Christopher West begins by addressing a common struggle: how to remain faithful in thought and attitude, not just action, within marriage—especially when physical attraction to others arises. Drawing from St. Augustine, he affirms that pleasure in bodily beauty is not sinful if it leads us to praise the Creator. Beauty in creation awakens a deep longing in us, but it is not meant to satisfy; it points us to something greater—God. This initiates what West calls a “pilgrimage” from finite beauty to infinite Beauty.
West explains that the cure for lust (misdirected eros) is not repression, but the redirection of desire toward God through what he calls “mad eros”—a holy, self-sacrificial love modeled by Christ. He challenges the notion that desire itself is bad, urging listeners to embrace a passionate love like Christ’s on the cross, which is rooted in the willingness to die for the good, the true, and the beautiful, not consume it selfishly. Lust, therefore, sacrifices another for self-satisfaction, while authentic love sacrifices self for the other’s dignity.
A key insight is that the human body, particularly the female body, proclaims the mystery of the Incarnation. The body becomes a sacred sign that God comes to us through the flesh, especially through woman. Pornography, West argues, is the distortion of this beauty, a hellish mockery of a heavenly reality. We are ultimately longing not for the body itself, but for the God who created and dwells in it—heaven itself, where God's presence is fully revealed.
Finally, West connects this longing to the Christian life: dying to selfish grasping and rising into divine union. He insists that this longing for infinite beauty is not merely aesthetic, but deeply spiritual and erotic in the holiest sense—a yearning to be united with the Living God. By awakening to the truth that our desire is ultimately for God, and not for what temporarily stirs our senses, we reclaim eros as a holy force that leads us home to divine love, as embodied in Christ and revealed through human sexuality.
Journal and reflect on the following questions
Where in my life have I experienced the beauty of another person awakening a deeper longing in me—for love, connection, or even God?
Do I tend to view desire as something dangerous or holy? How might my perspective shift if I saw eros as a pathway to the divine?
When am I tempted to grasp or consume beauty rather than receive it as a gift pointing me to God? What helps me make that distinction?
How can I practice redirecting my desires—especially moments of attraction—toward praise of the Creator rather than possession of the creation?
In what ways am I learning to love self-sacrificially, as Christ loved, rather than for self-gratification or affirmation?
How do I understand the dignity of the human body—both my own and others’—as a reflection of God’s image and plan for communion?
Am I willing to embark on the 'pilgrimage' from finite to infinite beauty, even when it requires dying to my impulses or comfort? What helps me stay on that journey?
Discuss
Song - Beautiful
Final prayer
Lord Jesus, you come to us through the beauty of our bodies, through the gift of desire, and through the mystery of love—teach us to see your presence in every longing of our hearts. Purify our desires so that they become a path toward you, not away from you. Let us rejoice in beauty without grasping, love without taking, and yearn without despair. Awaken in us a holy eros, a deep and faithful longing to be united with you in truth, goodness, and infinite beauty. May every attraction lead us on a pilgrimage toward your heart, where we find our deepest joy, our truest identity, and our eternal home. Amen.
