SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
FOR GOD
MOTHER TERESA
OF CALCUTTA
by
with extra photos
“Prayer is not asking.
Prayer is putting oneself
in the hands of God,
at His disposition,
and listening to His voice
in the depth of our hearts.”
If we pray, we will believe;
If we believe, we will love;
If we love, we will serve.”
PRETTY
WELL EVERYONE WHO HAS MET HER WOULD AGREE, I THINK, THAT SHE IS A UNIQUE PERSON
IN THE WORLD TODAY; NOT IN OUR VULGAR
CELEBRITY SENSE OF HAVING NEON LIGHTING ABOUT HER HEAD. RATHER IN THE OPPOSITE SENSE - OF SOMEONE WHO
HAS MERGED HERSELF IN THE COMMON FACE OF MANKIND, AND IDENTIFIED HERSELF WITH
HUMAN SUFFERING AND DEPRIVATION.
YET
NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME, IS ONE OF HER FAVOURITE SAYINGS…
SO
WITH MOTHER TERESA, IN EFFACING HERSELF, SHE BECAME HERSELF. I NEVER MET ANYONE MORE MEMORABLE: JUST MEETING HER FOR A FLEETING MOMENT MAKES
AN INEFFACEABLE IMPRESSION. I HAVE KNOWN
PEOPLE BURST INTO TEARS WHEN SHE GOES, THOUGH IT WAS ONLY FROM A TEA PARTY
WHERE THEIR ACQUAINTANCE WITH HER AMOUNTED TO NO MORE THAN RECEIVING HER SMILE.
…ONCE I HAD OCCASION TO SEE HER OFF, WITH ONE OF THE SISTERS, AT CALCUTTA
RAILWAY STATION… WHEN THE TRAIN BEGAN TO MOVE, AND I WALKED AWAY, I FELT AS
THOUGH I WERE LEAVING BEHIND ME ALL THE BEAUTY AND ALL THE JOY IN THE UNIVERSE. SOMETHING OF GOD’S UNIVERSAL LOVE HAS RUBBED
OFF ON MOTHER TERESA, GIVING HER HOMELY FEATURES A NOTICEABLE LUMINOSITY; A
SHINING QUALITY. SHE HAS LIVED SO
CLOSELY WITH HER LORD THAT THE SAME ENCHANTMENT CLINGS ABOUT HER THAT SENT THE
CROWDS CHASING AFTER HIM IN JERUSALEM AND GALILEE, AND MADE HIS MERE PRESENCE
SEEM A HARBINGER OF HEALING. ..THIS
LOVE, THIS CHRISTIAN LOVE…I NEVER MET ANYONE LESS SENTIMENTAL, LESS SCATTY,
MORE DOWN TO EARTH. …
THUS,
UNTIL SHE CAN ACCOMMODATE HER LEPERS IN PROPER SETTLEMENTS… THEY STILL GO OUT
TO BEG IN THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA IF THEY WANT TO… IF SHE HAPPENS TO SEE THEM
WHEN THEY HAVE COME BACK, SHE WILL ASK THEM HOW THEY HAVE DONE. NOT TOO WELL, IT SEEMED, ON THE DAY I WAS
WITH HER. SHE COMMISERATED WITH THEM ON
THEIR POOR TAKINGS. IT WAS VERY
BEAUTIFUL TO SEE HER THUS SO EAGERLY, AND WITH SO LIVELY AN INTEREST,
DISCUSSING SOMETHING SO NEAR TO THEIR HEARTS.
SHE
STEPPED OUT WITH A FEW RUPEES IN HER POCKET, MADE HER WAY TO THE POOREST,
WRETCHEDEST QUARTER OF THE CITY, FOUND A LODGING THERE, GATHERED TOGETHER A FEW
ABANDONED CHILDREN - THERE WERE PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM - AND BEGAN HER MINISTRY
OF LOVE. THIS ACT OF SUPERB, SOME WOULD
SAY OUTRAGEOUS, COURAGE AND FAITH MADE A PARTICULARLY STRONG IMPRESSION ON ME
WHEN I HEARD OF IT. …THUS TO CHOOSE, AS MOTHER TERESA DID, TO LIVE IN THE SLUMS
OF CALCUTTA, AMIDST ALL THE DIRT AND DISEASE AND MISERY, SIGNIFIED A SPIRIT SO
INDOMITABLE, A FAITH SO INTRACTABLE, A LOVE SO ABOUNDING…
I
RAN AWAY AND STAYED AWAY; MOTHER TERESA MOVED IN AND STAYED. …JUST WITH THIS CHRISTIAN LOVE SHINING ABOUT
HER; IN HER HEART AND ON HER LIPS. JUST PREPARED TO FOLLOW HER LORD, AND IN
ACCORDANCE WITH HIS INSTRUCTIONS REGARD EVERY DERELICT LEFT TO DIE IN THE
STREETS AS HIM; TO HEAR IN THE CRY OF
EVERY ABANDONED CHILD, EVEN IN THE TINY SQUEAK OF THE DISCARDED FOETUS, THE CRY
OF THE BETHLEHEM CHILD; TO RECOGNISE IN EVERY LEPER’S STUMPS THE HANDS WHICH
ONCE TOUCHED SIGHTLESS EYES AND MADE THEM SEE, RESTED ON DISTRACTED HEADS AND
MADE THEM CALM, BROUGHT BACK HEALTH TO SICK FLESH AND TWISTED LIMBS. … AS FOR MY EXPATRIATIONS ON BENGAL’S
WRETCHED SOCIAL CONDITIONS - I REGRET TO SAY THAT I DOUBT WHETHER, IN ANY
DIVINE ACCOUNTING, THEY WILL EQUAL ONE SINGLE QUIZZICAL HALF SMILE BESTOWED BY
MOTHER TERESA ON A STREET URCHIN WHO HAPPENED TO CATCH HER EYE.
WHAT
THE POOR NEED, MOTHER TERESA IS FOND OF SAYING, EVEN MORE THAN FOOD AND
CLOTHING AND SHELTER (ALTHOUGH THEY NEED THESE, TOO, DESPERATELY), IS TO BE
WANTED. IT IS THE OUTCAST STATE THEIR
POVERTY IMPOSES ON THEM THAT IS THE MOST AGONISING. SHE HAS A PLACE IN HER HEART FOR THEM
ALL. TO HER, THEY ARE ALL CHILDREN OF
GOD, FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED, AND SO DESERVING OF ALL LOVE. IF GOD COUNTS THE HAIRS OF EACH OF THEIR
HEADS, IF NONE ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE SALVATION THE CRUCIFIXION OFFERS, WHO WILL
VENTURE TO EXCLUDE THEM FROM EARTHLY BLESSINGS AND ESTEEM.. I NEVER EXPERIENCED
SO PERFECT A SENSE OF HUMAN EQUALITY AS WITH MOTHER TERESA AMONG HER POOR.
