by Orestes J. Gonzalez

Created on: August 22, 2009   Last Updated: May 16, 2012

Nothing in the material world comes close to the spiritual beauty of virtue and grace exemplified in the life of a dedicated person. The spiritual beauty reflected in the soul of a dedicated person is indeed one of the most compelling arguments for the existence of God.

Spiritual beauty is a quality acquired by the human soul when it reflects what God intended the soul to be. Spiritual beauty is the beauty of holiness.

The spiritual beauty of holiness is "a beauty which surpasses all natural and artistic beauty; it is a supernatural beauty in which the beauty of God himself is reflected in a more essential and direct way than in any other created beauty." (1)

The observation relevant to the existence of God here is the fact that, in man, the spiritual beauty of holiness is shaped by human action. There is a particular beauty springing from actions which involve self-denial and the death to selfish desires.

Spiritual beauty is an inseparable component of morally good conduct and uprightness. And, contrariwise, morally bad conduct and wrongdoing are the negation of the spiritual beauty of holiness.

In this regard, the great Saint Thomas Aquinas remarks: "Spiritual beauty is the beauty of the soul. Thus, when the soul is defiled by sin, God is offended." (2)

There is no question that a holy person is a happy person. In fact, it is well known that the holier the person, the happier the person.

And here is where the truth of the existence of God reveals itself as being uniquely connected with the spiritual beauty of holiness granted to the soul of a dedicated person.

Consider the following: Man's passions are so disordered that the rewards of happiness and spiritual beauty which morally upright conduct promises, are not as immediately gratifying as what immoral conduct deceptively provides.

"A taxi driver, for example, tempted to cheat a naive foreigner may not believe in the moment that refraining from that action could be so integral to his lasting happiness and spiritual beauty." (3)

The awareness of incentives such as the benefits derived from treating others with solidarity, the concern for one's true gain, and the forging of one's true happiness through human actions are not sufficient motives to compel man to act uprightly.

For this, something more is needed. For men to act uprightly, a greater love and a greater fear are needed, namely, the love of God and the fear of God, the authority of God and the judgment of God.

Without God, the self-denial which characterizes

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