SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT C

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TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL



There is a special attribute of the Virgin Mary, and it is her beauty. Tota pulchra es, Maria!  You are totally beautiful, O Mary!

If Mary is this beautiful because of the grace she received as the Mother of God’s Son, then how much more the Son she bore in her womb. The Son must be more beautiful, infinitely more so, because he is the Son of God who came in the flesh.

This is the surprising beauty of Jesus revealed in the mountain. At the Transfiguration, the disciples saw the real splendor, the true majesty, the genuine radiance of the Master whose ordinariness they have grown accustomed to. In Him, they found the real meaning of beauty. God is beautiful and the proof is the brilliance of his transfigured Son.

Lent shows us the beauty of Jesus to remind us that as God’s children we are all beautiful. Not in the same way as Jesus, of course. But in our own way, we are beautiful.

This is not easy to accept. Some of us are not aware of their beauty so they live their lives through their unpleasant ways, ugly habits, and deplorable characters.  Some ignore their beauty and instead pursue the beauty of the fascinating world.

Many are more concerned about their external beauty, which is so easily destroyed, that they forget the beauty of the heart and soul that comes from God. When we ignore that we are beautiful in God’s eyes, it is easy to move away from him through sin.

This Lent, Jesus is inviting us to looks at him resplendent and handsome, not so that we will just admire him or envy him.  He is telling us to return to the beauty of who we really are. Lent with its offering of prayer, penance, sacrifice, acts of love for others, helps us to regain and reconstruct the beauty within us. Let us be serious once again in pursuing the real beauty God offers.

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