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Gabriela Taylor

CAT 402B

12 November 2018

Word Count: 900

Beauty in Catechesis

Humans are visual creatures. God created us and gave us five senses: sight,

hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Most of our actions, decisions, and feelings revolve

around these senses. However, much of our Catholic faith is unseen. Thus, it requires

exactly that – faith. It requires believing in that which we cannot always sense.

Because of this, we use signs and symbols that appeal to our senses. These signs and

symbols are where the beauty of the Catholic faith and our attempts to reach that meet.

Dr. Denis McNamara defines beauty as “the clear revelation of the ontological

reality of a thing.” He goes on to say, “beauty is that about the Truth which we find

attractive; that which makes us delight in knowing it.” Therefore, beauty is something

that is revealed to us. It is related to a person’s emotional response, but is not strictly a

person’s emotional response. Things are beautiful in themselves, yet the beauty is

revealed only when received. St. Thomas Aquinas recognizes there is an objective

reality to beauty, and explains beauty as having three constituent elements: integrity,

consonance, and clarity. Integrity is the completeness of an object. Consonance is

related to proportion, which is the suitability of matter for receiving a form. Finally,

clarity is the communicability of the essence of an object. If an object has two out of

three elements, than it is pleasant; it is only beautiful when it has all three elements.
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We can apply these elements when looking at a Catholic Church. If a Catholic

Church is complete, which a crucifix, tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament, altar, etc.,

then it has integrity. A Catholic Church is definitely the most suitable matter for the

Blessed Sacrament, Mass, and the Sacraments. Finally, a beautifully designed Catholic

Church should clearly communicate its essence, which is the house of God here on

Earth. Of course, it is difficult for our churches to fully express the essence of the faith

in a building with our human materials, but as I stated early, the signs and symbols we

have here on earth is where beauty and our attempts to express that beauty meet. It

will never fully measure up to the beauty that is God and our full faith, but we, as

human, will try in our worship to God.

Thomas Dubay, in his book The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and

Theology Meet, discusses how beauty can be defined and experienced in our world.

According to Dubay, the goal is allow creation truly to captivate us. This is a gift and

privilege of being human: we have the ability to understand and experience the

beautiful. Dubay says, “This is one reason sin kills genuine delight, and why people

devoid of a lively wonder are bored with reality, even astonishing reality.” Much of

society today does not attempt to seek wonder, and settles. Some of our attempts (or

lack thereof) here on earth are incapable of fully satisfying our desires. We must allow

ourselves to be captivated by wonder and drawn to the infinite.

It is up to the catechist to give space to reflect on beauty. Beauty is not

something we immediately comprehend, but something we must have time to

contemplate. A great example in which a catechist can give this space for beauty is by

having a sacred space. This is simply a space that allows the students to take a
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moment and think about God. A sacred space can include a crucifix, a Bible, a piece of

sacred art, a statue of a saint, colored fabric, flowers, candles, or any object that reflects

the beauty of the faith. This space can be set aside or taught from, but it is a tangible

way for students to see the faith represented with our different signs and symbols.

Another great way to implement beauty in catechesis is through music. Music is

popular with today’s generation, and often it is not for a good reason. A lot of music

today is not beautiful. However, as catechists it is important that we find good music

that is beautiful and that reflects the Truth of the faith. This is a great way to lead those

we are catechizing closer to Christ. My favorite way to implement beauty is through

statues, especially through statues of saints. Statues are such a clear and tangible way

to see these men and women who pursued holiness daily. These tangible objects make

holiness seem attainable to our finite selves. It is ultimately all about giving time and

space for reflecting this Truth revealed to us. This is something that the Church does as

well, which is why we have seasons of preparation: Advent and Lent. The Church

recognizes the beauty in the Nativity and the Paschal Mystery, and thus we must

prepare for such events.

In conclusion, beauty if necessary for catechesis. To experience a beautiful thing

is to experience the Good. Beauty is such an important and essential aspect of our faith

that to not use or refer to it would not be giving the full faith to our students. According

to St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, “the witness of creation is sufficient enough to

know God.” (Romans 1:19) Using our senses and the Truth presented to us, we can

lead others to Christ through beauty.