In reading George Weigel’s concluding
volume on John Paul II’s life, The End
and the Beginning, I was struck yet again by the beauty of Polish
culture. It strikes me whenever I read
tales of Catholic Poles secretly and even dangerously protecting their identity
through various cultural expressions.
They would share poetry, act out Polish plays, enjoy a clandestine concert. And through their culture – poetry, music,
plays, art – they were able to preserve a sense of their dignity and of their
identity as Poles. In the face of
horribly demeaning, dehumanizing behaviors surrounding them, they looked at the
beauty of art and true culture and were raised to something higher.
But what do we have? I wonder if we were underground Catholics
attempting to reinvigorate our sense of dignity and our American identity, what
would we share? Would we reminisce over
Shel Silverstein poetry, risk our heads over some Lady Gaga tunes, and
illegally perform SNL skits? What
“culture” have we cultivated in the last fifty or so years, and would it be
worth risking our lives over? Is it even
culture?
In his, “Letter to Artists,” John Paul II
wrote about the importance of true art, even going so far as to say that “the
Church needs art” (#12). Artists have a
calling to represent the beautiful, and beauty has a key role in our
lives. The late Holy Father wrote,
“Beauty is a key to the mystery and a
call to transcendence. It is an
invitation to savor life and to dream of the future. That is why the beauty of created things can
never fully satisfy. It stirs that
hidden nostalgia for God which a lover of beauty like Saint Augustine could
express in incomparable terms: ‘Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so
new: late have I loved you!’” (#16).
Do we surround ourselves with
beauty? Our dear Polish brothers and
sisters of yesteryear were willing to risk
their lives for beauty. We have all
legal freedom to visit the art museum, listen to Mozart or watch a
Shakespearian play, but how often do we enjoy these things? Are we more likely to flip on reality TV, bob
our heads to rap on the radio or spend our time reading chain e-mails? When do we have the opportunity to walk into
breathtaking churches that truly raise our gaze heavenward? How often do we encounter true beauty?
I think true beauty is so foreign to us
that many times we can’t appreciate it.
True beauty requires the patience of taking time to appreciate it. For me, John Paul II’s poetic language is
deeply beautiful, causing me to highlight, underline and asterisk much of his
masterful imagery. Yet time and time
again I hear people complain that John Paul’s writing style is too much for
them. I hear variations of, “I mean,
come on, John Paul, just get to the point!”
But maybe the beauty and the poetry and the necessity of patience to
receive it is part of the point. And we
are missing it.
On that note, let me quote the Holy
Father in his aforementioned “Letter to Artists” when he challenged, “Artists
of the world, may your many different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of
beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy” (#16).
While these words are directed to
artists, those of us on the receiving end of art and beauty can certainly pray
to be led “to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe,
exhilaration, unspeakable joy.” And in
our pursuit of true beauty and authentic culture, may we be led to a deeper
encounter with the Author of beauty.
Let’s make this a time of seeking true
beauty, for as Dostoyevsky once wrote, “Beauty will save the world.”
"True beauty requires the patience of taking time to appreciate it. " You are right. Maybe it's not that there is less beauty in the American culture. Maybe it is that the American culture drives us to walk right on by....
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