“Inasmuch as love grows in you, in so much beauty grows; for love is itself the beauty of the soul” (St. Augustine of Hippo).
The true beauty of a person comes from an intimate union with the heavenly Father. When we are filled with His love, our eyes shine and our hearts rejoice. How cold is outward beauty if it does not come from the love that warms the heart! How easily it even becomes a mask if the Father cannot dwell in the heart with His sanctifying grace!
On the other hand, how beautiful can a person be in whose heart the love of God burns, even if they are not endowed with physical beauty!
Everything, then, depends on love. It enlivens everything, and where love is, true life springs up and everything becomes bright and clear. It is not for nothing that St. Paul praises love in the most glorious terms: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful (…), it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful (…). Love never ends” (1 Cor 13:4.5b.8a).
Our task, then, is first of all to increase love in ourselves, so that we may become like God by adopting that which constitutes God’s being (“God is love”). Day by day we can grow in love by listening to His call and responding to it. His invitation is always there, and by following it, the soul blossoms.
In this way, each person can awaken to their true beauty and dignity, recognizing the loving courtship of our Heavenly Father toward us human beings, which is expressed in so many ways. When one allows oneself to be conquered and responds, everything is transformed and the time of love comes.