The Strength of Beauty (#46)

I love finding wisdom that helps illuminate the positive ways in which we can counter-act the problems in our culture today. Here's what Cardinal Ratzinger had to say about the power that beauty has in drawing us away from what is opposed to God:

Thomas says that through the praise of God man ascends to God. Praise itself is a movement, a path; it is more than understanding, knowing and doing - it is an "ascent", a way of reaching him who dwells amid the praises of the angels. Thomas mentioned another factor: this ascent draws man away from what is opposed to God. Anyone who has ever experienced the transforming power of great liturgy, great art, great music, will know this. Thomas adds that the sound of musical praise leads us and others to a sense of reverence. It awakens the inner man... (Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy)