Populate your soul with Beauty!

Saint Augustine expresses in his famous “Confessions” - "Too late I loved Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved Thee!”  He goes on to describe how God burst his deafness, scattered his blindness and through God’s touch he was made to burn for God’s peace.  St. Clare in her first letter to Agnes of Prague expresses the effect of the touch of the Lord – “when you have touched Him, you shall become pure”.  Clearly for both of these saints the Beauty of God is more than just enjoying something that is pleasing to the senses . Encountering true beauty changes you, it connects you with God himself, as He IS all that is good.

St. Francis speaks of goodness being diffusive of itself and I invite you after reading this blog today to consider some kind of beauty that touches you – and share it here on the blog, in conversation with another person or just in your heart, between you and the Lord!  Perhaps it’s a scripture quote, a piece of music, a scene in nature, an occurrence you’ve experienced or seen in the interaction between people, etc.   When we open ourselves to it, we discover that we are surrounded in beauty, a beauty that is ancient and ever new, let’s share it!

 I’m leaving you with this YouTube video of a song that always touches my heart, all verses, especially when it speaks of Christ’s bleeding heart, forgiving eyes and his ultimate sacrifice.

If we can’t “GET” beauty, then for sure we can’t “GET” God (I heard that in a class this week).  Let us populate our minds, hearts and thus the world with beauty, with love, with God himself!  

 

When You have loved [Him], You shall be chaste; when You have touched [Him], You shall become pure; when You have accepted [Him], You shall be a virgin.

Whose power is stronger,

Whose generosity is more abundant,

Whose appearance more beautiful,

Whose love more tender,

Whose courtesy more gracious.

In Whose embrace You are already caught up;

Who has adorned Your breast with precious stones

And has placed priceless pearls in Your ears

and has surrounded You with sparkling gems

as though blossoms of springtime

and placed on Your head a golden crown

as a sign [to all] of Your holiness
                                                - St. Clare (1^st Letter to Agnes)

REAL Beauty's on the inside...true or false?

Do you truly believe that? I thought I did. I thought I taught it to my students...but judging by what I've been thinking lately every time I pass a mirror...I think that a part of me does not believe that.

Okay, so you're probably wondering "Chelsea, what on earth are you talking about?!” Well, one of the changes during this time of Postulancy is to completely dial down the use of 'make-up'. Now, no one actually came out and told me this was a rule, but you look around and see that really, it is not needed and if you don't want to stick out amongst all the sisters...you shouldn't wear it ;) And I don't know about you, but when I'm new somewhere, I tend to want to blend in and not draw TOO much attention to myself...;)

But seriously, if I find myself not happy with what I see in the mirror, and I don't mean just 'not happy', but genuinely disappointed or sad about it - what is that telling me? It's telling me that somewhere inside I hold a belief and have accepted messages that whatever I've been doing all these years in terms of getting ready to "go out" and "be presentable" in order to "be professional" or be taken seriously etc, has not only happened unconsciously but has affected my self image. It's interesting to think about what those messages are and where do they come from. And I know I'm not alone in this. It's an adjustment, it's being able to see the natural beauty God gave me without any human (especially MEDIA and peer) interference.

I’ve been thinking about all of this for a few weeks (as my friends will attest to!) but yesterday it all became clearer for me – you’ll notice in the collage a mixture of which includes pictures of me “performing”.  I had the opportunity to lead some music in a Year of Faith Gospel Reflection/Prayer service yesterday and it was the first time for me as a Postulant.  My usual ‘ritual’ before any kind of performance had to change as my appearance did not need as much attention.  It sure was something, being up there, as me  - no make up, etc and did it affect my usual performance?  No, of course not, because it is the Holy Spirit who works with me in those situations and helps bring out what is needed…any beauty that is experienced has absolutely nothing to do with how I look.   I am so thankful for that experience and I’m sure as the weeks go by, I’ll feel less and less disappointed about my ‘new look’ and more at peace with the true self within.   I’m still the same Chelsea, no matter how I look, as represented in the collage.

I've been reading about contemplation in several places and it seems to me that the idea is to place one's self before God ‘as you are’ and to allow masks, identities etc to fall away and to be naked… like when you came into this world (and as we will leave it). When we are in this state before the Lord, we are much more receptive to HIM, much more able to adore and praise Him, to contemplate Him and reflect Him.   This ties in with our Year of Faith – being more receptive to what we believe and encountering God’s love…and of course, SHARING it, and allowing that love to overflow to others.

I’d like to end this entry with a challenge – perhaps you could think about what makes you feel beautiful (yes guys, you too!), it’s something worth pondering. 

May you discover God’s deep and abounding love for you – as you are, no more and no less J

 

Beauty Happens To Us...

Have you read the essay called "The Furrows" by G.K. Chesterton? It's quite long but the idea I took from it is that beauty comes from being bent by the forces of life. It’s our job to try to grow straight and not be surprised when the force of life tries to bend us, pressure us and change us...beauty is found in this. Perhaps the Lord allows what seems like trials in our lives because He knows it, in His love, will bend us and shape us into the children of God He has created us to be. Interesting thought, that we can't strive for beauty, it happens to us by allowing Gods will to shape us. 

This brings me to Mary, our Heavenly Mother.  She had amazing faith!  From the moment of the Annunciation through Jesus’ passion and Resurrection there was never an easy road, or a road that was laid out and communicated beforehand.  She went through many trials and tribulations – facing the sneers at being an unwed mother, fleeing from Egypt with her little family, letting go of her son as He grew and began his ministry, walking with him to his death.  What kept her going?  I am convinced there must have been something deep within her, a truth or conviction that enabled her to love, to persevere, to keep travelling into the unknown, ESPECIALLY when it involved pain and suffering. 

Fr. David recently remarked that St. Francis of Assisi was the saint that loved God the most, that truly loved Jesus with all his being.  St. Francis is a good model for us and we are to remember that as much as human being can love God – God loves us and is IN LOVE with us in an indiscernible, incredibly deep way.   Perhaps it was this love that resided so perfectly in Mary, it was this knowing on a deep level that helped her persevere and know with all her heart that although the future at times looked bleak, the Lord God would never forsake her and most certainly would never forsake his only Son. 

The Lord will never forsake us, he will never forsake me.  These are words of conviction that rose within me hours after receiving the news that my US visa would not be processed for months past my expected entrance date.   Knowing this though did not preclude me from anxiety, disappointment etc…but I knew deep down it would all work out in His way, in His time.  I am happy to report that my visa has been approved and in a matter of a few weeks, I will be able to begin a more stable and normal looking Postulancy!! ;)   It will be nice to ‘get on’ with this much anticipated part of my journey but at the same time, this challenge has been good for me and those around me…causing us to bend and draw beauty from the curves.

As the trees with their beautiful leaves lose their glorious colorful coats – they are left bare for us to observe their curves, bumps and bows.  It’s a good reminder to me that we come across experiences that change us in this gifted path of life that mold us, forces us to gently change and hopefully bit by bit – help us to glorify our Creator in fulfillment, the way He meant us to.

God Bless You and May He Shine His face upon you, making you KNOW His love for you!