HER LOVE FOR THEM, REFLECTING GOD’S LOVE,
MAKES THEM EQUAL, AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS WITHIN A FAMILY ARE EQUAL…
THIS
IS THE ONLY EQUALITY THERE IS ON EARTH… GOD’S LOVE, WHICH, LIKE THE RAIN FROM
HEAVEN, FALLS ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST, ON RICH AND POOR, ALIKE.
I
FIRST MET MOTHER TERESA IN PERSON… TELEVISION INTERVIEW… THEN SHE CAME IN. IT WAS, FOR ME, ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL
OCCASIONS WHEN A FACE, HITHERTO UNKNOWN, SEEMS TO STAND OUT FROM ALL OTHER
FACES AS UNIQUELY SEPARATE AND UNIQUELY SIGNIFICANT, TO BE THENCEFORTH FOR EVER
RECOGNISABLE. THOUGH WE PURSUE EGOTISTIC
AND CARNAL ENDS…WE YET RECOGNISE WITH DELIGHT THE SPIRIT THAT HAS DETACHED
ITSELF FROM THESE PURPOSES. …SO I KNEW
THAT, EVEN IF I WERE NEVER TO SEE MOTHER TERESA AGAIN, THE MEMORY OF HER WOULD
STAY WITH ME FOR EVER. AS INDEED, IT
SURELY WILL.
…I
CANNOT SAY THAT MY INTERVIEW WITH MOTHER TERESA SEEMED AT THE TIME ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE GENERAL RUN. I PUT
THE EXPECTED QUESTIONS… MOTHER TERESA’S ANSWERS WERE PERFECTLY SIMPLE AND
PERFECTLY TRUTHFUL, SO MUCH SO THAT I HAD SOME UNEASINESS ABOUT KEEPING THE
INTERVIEW GOING FOR THE REQUIRED HALF HOUR.
CONTROVERSY, THE SUBSTANCE OF SUCH PROGRAMMES, DOES NOT ARISE IN THE
CASE OF THOSE WHO, LIKE MOTHER TERESA, ARE BLESSED WITH CERTAINTIES. …LIKEWISE WITH THE WORK OF THE MISSIONARIES
OF CHARITY, MOTHER TERESA IS FOND OF SAYING THAT WELFARE IS FOR A PURPOSE - AN
ADMIRABLE AND A NECESSARY ONE - WHEREAS CHRISTIAN LOVE IS FOR A PERSON. THE ONE IS ABOUT NUMBERS, THE OTHER IS ABOUT
A MAN WHO WAS ALSO GOD. HEREIN LIES THE
ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WELFARE SERVICES AND THE SERVICE OF CHRIST.
IN
THE FILM WE MADE IN CALCUTTA, THERE IS A SHOT OF MOTHER TERESA HOLDING A TINY
BABY GIRL IN HER HANDS; SO MINUTE THAT
HER VERY EXISTENCE SEEMED LIKE A MIRACLE.
AS SHE HOLDS THIS CHILD, SHE SAYS IN A VOICE, AND WITH AN EXPRESSION, OF
EXALTATION MOST WONDERFUL AND MOVING: ‘SEE!
THERE’S LIFE IN HER!’ HER FACE IS
GLOWING AND TRIUMPHANT…
THE
GOD MOTHER TERESA WORSHIPS CANNOT, WE ARE TOLD, SEE A SPARROW FALL TO THE GROUND
WITHOUT CONCERN. FOR MAN, MADE IN GOD’S
IMAGE, TO TURN ASIDE FROM THIS UNIVERSAL LOVE…I
CANNOT PRETEND AFTER IT WAS ALL OVER, I HAD A FEELING THAT SOMETHING
PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE HAD BEEN RECORDED IN MY TELE-CONVERSATION WITH MOTHER
TERESA. I ASSUMED THAT, AS USUAL, THE
CAMERA WOULD HAVE DRAINED AWAY WHATEVER WAS REAL AND ALIVE IN WHAT IT
PORTRAYED. THE CAMERA HAS A WONDERFUL
CAPACITY FOR DOING JUST THIS. …THE
VERDICT ON THE MOTHER TERESA INTERVIEW WAS THAT, TECHNICALLY, IT WAS BARELY
USABLE, AND THERE WAS FOR A WHILE SOME DOUBT AS TO WHETHER IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH
FOR SHOWING AT ALL EXCEPT LATE AT NIGHT.
IN THE END… IT WAS PUT OUT ON A SUNDAY EVENING. THE RESPONSE WAS GREATER THAT I HAVE KNOWN TO
ANY COMPARABLE PROGRAMME, BOTH IN MAIL AND IN CONTRIBUTIONS OF MONEY FOR MOTHER
TERESA’S WORK. I MYSELF RECEIVED MANY
LETTERS ENCLOSING CHEQUES AND MONEY ORDERS, RANGING BETWEEN A FEW SHILLINGS AND
HUNDREDS OF POUNDS. THEY CAME FROM YOUNG
AND OLD, RICH AND POOR, EDUCATED AND UNEDUCATED, ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF
PEOPLE. ALL OF THEM SAID APPROXIMATELY
THE SAME THING - THIS WOMAN SPOKE TO ME AS NO ONE EVER HAS, AND I FEEL I MUST
HELP HER.
DISCUSSIONS
ARE ENDLESSLY TAKING PLACE ABOUT HOW TO USE A MASS MEDIUM LIKE TELEVISION FOR
CHRISTIAN PURPOSES, AND ALL MANNER OF DEVICES ARE TRIED… HERE WAS THE
ANSWER. JUST GET ON THE SCREEN A FACE
SHINING AND OVERFLOWING WITH CHRISTIAN LOVE;
SOMEONE FOR WHOM THE WORLD IS NOTHING AND THE SERVICE OF CHRIST IS
EVERYTHING; SOMEONE REBORN OUT OF
SERVITUDE TO THE EGO AND THE FLESH, AND INTO THE GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE
CHILDREN OF GOD. THEN IT DOESN’T MATTER
HOW THE FACE IS LIGHTED OR SHOT; WHETHER
FRONT OR PROFILE…WHAT QUESTIONS ARE PUT OR BY WHOM… IT MIGHT SEEM SURPRISING ON
THE FACE OF IT, THAT AN OBSCURE NUN OF ALBANIAN ORIGINS, VERY NERVOUS - AS WAS
CLEARLY APPARENT - IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, SOMEWHAT HALTING IN SPEECH, SHOULD
REACH ENGLISH VIEWERS ON A SUNDAY EVENING AS NO PROFESSIONAL CHRISTIAN
APOLOGIST, BISHOP OR ARCHBISHOP, …EVER HAS.
BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, TO THE SURPRISE OF ALL PROFESSIONALLY
CONCERNED, INCLUDING ME. THE MESSAGE WAS
THE SAME MESSAGE THAT WAS HEARD IN THE WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME TWO THOUSAND
YEARS AGO; AS MOTHER TERESA SHOWED, IT
HAS NOT CHANGED ITS SENSE OR LOST ITS MAGIC.
