God’s love is revealed in beauty. Because of that, beauty is a large part of our spiritual journey. In episode 11 of Things Above, James Bryan Smith invites you to rethink how you understand beauty. Drawing from the wisdom of people like Thomas Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, John O’Donohue and Simone Weil, we discover that beauty has the power to transport us to love. O’Donohue writes, “In order to become attentive to beauty, we need to rediscover the art of reverence. Reverence bestows dignity and it is only in the light of dignity that beauty will become visible. Reverence is also the companion of humility. A sense of reverence opens pathways to beauty that surprise us. The earth is full of thresholds where beauty awaits the wonder of our gaze.”

James Bryan Smith closes this episode with a glorious thought that came to him while sitting in the beauty of nature: God sings his love to you in birdsong. God smiles at you in maple trees. God charms you with the color green. He gave you eyes to see sunsets, ears to hear rainfall, a nose to smell a rose. God’s massive love appears in small fragments. God is loving you in these moments, even if you do not know it. This week, you are invited to notice beauty. Let God speak love to you. Write what you see in a “Beauty Journal” or take a picture of something that pleases your sense of sight.

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