The whole Church is rejoicing in her latest saint! Here are 13 things Mother Teresa said that took hold of my heart…
- “With me, the sunshine of darkness is bright.”
- “I want to want it as He wants it.”
- “I am not alone – I have his darkness – I have his pain – I have the terrible longing for God.”
- “Jesus, I accept whatever you give, and I give whatever you take.”
- “I need not look for big learned words [when I teach the sisters]. I just open my heart and He talks.”
- “I must have been so very full of self all these years – since God is taking so long to empty me. I hope one day when I am fully empty He comes.”
- “It often happens that those who spend their time giving light to others, remain in darkness themselves.”
- “Three days ago we picked up two people eaten alive with worms … The old man asked for a cigarette and how beautiful of God – in my bag there were two packets of [the] best cigarettes. A rich man gave them to me that morning in the street. God thought of this old man’s longing.”
- “That’s the most beautiful part of God, eh? Being almighty, and yet not forcing himself on anyone.”
- “It is only when we realize our nothingness, our emptiness, that God can fill us with Himself. When we become full of God then we can give God to others…”
- “I try to accept my poverty of being small, helpless, incapable [on my own] of great love.”
- “It is not how much we really ‘have’ to give – but how empty we are.”
- “Give Jesus a big smile – each time your nothingness frightens you.”
Question: Which of these struck you most and why? Share your answers on Facebook and Twitter.
Image: 1974, Calcutta, West Bengal, India — Mother Teresa with a child from the orphanage she operates in Calcutta. Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Boyaxihu), the Roman Catholic-Albanian nun revered as India’s “Saint of the Slums,” was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. — Image by © Nik Wheeler/Sygma/Corbis
For such a time as this have we been given Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. By taking us beyond the alternatives of prudish repression and damaging indulgence, the Theology of the Body opens the path to the redemption of sexuality and the real healing of our wounds. Learn more by watching my short film, The Cry of the Heart. Watch the trailer below.