As Dante and Virgil move on from their encounter with Manfred, they find that the mountain proper is difficult to climb. It is of course particularly so for Dante, who is still has with him his physical body. He must strain onward, "climbing with hands and knees" (IV.50), and at one point is almost overwhelmed by the sheer size of the mountain which he must ascend. He wonders aloud to Virgil, "how much more climbing we must do; this peak soars higher than my eyes can see" (IV.86-87). This then is the work of repentance at the outset. It is arduous, it involves an effort of the whole self ("hands and knees"). The goal of repentance is so lofty that one cannot see it from where one starts. The summit is beyond the reach of Dante's vision. We often do not realize or know what it is we shall find when we begin the journey of repentance. We can only trust that it is worth the climb.
Virgil gives Dante some encouragement about the nature of the ascent:
This Mount is not like others, at the start
it is most difficult to climb, but then
the more one climbs the easier it becomes,and when the slope feels gentle to the point
that climbing up would be as effortless
as floating down a river in a boat -well then, you have arrived at the road's end,
and there you can expect, at last, to rest...
IV.88-95
There we have part of the mystery of grace and repentace: "the more one climbs the easier it becomes". It is always the initial effort, the initial turning, which is most difficult. As they continue, they come across one of Dante's friends - Belacqua - who is described as quite lazy. The laziness which caused him to put off so much in life is what brought him to this section of Purgatory; it is reserved for those whose laziness caused them to put off repentance until the last moment. Now they must wait here for as long as they put off repentance on earth, although we are reminded again that prayer can shorten the penitent's time in Purgatory. Belacqua points out to Dante that it is not merely the saying of prayers which is accepted by God, but it is "prayers from a heart that lives in grace" (IV.135) which are heard in Heaven.
As we move into Canto V, we meet souls chanting the Miserere (I'll have to look up a link to my favorite version). It is a Psalm of repentance. It is worth noting not only that the souls here seem to pray through music, but also (noted by Mark Musa in his edition) the first two friends of Dante in the Purgatorio were in real life a musician and a maker of musical instruments. (Take note.) We will return to that later. For now Dante and Virgil meet a second group of "late repenters" - those who died suddenly and violently, but managed to repent just before death. While Dante hears the murmurs of this group behind him, Virgil reminds him that time is precious, and not to stop to listen to their voices: "What do you care, if they are whispering?" (V.12). I am reminded of a saying of (I think) Augustine, that God will always give us forgiveness when we repent, but we should not presume on being granted time to repent. Or something to that effect. I'm sure an erudite reader will give me the reference before I have to look it up. The point is made clear by Virgil:
the man who lets his thoughts be turned aside
by one thing or another will lose sight
of his true goal, his mind sapped of its strength
V.16-18
One must not be distracted from the goal of grace; everything else must take second place. As they continue on in Canto VI, Dante is again asked by the souls in purgatory for prayers. This of course raises for him a question: can prayer really change things?
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