The beauty of the family

At a time when ugliness is in vogue, it is essential to highlight the beauty of the Christian family, a sign of God in the world.

February 1, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
family

I am amazed at the phenomenon of the ugly fashionthe ugly fashion. A current that denies the beautiful and elegant in favor of the transgressive, the disruptive or directly the ugly. It is another symptom of a society that has lost the sense of transcendence. The followers of this trend succumb to a pair of sneakers. crocs 700 euro heel, a 1,400 euro bag that resembles a garbage bag or a 3,600 euro oversize coat that fits you and your three best friends. By the way, how do you know if a coat is too big for you? oversize? I will ask in Balenciaga.

The fact is that, nowadays, everyone can dress well, because mass production has brought to the people the fashion that was previously only available to a few. The designs of the big brands are imitated in record time and distributed over the Internet at popular prices, so it is increasingly difficult to distinguish themselves from the masses. How to achieve this distinction and exclusivity? Well, by dressing ugly.

Many contemporary artists participate in this crazy search for originality with works that seek to disturb more than to thrill, to disturb more than to elevate the spirit. To attract attention and have your work seen you need scandal, morbidity, disruption... But what sensations come after? After the astonishment, there is only the search for the next admiration and then the next "oh!" which will be the end of the line. But there is no satisfaction, no satiety. As in the infinite loop into which the addictive algorithm of Tik Tokone always wants more. A new, albeit ephemeral, emotion for the benefit of the Chinese social network that gains more the longer it keeps us hooked.

Beauty, a projection towards infinity

However, what happens when one contemplates a truly beautiful work of art? Does one not feel that the aesthetic emotion has led him to come out of himself? Does the true artist not succeed in making the one who contemplates his work transcend it? Whoever admires a beautiful painting, watches a great film, reads a good article or novel, or listens to a quality piece of music comes out of himself, looks at others, travels to another place, to another time. Whoever sees, listens to or reads a work of art makes the author's feelings his own, but adds his own, and this fusion is projected upwards, towards infinity.

It is the same thing that happens to us when we contemplate a sunrise, listen to a storm or watch the hypnotic flight of a flock of birds. And the fact is that human beings carry within them a natural taste for the good, the true, the just... and the beautiful. Simone Weil said that "In everything that arouses in us the pure and authentic feeling of beauty there is really the presence of God. There is almost a kind of incarnation of God in the world, whose sign is beauty".

Let this long introduction be used to frame the celebration, in a few days, of Marriage Week, which the Church proposes every February around St. Valentine's Day. During this time, the Christian community will present to the world its proposal for the family in the face of other models proper to our times. Perhaps those of today are more striking, more impacting and more coolBut the beauty of the family is irresistible, even if trend gurus claim it is old-fashioned.

The Christian family, founded on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, open to children, with a commitment to equality, fidelity and mutual self-giving, has that transcendent natural beauty that speaks to us of eternity, that elevates us to infinity, that seems to fulfill our aspirations. A beauty that is nothing other than a sign of God in the world.

The authorAntonio Moreno

Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.

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