Tom, I have been watching and listening (and revisiting) the Canti and slowly working my way up from the Inferno and now to Purgatory. Whereas I followed your dissertations in English for the Inferno, for some reason, I decided to switch to the Italian for the Purgatory. In each Canto, I am always equally and consistently awe-struck by Dante's brilliance, but I have to say that this Canto, Number III, literally moved me to tears. It is, for me, so far on this journey through the Commedia, the most spiritually profound and personally resonant: Dante explains that it is only through our humility (not our intellectual, rational proficiency) that we discover our worthiness for salvation (Yes!). Our own rebirth, our own New Life, our own virgin birth - i.e. not our physical birth but our spiritual birth - occurs indeed not through our minds but through our hearts. One need only contemplate Christ on the Cross: For the uninitiated soul, the image of the crucified Christ is a repulsive horror. But for the weathered soul, like the soul that has journeyed through hell and come out to the other side to Purgatory, it is something completely different. At this developmental stage of the soul, one is able to experience compassion (to suffer with) for the crucified Christ and in doing so we are not repulsed. Instead Christ pulls us closer to Him our hearts are opened and united with His. We transcend our hedonistic animal nature and capture a glimpse of our divine nature. What the Bible could not do for this pilgrim, the Divine Comedy has indeed. I thank you.
@tomlabooks3263
10 ай бұрын
Thank you Margaret for this message that comes straight from your heart - you said it so well: it’s through a rebirth in Christ that we realize that we are “worthy” of salvation, that we are, in fact, very much loved. Sounds simple, but it’s absolutely not. In my own path, it’s not been easy to understand this, either. The Bible is so full of “thorns”, and even St. Augustine 1700 years ago was disheartened, the first time that he tried to read it whole. The Comedy should be made into a sacred text, in my modest opinion, because not only it contains the Bible, but it’s also a clearer guide for each of us (a lot is clear in the scriptures, but a lot is murky and difficult to digest without a lot of studying). God bless you and your family !
@2x_espresso
Жыл бұрын
Bellissimo! Just watching and learning, so many things to ponder 🙏🙏 Virgil's role as the Classical World trying to come to grips with the Spiritual Realm of Purgatory is so fascinating, and illuminante! Grazie per questo gioiello, e per approfondire il mondo di Dante come sempre!
@tomlabooks3263
Жыл бұрын
Grazie a te per la tua ispirazione e per il tuo amore per la lingua italiana! 🇮🇹
@pampo74
Жыл бұрын
Grazie Tom! Hai saputo trasmettere la bellezza e l'importanza teologica di questo canto alla prima visione di questo commento: ormai il significato del tuo progetto è chiaro e i tuoi video stanno crescendo insieme ai canti del tuo maestro Dante, che certamente starà gioendo di te!
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