Every day, a woman, somewhere in the world, tidies her kitchen. Another woman places fresh flowers on her table. Yet another dabs her cheeks with soft blush and smiles at friends and strangers alike. In these quiet yet potent demonstrations of beauty, femininity reflects the very image of God.
The three transcendentals—truth, goodness, and beauty—hold a special place in Catholic discussions. Yet, at times, it seems that truth and goodness receive more attention and consideration. Beauty is the forgotten transcendental.
Beauty often feels like an abstract, far-off concept. At times, I wonder: Is beauty applicable to my life? When I dive deeper, a more vulnerable question arises: Do I have as much beauty to give to the world as others?
Four Female Saints Who Revealed Beauty
“For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.” // Psalm 139:13-14
Beauty varies in each woman as a sunrise differs from a rose. A rose’s beauty is not diminished by the existence of a sunrise, and vice versa. The Catholic faith contains a plethora of female Saints to study, each revealing her own unique beauty throughout her life. In this post, we will look at just four.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Saint Thérèse, known as the “Little Flower,” lived the Little Way, dedicating even the smallest acts of kindness to God. However, do not mistake her quiet nature for that of weakness. Thérèse lived a hard life, losing her mother at the young age of four. Having battled severe mental and physical illness throughout her life, Thérèse died at only twenty-four years old. Her short, often difficult, life brimmed with holiness.
Thérèse sanctified every part of her life, from her tiny offerings of humility to the much more severe sufferings she endured. Her beauty revealed itself in her quiet yet total surrender to the Lord.
Saint Edith Stein
Edith Stein, later known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was born into a faithful Jewish family in Germany. During her teenage years, she became agnostic. She studied philosophy and even earned her doctorate with a dissertation on phenomenology. After reading the biography of Saint Teresa of Avila, she felt called to Catholicism. She converted and eventually became a Discalced Carmelite nun.
Edith stood against Nazi ideology, even going so far as to write a personal letter to Pope Pius XI, urging him to speak out against the antisemitism festering in Germany. Although it is unknown whether he personally read her letter, he did eventually release the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (With Deep Anxiety), condemning key aspects of Nazi ideology.
While living in the Netherlands, Edith sensed that her time was coming to an end and prepared herself for martyrdom. When the Nazis arrested Jews who had converted to Catholicism, she was offered an escape route. However, she refused, stating, “If somebody intervened at this point and took away [her] chance to share in the fate of [her] brothers and sisters, that would be utter annihilation” (source).
Saint Edith Stein revealed beauty through her intellect, her courage, and her ability to stand up for the truth, even to the point of death. She demonstrated the truest love of neighbor: “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Saint Gianna Molla
Saint Gianna Molla, often called the “martyr of maternal love,” gave her life for her child. An Italian Catholic pediatrician, Gianna struggled with chronic illness for much of her life. She met and married her husband, Pietro, at the age of thirty-two, and together they had four children.
During her fourth and final pregnancy, doctors discovered a fibroma. She was offered three options: a hysterectomy, an abortion, or the removal of the fibroma while preserving the pregnancy. She chose the third option to protect her unborn child. A week after delivering her daughter, also named Gianna, she died from complications.
Saint Gianna revealed her beauty in the profound gift of laying down her life for her child. Today, her daughter is a gynecologist, who strives to uphold the same pro-life principles that inspired her mother’s sacrifice.
Saint Maria Goretti
Maria Goretti died at the age of eleven after resisting an attempted sexual assault by Alessandro Serenelli, who stabbed her fourteen times. On her deathbed, Maria not only forgave him but expressed her desire to see him with her in Heaven forever.
Her profound forgiveness later inspired Alessandro’s conversion to Catholicism. After serving his prison sentence, he even became a Capuchin friar.
In a world that so often demands payback and revenge, this young girl demonstrated a Christlike mercy that is undeniably beautiful. Through her forgiveness, Saint Maria Goretti revealed the beauty of mercy, which can transform even a hardened heart.
Beauty in Ordinary Life
God wants the moments when we hold our tongues despite the anger we feel. He wants the moments when we grieve, crying into our pillows in the darkness. He wants the moments when we laugh with our closest friends. He wants every part of us: in our joy, our grief, our kindness, and our struggle.
Beauty transforms the ordinary into the sacred. When I don a long, white dress for the Easter Vigil, beauty elevates a simple fashion choice into a reflection of Christ’s Resurrection. When I smile at my husband after a long day at work, beauty lifts my ordinary gesture into an offering of love. As women, we should never underestimate our magnificent beauty. Allow your God-given beauty to become a balm for this hardened world.
Anna Smith has been creating stories in her head since before she learned how to read and write. She has been happily married to her husband, Aaron, since 2023. Anna graduated from John Paul the Great Catholic University with a Bachelor of Science in communication and an emphasis in screenwriting. She writes a Substack blog, Substance & Stories, which focuses on literature, film, and Catholic theology.
