Do Something Beautiful For God

Details: 07 January 2011

I love music. I grew up in a family that was taught an appreciation for music—both vocal and instrumental. As a member of a schola (Canticum Caelorum) I have been exposed to a treasure of indescribably beautiful sacred music from composers like Mozart, Palestrina, Byrd, Victoria, and Morales.

One need not have any particular training in music to recognize and appreciate the objective beauty of this sacred music. What’s more, sacred music can help us to experience and appreciate the supernatural.

One of Mozart’s concertos (Violin Concerto #3 in G major) has particularly captured my attention of late. As I listen to the exquisite beauty of the violin in this piece, it inevitably prompts me to think of (and thank) God. And I find myself trying to imagine that it is me playing that violin.

As I snap back to reality I lament that producing music with such mastery is not likely among my gifts. Nonetheless, it occurred to me that while most of us may not be able to produce music like Mozart, every person (regardless of his/her gifts or limitations) is capable of doing something beautiful in the eyes of our Creator.

For example, every time we demonstrate the simplest act of love or forgiveness to another person I believe that in God’s eyes the beauty of our action far surpasses the beauty of Mozart’s most sublime concerto. Likewise, as our Lord explains in the parable of the Prodigal Son, there is nothing more beautiful to God than a repentant sinner.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta also demonstrated so beautifully in her loving care of the poorest of the poor that every one of us can "do something beautiful for God."

"The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved - they are Jesus in disguise..." she said. "Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well...

"The poor give us much more than we give them. They’re such strong people, living day to day with no food, and they never curse, never complain. Really we don’t have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them... Only in heaven will we see how much we owe the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."

"Love does not measure;" Blessed Teresa said, "it just gives. In the world, love cannot remain by itself but must be put into action through service. Whatever we are like, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do but how much love we put into the doing... (so)… Put your love in living action.

"The hunger for love is much more difficult than the hunger for bread. In loving others you are loving God Himself... We cannot do great things. We can only do little things with great love... Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family."

Blessed Teresa said that "[e]very person is Christ for me, and since there is only One, that person is the one person in the world at that time... I see God in every human being. When I wash lepers’ wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?"

Even something as simple as a kind word can be most beautiful in God’s eyes. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak," Blessed Teresa said, "but their echoes are truly endless. Let no one ever come away without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, and kindness in your smile."

There it is. Blessed Teresa is telling us that every person can be "Mozart" in the eyes of God with the simplest acts of kindness and love. So let’s get to it and do something beautiful for God.