A Reflection on Beauty: God's Chosen Gift to Women

By Jennifer Hartline
8/2/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Beauty invites us to participate in the Source of all Beauty, the living God

Beauty is a cherished gift from God to this broken world. It gives us a glimpse into the mind of the Creator and reveals His tenderness. In a unique way, beauty belongs to women. Is it a mistake to value beauty in a woman? I say no! In His affection for His daughters, God bestowed on women the gift of beauty and equipped us to perpetuate beauty.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - A thoughtful late-night conversation with my husband turned out this question: If you asked a woman if she would rather her husband think she is incredibly beautiful or incredibly smart, which would she choose?

My husband said he was a bit surprised at my response. I said that I really believe, in her heart of hearts, a woman would rather be incredibly beautiful to her man. A woman wants to be desired and prized by her husband as the most beautiful woman he knows.

For beauty, I said, is the domain of women. Beauty belongs to women. Men and women can both be smart, capable, industrious, talented, clever, etc., but only women are beautiful. We just don't go around calling men beautiful! I love and admire my husband and find him appealing, but I would never describe him as beautiful. Men are to be handsome, strong, noble, charming, warrior-protectors, but they're not beautiful.

That is God's chosen gift to women. I went on and said it's surely no coincidence that God chose women to be co-creators of life with Him because new life is so beautiful! It is further proof of God's tenderness and affection for us; evidence that we occupy an especially-honored place in His creative heart. He bestowed on His daughters the gift of beauty and equipped us to perpetuate beauty.

This is why it pains me so much to see so many women in our culture behaving so crudely. Women seem to be losing all gentility and grace, choosing instead to be crass, vulgar, immodest, and unkempt. A man behaving badly is boorish, perhaps even savage. A woman behaving badly is just plain ugly. They are profaning the glorious gift of beauty God gave them. A flower should never be covered in dung.

(Recall what Archbishop Sheen said about women: "To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.")

I already know that my husband thinks I'm smart. If I thought he didn't appreciate my intellect and abilities I never would have married him. But I can't lie - what my feminine heart really rejoices in are those moments when he gets that look in his eye, smiles at me and says, "How did I ever get such a beautiful wife?"

This doesn't mean a woman's beauty is merely physical - far from it! The most outwardly gorgeous woman in the world, if her heart is cruel and vain, and her manner is vile is not beautiful. The delicate and tender characteristics of femininity are what make a woman beautiful, as well as her heart. You could say character is the stem on which beauty blooms. Yet we shouldn't discount the value of a lovely appearance, either. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the rose or the lily.

This is what the male-female dance is all about: the contrast between a man's strength and a woman's beauty. This is what we're in terrible danger of losing forever as we try to annihilate gender differences under some delusion of "equality." God forbid we be perfectly, equitably the same! How boring, how uninspired, how ugly that would be.

The Psalmist reminds us that physical beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. I don't think this contradicts what I've said; it reminds us that time and hardship may steal the beauty of our youth, but the love of the Lord makes a woman's heart become ever more beautiful with time and that beauty will never be hidden and will never fade away. The beauty we should carefully cultivate is a beautiful soul, but we needn't despise the bloom in the process.

My beloved brought our conversation to a winning conclusion by telling me I was "B-squared." My puzzled look turned to a grin when he said, "Beautiful and brilliant." See - I told you men are supposed to be charming!

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Jennifer Hartline is a grateful Catholic, a proud Army wife and homeschooling mother of three children. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit her online at Wake Up, Deborah!

� 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: beauty, beautiful, smart, women, men, Jennifer Hartline

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1 - 10 of 37 Comments

Joni Johnson
1 year ago
Thank you for this article...it is so true...

Along that same line, this is an excellent resource:
http://www.christianbook.com/think-beautiful-question-every-woman-asks/angela-thomas/9780785273776/pd/73778?product_redirect=1&Ntt=73778&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP
Keith
1 year ago
Jennifer,
I read your article when it first appeared on Catholic Online and I've been thinking about it ever since. Recently, I finished reading through the books of Judith and Esther. In both cases God used these women to save Israel from their enemies and He did it most prominently because they were beautiful in appearance. As you allude to, it was their beauty that was uniquely theirs and the reason why they were effective in accomplishing what they did.

I think you are on to something here and I would encourage you to continue thinking on ways this topic can be further developed. Your Christian Sisters need more of this perspective and I don't think it would hurt the guys to think more of what true beauty means either.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
A Man

So did the male saints stare elsewhere. By the way thanks for doing that. It means your modest when it comes to practicing your modesty and respect for women when you look away.

One saint I believe at court was being tempted by the ladies.
A Man
1 year ago
Jen: Oh come now; let's be reasonable. I often find myself having to stare at the floor during Mass lest I look up some young woman's skirt. Commonly this piece of "clothing" is in some instance so short that it doesn't reliably cover undergarments when walking or standing, much less sitting. Thank you circular worship spaces. And, oh by the way I didn't come to Mass to see "you" - my fellow parishioner. I came to participate in Holy Mass. Bring back pews. Then, if the "ladies" would like to come in their undies I needn't be bothered - nor would anyone else.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
arabella

Have you seen the sight PPVI on the website?? (Pope Paul VI Institute)

Check it out.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
excuse my poor spelling above.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
DLL

Im well aware of this DLL but with all due respect cant hurt to give Catholic Modesty website.

I still see some men and women dress respectfully for church (This should be our hint to do so also after all these few are giving us good models to follow.) and your right it has been this mentality thats why I encourse us all to start revisiting our Catholic roots.

I respect the poor that go to church in some of the poorest countries in the world.

I read one where the children were given beautiful dresses and Im sure the boys were given beautiful clothes as well.

They wore their regular clothes which were probably poor looking and when they got to church they put those beautiful clothes on for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Having grown up coming throught the crazy days of the church I hope that I learn and model these children to dress well before our King.

These children I hope will find love, compassion and place before the King in His Kingdom. I can only hope that I will to.

Hope others see this to and pay close attention.

Im sure if that is all we have to wear Im sure our Lord wont mind as long as its our best.
DLL
1 year ago
Jean Catherine with all due respect some women dress for Church like they were going the a Walmart where they knew the air conditioning failed on a very humid 98 degree day,but the sale that they had that day was worth it. Modesty is not the order of the day. Dressing in good taste is not a part of the upbringing of many. In these times it is a generation where they were encouraged by a hippie generation to let it all hang out,Literally. When women dress well they generally are and feel pretty. Men feel better when they dress well also. This is a dungarees and t shirt generation in Church and out of it.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
Jen

God Bless you Jen but humbly speaking women of Catholicism can dress in a wise and comely manner before God.

We can dress modestly.

SEE: http://www.catholicmodesty.com/
Jen
1 year ago
Bah humbug! Cover all women in niqabs and burqas!! Their beauty must be hidden from men...
And if you are a nice, godly woman, you will heed the religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, who said that women should be discouraged from wearing eye makeup under their niqabs.
Give them reasons to hide their womanly beauty.

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