AS THEN, SO NOW, IT IS BROUGHT, NOT WITH ENTICING WORDS OF MAN’S WISDOM,
BUT IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER; THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT
STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD.
THE
MOTHER TERESA PROGRAMME WAS REPEATED QUITE SOON AFTER ITS FIRST SHOWING IN
RESPONSE TO NUMEROUS REQUESTS, AND THE RESPONSE TO THE REPEAT PROGRAMME WAS EVEN GREATER THAN TO THE ORIGINAL ONE.
ALTOGETHER, SOMETHING LIKE 20 000 POUNDS (BEFORE 1969) FOUND ITS WAY TO
THE CO WORKERS OF MOTHER TERESA…
WHEN
THE POPE VISITED INDIA, ON LEAVING HE PRESENTED HER WITH HIS WHITE CEREMONIAL
MOTOR CAR. SHE NEVER SO MUCH AS TOOK A
RIDE IN IT, BUT SHREWDLY ORGANISED A RAFFLE WITH THE CAR AS THE PRIZE, THEREBY
RAISING ENOUGH MONEY TO GET HER LEPER COLONY STARTED.
HER
OWN CLERICAL WORK IS DONE AT NIGHT, WHEN THE SISTERS HAVE RETIRED. SHE WRITES MOST OF HER LETTERS IN HER OWN
HAND. I HAVE A NUMBER, WHICH I CHERISH. NOBODY KNOWS WHEN SHE GOES TO SLEEP HERSELF,
BUT CERTAINLY HER NIGHTS ARE OFTEN VERY ABBRIEVIATED. THIS, OF COURSE, DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH HER
APPEARANCE IN THE EARLY MORNING FOR PRAYERS AND MASS. IT IS POSSIBLE SOMETIMES TO SEE THAT SHE IS
TIRED, BUT NOT BY ANYTHING IN HER BEARING OR EXPRESSION OR SPEECH: JUST BY A SORT OF TIGHTNESS ROUND HER EYES,
WHICH STILL, HOWEVER, LOOK OUT ON THE WORLD WITH AN IMPREGNABLE SERENITY. DOES SHE WORRY? TO BE RESPONSIBLE, AS SHE IS, FOR HOUSES IN
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, AND ALL THE ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM, AS
WELL AS FOR AN EVER GROWING NUMBER OF SISTERS AT DIFFERENT STAGES IN THEIR
FORMATION, WITHOUT ANY FIXED INCOME OR SOURCE OF REVENUE, WOULD MAKE MOST
PEOPLE WORRY.
AFTER
THE EXPERIENCE OF INTERVIEWING MOTHER TERESA, I HAD A CONSUMING DESIRE TO GO TO
CALCUTTA AND PARTICIPATE IN MAKING A TELEVISION PROGRAMME ABOUT HER AND HER
WORK. THIS BECAME POSSIBLE IN THE SPRING
OF 1969...
WHILE
KEN AND THE SOUND RECORDIST WERE SETTING UP, MOTHER TERESA SUGGESTED WE SHOULD
GO UP TO THE CHAPEL TOGETHER. I READILY
AGREED. THE CHAPEL IS A LONG ROOM WITH
WINDOWS LOOKING ONTO THE STREET; AT THE
END AN ALTAR, MATTING ON THE FLOOR, AND NO DECORATION OF ANY KIND. THERE, TOO, AS I HAVE SAID, THE NOISE OF THE
STREET IS EVER PRESENT.
WE
KNELT SIDE BY SIDE.
I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND
PRAYING, IN ANY DEFINITIVE SENSE, VERY DIFFICULT. …NONETHELESS, THERE IS A PRAYER OF ST
AUGUSTINE…THAT I OFTEN SAY OVER, AND DID ON THIS OCCASION, KNEELING BESIDES
MOTHER TERESA: ‘LET ME OFFER YOU IN
SACRIFICE THE SERVICE OF MY THOUGHTS AND MY TONGUE, BUT FIRST GIVE ME WHAT I
MAY OFFER YOU.’ I ONCE SCRIBBLED DOWN MY
OWN VERSION…‘OH GOD, STAY WITH ME. LET
NO WORD CROSS MY LIPS THAT IS NOT YOUR WORD, NO THOUGHT ENTER MY MIND THAT IS
NOT YOUR THOUGHT, NO DEED EVER BE DONE OR ENTERTAINED BY ME THAT IS NOT YOUR
DEED.’
LOVE
TO PRAY, SHE EXHORTS THE SISTERS… AT THE SAME TIME, IN TRUE EVANGELICAL STYLE,
SHE GOES TO GOD WITH HER NEEDS AND DIFFICULTIES, AND IS ALWAYS MARVELLING AT
THE MUNIFICENT RESPONSE IN MEETING HER EVERY REQUIREMENT, GREAT AND SMALL. IF GOD CARES TO ARRAY THE LILIES OF THE FIELD
SO SPLENDIDLY, THEN ASSUREDLY MOTHER TERESA IS RIGHT IN BELIEVING THAT HE CARES
ABOUT HER AND THE SISTERS AND BROTHERS TINIEST NECESSITIES IN THEIR CONSTANT
ENDEAVOUR TO PRAISE AND SERVE HIM.
WE
CAME DOWN FROM THE CHAPEL TOGETHER AND THE FILMING BEGAN. IT IS NOT JUST MY OPINION, BUT THAT OF ALL
CONCERNED, THAT IT PROCEEDED WITH QUITE EXCEPTIONAL SMOOTHNESS AND SPEED. OUR NEXT MOVE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE OBVIOUS; THERE WERE NONE OF THE USUAL BREAKDOWNS AND
CRISES. ABOVE ALL, THERE WAS NO
BICKERING OR QUARRELING, WHICH, IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF FILM MAKING, IS ALMOST
UNAVOIDABLE. IN THE ORDINARY WAY, MAKING
A FIFTY MINUTE DOCUMENTARY…TAKES TWO TO THREE MONTHS. TO PRODUCE A SUFFICIENCY OF FOOTAGE IN FIVE
DAYS NECESSARILY PUT A HEAVY STRAIN ON ALL CONCERNED. THE NORMAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR TIME OFF HAD TO
BE SUSPENDED. …THERE WAS NO CHANCE OF
RE-DOING ANYTHING THAT WAS UNSATISFACTORY.
KEN’S WORRIES IN THIS RESPECT WERE GREATER BECAUSE, IN THE BURNING
SUNSHINE, THE CAMERA GOT VERY HOT AND MIGHT HAVE DAMAGED THE STOCK USED. AS IT TURNED OUT, ALL WAS WELL. AS FAR AS OUR ITINERARY WAS CONCERNED, IN
PRACTISE IT WAS MOTHER TERESA WHO DECIDED IT.
