Climbing the Mountain
A Study Day for Lent based on Dante’s Purgatorio
with The Revd Dr Claire Honess (Vicar of Whitkirk)
formerly Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Leeds
Cost: £40 including lunch and refreshments
Dante’s Comedy is not only one of the great works of Western literature but also an inspiring work of Christian devotion, a love song to a God whose love is ultimately shown to be stronger than the power of sin, death, and Hell. It is, therefore, ironic and unfortunate that Dante’s has come to be linked (not exclusively, but perhaps particularly, in the English-speaking world) precisely with the infernal first part of his poem, and with a focus on sin and judgement. This study day will reveal a different Dante, a Dante concerned with how human beings turn to God and with how they learn to live better lives.
The study day will take the second part of Dante’s poem, the Purgatorio, as its inspiration and guide. Like the whole of Dante’s text, the Purgatorio describes a vision of the afterlife, but its lessons (much more than is the case in either Inferno or Paradiso) are lessons focused on the here-and-now. The stated aim of the Purgatorio is to reveal to the reader how the human spirit is made worthy to enter heaven: it is, above all, an educational and inspirational work, as it reveals lives transformed by God’s unfailing mercy and unending love. It is a text which acknowledges the reality of sin and the need for repentance, but whose focus is on hope, joy, community, learning, prayer and worship. As such it offers many insights regarding spiritual growth to contemporary Christians, and is particularly relevant to the season of Lent.
This study day will not assume any previous knowledge of Dante or of his culture, nor will it assume that participants have read the Purgatorio. Dante describes his journey through Purgatory in terms of the ascent of a mountain, a travelogue of sorts. The day will take participants on a similar journey: one that will ultimately point them towards the hope and joy of Easter.
After a short introduction, each section of the day will introduce participants to some of the souls whom Dante meets while climbing his mountain and will consider what they have to teach us as we try, in our own way, to seek to know God better and to live a more godly life. At regular intervals there will be space for reflection and/or response via discussion, creativity, or silence.
Timetable for the day
9.30: Arrival & Registration – coffee available
10.00: Introduction: Dante and the ‘birth’ of Purgatory
A brief introduction to the idea of Purgatory and the way in which Dante’s Purgatorio builds on and plays with this theological concept, which was still quite new at the time when he was writing his great poem. The parallels between Dante’s (extremely original) conception of Purgatory and ‘real life’, life on earth, will be brought out.
10.30: ‘On the shore’: Belaqua and Manfred
Before we set out to climb Dante’s mountain, we consider our reasons for making this journey. What are the consequences of procrastination? What if we feel unable or unworthy to undertake the climb?
11.00: ‘The root of all evil’: Oderisi da Gubbio
Pride is seen by Dante as the besetting human sin, the root of all sin. How does pride prevent us from using the gifts that God has given us? How might we use our God-given creativity as a way to God?
11.30: Break and time for response
12.00: Midday Office & Eucharist with the Community (optional)
1.00: Lunch
2.00: ‘The City of God’: Sapia
Where do we belong? Who are our travelling companions? This section of the journey reminds us that we do not undertake our journey to God alone, but in company. What is the role of the earthly city (that is, human community) in helping us to seek the heavenly one? How do we live and learn and grow together?
2.30: ‘Joyful suffering’: Forese Donati
What if turning our lives around is painful? What if the climb is hard? What does conversion or a reformed life really look like? How do we find hope and joy in following God even when the way is hard?
3.00: Tea break and time for response
3.30: ‘Say it like it is…’: Arnaut Daniel
What is the relationship between our sins and the ways in which we choose to speak about them? How do we embellish and ‘prettify’ our sins in order to make light of them? How can we speak convincingly of our relationship with God to others, especially those who are not keen to listen?
4.00: ‘Free at last’: Statius and Virgil
What is it that turns us to God and ultimately releases us from sin? Does it matter if that turning-point is not explicitly Christian? What models might be useful to us up to a certain point in life but might only take us so far? How do we know when we have superseded them?
4.30: Break and time for response
5.00: Conclusion: the Earthly Paradise
The session will conclude with a brief account of Dante’s surprising – even shocking – reunion with his beloved Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise.