Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Grace of Beauty: Its Mystery, Power and Delight in Daily Life
    The Grace of Beauty: Its Mystery, Power and Delight in Daily Life
    The Grace of Beauty: Its Mystery, Power and Delight in Daily Life
    Ebook133 pages2 hours

    The Grace of Beauty: Its Mystery, Power and Delight in Daily Life

    By Melannie Svoboda

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    In a world beset by the ugliness of war, greed, and injustice, we all need to seek, find, and let our hearts rest in the experience of beauty. Not the beauty found in fashion magazines, but the true beauty, "ever ancient, ever new," sought by St. Augustine and countless philosophers, artists, musicians, poets, and holy people throughout the cent

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTwenty-Third Publications/Bayard
    Release dateMay 12, 2021
    ISBN9781627856287
    The Grace of Beauty: Its Mystery, Power and Delight in Daily Life

    Read more from Melannie Svoboda

    Related to The Grace of Beauty

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Perfect Imperfection

      Apr 22, 2018

      Perfect Imperfection
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Practice to Welcome Gratitude

      Dec 28, 2021

      Sit or lie down on the floor in a relaxed, comfortable posture. Your eyes can be open or closed. Now bring to mind a pleasurable experience you had recently, one that carries a positive emotion such as happiness, joy, comfort, contentment, or gratitu

      2 min read

    • Article

      Sunday, December 19

      Oct 15, 2021

      Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philip

      1 min read

    • Article

      Feed Your Faith, Not Your Fear

      Apr 13, 2020

      As a former gym junkie, I am reminded of the ‘101’ of building a great physique – the first rule is to burn more calories than you consume. The second rule is to ensure that the fuel (food) that you feed your body is healthy, so that you can see grow

      1 min read

    • Article

      A Note From The Editor

      Jun 16, 2022

      IN A LOT OF WAYS, the summer is a powerful reminder of the freedom and rest we can find in Jesus. Our children and grandchildren, who are on break from school, enliven our homes with laughter and joy. Packing for that long-awaited family vacation mak

      1 min read

    • Article

      Good GRACE

      Jan 6, 2022

      Grace is usually peddled as the stuff of cover-ups; the added ingredient that takes all your failures and mistakes and the times when you’ve fallen short, and makes up the difference, hiding them away as if they were never there. Grace makes your par

      2 min read

    • Article

      Allowing Haiku

      Oct 18, 2022

      Life has so much to offer, if we’d only listen. The evening was young and my body tired from being in motion all day. There was an intrinsic quietness in the air, with gray skies above and an unceasing but very tender rainfall. I sat at my desk, look

      2 min read

    • Article

      When Clutter Sparks Joy

      May 1, 2019

      When Clutter Sparks Joy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Note

      Nov 25, 2022

      Everyday miracles are out there. We just have to be open to recognizing them. One of those everyday miracles that I encounter most often in my own life is the miracle of divine timing. I’m a planner. I like to lay out my schedule weeks in advance. It

      1 min read

    • Article

      Rediscovering Gratitude

      Nov 18, 2021

      Rediscovering Gratitude
      3 min read

    • Article

      Power up WITH PLANTS

      Dec 22, 2023

      Power up WITH PLANTS
      3 min read

    • Article

      Viewpoint

      Nov 23, 2021

      It did me a power of good to read ‘Time to let go?’ (December edition). You see, I felt happy most of the time… but then I would let my mind wander and think of all the things that troubled me: people I have wronged and those that have wronged me. I

      2 min read

    • Article

      Angelica

      Jul 6, 2022

      Angelica
      3 min read

    • Article

      Looking Ahead

      May 4, 2022

      From ancient philosophy to New Age thinking, it is drummed into us that if we’re to have any shot at happiness we must live in the moment. Ruminating on past events or fretting about what is yet to unfold is a recipe for emotional disaster. In either

      6 min read

    • Article

      More And More Middle

      Dec 28, 2021

      More And More Middle
      2 min read

    • Article

      How to Live Intentionally

      Jan 5, 2022

      How to Live Intentionally
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ways To Help A Friend In Need

      Mar 23, 2022

      Ways To Help A Friend In Need
      3 min read

    • Article

      Monday, April 25

      Feb 16, 2022

      MY MOM, GLORIA, WAS A great woman who valued peace in her home and in her relationships. She was known for putting up her hand if a discussion got too heated and saying, “Peace!” Then she’d simply walk away, without holding a grudge. As a result of h

      1 min read

    • Article

      Mental Health

      Mar 24, 2022

      In my past columns, I’ve talked about three routes to happiness. You can strive for a happy life, a meaningful life, or a rich life (one that’s filled with variety and experiences that change your perspective). These pathways are mostly based on what