THERE WAS ONLY ONE POINT AT WHICH A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
AROSE. IT WAS, OF COURSE, SETTLED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH HER WISHES. IN VIEW OF
THE CHANGED ARRANGEMENTS, I EXPRESSED CONCERN AS TO WHETHER MOTHER TERESA’S
RICKETY OLD AMBULANCE, IN WHICH WE TRAVELLED ABOUT, NEEDED TO BE SENT FOR. PETER CHAFER, WISER THAN I IN THE WAYS OF
THOSE WHO WALK WITH GOD, SAID THAT WE SHOULD FIND IT OUTSIDE, PROBABLY WITH THE
MOTOR TURNING OVER. SO IT WAS.
ALL
THIS, AS ANYONE WITH EXPERIENCE OF FILMING EXPEDITIONS WILL KNOW, AMOUNTED TO A
KIND OF MIRACLE. THERE WAS ANOTHER
ACTUAL MIRACLE. …PART OF THE WORK OF THE
SISTERS IS TO PICK UP THE DYING FROM THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA, AND BRING THEM
INTO A BUILDING GIVEN TO MOTHER TERESA FOR THE PURPOSE THERE, AS SHE PUTS IT,
TO DIE WITHIN THE SIGHT OF A LOVING FACE.
SOME DO DIE, OTHERS SURVIVE AND ARE CARED FOR. THIS HOME FOR THE DYING IS DIMLY LIT BY SMALL
WINDOWS HIGH UP IN THE WALLS, AND KEN WAS ADAMANT THAT FILMING WAS QUITE
IMPOSSIBLE THERE. WE HAD ONLY ONE SMALL
LIGHT WITH US, AND TO GET THE PLACE ADEQUATELY LIGHTED IN THE TIME AT OUR
DISPOSAL WAS QUITE IMPOSSIBLE. IT WAS
DECIDED THAT, NONETHELESS, KEN SHOULD HAVE A GO… IN THE PROCESSED FILM, THE
PART TAKEN INSIDE WAS BATHED IN A PARTICULARLY BEAUTIFUL SOFT LIGHT…
HOW
TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS? KEN HAS ALL ALONG
INSISTED THAT, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, THE RESULT IS IMPOSSIBLE. TO PROVE THE POINT, ON HIS NEXT FILMING
EXPEDITION - TO THE MIDDLE EAST - HE USED SOME OF THE SAME STOCK IN A SIMILARLY
POOR LIGHT, WITH COMPLETELY NEGATIVE RESULTS.
HE OFFERS NO EXPLANATION, HE JUST SHRUGS AND AGREED THAT IT
HAPPENED. I MYSELF AM ABSOLUTELY
CONVINCED THAT THE TECHNICALLY UNACCOUNTABLE LIGHT IS, IN FACT, THE KINDLY
LIGHT NEWMAN REFERRED TO IN HIS WELL KNOWN EXQUISITE HYMN… MOTHER TERESA’S HOME
FOR THE DYING IS OVERFLOWING WITH LOVE, AS ONE SENSES IMMEDIATELY ON ENTERING
IT. THIS LOVE IS LUMINOUS, LIKE THE
HALOES … I FIND IT NOT AT ALL SURPRISING THAT THE LUMINOSITY SHOULD REGISTER ON
PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM. THE SUPERNATURAL…
ONE
THING EVERYONE WHO HAS SEEN THE FILM SEEMS TO BE AGREED ABOUT IS THAT THE LIGHT
IN THE HOME FOR THE DYING IS QUITE EXCEPTIONALLY LOVELY. …I AM PERSONALLY PERSUADED THAT KEN RECORDED
THE FIRST AUTHENTIC PHOTOGRAPHIC MIRACLE.
…THEIR
LIFE IS TOUGH AND AUSTERE BY WORLDLY STANDARDS, CERTAINLY; YET I NEVER MET SUCH DELIGHTFUL, HAPPY WOMEN,
OR SUCH AN ATMOSPHERE OF JOY AS THEY CREATE.
MOTHER TERESA, AS SHE IS FOND OF EXPLAINING, ATTACHES THE UTMOST
IMPORTANCE TO THIS JOYOUSNESS. THE POOR,
SHE SAYS, DESERVE NOT JUST SERVICE AND DEDICATION, BUT ALSO THE JOY THAT
BELONGS TO HUMAN LOVE. THIS IS WHAT THE
SISTERS GIVE THEM ABUNDANTLY. TODAY,
NOTORIOUSLY, THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS ARE SHORT OF VOCATIONS. NOR IS THE SHORTAGE BEING RECTIFIED BY
PERMITTING NUNS TO USE LIPSTICK, WEAR MINI-HABITS, AND OTHERWISE PARTICIPATE IN
THE WAYS AND AMENITIES OF CONTEMPORARY AFFLUENCE. THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY, ON THE OTHER
HAND, ARE MULTIPLYING AT A FANTASTIC RATE.
THEIR CALCUTTA HOUSE IS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS, AND AS EACH NEW HOUSE IS
OPENED THERE ARE VOLUNTEERS CLAMOURING TO GO THERE.
…ACCOMPANYING
MOTHER TERESA, AS WE DID, TO THESE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF
FILMING THEM - TO THE HOME FOR THE DYING, TO THE LEPERS AND UNWANTED CHILDREN,
I FOUND I WENT THROUGH THREE PHASES. THE
FIRST WAS HORROR MIXED WITH PITY, THE SECOND COMPASSION PURE AND SIMPLE, AND
THE THIRD, REACHING FAR BEYOND COMPASSION, SOMETHING I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED
BEFORE - AN AWARENESS THAT THESE DYING AND DERELICT MEN AND WOMEN, THESE LEPERS
WITH STUMPS INSTEAD OF HANDS, THESE UNWANTED CHILDREN, WERE NOT PITIABLE,
REPULSIVE OR FORLORN, BUT RATHER DEAR AND DELIGHTFUL; AS IT MIGHT BE, FRIENDS
OF LONG STANDING, BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
HOW IS IT TO BE EXPLAINED - THE VERY HEART AND MYSTERY OF THE CHRISTIAN
FAITH? TO SOOTHE THOSE BATTERED OLD
HEADS, TO GRASP THOSE POOR STUMPS, TO TAKE IN ONE’S ARMS THOSE CHILDREN
CONSIGNED TO THE DUSTBINS, BECAUSE IT IS HIS HEAD, AS THEY ARE HIS STUMPS AND
HIS CHILDREN, OF WHOM HE SAID THAT WHOSOEVER RECEIVED ONE SUCH CHILD IN HIS
NAME RECEIVED HIM.
JUST
BECAUSE HER FAITH IS SO SURE, MOTHER TERESA HAS NO NEED TO BE AN EVANGELIST IN
THE OLD PROPAGANDIST SENSE. SHE PREACHES
CHRIST EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY BY LIVING FOR AND IN HIM.
