"Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence. It is an invitation to savor life and to dream of the future. That is why the beauty of created things can never fully satisfy. It stirs that hidden nostalgia for God which a lover of beauty like Saint Augustine could express in incomparable terms: "Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new. Late have I loved you!""
~ Pope John Paul II in his Letter to Artists, April 1999
Oh, how I love that quote! How true! Gazing on the perfect petals of a rose or the wings of a butterfly or an exquisitely rendered painting or other work of art will often turn my thoughts to heaven. I truly believe that beauty does indeed "stir that hidden nostalgia for God". It is for this very reason that I design the type of rosaries and chaplets that I do. I want to create (and help others to create) beads for prayer that call out from the coffee table to be prayed!
Our souls crave beauty. To rest ones eyes on something as simple as a mason jar filled with honeysuckle brings a certain peace and calm. I suppose the early summer outdoors has me a tad 
distracted these days. Everywhere I turn there seems to be something worth stopping and getting a closer look at, be it butterflies, blooms or berries. When I cannot get outside (it's been raining quite a bit) I have been visiting Dawn's lovely blog and especially her Nature Notes and Nature Corner.
Speaking of beautiful blogs, I have also been carefully pondering how I will fill the walls and shelves of our almost complete home addition. I need to utilize the available space carefully and practically while bringing in touches of beauty where I can. This post from Vintage Home has given me a few ideas while this one from Rebecca Sower has me looking around the house in an effort to use what we already have or can create ourselves.
Have a beautiful day!
