Yearning for Beauty and Truth
I love the sound of bronze bells chiming—absolutely love them. It's one of the things I love about Italy, all those towns with pealing church bells. As a student at the University of Dallas, it soothed my soul to hear the four 400-pound bells in the Braniff Bell Tower ring, especially as I walked down the brick mall lined with trees and flowers (more soul food).
I recently heard a talk by Bishop Robert Barron about humans yearning for perfect beauty and truth. In it, he examines the power of the beautiful—from baseball to Bob Dylan—to work on our mind, our heart, our soul. He waxes eloquent as he recalls the beauty of the 13th century North Rose window in Notre Dame Cathedral, which he visited daily as a student in Paris.
He says, "The beautiful leads to the good which leads to the true."
Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.
St. Augustine
Another Catholic priest, former Gonzaga president Robert Spitzer, expands on this beautiful idea of souls' yearnings in his teachings synthesized from Plato to contemporary philosophers, into what he calls The Five Transcendental Desires:
Spitzer says they provide evidence of the soul and, as human beings, we have the capacity for all of them—hallelujah! In this season of rebirth, consider your own experience of the things that speak to your soul, and invite them in.
Consultant | Mentor | Facilitator
1yBeautiful post, Kelly Woods, FMCHC. I read it and remembered how I felt in my last visit to the Batllo House in Barcelona. It is a beautiful building were you can FEEL the love that was put in every detail. The visit felt indeed Iike a soulful experience. It also made me think if it would be possible that my work to, one day, transmits that same feeling. It is definitely something to aim for.