..I
LOOK BACK ON THE DAYS I SPENT WITH MOTHER TERESA IN CALCUTTA AS GOLDEN
ONES. TALKING WITH HER WAS A CONSTANT
DELIGHT. SHE LETS THINGS OUT CASUALLY;
AS THAT SHE BOUGHT A PRINTING PRESS FOR THE LEPERS SO THAT THEY COULD PRINT
PAMPHLETS AND LEAFLETS AND MAKE A LITTLE MONEY.
HOW… I ASKED MYSELF, DID SHE KNOW WHAT PRESS TO BUY AND WHERE TO BUY IT?
AND WITH THOSE STUMPS, HOW COULD THE LEPERS HOPE TO SET TYPE? FATUOUS QUESTIONS! THE PRESS IS THERE AND WORKING; THE LEPERS ARE DELIGHTED WITH IT. SHE HAS, I FOUND, A GEOGRAPHY OF HER OWN - A
GEOGRAPHY OF COMPASSION. SOMEHOW SHE
HEARS THAT IN VENEZUELA THERE ARE ABANDONED POOR; SO OFF THE SISTERS GO THERE, AND A HOUSE IS
SET UP. THEN THAT IN ROME - IN THIS CASE
FROM THE POPE HIMSELF - THERE ARE DERELICTS, AS IN CALCUTTA. …IN EACH CASE, WHEREVER IT MAY BE, THE CALL
IS HEARD AND ANSWERED.
WHEN
SHE IS AWAY IN EUROPE OR AMERICA, SHE ONLY LONGS TO BE BACK IN CALCUTTA WITH
HER POOR. THESE ARE HER BELOVED. WALKING WITH HER AMONG THEM, … CROWDING ROUND
HER AT THE LEPER SETTLEMENT, I KEPT HEARING THE MUTTERED WORD ‘MOTHER!’ IT WASN’T THAT THEY HAD ANYTHING TO SAY TO
HER OR TO ASK HER; JUST THAT THEY WANTED
TO ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH HER, TO KNOW SHE WAS THERE. I QUITE UNDERSTOOD. THE SISTERS LIKEWISE NEED HER PRESENCE AND,
WHEN THEY ARE STATIONED AWAY FROM CALCUTTA, LONG FOR HER VISITS. VISITING THE OTHER HOUSES IN INDIA, THE FIRST
QUESTION ALWAYS WAS: ‘WHEN WILL SHE COME?’
TO
ME, MOTHER TERESA REPRESENTS, ESSENTIALLY, LOVE IN ACTION, WHICH IS SURELY WHAT
CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT.
WHEN
THE VARIOUS DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF MAKING OUR FILM ABOUT MOTHER TERESA AND
THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY HAD ALL BEEN DEALT WITH, AND WE WERE IN A POSITION
TO GO AHEAD, MOTHER TERESA WROTE TO ME, ‘NOW LET US DO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR
GOD.’ I FOUND THE PHRASE ENCHANTING,
WITH A SPARKLE AND GAIETY VERY CHARACTERISTIC OF HER. IT CONTINUED TO ECHO IN MY MIND AND WHEN THE
TIME CAME TO CHOOSE A TITLE FOR THE FILM, SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD SEEMED
THE OBVIOUS ONE. LIKEWISE FOR THIS BOOK.
DOING
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD IS, FOR MOTHER TERESA, WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT. EVERYTHING, IN THAT IT IS FOR GOD, BECOMES
BEAUTIFUL, WHATEVER IT MAY BE; AS DOES
EVERY HUMAN SOUL…..MOTHER TERESA AND THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY PROVIDE A
LIVING WITNESS TO THE POWER AND TRUTH OF WHAT JESUS CAME TO PROCLAIM, HIS LIGHT
SHINES IN THEM. WHEN I THINK OF THEM IN
CALCUTTA, AS I OFTEN DO, IT IS NOT THE BARE HOUSE IN A DARK SLUM THAT IS
CONJURED UP IN MY MIND, BUT A LIGHT SHINING AND A JOY ABOUNDING. I SEE THEM DILIGENTLY AND CHEERFULLY
CONSTRUCTING SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD OUT OF THE HUMAN MISERY AND AFFLICTION
THAT LIES AROUND THEM. ONE OF THEIR
LEPER SETTLEMENTS IS NEAR A SLAUGHTER HOUSE WHOSE STENCH IN THE ORDINARY WAY
MIGHT EASILY MAKE ME RETCH. THERE, WITH
MOTHER TERESA, I SCARCELY NOTICED IT;
ANOTHER FRAGRANCE HAD SWALLOWED IT UP.
...SHE
IS THIS LOVE IN PERSON; THROUGH HER, WE
CAN REACH IT, AND HOLD IT, AND INCORPORATE IT IN OURSELVES. EVERYONE FEELS THIS. I WAS WATCHING RECENTLY THE FACES OF PEOPLE
AS THEY LISTENED TO HER…EVERY FACE, YOUNG AND OLD, SIMPLE AND SOPHISTICATED,
WAS RAPT, HANGING ON HER WORDS; NOT
BECAUSE OF THE WORDS - THEY WERE ORDINARY ENOUGH - BUT BECAUSE OF HER. SOME QUALITY THAT CAME ACROSS OVER AND ABOVE
THE WORDS HELD THEIR ATTENTION. A
LUMINOSITY SEEMED TO FILL THE SCHOOL HALL, ILLUMINATING THE RAPT FACES,
PENETRATING EVERY MIND AND HEART.
WHEN
SHE HAD FINISHED AND THE MEETING WAS OVER, THEY ALL WANTED TO TOUCH HER
HAND; TO BE PHYSICALLY NEAR HER FOR A
MOMENT; TO PARTAKE OF HER, AS IT
WERE. SHE LOOKED SO SMALL AND FRAIL AND
TIRED STANDING THERE, GIVING HERSELF.
YET THIS, I REFLECTED, IS HOW WE MAY FIND SALVATION. GIVING, NOT RECEIVING. ..ONE OLD MAN, NOT CONTENT JUST TO TAKE HER
HAND, BENT HIS GREY HEAD DOWN TO KISS IT.
SO THEY DO TO QUEENS … IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, IT WAS A GESTURE OF
PERFECT THANKFULNESS TO GOD… FOR SHOWING US HIS EVERLASTING TRUTH IN THE GUISE
OF ONE HOMELY FACE GOING ABOUT HIS WORK OF LOVE.
…AS
IT IS SO BEAUTIFULLY PUT IN THE OPENING CHAPTER OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL: AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG
US, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.
THE
CHRISTIAN STORY IS SIMPLY AN ENDLESS PROCESS OF THE WORD BECOMING FLESH AND
DWELLING GRACEFULLY AND TRUTHFULLY AMONG US.
