In this second volume of The English Cantos, James Sale leads us up the stairs of Purgatory, where intercessory prayer effects changes, allowing Christ to make us well, to drink from His well of life, to save us from ourselves. Virgil joins Dante and James our Poet as larger questions of history and philosophy and civilization form physical barriers to be scaled, tempting our Poet to remain and not venture higher.
And so we climb the stairs to wellness, keeping our eye on the higher goal and not looking down or back. And as we climb, our Poet visits great tragedy in his past, yet sees his mother in the work of redemption. But temptation is real, just as redemption is possible, and he nearly falls from grace, restrained from the brink by his companions and the love of God.
The stairs reveal levels of Purgatory, with friends and coworkers, modern heresies rife in education and business. Each step is a challenge in which the pilgrims must overcome great obstacles, mazes, confusions, and dangers.
Part satire, part suspense, part soul-searching, these cantos pull us higher, facing Covid and religious hypocrites wo are offered redemption. Herakles the trickster holds up the sky, tempting James to stay and help.
And others never make it to the top of the stairs – to Heaven’s doorway – but are tempted and soothed by their proud choices, including famous poets, both classical and modern.
In the end, a harrowing chasm opens that must be crossed by answering rightly, each verse leading to the Way.
In StairWell, like HellWard, Sale interweaves personal judgement/redemption with social and historical judgement/redemption, at times sharply satirizing, at times with witty wisdom. We see and experience the human condition, full of contradictions, full of pride and envy, and yet full of love. We climb the stairs, learning who we are, creatures created by a fiery God of grace, giving us hope for Heaven’s doorway.
This second volume does not disappoint but grows in truth and beauty that will seed the reader’s heart, and like HellWard, will be read and reread many times.
Thank you, James Sale, and bravo!
Christine Sunderland
Christine Sunderland 