beauty

Jan 2, 2014

A brief email conversation with a friend a couple of days ago got me thinking about beauty.

It is commonly commented that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but certainly the human eye  (and mind and heart) can be formed to appreciate beauty. Beauty is an objective reality. The ancients knew this and since antiquity goodness, truth and beauty have been considered to be the three great transcendentals.

Many of our little churches of the Good Shepherd Hurunui parish have beautiful stained glass windows. They were placed in these beautiful churches by people who knew the importance of beauty in the life of weekly worshippers. A few years ago Pope Benedict was in the United States and took the opportunity when in St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York to reflect on the beauty and symbolism of stained glass:

“…stained glass windows, … flood the interior with mystic light. From the outside, those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor… It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s communion, are called to draw all people into this mystery of light.” Pope Benedict, April 2008, New York.

In this brief video clip, architectural theologian Denis McNamara reflects on the beauty of the stunningly beautiful San Chapelle in Paris.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

I AM

I AM

I try not to repeat these daily Lenten posts year to year but there are times when the same scriptures pop up annually and I realise that I can’t write it better than I did last year. Today is one such day, not only because of the thought I share but even more in the comments that are added by FFF readers. Today I have left some of last year’s comments helping us to appreciate the power of today’s readings.

my word your home

my word your home

The heart of the home in years past was the hearth.
It was at the hearth that the family gathered for the warmth and light of the flame and the food that was prepared there.
The fire was treated with respect since the same flame which provided energy for the home could just as easily destroy it.

stand up look up

stand up look up

The Israelites in their forty years in the desert were journeying from captivity to freedom, but the struggle of their desert years made them vulnerable to attack from every temptation as today’s first reading continues

confident in God

confident in God

I’m not sure if children today are told the great story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, but if not let’s make sure that the parable is taught at all schools of higher learning.

the teenagers

the teenagers

A few years ago I discovered the wonderful way that God uses my imagination in my prayer.
Such openness to imagination when seeking God does not take us away from reality into fantasy but instead brings me into what is most real and inescapably personal and intimate.