      2 min read

    • Article

      The cycle OF LIFE

      Sep 24, 2020

      The cycle OF LIFE
      2 min read

    • Article

      One Friend At A Time

      May 30, 2024

      Greetings, friends! I start this way because of the featured Up Side quote (page 6) from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who warns that the nation’s health is threatened by an epidemic of loneliness. His recent report outlines the dire consequence

      1 min read

    • Article

      Unleash Your Expression

      Oct 10, 2018

      Words JESSICA LEE Humans are inherently creative beings with a desire to create, innovate and inspire. Yet many people don’t engage with their creative side because fear gets in the way. The truth is it takes courage to create. At the heart of any cr

      7 min read

    • Article

      Ask Dr Louise

      Dec 23, 2020

      Q I’m in a very bad place in my life at the moment. I used to be good at my job and earned a good salary and my husband is a creative and innovative designer who made a lot of money, so we could put our children through university. Two years ago I ha

      3 min read

    • Article

      Read Yourself Happy

      Apr 21, 2022

      A 2009 study by the University of Sussex found that reading reduced stress levels by 68 per cent, working better and faster than other methods such as listening to music or taking a walk. Researchers confirmed that it really doesn’t matter which book

      1 min read

    • Article

      Painting Project

      Feb 16, 2024

      Painting Project
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Power Of Rituals

      Jan 12, 2022

      A month or so into Sydney’s second lockdown, cabin fever truly taken hold, I decided to make a change. If I was going to survive the next months with my mental health intact, I needed to make groundhog day more enjoyable. As a busy working mum, I’m g

      3 min read

    • Article

      Nature’s Injectables

      Jun 21, 2023

      Nature’s Injectables
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Grace of Beauty

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Grace of Beauty - Melannie Svoboda

      The Grace of Beauty

      Its Mystery, Power, and Delight in Daily Life

      Melannie Svoboda, SND

      Reading Sister Melannie’s book is like stepping into the Shaker hymn ’Tis the Gift to Be Simple. Her down-to-earth approach gently confirms things we already know while opening our eyes to things we may not know—like the beauty present in ordinary things, such as a swamp or a fire hydrant, and even in brokenness and grief. The book suggests that we, too, have the ability to see the world with the eyes of a poet and to pray with the vision of a prophet. So, prime the pump with a chapter or two from The Grace of Beauty and then put on your Noticing Glasses and experience our world from a fresh new perspective. — Michael Harter, SJ, editor of Hearts on Fire—Praying with Jesuits

      Reading this delightful book is like being led by Sister Melannie into an art gallery where each chapter is a painting of a special manifestation of beauty. She paints each one with an interplay of the colors of her stirring descriptions and examples, quotations from sources throughout the ages, practical applications, and moving questions for our consideration. As each chapter closed with prayer and recommended music, I was filled with joy in the Creator of beauty. — Patricia Livingston, wife, mother, grandmother; writer, speaker, retreat director

      As I read The Grace of Beauty for the first time (it won’t be the last), I felt like I was on retreat. Melannie’s reflections called me back to the beauty of all life (which I can often take for granted). They urged me to reconnect with myself, others, creation, ordinary things, grief, and God. They challenged me to be a person of compassionate service.

      The integration of Scripture; stories; theology; art; music; quotes from saints, philosophers, poets, prophets, and life’s ordinary people; prayer; and reflection/conversation questions touches our heads, our hearts, and our hands. The Grace of Beauty will enrich your spirit and all your experiences—over and over again. — Janet Schaeffler, OP, retreat and workshop presenter; author of Let This Be the Time: Spiritual Essentials for Life’s Second Act; Deepening Faith: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish; The Spirituality of the Catechist: Feeding Your Soul, Growing in Faith, Sharing with Others

      A gem of a book woven from thoughts, ideas, and concepts of major thinkers, artists, and writers on spirituality. I suggest you read it with pen and pad in hand, for you will surely want to record some of these as you read. — Mary Ann Flannery, Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, retreat director and writer

      Dedication

      To the newly formed U.S. Province

      of the Sisters of Notre Dame

      Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: What Is Beauty?

      Chapter 2: How Beauty Affects Us

      Chapter 3: The Healing Power of Beauty

      Chapter 4: Beauty’s Relationship to God

      Chapter 5: The Holy Here and Now

      Chapter 6: Useless Beauty

      Chapter 7: The Beauty and Power of Metaphor

      Chapter 8: Names of God

      Chapter 9: Can Beauty Help Us to Be Good?

