# Purgatorio: Gluttony and Lust (Cantos 23-27) with Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ascend-the-great-books-podcast-6733379/purgatorio-gluttony-and-lust-cantos-23-27-with-fr-patrick-briscoe-op
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ascend-the-great-books-podcast-6733379/purgatorio-gluttony-and-lust-cantos-23-27-with-fr-patrick-briscoe-op.md
Podcast: [Ascend - The Great Books Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ascend-the-great-books-podcast-6733379)
Published: 2026-03-17T11:30:00+00:00
Episode link: http://mcidfrxn.podcastwebsites.com/episodes/purgatorio-gluttony-and-lust-cantos-23-27-with-fr-patrick-briscoe-op
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/9042652c-c886-41f2-89ad-f28e25658723.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5759

## Resource

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Fr. Patrick Biscoe, OP, discuss gluttony and lust in Dante's Purgatorio, Cantos 23-27. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information. Check out our LIBRARY OF WRITTEN GUIDES for the great books. Check out the Dominicans, the Order of Preachers . Check out Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP, at Godsplaining Podcast . In this episode of Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick is joined by Dominican friar Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP, currently serving in Rome as the Order’s General Promoter for Social Communication. The conversation opens with Fr. Patrick explaining Dominican life, the charism of preaching rooted in study and contemplation, the historical significance of Santa Sabina, and the Order’s ongoing vitality—especially through institutions like the Angelicum. The bulk of the episode then offers a close, theologically rich reading of the Purgatorio. The hosts explore how Dante structures these sins as forms of excessive or misdirected love, placing them high on the mountain because they are less grave than pride, envy, or wrath, yet still require deep purification. Key themes include the contrapasso of emaciated souls on the gluttony terrace, the “OMO DEI” face motif symbolizing refashioning in God’s image, the role of intercessory prayer (especially Nella’s for Forese Donati), the two instructive trees, medieval embryology and hylomorphism (how airy shades appear gaunt), and the wall of flame on the lust terrace. They highlight Dante’s nuanced treatment of lust—treating both heterosexual excess (Pasiphaë/bestiality) and sodomy as incontinence—while emphasizing the praise of chaste marriage and the enduring good of ordered eros. The episode closes powerfully with Virgil’s farewell in C…

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