St. Paul said this would happen, if we pay attention to the Life of the Holy Spirit within us.
Solitude would help. Silence at some point in the day is essential.
But, how does one become beautiful for God?
I was attractive as a youth. I weighed in between 98-108 pounds until I got pregnant and had my baby at 39. Before I was married and before I had baby, I was very conscious of my exterior person. Especially in graduate school, and when I was teaching, I kept up with the latest fashions.
When, I got married, baby and hubby came first. Thankfully, my husband did not like make-up and I did not need it. But, when I was young and single, I had the best.
The interior person is the Bride of Christ. How do we make ourselves beautiful for Christ? St. John of the Cross quotes the great St. Augustine. St. Augustine says: “I found You not without, O Lord; I sought You without in vain, for You are within,”
This makes it clear that the interior person must be beautified, purified, sanctified for the Bridegroom.
Do we not want to look our best for the one we love?
If I, at any time in my life, was going to meet someone I loved, I would spend extra time and money to look great for that person.
Christ is the Bridegroom. But here is the problem. We cannot make ourselves beautiful. The Bridegroom must make each one of us beautiful with His grace.
Humility is coming to Christ in self-recollection and asking, humbly, for Him to make us beautiful. I pray daily for humility and purification. It is one prayer I shall not give up on until I am made beautiful for the One Whom I Love the most, Christ Jesus.
Only Christ can reveal to us our real beauty. Only He can create that beauty in us, the beauty willed by God for all eternity.
Only the perfect see God....to be continued.