How the Presence of God Moves from Gold to Flesh in Mary
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The Soul’s Endless Delight in Beauty
There’s something profoundly mysterious about our ability to experience beauty. No matter how many times we encounter it, in a stunning sunset, a masterful painting, or a powerful piece of music, it never grows old. In fact, the more we see beauty, the more we crave it. Why is that? Why doesn’t beauty ever seem to “run out”?
I believe this points to something fundamental about the human soul: the soul can endlessly delight in fresh manifestations of beauty because, at its core, it is oriented toward something far greater than what we encounter in this world. Beauty is not just an aesthetic pleasure; it’s a window into something transcendent, something infinite.
Think about the times you’ve encountered true beauty. Maybe it was standing before a work of art that left you speechless, or listening to a song that moved you to tears. In those moments, there’s often a sense that this experience is pointing beyond itself, toward something greater,something you can’t quite name but instinctively recognize. This is because beauty, in its truest form, is a reflection of God, the ultimate source of all beauty. As St. Thomas Aquinas explains, “God is beauty itself” and every earthly instance of beauty is a reflection of that divine beauty (Summa Theologiae I, q. 39, a. 8).
St. Augustine captured this longing perfectly when he wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O Lord.” That restlessnessthe sense that even the most awe-inspiring beauty we encounter is not enough,is built into us. We are wired to seek the infinite, the perfect, the divine. Every beautiful thing we encounter in this world is, in a way, an echo of the beauty we were created for (Confessions I.1).
What’s even more fascinating is that the soul’s capacity to experience beauty is not finite. In other words, we never “max out” our ability to appreciate beauty. Instead, the more we experience it, the more our capacity to delight in it grows. We can see this in small ways even now: think of a favorite piece of music that you’ve listened to a hundred times. Instead of getting tired of it, you often notice something new, some hidden harmony or nuance that deepens your appreciation.
This idea reflects what theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas describe when they talk about heaven. In the Christian understanding, heaven isn’t just an endless loop of repetitive pleasure. It’s an eternal unveiling of God’s infinite beauty. Each moment offers a fresh revelation, a new facet of the divine glory. The joy of heaven, therefore, is not static or monotonous, but dynamic and ever-deepening (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 3, a. 8). As theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar beautifully expressed, God’s beauty is inexhaustible, continually drawing us into greater wonder (The Glory of the Lord).
Even now, in our everyday lives, we get glimpses of this. Every time we encounter beauty,in art, nature, or the kindness of another person,our souls are being drawn toward something greater. These moments stir up a longing for more, a longing that ultimately points us to God, the source of all beauty. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, “We do not want merely to see beauty…we want something else which can hardly be put into words,to be united with the beauty we see” (The Weight of Glory).
That’s the secret to why beauty never gets old. The human soul can endlessly delight in fresh manifestations of beauty because beauty is not just about the thing itself; it’s about what the thing reveals. And what it reveals is infinite.
The next time you find yourself moved by beauty, remember that it’s more than just a fleeting moment. It’s a signpost, pointing you toward something far greater,an endless delight that your soul was made to experience, forever.
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