St. Paul tells the Philippians in today’s second reading: “Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, think about these things!” If we were to use one word to capture what he was describing by these three positive qualities, it would be the word beautiful. Isn’t it true that when you meet a person who embodies all three, you feel like you have met a very beautiful person? And beside that you can be sure that they are reflecting that same quality of beauty that is in God. I remember how I went to visit a church one time which had a very large choir. They had a large audience because the hymns that they sang were lovely, gracious, and pure. They were well known throughout our country. One of the hymns they sang that stood out for me was named “God, You Are Beautiful; So, So Beautiful, To Me!” As the choir members sang to the Lord, they swayed arm-in-arm together. I was in tears, as were many of the people who attended this service. Later, I thought to myself: Why is it that we never talk about God as beautiful? There were saints in our Roman Catholic Tradition who did acknowledge God’s beauty. St. Augustine once wrote: “Beauty ever present…” when he prayed to God. St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast we celebrate today, prayed of the “Beauty of God’s footprints that He makes on the ground that we can step into” to follow His path. St. Theresa of Avila admitted “falling deeply in love with God, because He was so beautiful,” Why is it that we in the modern world describe God only with words such as Powerful, Almighty, King of Kings, our Judge, etc.? When I was growing up, I never heard of how beautiful God is. Could it be because in our culture we don’t focus on the beauty around us? People are divided against other people, which is not a beautiful sight to see. There is violence, racism, and war after war. Are we missing the beautiful face of God because we are blind to the beauty around us? Next time you are out walking, take a good long look at the trees, the waters, the mountains, the clouds, and most especially the people in your life. How could we not have seen the beautiful face of God in all these beauties of creation?                           

Fr. John