This saint was equally beautiful in her youth and her old age
We will all get old, no matter how young we are now. Ageing is a fact of life for every human being. And because the modern word is so taken up with sensuality it sees growing old only as growing decadent.
But when one prizes the things of the spirit more than those of the body, one sees that to get old is to increase and grow in that which is most noble in a human being: the soul.
Ageing does mean the deterioration of our bodies – and what a deterioration! However, this is only the material part of us. Even if it is true that the body loses its beauty and vigour, at the same time it becomes enriched with the light of the soul, a soul that in the course of our lifetime has developed and grown. This light is the highest form of beauty the human face is capable of expressing.
Saint Mary Eufrazia was born in La Vendee, France, in 1796, and was the foundress of a teaching congregation of women. The Church celebrates her feast day on 24April. In her youth she was famously beautiful: for the shapeliness of her features, the beauty of her eyes and her skin, the distinction of her face, her nobility of bearing, as well as the vigour and grace of her youth.
More over, the splendour of a clear, logical, vigorous and pure soul shone in her face. She was a magnificent example of a young Christian lady.
In her in old age, little remains of the beauty of youth. But now another kind of beauty, a higher one, shines in that admirable face. Her gaze has become more profound. A noble and imperturbable serenity seems to foretell something of the supernatural nobility of the blessed in heaven. The face now has strength, fullness, steadfastness. It is maturity in the most beautiful sense of the word.
In her in old age, little remains of the beauty of youth. But now another kind of beauty, a higher one, shines in that admirable face. Her gaze has become more profound. A noble and imperturbable serenity seems to foretell something of the supernatural nobility of the blessed in heaven. The face now has strength, fullness, steadfastness. It is maturity in the most beautiful sense of the word.
There is a great peace and a kindness without trace of romanticism or illusions. Even so, there is still some remnant of youthful beauty shining in the face.
Yes, the body has declined, but the soul has grown so much that it is now all in God, reminding us of the saying of St Augustine: “Our heart, Lord, was made for Thee; and will only rest when it rests in Thee.”
Who would dare to assert that for Saint Mary Eufrazia getting old was to grow decadent?
Opinion piece written by Paul Folley.