… IN EACH AND EVERY MANIFESTATION OF OUR MORTAL SEEKING THE IMMORTAL, OR
OUR TEMPORAL SEEKING THE ETERNAL, OR OUR IMPERFECT SEEKING THE PERFECT. OF MEN REACHING UP TO GOD, AND GOD IN LOVE
AND COMPASSION BENDING DOWN TO MEN.
EACH
DAY MOTHER TERESA MEETS JESUS; FIRST IN
THE MASS, WHENCE SHE DERIVES SUSTENANCE AND STRENGTH; THEN IN EACH NEEDING, SUFFERING SOUL SHE SEES
AND TENDS. THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME
JESUS; AT THE ALTAR AND IN THE
STREETS. NEITHER EXISTS WITHOUT THE
OTHER. WE WHO ARE IMPRISONED IN
HISTORY…WE SEEK ANOTHER JESUS. A JESUS
OF HISTORY, ,,, (THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER)… THUS, FOR MOTHER
TERESA, THE TWO COMMANDMENTS - TO LOVE GOD AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR - ARE
JOINTLY FULFILLED; INDEED,
INSEPARABLE. IN HER LIFE AND WORK SHE
EXEMPLIFIES THE RELATION BETWEEN THE TWO;
HOW, IF WE DO NOT LOVE GOD WE CANNOT LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR, AND IF WE DO
NOT LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR WE CANNOT LOVE GOD.
IT
MAY STRIKE A CONTEMPORARY MIND AS EXTRAORDINARY THAT SOMEONE LIKE MOTHER
TERESA, IN CONTACT ALL THE TIME WITH HUMAN SUFFERING AT ITS MOST ACUTE AND MOST
DESOLATE, SHOULD HERSELF CONVEY SUCH AN IMPRESSION OF TOTAL SERENITY, AND BE SO
CONFIDENT OF GOD’S LOVE AND CARE FOR THE CREATURES OF HIS CREATION. …IN THE EYES OF THOSE WHO SEE MEN AS
MACHINES, GOD IS THAT MANUFACTURER, AND THE MECHANIC HIS PRIEST. …MOTHER TERESA, OF COURSE, SEES IT QUITE
DIFFERENTLY. SUFFERING AND DEATH, TO
HER, ARE NOT THE BREAKDOWN OF A MACHINE, BUT PART OF THE EVERLASTING DRAMA OF
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CREATOR.
IT
SO HAPPENED THAT JUST WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THIS A PROPOS MOTHER
TERESA, I PARTICIPATED IN A TELEVISION PROGRAMME ABOUT SUFFERING, AS A RESULT
OF WHICH I RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF LETTERS, ALL OF THEM RECOUNTING SOME EXPERIENCE
OF SUFFERING… AT ALL SOCIAL AND MENTAL LEVELS… I WAS CONSCIOUS, TURNING OVER
THESE LETTERS, MORE POIGNANTLY THAN EVER BEFORE, OF HOW ALL OF US ARE AT ONE,
IF NOT IN OUR HOPES AND DESIRES, THEN IN THE SCARS AND BRUISES WE BEAR…WE CAN
STILL GATHER TOGETHER AROUND THE CROSS…
I AM
VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE INADEQUACY OF MY EFFORT TO CONVEY IN WORDS MORE THAN A
HAZY AND INADEQUATE IMPRESSION OF THIS WOMAN OF GOD AND HER CO-WORKERS. …I ONLY SAY OF HER THAT IN A DARK TIME SHE IS
A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT; IN A
CRUEL TIME, A LIVING EMBODIMENT OF CHRIST’S GOSPEL OF LOVE; IN A GODLESS TIME, THE WORD DWELLING AMONG
US, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. FOR THIS,
ALL WHO HAVE THE INESTIMABLE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING HER, OR KNOWING OF HER, MUST
BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL.
OUTREACH
CENTRES:
TWENTY
FIVE CITIES IN INDIA AT TIME OF WRITING
MISSIONARY
BROTHERS OF CHARITY
CEYLON
TANZANIA
VENEZUELA
ROME
AUSTRALIA
LONDON
TO TRAIN NOVICES FROM EUROPE AND AMERICA
MOTHER
TERESA
QUOTES
“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.”
― Mother Teresa
“God made the world for the delight of human beings-- if we could see His goodness everywhere, His concern for us, His awareness of our needs: the phone call we've waited for, the ride we are offered, the letter in the mail, just the little things He does for us throughout the day. As we remember and notice His love for us, we just begin to fall in love with Him because He is so busy with us -- you just can't resist Him. I believe there's no such thing as luck in life, it's God's love, it's His.”
― Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
― Mother Teresa
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
― Mother Teresa
“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
― Mother Teresa
Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
― Mother Teresa
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
― Mother Teresa
Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
― Mother Teresa
“People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa
“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
― Mother Teresa
“Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.”
― Mother Teresa
Spread the love of God through your life but only use words when necessary.”
― Mother Teresa
The success of love is in the loving -- it is not in the result of loving. ”
― Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa
“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.”
― Mother Teresa
“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.”
― Mother Teresa, A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations
ON LOVE OF GOD
THOU
SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH THY WHOLE HEART, WITH THY WHOLE SOUL AND WITH
THY WHOLE MIND. THIS IS THE COMMANDMENT
OF THE GREAT GOD, AND HE CANNOT COMMAND THE IMPOSSIBLE. LOVE IS A FRUIT IN SEASON AT ALL TIMES, AND
WITHIN REACH OF EVERY HAND. ANYONE MAY
GATHER IT AND NO LIMIT IS SET. EVERYONE
CAN REACH THIS LOVE THROUGH MEDITATION, SPIRIT OF PRAYER AND SACRIFICE, BY AN
INTENSE INNER LIFE.
ON PRAYER
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ENGAGE IN THE DIRECT APOSTOLATE WITHOUT BEING A SOUL OF PRAYER. WE MUST BE AWARE OF ONENESS WITH CHRIST, AS HE WAS AWARE OF ONENESS WITH HIS FATHER. OUR ACTIVITY IS TRULY APOSTOLIC ONLY IN SO FAR AS WE PERMIT HIM TO WORK IN US AND THROUGH US, WITH HIS POWER, WITH HIS DESIRE, WITH HIS LOVE. WE MUST BECOME HOLY, NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO FEEL HOLY, BUT BECAUSE CHRIST MUST BE ABLE TO LIVE HIS LIFE FULLY IN US. WE ARE TO BE ALL LOVE, ALL FAITH, ALL PURITY, FOR THE SAKE OF THE POOR WE SERVE. AND ONCE WE HAVE LEARNED TO SEEK GOD AND HIS WILL, OUR CONTACTS WITH THE POOR WILL BECOME THE MEANS OF GREAT SANCTITY TO OURSELVES AND TO OTHERS.
