Stained Glass Souls

Artist: Sr. Yen Van Nguyen, LHC-LA

Each person is like a chapel filled with stained glass windows. It is most beautiful when sunlight pierces through the glass. One cannot fully see the beauty of the windows or the chapel unless one enters inside; from the outside, there is only a partial glimpse at certain times of the day. Likewise, the soul of each person can be fully seen and appreciated only by God and by the individual themselves.

No one can completely grasp the beauty of another person except God, who built and designed the chapel. Many people do not even recognize their own beauty because they remain outside their own chapel for too long. No matter how dirty or chaotic the exterior may become, the chapel itself remains inherently beautiful. The individual does not need to do extraordinary things—only to keep cleaning and purifying it. The brighter the sunlight, the more visible the dust and spots that need to be cleaned. The clearer the windows, inside and out, the more radiant the beauty when the sunlight shines through,  which makes more visible the imperfection of each small piece necessary to make up the masterpiece.

Yet the chapel remains an empty, cold room if God does not dwell within and if the individual never enters it. When the chapel is clean, both inside and outside, it naturally invites others to visit. If God is present, they will linger longer and grow in love for Him. As one chapel becomes more beautiful, it inspires others to tend to their own.

Jesus, help me to keep my chapel—Your temple—clean, inside and outside, so that when others catch a glimpse of its beauty, they may praise You and feel drawn closer to You. May they also be encouraged to accept the invitation to discover and appreciate the beauty within their own chapel. Help me never to underestimate the beauty of any person, knowing that I will never have full access to their inner chapel. Let me never assume I fully know another person, nor try to shape them according to how I think their chapel should look, for only You and the individual are its true builders and designers. All others can only take part in the building.