony, Dante and Virgil meet a soul named Statius who, after over 500 years in Purgatory, is headed towards Heaven. Statius explains that it is the will of the soul that determines when it will move forward. The souls have free will, and once punishment has been dealt, the souls are free to change their will to “find a better place” (229). Just like the souls in Purgatory must alter their will to God’s in order to move farther up the mountain, Christians are in a constant battle of wills to follow God and His commandments. Everyone struggles with sin in different ways, but God helps them to overcome the sin. The more sins overcome, the higher the soul climbs and the closer to God he becomes.
Through bearing the burdens of each circle, souls cleanse themselves so that they can be with God. The souls in Purgatory must be cleansed in order to move on. Cato, the gatekeeper of Purgatory, in an effort to gather the souls to cross the sea, says, “Hurry to scrape away the scales that keep / the Lord from being manifest to you!” (23). The souls in Purgatory must be cleansed in order to move on to Heaven, and we must be cleansed in order to have fellowship with God. When we sin, we make ourselves dirty. God is perfect, and He cannot be with us if we allow ourselves to be dirty. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can be cleansed and be with God in Heaven.
Purgatory is similar to the Christian walk because although souls are bearing burdens, they do not seem very discouraged. The souls are able to bear the burdens because they are working towards a goal. Life can be very discouraging sometimes. Maybe it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. But we can be encouraged because God, and the characters from Friends, are there for us. We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we react. As Christians, we can be encouraged because we have a goal we’re moving towards and reward to look forward to.
The common goal of Christians allows us to encourage each other just like the souls in Purgatory. They pray for each other and uplift each other. The souls in Purgatory even pray for those who are still alive in hopes that they won’t be ensnared by the flesh as they were (115 and 117). The souls pray, “Dear Lord, we do not make this final prayer / for ourselves here, for here there is no need, / but for the ones behind us who have yet to come” (117). The souls in Purgatory pray for the living, and the living pray for those in Purgatory. It is the prayers of the living that help ease the burdens of the souls in Purgatory (45). For example, When Dante encounters the soul of an old friend named Forese, Forese explains that it is only because of the prayers of his “little widow” that he was able to ascend the mountain quicker than other souls (251, 253). Dante is asked by a multitude of souls to remind their families of them in hopes of some prayers. Though they could bear the burdens alone, they know that the burdens will be easier if they encourage each other and receive encouragement from others. Christians have a common goal, and we have the opportunity to encourage each other and help each other reach the goal.
The mountain of Purgatory and a life devoted to Christ are both an uphill climb. However, Dante shows that the end result, being with God in Heaven, is worth the punishments. It is through the grace of God that we are offered a way into Heaven. Just as the prayers from the living help ease the burdens of those souls in Purgatory, so are our burdens in the Christian walk much more bearable when we lift each other up and focus on the end goal. No matter what happens, just remember to keep on climbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment