Cardinal Tobin: True beauty lies in revealing the signs of love
Click a button to jump to the section:
Vol. 8 No. 3
The glorification of Mary, body and soul, teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in revealing the signs of love that never end, and are even impressed on our flesh (cf. 1 Cor 13:8). (Pope Leo XIV)
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Two weeks ago, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV offered reflections on the meaning of beauty. We have been conditioned to equate beauty with youth and, conversely, to regard aging as a form of aesthetic degradation. As Pope Leo observes, “As we age, our bodies do not become more agile, but heavier; our skin does not become fresher, but shows the signs of old age; our hair does not gain color and luster, but turns gray and then white.”
The Assumption of Mary into heaven challenges our understanding of what true beauty means. Most works of art depict Mary at the moment of her Assumption as a beautiful young woman, physically rising from the earth toward the heavens at the end of her earthly life. This contrasts with what we would naturally expect of the mother of Jesus, who, by the time her years on earth were over, had experienced severe hardships and is known among many other attributes as “the Mother of Sorrows.” Surely, even if her passing was at a relatively young age by our standards, Mary must have developed some of the typical lines and wrinkles of older people.
At the end of her life on earth, Mary’s beauty was not merely cosmetic. It reflected her holiness, strength of character, humility, and total dedication to her Son and to the will of God. These characteristics are difficult to illustrate in painting or sculpture, so most artists depict Mary’s beauty as timeless. As Pope Leo says, Mary is seen as “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet” (Rev 12:1), signifying that in Mary’s heart, heaven and earth, time and eternity, meet. Mary’s beauty reflects her personal participation in the timeless love and goodness of God.
We Catholics believe that God freely chose to enter the world through Mary’s free consent. At the Annunciation, she accepted God’s will and became the mother of the Messiah. The early Church therefore viewed her as the New Eve: whereas Eve’s disobedience is associated with humanity’s fall, Mary’s humility and obedience signify her cooperation with God’s redemptive plan.
Mary does not compete with Christ’s saving work in any way. Her role is entirely dependent on the grace she receives from God and on the unique saving work of her Son. Just as the moon reflects the brilliance of the sun, Mary shines with the reflected light of Christ (lumen Christi).
Mary’s beauty is manifested in her role as the mother of the Incarnate Word, a model of holiness, and one who uniquely shares in Christ’s glory. The Assumption especially expresses the Church’s belief that Mary is glorified with her Son and that she intercedes for the Church from her special place in heaven.
Mary is lovely because she exemplifies faith, humility, purity, courage, compassion, and perseverance. She accepted God’s will, endured suffering, remained faithful at the foot of the Cross, and prayed with the apostles at Pentecost. Acts 1:14 places her among the disciples gathered in prayer before the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In his homily for this great Marian feast, Pope Leo draws our attention to what is truly beautiful about Mary and all the saints who inspire us to lead lives of holiness and virtue:
Dear friends, the beautiful face of Our Lady of the Assumption is unique; it transcends any possible representation, and yet, at the same time, is familiar to us. Even at this very moment, we can see her face in the people who are close to us, such as the brothers and sisters with whom, in faith, we share the daily offering of our lives.
May the beautiful lady whom Christians have venerated since the Church’s beginning shine in our minds and hearts as a radiant sign of God’s love. May her fidelity to Christ inspire us to set aside our preoccupation with superficial tokens of beauty, so that we may embrace what is truly good and beautiful: the unconditional and uncompromising love of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.,
Archbishop of Newark
Cardinal Tobin Appoints Christine James as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Newark
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, has appointed Christine James as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Newark, effective September 1, 2026.
James succeeds Sister Donna L. Ciangio, O.P., D.Min., of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, who served as Chancellor since 2018.
“Christine brings exceptional leadership experience, sound judgment and a deep commitment to the mission of the Church,” Cardinal Tobin said. “I am grateful for her willingness to serve the Archdiocese of Newark and look forward to working with her as Chancellor.”
James brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience in investment management to her new role. She served as managing director of business development and client relations at Allspring Global Investments in New York and previously held a similar role at Wells Fargo Asset Management in New York and Philadelphia. She also served as managing director and portfolio manager with Evergreen Investments and as chief operating officer at Tattersall Advisory Group in Philadelphia.
James earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Villanova University, as well as a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Administration from Montclair State University. She is pursuing a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership and Administration at Caldwell University.
An alumna of Lacordaire Academy, James has chaired its board of trustees since 2009. She also has served as president of the board of trustees of the Montclair Art Museum since 2024 and as a trustee of the Montclair Foundation since 2020. She previously served as a trustee of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2021, James became a Lay Dominican Associate and became more actively involved with the Caldwell Dominicans’ Committee on Global Issues. She volunteers in spiritual ministries at her parish and has served on the Parish Finance Council and the Pastoral Council of Immaculate Conception Church in Montclair. James also served on the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and the Planning Commission for We Are His Witnesses, the Archdiocese of Newark’s pastoral initiative to strengthen parish life and plan for the future of the local Church.
Raised in Montclair, James returned to her hometown after living in the Philadelphia area for 30 years. She resides there with her husband, Nick.
The Cult of the Blessed Virgin in the Church
66. Placed by the grace of God, as God’s Mother, next to her Son, and exalted above all angels and men, Mary intervened in the mysteries of Christ and is justly honored by a special cult in the Church. Clearly, from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God, under whose protection the faithful took refuge in all their dangers and necessities. Hence, after the Synod of Ephesus, the cult of the people of God toward Mary wonderfully increased in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her own prophetic words: “All generations shall call me blessed, because He that is mighty hath done great things to me”. This cult, as it always existed, although it is altogether singular, differs essentially from the cult of adoration which is offered to the Incarnate Word, as well as to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is most favorable to it. The various forms of piety toward the Mother of God, which the Church within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine, according to the conditions of time and place, and the nature and ingenuity of the faithful has approved, bring it about that while the Mother is honored, the Son, through whom all things have their being and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, is rightly known, loved and glorified and that all His commands are observed.
67. This most Holy Synod deliberately teaches this Catholic doctrine and at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of piety, recommended by the magisterium of the Church toward her in the course of centuries be made of great moment, and those decrees, which have been given in the early days regarding the cult of images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be religiously observed. But it exhorts theologians and preachers of the divine word to abstain zealously both from all gross exaggerations as well as from petty narrow-mindedness in considering the singular dignity of the Mother of God. Following the study of Sacred Scripture, the Holy Fathers, the doctors and liturgy of the Church, and under the guidance of the Church’s magisterium, let them rightly illustrate the duties and privileges of the Blessed Virgin, which always look to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity and piety. Let them assiduously keep away from whatever, either by word or deed, could lead separated brethren or any other into error regarding the true doctrine of the Church. Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our mother and to the imitation of her virtues.
V. Mary the sign of created hope and solace to the wandering people of God
68. In the interim just as the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, as a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth.
(A selection from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, solemnly promulgated by his holiness Saint Paul VI on November 21, 1964).
A Message from Pope Leo XIV: In the One Christ, We are One
Love is humanity’s most beautiful adornment.
The Magisterium of the Church teaches us that Mary “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950) and points out to us, in this Mystery, the fulfillment of the most perfect grace that God bestowed upon her at her Immaculate Conception (cf. ibid.).
For this reason, many works of art depict her as a beautiful young woman physically rising from the earth toward the heavens at the end of her earthly life. These works are inspired by the scene described in the passage from the Book of Revelation that we heard in the First Reading: “A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet” (Rev 12:1), signifying that in Mary’s heart, heaven and earth, time and eternity, meet.
On the surface, this image seems to contrast with our experience of what the passing of the years does to us. As we age, our bodies do not become more agile, but heavier; our skin does not become fresher but shows the signs of old age; our hair does not gain color and luster but turns gray and then white. So, what do we have in common with the beautiful young woman depicted on the altarpieces of our churches?
