Dante's Divine Comedy
I invite you to experience the odyssey, by accompanying me as I discuss each canto. My book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide For The Spiritual Journey, is published by Angelico Press for the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death on 13th September 2021. For more information see - www.markvernon.com
Episodes
144 episodes
Paradiso 1
Dante explains how his intellect and desire, drawn by Beatrice, blessed by gods, enable him to rise into reality.
Paradiso 2
Dante warns that the journey into paradise is risky. Then, they arrive in the sphere of the Moon.
Paradiso 3
Dante is immersed in the state of mind that confuses reflection and reality as a soul appears, Piccarda.
Paradiso 4
Dante is dazzled, overwhelmed by the seeming paradoxes of paradise. Beatrice shows how they are transcended.
Paradiso 5
Beatrice shows Dante and us something of the freedom to align our lives with divine life, prompting a dramatic change.
Paradiso 6
Dante presents a big history and, in this mercurial sphere, we are invited to peer beneath events.
Paradiso 7
Dante is dissatisfied with the traditional account of the crucifixion. Beatrice leads him to a beautiful new vision.
Paradiso 8
Dante, in the reality of Venus, encounters a kingly soul and kindred spirit to explore love, diversity and unity.
Paradiso 9
Dante meets souls who in life were erotic lovers, to discover more about what carries us heavenward.
Paradiso 10
They arrive in the heaven of the sun, the light most manifest to mortals, heralding divine light within.
Paradiso 11
Thomas Aquinas offers the life of Francis of Assisi to illuminate seeing the light of the Sun in this life.
Paradiso 12
Dante contemplates a double circle of light in the sun, as Dominic adds wisdom to the ascent of love.
Paradiso 13
Imagining the motion of the stars is practice for perceiving the divine splendours Dante enjoys in the sun.
Paradiso 14
Contemplating the divinisation of humanity and creation, Dante finds himself in the sphere of Mars.
Paradiso 15
In Mars, Dante meets his forebear Cacciaguida, who offers a vision of times more aligned with the divine.
Paradiso 16
The tragedy of Florence is rehearsed though, in heaven, a deeper love and life transcends even the worst.
Paradiso 17
Dante learns that he will face exile and, in the heaven of Mars, absorbs the virtues to say yes to it.
Paradiso 18
A deeper symmetry in life appears to Dante as, guided by Beatrice, he moves to the heaven of Jupiter.
Paradiso 19
The heaven of Jupiter shows the divine plenitude. Accepting human finitude readies Dante for more.
Paradiso 20
Souls Dante never expected to see are encountered in Jupiter, and Dante learns of new heavenly dynamics.
Paradiso 21
Dante is in the heaven of Saturn, though its glory must be shown gradually, lest he be blasted by the light.
Paradiso 22
Beatrice helps Dante tolerate the tremendous vision in Saturn, as Benedict descends the ladder.
Paradiso 23
In a series of shattering visions, Beatrice helps Dante steady himself and become capable of the light.