Do You Know How Beautiful You Are?
A reflection on the beauty of a soul in a state of grace
Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?
Perhaps you have a beloved one who has told you that many times. Or maybe you are like me who is single, longing to hear it again from a special someone.
Regardless of our state, we like to hear someone say it over and over again.
But what if instead of another person, we hear it from God Himself? Wouldn’t our hearts burst with joy when we hear Jesus tell us how beautiful we are?
Many times, however, this idea hasn’t even crossed our minds. We think that before we can be beautiful, we must be perfect. And only those in heaven can ever be that beautiful to God.
Thus, we walk in shame all our lives, not knowing who we are or how God sees us. We believe the lies of the accuser when he says we’re nothing like the Father and all we can ever do is to give up in despair.
Whenever you hear that lie, don’t listen. Flee at once to God and let Him lead you to the truth.
And the truth is that a soul in state of grace is beautiful!
It is so beautiful that it dazzles with brightness.
St. Catherine of Siena once said, “If I did not know there was only one God, I should think this was a 'god’”.
“How beautiful is that holiness which consists in the mere possession of sanctifying grace! So great is its beauty, that it not only attracts the love of the saints and angels in Heaven, but of God Himself.” - Ven. Joseph Frassinetti
But how can a soul be in a “state of grace”?
Do we need to be as holy as the holiest saints? Do we need to be martyrs who suffered the lost of life and limbs in order to worship God?
Although that would be the shining example, it doesn’t necessarily have to be so. For any soul that is not in a state of mortal sin is said to be in a state of grace.
“What, then, shall we say about the beauty of a soul that keeps itself pure from the stain of even venial sin...but studies in all things how most to please God, to the best of its power, to the best of its knowledge, desiring nothing but what God wills? Ah, the beauty of such a soul quite surpasses all human understanding! God regards it with a complacency so great, that in the sacred Canticles He thus allows the expression of His love, as it were, to burst forth: ‘Thou art all fair, O My love, and there is not a spot in thee...How beautiful art thou, My love.'” - Ven. Joseph Frassinetti
How then should you live O Christian, you who are baptized and living in a state of grace?
Should you live with your head bowed down as though full of shame? Should you walk as though your mere presence is loathsome to Jesus Christ?
How do you think Jesus looks like when He looks at you? Is it not with that most beautiful look of love?
“In a state of grace, the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree.” - St. Teresa of Avila
“Other Fathers of the Church extol Grace in other striking ways. St. Ambrose calls it: 'A splendid painting made by God Himself, St. Chrysostom compares the soul in a state of grace to 'A statue of gold, St. Cyril calls it: 'A divine sea. St. Basil: 'A shining light. St. Thomas says that Grace beautifies the soul like a divine light.”- Rev. Henry Gibbs, S.J.
See how God looks with joy at a soul in state of grace. See how beautiful you are!
And do you still doubt? Even if you feel it would be presumptuous to claim that you are in state of grace, believe in the God who loves you.
O Christian lost in misery, look not upon the shadows but upon the truth of God’s mercy and love. Will He deprive us of anything that is good?
Remember what St. Joan of Arc answered when asked whether she thinks she is in a state of grace:
“If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.”
“Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come.” - Song of Songs 2:10 (DRA)
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