Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straight-forward pathway had been lost.

Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say

What was this forest savage, rough, and stern,

Which in the very thought renews the fear. (Inferno, Dante Alighieri, trans. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

The beginning of the Divine Comedy gives us a sense of dread.  In a few lines Dante paints a vivid picture of a dark forest of lurking danger. In his middle age he has lost the pathway.  The ominous forest is the symbol for Dante’s lostness. The beginning of this great work of literature portends great difficulty for the poet.  One could fully expect the story to end badly.

Dante’s lostness in the forest reflects not only a concrete reality, that is, his bewilderment among the trees, but also the fact that he seems to be unregenerate and spiritually lost.

We too can lose our way and must find our way.  And, we encounter people who also have found themselves forsaken due to their own sin.  We find that we are fellow travelers with the poet.

When someone is lost, we have an opportunity to help them get back on the path.  We can patiently witness to Christ in the midst of their peregrinations in the wilderness of the world.

Michael G. Tavella

October 8, 2024