Social Implications of Beauty Hidden in Ugliness

What is it that makes us call beautiful those objects of our experience like images, paintings, faces, sculptured figures, buildings, flowers, music, etc.? Or,also those ideas, concepts, principles behavior, dance, drama, speech, etc? At first glance, what attract us, demand our attention, are the object’s proportion, harmony, unity and order organized in an integrated and artistic manner. A beautiful wholeness then appears. But not everything that attracts is beautiful. Bombings, massacres, bad smell, insults, etc. do attract and distract; they are ugly. They are deformed because they cause disproportion, disharmony, disunity and disorder.

As we linger longer something from within moves us, fascinates us. It’s no longer the outer, external appearance that draws us, compells us; it’s the inner form breaking forth outward, radiating an unspeakable warmth. We may get tired but this drawing force is endless, inexhaustible. This is true beauty, the mystery of form. This is why we ‘fall in love’, so to say; we are captivated and we submit in adoring wonder, awe and delight. We want to possess and are possessed.

This is common human experience not only with material objects but most of all with persons. We refer especially to persons whose beauty is ‘soul-deep’, not just ‘skin-deep’, the beauty of character, of behavior and demeanor. Multiplied into families, societies, church, institution and many such human groups, we are justified also to call them beautiful. Why?

The reasons are, because they individually radiate the compelling qualities of Proportion or Balance, Harmony, Unity and Order. These are called the essential elements off beauty. And when such Individuals create families, societies, church, etc, transformation happens Beauty in this sense can then transform society, economics, politics, culture, church and the world. This is the reason why the famous Russian novelist Feodor Dostoyevsky says through a character in his novel The Idiot, “It is only beauty that can save the world”.

But not every fascinating beauty transform the beholder, that is, make one fall in love. Mahatma Gandhi was impressed and fascinated by Christ’s life and wisdom but never was drawn to become like Him and to follow Him. True beauty produces true love when its sincerity and intensity shines out in pain and suffering. This is kind of love that produces commitment and self-sacrifice thereby effecting a total transFORMation, a change of form from within.

This is the beauty of the glorious love of Jesus hidden in His horrible and bloody pain and suffering on the Cross! Those affected by the beauty and splendor of this paradox – beauty hidden in ugliness – are our martyrs and saints, In response to Christ’s love on the Cross they totally committed themselves to Him experiencing His presence not only in the Sacraments but also in the distressing disguise of the poor and the oppressed, and sacrificing themselves even to the point of death in imitation of their Crucified Lord.