LOVE TO PRAY - FEEL OFTEN DURING THE DAY THE NEED FOR PRAYER, AND TAKE TROUBLE TO PRAY. PRAYER ENLARGES THE HEART UNTIL IT IS CAPABLE OF CONTAINING GOD’S GIFT OF HIMSELF. ASK AND SEEK, AND YOUR HEART WILL GROW BIG ENOUGH TO RECEIVE HIM AND KEEP HIM AS YOUR OWN.
ON SILENCE
WE
NEED TO FIND GOD, AND HE CANNOT BE FOUND IN NOISE AND RESTLESS-NESS. GOD IS THE FRIEND OF SILENCE. SEE HOW NATURE - TREES, FLOWERS..IN
SILENCE; SEE THE STARS, THE MOON AND
SUN, HOW THEY MOVE IN SILENCE. IS NOT
OUR MISSION TO GIVE GOD TO THE POOR IN THE SLUMS? NOT A DEAD GOD, BUT A LIVING, LOVING
GOD. THE MORE WE RECEIVE IN SILENT
PRAYER, THE MORE WE CAN GIVE IN OUR ACTIVE LIFE. WE NEED SILENCE TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH
SOULS. THE ESSENTIAL THING IS NOT WHAT
WE SAY, BUT WHAT GOD SAYS TO US AND THROUGH US.
ALL OUR WORDS WILL BE USELESS UNLESS THEY COME FROM WITHIN - WORDS WHICH
DO NOT GIVE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST INCREASE THE DARKNESS.
ON HOLINESS
OUR
PROGRESS IN HOLINESS DEPENDS ON GOD AND OURSELVES - ON GOD’S GRACE AND ON OUR
WILL TO BE HOLY. WE MUST HAVE A REAL
LIVING DETERMINATION TO REACH HOLINESS.
‘I WILL BE A SAINT’ MEANS I WILL DESPOIL MYSELF OF ALL THAT IS NOT
GOD; I WILL STRIP MY HEART OF ALL
CREATED THINGS…TO THE WILL OF GOD.
ON HUMILITY
LET
THERE BE NO PRIDE OR VANITY IN THE WORK.
THE WORK IS GOD’S WORK, THE POOR ARE GOD’S POOR. PUT YOURSELF COMPLETELY UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF JESUS, SO THAT HE MAY THINK HIS THOUGHTS IN YOUR MIND, DO HIS WORK THROUGH
YOUR HANDS, FOR YOU WILL BE ALL-POWERFUL WITH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS YOU.
ON SUBMISSION
MAKE
SURE THAT YOU LET GOD’S GRACE WORK IN YOUR SOULS… TRUE HOLINESS CONSISTS IN
DOING GOD’S WILL WITH A SMILE.
ON SUFFERING
…JESUS
WANTED TO HELP BY SHARING OUR LIFE, OUR LONLINESS, OUR AGONY, OUR DEATH. ONLY BY BEING ONE WITH US HAS HE REDEEMED
US. WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO THE SAME: ALL THE DESOLATION OF THE POOR PEOPLE, NOT
ONLY THEIR MATERIAL POVERTY, BUT THEIR SPIRITUAL DESTITUTION, MUST BE REDEEMED,
AND WE MUST SHARE IT, FOR ONLY BY BEING ONE WITH THEM CAN WE REDEEM THEM, THAT
IS, BY BRINGING GOD INTO THEIR LIVES AND BRINGING THEM TO GOD.
ON JOY
JOY
IS PRAYER - JOY IS STRENGTH - JOY IS LOVE - JOY IS A NET OF LOVE BY WHICH WE
CAN CATCH SOULS. GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL
GIVER. SHE GIVES MOST WHO GIVES WITH
JOY. THE BEST WAY TO SHOW OUR GRATITUDE
TO GOD AND THE PEOPLE IS TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING WITH JOY. A JOYFUL HEART IS THE NORMAL RESULT OF A
HEART BURNING WITH LOVE. NEVER LET
ANYTHING SO FILL YOU WITH SORROW THAT YOU FORGET THE JOY OF CHRIST RISEN.
WE
ALL LONG FOR HEAVEN WHERE GOD IS, BUT WE HAVE IT IN OUR POWER TO BE IN HEAVEN
WITH HIM RIGHT NOW - TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM AT THIS VERY MOMENT. BUT BEING HAPPY WITH HIM NOW MEANS:
LOVING
AS HE LOVES
HELPING
AS HE HELPS
GIVING
AS HE GIVES
SERVING
AS HE SERVES
RESCUING
AS HE RESCUES
BEING
WITH HIM TWENTY FOUR HOURS
TOUCHING
HIM IN HIS DISTRESSING DISGUISE (THE POOR)
ON KINDNESS
BE
KIND AND MERCIFUL. LET NO ONE EVER COME
TO YOU WITHOUT COMING AWAY BETTER AND HAPPIER.
BE THE LIVING EXPRESSION OF GOD’S KINDNESS: KINDNESS IN YOUR FACE, KINDNESS IN YOUR EYES,
KINDNESS IN YOUR SMILE, KINDNESS IN YOUR WARM GREETING. IN THE SLUMS WE ARE THE LIGHT OF GOD’S
KINDNESS TO THE POOR. TO THE CHILDREN,
TO THE POOR, TO ALL WHO SUFFER AND ARE LONELY, GIVE ALWAYS A HAPPY SMILE - GIVE
THEM NOT ONLY YOUR CARE, BUT ALSO YOUR HEART.
ON THOUGHTFULNESS
THOUGHTFULNESS
IS THE BEGINNING OF GREAT SANCTITY. IF
YOU LEARN THIS ART OF BEING THOUGHTFUL, YOU WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE
CHRIST-LIKE, FOR HIS HEART WAS MEEK AND HE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF OTHERS. OUR VOCATION, TO BE BEAUTIFUL, MUST BE FULL
OF THOUGHT FOR OTHERS. JESUS WENT ABOUT
DOING GOOD.
PEACE
WE
SHALL MAKE THIS A YEAR OF PEACE IN A PARTICULAR WAY - TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WE
SHALL TRY TO TALK MORE TO GOD AND WITH GOD AND LESS WITH MEN AND TO MEN. LET US PREACH THE PEACE OF CHRIST LIKE HE
DID. HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD: HE DID NOT STOP HIS WORKS OF CHARITY BECAUSE
THE PHARISEES AND OTHERS HATED HIM OR TRIED TO SPOIL HIS FATHER’S WORK. HE JUST WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. CARDINAL NEWMAN WROTE: ‘HELP ME TO SPREAD THY FRAGRANCE EVERYWHERE I
GO - LET ME PREACH THEE WITHOUT PREACHING, NOT BY WORDS BUT BY MY EXAMPLE - BY
THE CATCHING FORCE; THE SYMPATHETIC INFLUENCE OF WHAT I DO, THE EVIDENT
FULLNESS OF THE LOVE MY HEART BEARS TO THEE.’