To understand this, we must unite the two signs we have mentioned: the incorrupt body of the Mother of God and her immaculate heart. For it is the purity of the soul that, in Mary — as in us — by the grace of God, illuminates and transfigures the whole person, leading us to the glory of Heaven. The glorification of Mary, body and soul, teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in revealing the signs of love that never end, and are even impressed on our flesh (cf. 1 Cor 13:8).
With this in mind, we are invited to reexamine many of the aesthetic standards, predominantly hedonistic and consumerist in nature, that the world imposes on us. These standards risk trapping us in burdensome expectations, causing us to waste precious energy on what does not really matter and does not last forever. In everyday life, we encounter people whose faces are marked by the years and by suffering, yet who are capable of radiating serenity, kindness and peace around them; just as we may observe others who are perhaps outwardly attractive but hard and cold at heart. It is easy to see where true beauty lies and where, on the other hand, there is still a need for conversion, forgiveness and healing.
If we truly wish to discover and nurture the divine beauty that surrounds us and for which we were made, and to share it with those around us, we must learn to see it in the wrinkles of an elderly person as in the tender face of a child as well, in the maturity of an adult as in the liveliness of a young person as well, in work clothes and tools as well as in festive decorations. We must listen to the unique love stories that each of these realities tells us, recognizing in them small glimpses of heaven.
Love is humanity’s most beautiful adornment. Love transfigures, transforms, ennobles and lifts us up, making us light, free and close to God, even amid life’s ups and downs.
The miracle that Mary, the maiden of Nazareth, experienced in her innocent heart, which led her to the glory of Heaven, is a meeting of extremes, as she herself testifies in the inspired words of the Magnificat, which we heard in the Gospel (cf. Lk 1:46–55). In this canticle, through the humble expressions of her faith, the Mother of God speaks to us in simple terms of the magnificent mysteries she experienced, such as God becoming man in her to save humanity, and the Eternal One revealing himself within time to reopen the path to eternity for us. At the same time, in her position as a “humble servant,” Saint Paul VI says that Mary shows us the “humble dimension” in which we too can encounter the Lord.
We need not look far to find the sublimity of the Mystery we celebrate. We can encounter it wherever there is true charity. For example, in the eyes of a father and mother returning home after a long day, tired but happy to be with their children. In the faces of grandfathers and grandmothers who, despite the aches and pains of old age, are filled with unexpected energy as they care for their grandchildren. In the commitment of young people who strive to grow in morality and sincerity, ready even to go against the grain of “what everyone else does.” Finally, in the daily work of so many men and women who, with faith and dedication, help bring a little bit of Heaven to earth and the earth closer to Heaven.
Dear friends, the beautiful face of Our Lady of the Assumption is unique; it transcends any possible representation, and yet, at the same time, is familiar to us. Even at this very moment, we can see her face in the people who are close to us, such as the brothers and sisters with whom, in faith, we share the daily offering of our lives. For this reason, the community of believers sees itself in the woman of the Book of Revelation, and the Second Vatican Council describes Mary as “the image and beginning of the Church, […] as a sign of sure hope and solace” (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 68). In her holy human nature, by the grace of God, we also see our nature; therefore, we too are called to live the same grace-filled life that she lived and to share in her glory.
Let us accept his invitation. Let us follow the light of the Risen Lord, changing course if necessary. Let us do so, especially today, by looking to Mary, whom God has crowned with glory in body and soul, and whom he has given to us as Mother, guide, companion on our journey, and protector on the path to Heaven.
(A selection from the homily of Pope Leo XIV on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pontifical Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova, Castel Gandolfo, Saturday, August 15, 2026.)
My Prayer for You
As we reflect on the mystery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven, let us follow the counsel of Saint Paul VI, who once said that to understand its meaning, “we must transform the terms we use in earthly and temporal language into superlative and absolute ones to imagine the eternal on a small scale.”
Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church, inspire us to recognize true beauty in the self-sacrificing love of Christ, which shines forth in you and in all who surrender their own wills to embrace the Will of God. Amen.