Seven Hundred years ago this month, Dante Alighieri died. Pope Francis has written an apostolic letter on Dante’s Divine Comedy, one of the world’s great works of literary and religious splendor. Dante is the father of the Italian language and shaper of the culture of Italy. For the supreme beauty of the Divine Comedy, the central gift is hope.
This is an epic, lyrical, and personal journey narrated by Dante himself. He says in the middle of life he is lost in a dark forest. He is struggling to come to full stature in Christ.
In the dark forest he encounters as guides, the classical poet Virgil, Beatrice, the Virgin Mary, and others. His guides bring him on this journey, first to the bowels of hell, whose entrance proclaims "Abandon all hope who enter here."
There he encounters persons he knows or has heard of, who are in various states of eternal pain. Their suffering all brought onto themselves by their varied crimes of greed, selfishness, pride, murder, envy, lust, and gluttony on earth.
The sounds of hatred and despair in this dark misty world penetrate to the marrow of his being.
Eager to escape from this dreary, horrific, icy, frozen, and bleak realm of the damned, Dante is guided to purgatory.
In purgatory he experiences a slightly brighter, happier realm of people still going through a process of cleansing and growth.
There the souls still suffer a painful washing to remove the stains and blemishes acquired on their earthly journey of life. But they are relieved and joyful because they know that they will see an end to their suffering - and are being prepared to embrace a joy beyond all telling.
Following the Inferno and the Purgatorio, Dante comes at last to the Paradiso, the realm of the blessed.
It is here, in the realm of the blessed, that the saved are washed clean by the blood of the Savior. Their experience is glorious under the mantle of Queen Mother, and they abide for all eternity in the bliss, joy, beauty, goodness of Divine love. Here, the light of Christ warms and brightens the hearts of all. Here, there are no tears but joy, no suffering or regrets, no sorrow or sadness. Here, all is well and peaceful. Here, is where each man, woman, and child reach full stature in Christ.
The popes of the past two centuries sing the praise of Dante’s Divine Comedy - and Pope Francis gives it his highest blessings and praise.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if every family that prays together could know the joy, the peace, the wonder that is expressed in Dante’s Divine Comedy?
Here In the Eucharist we touch its beauty and wonder, for here our deepest longing and desire are met and satisfied in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
