Taking the time to appreciate beauty

The youngest Howell turned 4 on Valentine's Day. This girl loves everything pretty – clothing, pictures, poems, birdies; even arranging peanut butter and jelly sandwich triangles outward in a butterfly shape elicits squeals of joy. Almost every day she will spread out doilies or scarves (I had to hide my silk ones) and arrange her plastic tea set, just so. If her sister or brothers are not available for the soiree, she'll plop some stuffed animals down and sing to them or recite poetry. She's especially good at nursery rhymes like Little Boy Blue or Jack and Jill, but she often mixes up the words with prayers, completely ruining the cadence. For example:

Wee Willy Winkie runs through the town

Upstairs and downstairs to give us our daily bread.

Rapping at the windows full of grace,

Are the babies in the ark for now is the day of salvation.

The teddy bears love it as much as I do, smothering my giggles!

It is a small thing to take the time to notice something beautiful, whether that means looking a little longer at a fiery sunset, purchasing a Renaissance art book to flip through in the evenings instead of watching the television, turning up the volume to bask in a stirring song, or spending some dollars on a local class or production.

“A work of art is a product of the creative capacity of the human being who in questioning visible reality, seeks to discover its deep meaning and to communicate it through the language of forms, color, and sound. Art is able to manifest and make visible the human need to surpass the visible; it expresses the thirst and the quest for the infinite.” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, August 21, 2011)

Being human is a precious existence. Being created in the image of the great I Am is a glorious gift. It is humans who wonder, who question, who invent, and who love. We are more than our quantitative molecules. We create and appreciate artistic expression in all its forms as we “thirst for the infinite” and make visible the “need to surpass the visible.” We, called good by God, experience the earth through our senses, so as we see, smell, hear, touch, and taste beauty, our souls are moved toward the source of beauty, Our Lord. Those who create art are just stewards of their talents and those who savor art are just stewards of their spirits.

During the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, when the known world descended into disorder and people were more occupied with survival than art, the churches were the patrons and protectors of art. The only Scriptures were priceless, hand-copied, and secured in the front of churches. This was not to keep it away from people; it was so that all people could see and touch it, much like telephone books used to be chained up in booths. The Book was for all. Since only educated clergy and wealthy could read, services were filled with Bible readings for people to hear, digest, and learn from, as our Masses remain today. They also used music, mosaics, icons, stained glass, and sculptures to convey Christian stories and teachings to the illiterate masses yearning for bits of beautiful truth. Good art is for all. According to Professor Tim Gray of the Augustine Institute, “This is why the Church collects, keeps, protects, and becomes a patroness of the arts, because art is the school of contemplation and by contemplating we are transformed into the Love we adore.” Beauty, a transcendent quality of God, must be seen and heard, especially the Holy Words of Scripture.

Even though we do not have much extra money for trips to museums or star-gazing gear or classes, we do have books and this old computer. We can YouTube zither music from China or wool weaving from Appalachia. We can look up star charts, wrap up in blankets, and stand out in the middle of our yard to find the Big Dipper and Orion constellations. And the northern lights! We can copy the masters' famous paintings and marvel at their skill. Since we are Christians, we thank God for his order and beauty. So I turn up my Mozart Pandora station, eat butterfly-shaped sandwiches, sip lemonade from a plastic teacup on a flowered tablecloth, say a prayer, and read Robert Louis Stevenson to my children.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and contemplate his temple (Psalm 27:4).”

It's all connected. May we take the time to learn and love beauty; may we take the time to learn and love God.

Allison Howell and her family are longtime residents of the Valley. They are Catholic converts and keep a hobby farm full of animals and children.