Spiritual Direction from Dante: Avoiding the Inferno

Spiritual Direction from Dante #1

by Paul A. Pearson

Hell and how to avoid it are perennial topics of interest for believing Christians and others. With good reason. Entire libraries have been written on the subject. Most people, even those familiar with his classic, do not realize that Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy, chock-full as it is of history and politics, is a masterpiece of spiritual writing. The most famous of his three volumes is the Inferno, an account of Dante's journey through the underworld, where he sees the horror of sin firsthand.  Join Dante and—guided by Oratorian Father Paul Pearson—with him . . .  
A reading experience like no other, Spiritual Direction from Dante , will educate and entertain you, but most importantly, will help you avoid the inferno!
 

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Theology

372 pages, Hardcover

Published February 4, 2019

About the author

Father Paul Pearson converted to Catholicism during his university days, entered the Toronto Oratory in 1985, was ordained to the priesthood in 1989, and began serving as Dean of Saint Philip’s, the seminary run by the Oratorians, in 1990. That same year, in response to requests from seminarians, he began to offer seminars on Dante's Inferno. His series of books has been written so that a wider audience may benefit from “spiritual direction from Dante.”

Reviews

[Connie]

This is an excellent book to read along with Dante’s Inferno. I will no longer read the Inferno without it.

[J.]

This book is a wonderful mix between commentary but also stand alone book offering plenty of insights to Dante's Inferno. I will probably refer to this book in the future. I put this under my psychology section too, because, Dante does a wonderful job showing the effects of sin and how it impacts the soul of the person. The commandments of God are clearly shown and explained in this book not merely to be external impositions but in fact necessary to our nature being able to function well. The punishments shown and expanded upon this book are shown in their fruition, but foretaste of them are experienced even in this life. I hope the author will write a similar commentary of both Dante's Purgatorio and Paradiso.

[Elena]

Never read Dante's 'Divine Comedy' nor did I ever think of it as anything but one of those boring and difficult to understand books. However, Father Paul Pearson managed not only to give sound spiritual advice based on Dante's Inferno but I wouldn't mind reading the Divine Comedy in its entirety (with some Cliff notes on the side :) First I was introduced to a short background of Dante and his writings, then the context of the story and then using the different Cantos (not all of them) Father Paul explained the meaning of what Dante saw and what the results of those sins mean in our daly lives. I finished the book with lots of post-its on it. It was a really good read for a believer like me and even if you are not I'm sure you will still enjoy it.

[Beth Easter]

Being retired is for finally finishing the book you started reading for Lent 🫣.

A nice spiritual reflection on the contrapasso imposed on each soul in Inferno. Would not rank very high though on my list of Dante resources. I think 100 Days of Dante or Esolen’s footnotes cover the same ideas Pearson covers here while also addressing the poetic, literary, historical interpretations of the text. Pearson is not intending to do that - so not a criticism of the book really - but once you’ve had Ralph Wood and Scott Moore on 100 Days of Dante it’s hard to go back.

I can feel that it’s almost time to resume my Year of Russian Reading. The air is chilling, and the day is shortening. Enough dilly dallying with nonfiction. Back to it.

[Dave Gonzalez]

I cannot recommend those book highly enough. The author is an excellent virtuous, virtual "Spiritual Director," while providing an insightful guide to Dante's work.

While I shouldn't "shoot for Purgatory," I can't wait to read Fr. Person's next volume.

[Don Goforth]

I enjoyed reading this because it is well written and does a good job of providing a explanation of the Inferno. It gives a good understanding of Dante's writing. I loved the format too.

[Bennett Schurr]

Good book

[Tara Boothby]

excellent commentary

[Paul Gelinas]

This is an excellent book that clarifies not only the meaning of Dante's Inferno but its importance in present day life.