“What we see is beautiful, what we recognize is even more beautiful, but what we cannot comprehend is far more beautiful still.” (Nicolaus Steno)
We, too, can view this world in the same way as that great Danish scholar Nicolaus Steno, who later joined the Catholic Church because of his convictions and even held the office of bishop.
When we look at the world through God’s eyes, we can only marvel at its beauty because everything our Father has created is good. This remains true even if its beauty must first be discovered because of sin and its consequences. Once that has happened, however, we see things more essentially and discover the beauty of the holy Creator’s will.
According to the wise words of the saint, this is heightened when we recognize, that is, encounter, the beauty of God as it reveals itself in our spiritual understanding. This transcends perception on the sensory level of our existence. How sublime it is, for example, to discover the beauty of our holy faith, to perceive God’s wisdom and goodness along this path, and to savor the taste of truth.
It is even more incomparably beautiful when, in eternity, we are allowed to behold God as He is, as St. Paul says: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” (1 Cor. 13:12).
The most beautiful thing lies ahead of us, and we draw nearer to it every day. Then, we will be able to grasp it, and all of eternity exists for that very purpose!