Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-22
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT u
Contogion of Goodness
BY DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Chaplain Of the United States Senate

Lent is a time when, for
uncounted millions. goodness
is lifted above all that is gross.
The lovely is the center OF
contemplation. It is a period
when, with the signs Of pollu-
ton all about, pilgrims Of the
Lenten way deliberately ex-
pose themselves TO the conta-
gion Of goodness. Eyes are set
on the best that glimmers
through the worst. This is
true because the focal point
Of the Lenten weeks leading
up to the burst of glory which
is Easter is a face "in which
the final beauty burns to birth
and all things in Heaven and
earth are summed and GEN.
tered in a loneliness beyond
compare"
OF that Crystal Christ 1t
can be said that His life is
the only perfect jewel that
ever found its setting in our
earthly sphere. From what
ever angle we view it, no mat
alter what light is thrown
upon 1t, there flashes back a
CLEAN Of untarnished beauty.
Truly has it been said
beauty is Gods handwrit-
ing" To recognize that divine
signature is life's most re-
warding quest. We should
welcome it therefore in every
fair face, every fair flower,
and thank Him for it who is
the fountain of all loneliness.
Let it be confessed that often
there is a profession of the
beauty Of holiness which is
not alluring. 1t is not a mag
net which draws. William
Lyon Phelps. the deeply loved
teacher. who reverenced gen.
uine saintliness, playfully re-
marked that some stained
window depictions of So
called saints suggested men
who appeared to be suffering
from acute indigestion. There
is a conception of saintliness
which is mostly bunkum.
Genuine holiness is really
whole-neSS-and in whole
someness is mirrored the
beauty Of holiness. Said one
whose profession led him to
mingle with folks of every
shade Of humanity, II know
people whose hearts are per-
feet gardens of roses. You
cannot spend 10 minutes in
their company without de-
tecting the delicate and deli
cious aroma. Their hearts are
full Of roses" Yes. we all
know where to find such hui
man gardens whose Towering
virtues suggest the lure Of the
lovely.
There is such a thing as
the lure of the loathsome.
RottenneSS is som e i'm e S
phosphorescent. Even the
inherently ugly, decked in
the unabashed livery of evil,
sometimes strangely attracts,
as a serpent charms a hum
mingbird. The grinning gar
goyleS on the exterior of
medieval cathedrals suggest
the coronation of the gro
tesque. In architecture. in
literature. in life. the repul-
sive often exercises a strange
drawing power. Evil is con-
tagiouS, but so is beauty.
The most convincing way of
showing the deformities of a
crooked stick is to lay a
straight one beside it. The
truth is exalted mostly, not
by denunciation, but by ex-
emplification. Goodness is the
most attractive thing in all
this tangled. tragic world
and the most catching. When
Pippa Passes with her simple,
unSpoiled goodness. all I'M
conscious is she that as she
sings rapturouS bluebirds Of
happiness are wheeling about
her, and white doves of
purity are perching on sor-
did easements of misery and
at windows of woe.
Writing to the Emperor
Trajan, Pliny called Chris
tianity that contagious SUI
perstition." But that con-
tagion" is the most magnetic