Beauty and Goodness

The Holy Spirit sometimes causes a word or phrase to rattle around in our heads or hearts, hoping to penetrate an inspiration deep into our souls.

Sometimes this word from God can linger for a long time while He patiently waits for us to absorb it. The word may have come from something we read, a priest's homily or even just a casual conversation with an acquaintance or friend.

Suzana Mixan, a faith-filled person whom I consider a friend here at St. Columbkille, uttered some words several years ago that continue to speak to me. When she talked about our Lord, these words of praise flowed from her: "He is so good." When she talked about our Blessed Mother, Suzana would follow with this: "She is so beautiful."

During the month of August, I am being reminded again and again just how good our Lord is and how beautiful our Blessed Mother is. August typically isn't considered a Marian month, but it has become one for me. Last Thursday we celebrated Mary's Assumption, when God took her body and soul into Heaven. Today we celebrate Mary's Queenship there, on earth, and in our own lives.

I have begun an online collection of images of Mary. (Go ahead, call me a Catholic geek.) As I look through them, I cannot help but be astounded by the beautiful images. Whether the work is a Russian or Greek icon, the classic Pieta of Michaelangelo, or even an ordinary person's shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary's beauty and love shine through. Though few of us have actually seen Mary, artists of every culture and time portray something in common in their work. The images speak of her extraordinary beauty and peace, whether in sorrow or joy, that comes from obedience to God's will and unity with the Holy Trinity.

God's beauty is meant for us, too. It's not the superficial thing our secular world seems to adore but a deep and lasting beauty that shines from within. It's the beauty that shines through in photographs of Blessed Mother Teresa's wrinkled, smiling eyes or the benevolent, fatherly gazes of our popes. That beauty also can be found in the uncanonized saints we meet in our day-to-day lives. We might not immediately see it in our fellow mortals. Sometimes God needs to adjust our vision, and slowly we begin to see.

I can see God's beauty in Suzana and many good, holy people at St. Columbkille. I see it in family members and co-workers. Just this week I saw it in the check-out lady at Wal-Mart, who told me about her mother, a mother of 12 whose husband died prematurely. As the Wal-Mart clerk spoke about her mother's faith and hard work (She picked 600 pounds of cotton a day to support her family.), I could see the beauty of both the mother and the clerk. The clerk brought tears to my eyes when she spoke about the prayers God answered when her mother was dying and her belief that God and her mother remain with her, even when she is seemingly alone at her overnight shift.

Our Heavenly Father created us to be beautiful, in His own image. Mary is the ultimate example of our predestination in beauty.

Yes, she is so beautiful! And indeed, He is so good!

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.