The Beauty of Mary Will Save the World
ONE
What is the purpose of Beauty?
Think of the power and allure of beauty.
What are the most beautiful things to you? A beautiful woman, a little baby, your grandchildren, the 360 degree view on the summit of a mountain, the ocean…
Beauty can inspire great good or lead to self-destruction. It can cause a man to get his life together, be responsible, raise a family and grow in virtue and godliness. Or beauty can lead a man to destroy his life, and that of his wife and kids and business and everything else.
If we understand the purpose of beauty, then we can use its power for good.
The beauty of things in this world was created by God for three reasons: that God might delight in it; that it might give Him glory; and that it might captivate, allure and draw us to God, the source of all that is true, and good and beautiful.
Beauty is supposed to ignite within us a strong desire for what is true and good, it should make us long for higher things which motivates us to pursue higher things which leads us to God.
Beauty was meant to serve as the stepping stones that lead us to union with God.
TWO
What goes wrong with beauty?
Beauty is meant to be an image that opens our soul to God.
But beauty can be hijacked and used to open our soul to the devil.
When men look at pornographic images (or any image of a woman that arouses lust) they are opening their souls through their sense of sight to be transformed by the devil.
Women are supposed to use their God given beauty to prompt men to be more virtuous, heroically generous in marriage and family life, more responsible and mature so that these virtues will lead the man to God.
Women can be tempted to use their beauty to manipulate men so they can get what they want – to be wanted and cherished and to have children.
When women use their beauty to manipulate men or when they watch images of disordered love in shows like the Bachelor, the Bachelorette, Love Island, FBoy Island, Temptation Island (how many island romance shows are there anyway…) – shows that indulge emotional intemperance, they too open their souls to the devil to be transformed by Him.
In what ways have I given in to disordered forms of beauty that are self-destructive?
THREE
In Mary, beauty finds its real purpose and power.
Mary is the most beautiful thing God ever created.
Pope St. Paul VI said: “Indeed, Mary is “all beautiful” (tota pulchra es!) She is “the spotless mirror.” She is also the supreme model of perfection which artists of every age have tried to capture in their work. She is the “woman clothed with the sun,” in whom the purest rays of human beauty converge with those rays of heavenly beauty which are of a higher order but which we can nevertheless perceive.”
Mary is the most beautiful thing in the universe because of her relationship with the Holy Spirit. Paul VI goes on to say; “Mary is “full of grace,” because she is filled with the Holy Spirit whose supernatural light shines in her with incomparable splendor.”
“Mary is radiant with the light of the Holy Spirit and in her beauty gathers up into herself and expresses all the true values of the human spirit.”
If beauty means accessing and celebrating the beauty of God as expressed in the world, then Mary is the most perfect expression of beauty through her human person.
In her person, Mary is the most perfect and profound expression of the beauty of God in creation – and that is why she so powerfully draws us to God…
FOUR
Beauty exercises its transformative power over us by causing us to delight in it.
To the Philippians St. Paul writes; “Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is beautiful, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Mary is the perfection of all these.
First and foremost, we need to think of Mary and more importantly to look at Mary, and she will lead us to God by means of her beauty.
Sinfully, we open our sense of sight to the devil to be transformed by him.
We can be healed from disordered beauty by opening our sense of sight to Mary, the image of true beauty and she will lead us to God who will transform us.
Get an image of Mary that you find captivating. Put it somewhere in your home where you can just sit and be mesmerized by her beauty for a long time.
Let that image of Mary burn into your memory so that when temptation strikes you and you are blinded, you can immediately recall this image of Mary. Keep your gaze fixed on her until the temptation passes and you will open your soul to God rather than the devil.
FIVE
Overcoming Lust.
Men, when you look at pornography or any image that causes temptation you begin to open your soul through our sense of sight to the power of the devil.
Flip it with Mary.
Open your soul through your sense of sight to an image of Mary to be transformed by Jesus through her beauty.
A woman’s struggle is different from that of men.
A woman’s temptation can be to use her beauty to direct attention to herself, to get what she wants, to be wanted and cherished by men or a man.
Flip it with Mary.
Mary shows us that beauty is not to be directed to oneself but directed to some good thing beyond us. One of the most common icons of Mary is the Hodegetria – Mary holding Jesus with one hand and pointing to him with the other. Mary uses her beauty to lead us to Jesus.
A woman should use her beauty to direct a man to the good of marriage and family, to becoming virtuous and ultimately to direct him to union with God.
Whatever your struggle is – allow yourself to be captivated and transformed by the power of the most beautiful thing in the universe – Mary.