“Abandon hope all who enter here.”  These words are found at hell’s gate in Dante’s Inferno.  But, at the end of the Commedia these words are written by the poet: “l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle, The Love which moves the sun and the other stars”–a reference to God.  At the heart of the universe is a self-aware Love that has created and redeemed us.

Dante was given the privilege of beholding the majesty of God.  He had travelled from the lowest regions of hell to the height of heaven.  He had been a pilgrim, escorted first by Virgil, the Latin poet, and then by Beatrice, the one Dante loved from afar.  The goal of his pilgrimage was to see God.  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  (Matthew 5: 8 ESV)

“I would be a pilgrim to the Holy City.  My family name, Peregrine, indicates that I am a palmer, a pilgrim to the Holy Land.  Yet, I have wandered restlessly through near and distant places with no goal or end.  My soul is weary.  I have been Adriel Vagus, wandering and inconstant.  I wish again to be Adriel Peregrine.” A Wanderer Who Becomes a Pilgrim,  Adriel Peregrine

Like Adriel, we wish to focus on the goal that is the kingdom of heaven.  Like Dante, we would follow Beatrice to the height of heaven where we experience the Beatific Vision of the Holy Trinity.  In our apologetics and witness, we invite others with gentleness and respect to join us.

 

Michael G. Tavella

October 23, 2024

Saint James of Jerusalem, Martyr