Recently while waiting for a friend, I picked up a magazine and began to look through it. Page after page, there were ads for products to make me beautiful: creams to look younger (I am beyond hope); lotions to make my skin full and wrinkle free; and, ointments to remove age spots. Then, there were all the hair products with the list going on and on. There was a beauty product for just about everything. It was hard to find any articles among all the ads that wanted to make me beautiful.
All these ads got me thinking. What would an ad look like for something to make the soul beautiful? During Lent, we certainly have reminders that prayer, fasting and almsgiving help to beautify the soul. The cream of prayer helps us keep our hearts open to hear God’s word, perhaps challenging us to grow and move out of our comfort zone. The lotion of patience helps us avoid discouraging thoughts and feelings. Then, there is creativity, the ointment that brings to the forefront the gifts we already have and enables us to share them with those in need.
For the seemingly endless array of commercial beauty product there are, I think we could come up with an equally long list of things that can beautify the soul: trust, love, faithfulness, surrender and leisure. It would be interesting to see some ads on these creams and ointments for the soul.
What “beauty product” would you like to use during Lent to beautify your soul? Perhaps you need several. Maybe you need to use different ones at different times and for different reasons. I would love to open a magazine and find ads that displayed things to beautify my soul. At least I know some of those creams and lotions would work on me. This week, you might want to create an ad for something that would beautify your soul. Be free, be creative and let your imagination run free. Happy beautifying!
Till Next week,
Sister Theresita
