Beauty itself can function as a symbol — it points us towards Truth, towards God. It accomplishes this in a different manner than preaching. To sit in the beauty of song and liturgy, in the presence of beauty in a Church sanctuary, with all of its stained glass and artwork…

Here are five essential claims that Christians might make about the role of beauty in human salvation, based upon the writings of Gerardus van der Leeuw, Hans urs von Balthasar, and Cecilia González-Andrieu: The creation of the beautiful through art allows us to understand more fully the reality of God’s…

Last year, in preparation for a summer at Notre Dame Vision, I took a Theology class that began with reading a book by Henri Nouwen titled The Return of the Prodigal Son. The novel contains Nouwen’s reflections as he sits day after day and contemplates a work by Rembrandt of…