Pope Leo: True beauty is revealed in the ‘signs of love that never end’
The Holy Father said the Assumption reveals a beauty formed by enduring love, which transfigures the whole person and offers glimpses of Heaven in ordinary life. He contrasted this beauty with worldly standards of beauty, which he emphasized are fleeting and consumerist.
During his homily for the Aug. 15 Assumption Mass in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to look beyond worldly standards of beauty, teaching that Mary’s glorification reveals the lasting beauty of a life shaped by love.
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption at the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova, the Holy Father reflected on the Church’s teaching that Mary was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
“The glorification of Mary, body and soul,” he said, “teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in revealing the signs of love that never end, and are even impressed on our flesh.”
Pope Leo noted that sacred art often depicts Mary as a beautiful young woman rising toward Heaven, an image that can seem far removed from the physical effects of aging.
“As we age, our bodies do not become more agile, but heavier; our skin does not become fresher, but shows the signs of old age; our hair does not gain color and luster, but turns gray and then white,” he said. “So, what do we have in common with the beautiful young woman depicted on the altarpieces of our churches?”
The answer, Pope Leo explained, lies in considering Mary’s incorrupt body together with her immaculate heart.
“For it is the purity of the soul,” he said, “that, in Mary — as in us — by the grace of God, illuminates and transfigures the whole person, leading us to the glory of Heaven.”
Against that understanding of beauty, Pope Leo urged Catholics to reexamine what he described as the “hedonistic and consumerist” aesthetic standards imposed by the world.
“These standards risk trapping us in burdensome expectations,” the Pope said, “causing us to waste precious energy on what does not really matter and does not last forever.”
The Pontiff pointed to encounters in daily life with people “whose faces are marked by the years and by suffering, yet who are capable of radiating serenity, kindness and peace around them; just as we may observe others who are perhaps outwardly attractive but hard and cold at heart. It is easy to see where true beauty lies and where, on the other hand, there is still a need for conversion, forgiveness and healing.”
“If we truly wish to discover and nurture the divine beauty that surrounds us and for which we were made,” the Pope continued, “and to share it with those around us, we must learn to see it in the wrinkles of an elderly person as in the tender face of a child as well, in the maturity of an adult as in the liveliness of a young person as well, in work clothes and tools as well as in festive decorations.”
Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to recognize the distinct stories of love revealed through such lives as “small glimpses of heaven.”
“Love is humanity’s most beautiful adornment,” he said. “Love transfigures, transforms, ennobles and lifts us up, making us light, free and close to God, even amid life’s ups and downs.”
That love also brings the mystery of the Assumption within reach of ordinary life, according to the Pope.
“We need not look far to find the sublimity of the Mystery we celebrate,” the Holy Father said. “We can encounter it wherever there is true charity.”
“For example, in the eyes of a father and mother returning home after a long day, tired but happy to be with their children,” he added. “In the faces of grandfathers and grandmothers who, despite the aches and pains of old age, are filled with unexpected energy as they care for their grandchildren. In the commitment of young people who strive to grow in morality and sincerity, ready even to go against the grain of ‘what everyone else does.’”
Concluding, Pope Leo urged Catholics to follow the Risen Christ and look to Mary as their guide toward Heaven.
“Let us follow the light of the Risen Lord, changing course if necessary,” he said. “Let us do so, especially today, by looking to Mary, whom God has crowned with glory in body and soul, and whom he has given to us as Mother, guide, companion on our journey, and protector on the path to Heaven.”