      Chapter 10: Reverencing the Ordinary

      Chapter 11: The Beauty of Movement

      Chapter 12: The Beauty of Familiar Things

      Chapter 13: Beautiful Jesus

      Chapter 14: The Beauty of Me

      Chapter 15: The Beauty of Prayer

      Chapter 16: The Beauty of Friendship

      Chapter 17: Say It with Beauty

      Chapter 18: Beauty and Brokenness

      Chapter 19: The Beauty of Service

      Chapter 20: Beauty and Grief

      Chapter 21: The Beauty of Humor

      Chapter 22: Creating Beauty of Our Own

      I did not have to ask my heart

      what it wanted

      because of all desires

      I have ever known,

      just one did I cling to,

      for it was the essence of all desire:

      to know beauty.

      St. John of the Cross

      Introduction

      You are driving home one evening, and you catch sight of the setting sun, a bright orange disk amid swirls of pink and purple clouds.

      Or you are walking in a favorite park when suddenly a doe and her two fawns bound across the path in front of you.

      Or you bite into a plump yellow pear and instantly you are transported to a cherished pear tree in your grandparents’ back yard.

      Or you turn on the car radio and hear the opening strains of a favorite song.

      Or you step out onto the back porch in May and catch the faint scent of lilacs.

      How do you respond to beauty breaking into your ordinary day? If you are anything like me, you may find yourself whispering a soft Wow! or even a heartfelt Thank you, God!

      Yes, we experience beauty at every turn in life. And the experience of beauty can affect us in many ways. It can stop us in our tracks, lighten our heart, calm our anxiety, ease our pain, move us to tears, or awaken in us the sense that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. Beauty even has the power to draw us to the ultimate source of all beauty, our Creator God or, more accurately, our Creating God.

      Yet we live in a world also beset with ugliness—the ugliness of hatred, division, war, greed, injustices of all kinds, and even violence to this beautiful planet we call home. On a regular basis, then, we must be reminded of our intrinsic need for beauty in our lives. This book is such a reminder. It explores the mystery, power, charm, and illusiveness of beauty. It delves into the relationship of beauty first to God and then to other aspects of our lives, such as love, creation, healing, friendship, morality, service, brokenness, humor, and even grief.

      Each chapter in this book consists of an introductory quote, a reflection, and questions for personal or communal sharing. Each chapter concludes with a prayer, poem, or short meditation related to the theme of that chapter. Firmly believing that music can enrich our pondering and prayer, I have also suggested a music video from YouTube for each chapter.

      Over sixteen centuries ago, St. Augustine of Hippo, at the time of his conversion, penned those famous words to God, Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new. His experience of God as Beauty radically altered the trajectory of his life. Our experience of beauty can have a similar impact on us. For the grace of beauty has the power to realign our mind and heart toward the Source of all Beauty, our Beloved God.

      Prayer

      Beautiful God,

      be with me as I ponder beauty

      in my everyday life.

      Help me to grow in my awareness

      of the beauty all around me:

      in creation, in other people, in myself,

      and in human-made beauty expressed in color, line, texture,

      word, symbol, sound, gesture, and movement.

      Help me to grow in my appreciation of beauty’s mystery,

      power, delight, and absolute necessity for my life.

      Give me the grace to contribute my own

      particular beauty to this world—

      especially through beauty’s highest expression: selfless loving.

      I ask these things of you,

      O Beauty ever ancient, ever new. Amen.

      Chapter 1

      What Is Beauty?

      "I am never more aware of the limitations of language

      than when I try to describe beauty."

      Scott Russell Sanders

      Beauty has been defined in many ways. The Greek philosopher Plato saw beauty as the harmony and proportion of parts. His compatriot Aristotle described beauty’s chief characteristics as order, symmetry, and definiteness. More recently, the writer Chet Raymo added something to that understanding of beauty. He said that beauty resides in the balance between order and disorder. He was implying, I think, that too much order and symmetry might be more boring than beautiful. So the woman with the updo is made more beautiful by the strand of hair cascading from her otherwise perfectly ordered hairdo.

      St. Thomas Aquinas added another dimension to the understanding of beauty when he wrote pulchra dicuntur quae visa placent. This means things that give pleasure when perceived are called beautiful. We perceive beauty through our eyes, yes, but also through our ears, our nose, our touch, our taste. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto in B-flat minor is beautiful to hear, while the scent of honeysuckle is beautiful to smell. Many of us find a clean fluffy towel pleasurable to the touch, while a ripe red strawberry is pleasing to the taste. Beauty, then, is that which pleases any of the senses, often more than one at the same time.

      Many poets have spoken of beauty’s appeal to the senses. In his poem Each and All, Ralph Waldo Emerson describes several experiences of beauty. One day he was walking near a river when he heard a sparrow singing in a tree. He brought the sparrow home (it takes poetic license

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1