Beauty Captivates

Traveling through Italy, I visited numerous churches that were exquisite in their beauty, from large Papal Basilicas to small local parishes, and were constructed in a variety of times over the course of history, each with their era’s distinctive marks. These churches, from the more simple ancient churches simply decorated with early frescoes, to the lavish baroque basilicas gilded with gold and porphyry all display a commitment to making the most beautiful house for our Lord that they could at that moment.

These churches are magnificent places that showcase the ingenuity of artists, who give back to God the gift He has given them through their craft, from architects to engineers, painters, sculptors, and mosaicists. Then, once the church is built and decorated, there are the tailors who have made intricately designed vestments for the Mass, and the composers and musicians who enliven the liturgies with exceptional pieces of music to accompany the prayers of the Mass. Here in these churches, the greatest artists known to man, through a myriad of disciplines, have created beautiful masterpieces primarily to glorify God and create a worthy home for Him to dwell in and be offered sacrifice. Still, through this, we get to see and be surrounded by all this exquisite art to inspire our minds.

Over 30 million people travel to Rome each year to see these masterpieces of art and the history encompassed by the city. This sacred beauty draws people to it, it captivates them, and hopefully draws them closer to appreciating the grandeur of God and His Heavenly Kingdom. Beauty evangelizes and lifts the eyes of our soul toward God, and this is often cited in the principles of the Transcendentals, a philosophical concept written about by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and others, referring to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. These three things are inherently intertwined and find their fullness in each other. The beatific vision (seeing God face-to-face in heaven) is often described as the ultimate experience of all the transcendentals at once. The Transcendentals explain why we seek truth, desire the good, and are moved by beauty — because these are grounded in the very structure of being.

The artists who work to craft these magnificent churches, often over generations, did so with the Transcendentals in mind; they were convicted by the Truth, they aspired to human flourishing through the Good, and wanted to share that with others through Beauty. These are not monuments of wealth to the world, but declarations that in and through these churches, we encounter Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Himself, who descends from Heaven and takes on flesh at the altar. It is proclaimed to the world through all who pass by and are drawn in from the far reaches of the globe, and beckoning to those away from Holy Mother Church to come home.