Love that Moves the Spheres

Where ever-present joy knows
naught of time.
- Paradiso, Dante

Paradiso is a long poetical allegory of paradise written by Dante, completed in 1320. I try to grasp ounces of Dante's words in his grand poem. The version I read is translated by Dorothy L. Sayers. In this, the last of the books (he has already been through hell and purgatory), we travel along with Dante as he and his beloved Beatrice travel from sphere to sphere through the different planets, moon, and sun (ie. the heavenly realm). As they move closer and closer to God, to paradise. As they move through the spheres, are they moving away from the centre? In Dante's limited mind, perhaps outward, and yet all that is written and all of what God does us to draw us into Him, actually closer to the centre. It is the paradox of time and space. Could moving through the different spheres cause us to pass through realms while at the same time drawing nearer to the centre?

Perhaps it is the love that moves the spheres that moves us as well, in ways and on planes we would not be able to imagine ourselves. The shape of the path we think we take takes us somewhere else.

How do we describe the love that moves the spheres? Is that why poems and imagery sometimes can reach us deeply as they help us cling onto a little snippet of the heavenly realm?

Follow the spheres and the mystery of love as it melds into each one. We are limited in our place and time to fully understand, but we can look at Jesus, who was both human and divine. In Jesus we can see the elements of humanity we can follow and connect with. By these human experiences, we can better understand His divine nature.

These mysteries of God continue to rise as Dante and Beatrice are encircled by lights of souls who pass ahead of them - those with great wisdom and the saints. 24 lights encircle them.

Their measure done of dance and melody,
The sacred fires again gave heed to us,
Turning from task to task with right good glee.
-Paradiso, Dante

It takes a harmonious dance amongst the participants of love to make the spheres go round. Captured in the rings is love and light, and each sphere is drawn to the centre by those things. Each task at hand is part of the circle and a piece of the divine. Each task is to be turned with a right good glee, which makes me smile. We don't always smile at tasks or take them on with glee. But each thing we do is part of the heavenly realm, building up from the time of Christ.

This mixture of the heavenly with the earthly in my imagination helps me see the glimpses of the heavenly realm in the here and now. Even on my table of spheres, I mean grapefruit and bowl.