Mary's Beauty

Mary's beauty? The only clue that the Gospel gives about the beauty of the Mother of God is by describing her virtues - absolute humility and virginal purity - which are moral and spiritual qualities. As for her physical beauty we know nothing... "At his birth, Jesus reflected the beauty of the Virgin on his forehead, her clarity, the purity of her expression, and now the Virgin has taken on the beauty of Christ the Redeemer."(1)

Mary's beauty? First of all, it's the absolute splendor that comes from her being full of grace, the fullness that Gabriel the Archangel himself recognized and that St. Louis of Montfort so admirably expressed in these words: "God the Father gathered all the water on earth, and He called it sea; He gathered all the graces together, and He called her Mary."... This fullness of grace physically marked the Virgin Mary and made her "the most beautiful lady I know", was what St Bernadette Soubirous told Mr. Jacquomet, the Chief of Police of Lourdes in 1854, following the example of all those who have had the incredible privilege of seeing "the Beautiful Lady" (cf. La Salette)...

Scripture says nothing about Mary's physical beauty, it is only suggested several times

Actually, although Scripture says nothing about Mary's physical beauty, it is indirectly suggested several times. As the Church Fathers, Doctors and other exegetes of the Bible have stressed, the Song of Salomon is written with Mary in mind, when it evokes the Beloved:

Behold, thou art fair, my love;

behold thou art fair; thou hast doves eyes within thy locks:

thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear on Mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn,

which came up from the washing;

whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely:

thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks.

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury,

whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins,

which feed among lilies. ...

Thou are fair, my love; there is no spot on thee. ...

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse;

thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,

with one chain of thy neck.

How fair is my love, my sister, my spouse!

how much better is thy love than wine!

and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

Thy lips , O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb,

honey and milk are under thy tongue;

and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

A garden closed is my sister, my spouse;

a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

(Song of Solomon 4: 1-5, 7, 9-12)

... In all the artistic fields, coming from all cultures and every age of history, countless artists, famous or unknown, have been attracted to the beauty of the Virgin Mary and they have tried to depict her unspeakable beauty for generations to come.

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(1) Taken from the "Revue du Rosaire" March 1987)