Dear Saints,

Angelina Jolie recently gave a flurry of interviews about her upcoming film Couture, in which she plays a woman who confronts many of the same challenges the acclaimed actress has faced in real life. She said she appreciated the role because she got to explore a number of contrasts, including “life and death, beauty and pain.”

Jolie was just answering an entertainment reporter’s question, not waxing philosophical or existential. But her response raises a fascinating question. Surely death is the opposite of life. But is pain the opposite of beauty? Put another way: is suffering the same as ugliness? It’s a complicated question, and no one can doubt the validity of Jolie’s perspective. But perhaps it’s not the end of the story.

St. Teresa of Avila once said that “God does not give anyone more trials than can be suffered, and his majesty is with the afflicted.” The dictionary, in turn, defines majesty as “impressive beauty, scale, or stateliness.” When we suffer, God is very near to us, drawing purpose out of our pain and transforming it into his own beautiful goodness.

Death is in contrast to life, but it’s not an equal and opposite force. Life wins. In the same way, pain is in contrast to Beauty, but they're not equal and opposite forces either. Beauty - that is, God himself - has all the power over our suffering.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