The Sense and the Reason of Being of Dante Alighieri’s Paradise
Moisés Romanazzi TÔRRES
Original title: O Sentido e a Razão de Ser do Paraíso de Dante Alighieri
Published in Paradise, Purgatory and Hell: the Religiosity in the Middle Ages
Keywords: Christian Reform, Dante Alighieri, Paradise, Process of the Mystic Union., Theological Blessedness and Human Deification.
Dante, along Commedia, establishes the great process of his Mystical Union. Once freed from sin, our poet can re-enter into possession of his free will and win the Earthly Paradise (the philosophical blessedness). His “long walk” through Hell and Purgatory thus marks the first phase of his union with God and gives the first of two sanctities, the sanctity of nature (the philosophical blessedness). Paradiso of Dante develops exactly the other two stages. In its ascent through the various heavens, Dante gradually breaks away from all connection with the earth, until, enlightened by truth, can gain access to Celestial Paradise (the theological blessedness). This was the second step, which gave him a new sanctity, the sanctity of grace. But it was only a wonder that Dante double blessed can complete the process of Mystical Union. Just then he felt his free will finally merge with the divine will, and has to obey only love that this is the soul of the world and that moves the sun and other stars. Only then Dante can to realize the highest human and Christian perfection, the deification of man. Then he became worthy and capable of performing his providential mission: to cooperate on earth the triumph of truth and Christian order, and finally , join the action of the godsend that one day will complete the reform of the Church and the world.