beauty - by fr. greg

"... as I looked at her, / affection found no room for another wish. / While the eternal pleasure, which was full / on Beatrice shine... from his beautiful face my soul rejoiced / fought, defeating me with a ray / his sweet smile .... "

Dante - Heaven Chant 18

Our God is beautiful. Ultimately, He is Beauty: the source, sum, and perfection of all that is beautiful. In a practical sense, though, He is beautiful to us: our senses, our hearts, and our feelings. The Hebrew word used for “beauty” in Psalm 90:17 is “no’am,” which means (among other things) someone or something that delights the viewer.

It is not beauty in emptiness but beauty seen, contemplated, contemplated and desired (Ps. 27:4). It's not a static thing but a dynamic thing, because it pushes us to do something: something to please Him, something to make Him proud. Thus, our delight in God’s “delight” is what establishes the work of our hands.

Parallels with romantic love are impossible to ignore. I am not referring to mere lust or affection infatuation (i.e. a “crush”), but a true and deep, emotional and upsetting reaction caused by someone who can only be described as “beloved”, the one who is loved.

It's not a matter of appearance; it's about deliciousness, which is something more global. God is Spirit and has no outward form, and yet He creates beauty in those who contemplate Him. The mystery of this paradox runs deep, but the point here is that beauty is far greater than outward appearance; it is about finding a deep, lasting joy in someone because of who they are. Anyone who has been and still is in love know what I'm talking about: it's like the other one fills the room. Not necessarily because of their personality or physique, but because it’s them. They are beautiful; you can't reduce them to one thing, for reducing them is losing them and making an idol of their many facets.

This is what makes beauty, real deliciousness, so important. Beauty has moral strength, for good or for bad. At its best, this will create genuine love, which will push you into acts of genuine kindness.