Purgatory: Canto 27, The Wall of Fire

Pilgrims, we arrive at Virgil's last lucid expressions within which he confirms Dante as Lord of himself, completing the work he began on the shore when he baptized Dante with the dew and wrapped around his waist a green cord representative of the hope that Purgatory has -- something not found in hell and not needed in heaven. Dante's confirmation ceremony begins in fire as he is prompted by Virgil to walk through the wall of flame separating the seventh cornice from the terrestrial paradise where our first parents found themselves autochthonously generated by the anthropomorphized hand of God. To get Dante through this fire, Virgil has to exhort him greatly to shed his fear and accept the purifying flames as an instance of his being -- not on Geryon's back did Virgil place him in harm's way, he reminds Dante, so how less likely is he to do so now that they are within sight of God. The problem for us readers, though, is that we know Virgil's time with us is coming to an end -- Virgil, who has guided us almost two-thirds of the way through this Comedy, will explain that his role has come to an end following his understanding that Dante no longer needs him. He will remain with us for a little while longer, but he will be receding into the background until he disappears forever.



Pope explains that "all the good that individuals find,/ Or God and Nature meant to mere mankind,/ Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense,/ Lie in three words, health, peace, and competence." Dante discovers all of these when he steps through the flame, and Virgil proudly and humbly confirms Dante as master of himself. This poses a problem for us who have traveled for so long with Virgil at our side, for we've come to rely on his interpretive support on the most practical of levels. Every time we have a question, Virgil has been there to answer it even though he has told us on more than one occasion that his answers are only partial and that we have to await Beatrice's arrival for answers to others that still linger in our thoughts. Grace is what now governs our travels, not reason in exclusion of grace, and we might define grace more narrowly and variedly than we have in the past since it is of such importance to our continued journey through the terrestrial paradise and onward to God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has the following points on the idea:

Grace
actual, 2000, 2024
of Baptism, 1262-74, 1308
charisms as, 799, 951, 2003, 2024
death of Christ as a source of, 1407
definition and significance of, 1996-2000, 2003, 2005, 2017
dying in God's, 1023, 1030
of final perseverance, 2016
freedom and, 1742, 2022
as a gift from Christ, 388, 957
as a gift from God, 35, 54, 1999, 2008
graces of state, 2004
habitual, 2000
of Holy Orders, 1585-89
Mary "full of grace," 411, 490-91, 493, 722
merit and, 1708, 2008-09, 2011, 2025-27
New Law called the law of, 1972

original, 375-76, 399
prayer as a gift of, 2713, 2725
refusal and privation of, 412, 679, 1861
of the sacrament of Matrimony, 1615, 1641-42
sanctifying, 824, 1266, 1999, 2000, 2023-24
special, 1527, 2014
state of, 1310, 1319, 1415, 1861
virtue and, 1810-11, 2825
See also Life: new life as divine life


effects of
        building up of the Church, 798
        chastity, 2345
        contrition, 1453
        conversion, 1432, 1989
        faith, 153-55, 158, 424, 684, 1098, 1102
        filial adoption, 654, 1212, 2009
        forgiveness of sins, 277, 1263, 1708, 1987, 1989, 2023
        gift of the theological virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit, also the virtue of merit, 1266
        good and holy life, 409, 1889, 2082, 2541
        holiness, 824, 2023
        justification, 1987, 1989, 1992, 2018-20
        knowledge of the truth, 1960

        new dignity, 1701
        salvation and eternal life, 265, 836, 1697

        union with Christ, 737

receiving

        disposition for, 1446, 1848
        preparation for, 2001, 2022
        (see also Sacrament(s))


thanksgiving
        Eucharist as, 1328, 1358, 1360
        hallowing God's name - i.e., recognizing it as holy, 2807

        Holy Spirit who inspires, 1103
        Jesus' thanksgiving to the Father, 2603-04
        life as, 2062
        necessity of giving thanks to God, 224, 795, 983, 1167, 1333, 2781
        occasions for giving thanks, 2638

        prayer of, 1352, 1359-60, 2637-38

The upshot, if you read through all of these links, is that grace is the activity of God within the human person. Statius had that activity while Virgil did not, and it is for this reason that Virgil must let go of Dante so that Dante can continue where reason would have no place and must remain mute in the presence of grace. The desire for this presence is something the Dante of La Vita Nuova has felt stir within him time and time again in his thoughts on Beatrice, for he writes to the memory of the gracious lady who saw him weep for her that he "cannot keep [his] devastated eyes from looking ever and again at [her] because of the desire they have to weep; and [she] intensif[ies] their longing so that they consume themselves in helpless yearning, for, in [her] presence, they cannot weep tears." This grace that works within us, then, is a gift to all of us even though it is often inspired and kindled from outside, and we must use it as a way in which to engage in faith, which is an active response to divine revelation. That Dante can see the workings of God within him through the compassion of another person, a compassion towards the wretched like St. Louise de Marillac showed to the poor, is a part of his healing process.

S.