OUR WORKS OF LOVE ARE NOTHING BUT WORKS OF PEACE. LET US DO THEM WITH GREATER LOVE AND EFFICIENCY…
IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME CHRIST WHO SAYS:
I
WAS HUNGRY… FOR PEACE
I
WAS THIRSTY
I
WAS NAKED
I
WAS HOMELESS…FOR A HEART THAT UNDERSTANDS, THAT COVERS, THAT LOVES.
…LET
US RADIATE THE PEACE OF GOD AND SO LIGHT HIS LIGHT AND EXTINGUISH IN THE WORLD…
APOSTLE OF THE UNWANTED
THE
BIGGEST DISEASE TODAY IS NOT LEPROSY… BUT RATHER THE FEELING OF BEING UNWANTED,
UNCARED FOR AND DESERTED BY EVERYBODY.
THE GREATEST EVIL IS THE LACK OF LOVE AND CHARITY, THE TERRIBLE
INDIFFERENCE…LET CHRIST RADIATE AND LIVE HIS LIFE IN … AND THROUGH … LET THE
POOR SEEING … BE DRAWN TO CHRIST AND INVITE HIM TO ENTER THEIR HOMES AND THEIR
LIVES. LET THE SICK AND SUFFERING FIND
IN … COMFORT AND CONSOLATION, LET THE LITTLE ONES OF THE STREETS CLING TO …
BECAUSE … REMINDS THEM OF HIM, THE FRIEND OF THE LITTLE ONES.
…
ONLY IN HEAVEN WILL WE SEE HOW MUCH WE OWE TO THE POOR FOR HELPING US TO LOVE
GOD BETTER BECAUSE OF THEM.
HOLY COMMUNION
IN
HOLY COMMUNION WE HAVE CHRIST UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD. IN OUR WORK WE FIND HIM UNDER THE APPEARANCE
OF FLESH AND BLOOD. IT IS THE SAME
CHRIST: ‘I WAS HUNGRY, I WAS NAKED, I
WAS SICK, I WAS HOMELESS.’
DAILY PRAYER
DEAREST
LORD, MAY I SEE YOU TODAY AND EVERY DAY IN THE PERSON OF YOUR SICK, AND WHILST
MINISTERING TO THEM, MINISTER UNTO YOU.
THOUGH
YOU HIDE YOURSELF BEHIND THE UNATTRACTIVE DISGUISE OF THE IRRITABLE, THE
EXACTING, THE UNREASONABLE, MAY I STILL RECOGNISE YOU, AND SAY:
JESUS,
MY PATIENT, HOW SWEET IT IS TO SERVE YOU.
LORD,
GIVE ME THIS SEEING FAITH, THEN MY WORK WILL NEVER BE MONOTONOUS. I WLL EVER FIND JOY IN HUMOURING THE FANCIES
AND GRATIFYING THE WISHES OF ALL POOR SUFFERERS.
O
BELOVED SICK, HOW DOUBLY DEAR YOU ARE TO ME, WHEN YOU PERSONIFY CHRIST, AND
WHAT A PRIVILEGE IS MINE TO BE ALLOWED TO TEND YOU.
SWEETEST
LORD, MAKE ME APPRECIATIVE OF THE DIGNITY OF MY HIGH VOCATION, AND ITS MANY
RESPONSIBILITIES. NEVER PERMIT ME TO
DISGRACE IT BY GIVING WAY TO COLDNESS, UNKINDNESS, OR IMPATIENCE.
…TO
MY INTENTION, WHICH IS TO LOVE YOU AND SERVE YOU IN THE PERSON OF EACH OF YOUR
SICK. WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY
BROTHERS, THAT YOU DO UNTO ME.
LORD,
INCREASE MY FAITH…
GO TELL EVERYONE
GOD’S
SPIRIT IS IN MY HEART
HE
HAS CALLED ME AND SET ME APART
THIS
IS WHAT I HAVE TO DO
WHAT
I HAVE TO DO
HE
SENT ME TO GIVE THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR
TELL
PRISONERS THAT THEY ARE PRISONERS NO MORE
TELL
BLIND PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN SEE
AND
SET THE DOWN TRODDEN FREE
AND
GO TELL EVERYONE THE NEWS THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME.
JUST
AS THE FATHER SENT ME
SO
I’M SENDING YOU OUT TO BE
MY
WITNESSES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
THE
WHOLE OF THE WORLD
DON’T
CARRY A LOAD IN YOUR PACK
YOU
DON’T NEED TWO SHIRTS ON YOUR BACK
THE
WORKMAN CAN EARN HIS OWN KEEP
CAN
EARN HIS OWN KEEP
DON’T
WORRY WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY
DON’T
WORRY BECAUSE ON THAT DAY
GOD’S
SPIRIT WILL SPEAK IN YOUR HEART
WILL
SPEAK IN YOUR HEART.
WHATEVER YOU DO
WHEN
I WAS HUNGRY, YOU GAVE ME TO EAT
WHEN
I WAS THIRSTY, YOU GAVE ME TO DRINK
WHATSOEVER
YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS,
THAT
YOU DO UNTO ME.
NOW
ENTER THE HOUSE OF MY FATHER.
WHEN
I WAS HOMELESS, YOU OPENED YOUR DOORS
WHEN
I WAS NAKED, YOU GAVE ME YOUR COAT
WHEN
I WAS WEARY, YOU HELPED ME FIND REST
WHEN
I WAS ANXIOUS, YOU CALMED ALL MY FEARS
WHEN
I WAS LITTLE, YOU TAUGHT ME TO READ
WHEN
I WAS LONELY, YOU GAVE ME YOUR LOVE
WHEN
IN A PRISON, YOU CAME TO MY CELL
WHEN
ON A SICK BED, YOU CARED FOR MY NEEDS
IN A
STRANGE COUNTRY, YOU MADE ME AT HOME
SEEKING
EMPLOYMENT, YOU FOUND ME A JOB
HURT
IN A BATTLE, YOU BOUND UP MY WOUNDS
SEARCHING
FOR KINDNESS, YOU HELD OUT YOUR HAND
WHEN
I WAS NEGRO, OR CHINESE, OR WHITE
MOCKED
AND INSULTED YOU CARRIED MY CROSS
WHEN
I WAS AGED, YOU BOTHERED TO SMILE
WHEN
I WAS RESTLESS, YOU LISTENED AND CARED
YOU
SAW ME COVERED WITH SPITTLE AND BLOOD
YOU
KNEW MY FEATURES, THOUGH GRIMY WITH SWEAT
WHEN
I WAS LAUGHED AT, YOU STOOD BY MY SIDE
WHEN
I WAS HAPPY, YOU SHARED IN MY JOY.
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
― Mother Teresa
“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”
― Mother Teresa
“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.”
― Mother Teresa
“If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.”
― Mother Teresa
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
― Mother Teresa
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
― Mother Teresa
“If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
― Mother Teresa
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
― Mother Teresa
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