Paradiso, Canto 32

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Summary

St Bernard guides Dante’s gaze amid the petals of the Rose, pointing out its main divisions and the principal souls enthroned therein. The different degrees of bliss enjoyed by children, who owe salvation solely to Christ, raises in Dante’s mind the still unsolved problem of elective grace. St Bernard relates it to the mystery of predestination, which has already been shown to be inscrutable to mortal mind. St Bernard bids Dante fix his gaze first upon the Virgin, and then names other saints, ending with Lucia. Finally, as they both turn their gaze above, St Bernard begins his prayer.

The Prepatory Lecture

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Questions for Reflection

• Note that Bernard is completely absorbed in his delighted contemplation, and yet he still manages to teach Dante. What does this say about the nature of contemplation?
• Why does Dante quote Psalm 51 here at the conclusion of Paradiso in line 12: “Miserere mei”? How does this take us back to the Pilgrim’s first words to Virgil in Inferno 1? How is the mercy Dante is asking for here differ from the mercy he needed in Inferno?
• Why would the celestial rose hold those babies who died before they could exercise free choice? What enables them to be saved (32.42-45)? How does this reflect back to Inferno 4’s unbaptized babies in Limbo? How does the contrast between the Empyrean and Limbo here indict the Church’s failure to fulfill its vocation?
• What role does Mary play in this canto? How is Dante to gain grace (32.147)?

Paradiso, Canto 32 © Jan Hearn

The Images

The Saints in the Empyrean: Before beholding the Divine Essence, Dante must first prepare himself by contemplating the saints in glory. Those whom St Bernard indicates, beginning with the Virgin Mary, are all, in one way or another, connected with the story of the Redemption. In the almost rigid precision and symmetry of the ranks of the blessed, the perfection of the divine order is conveyed. God’s plan for mankind, His heavenly kingdom, are as satisfying to the intellect as a geometrical design.

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