If anyone asked you what you knew about Mother Teresa’s mission in this world, I assume you would say something about her service to the sick, the dying, and the poor. Certainly, that sums up her devotion to serving God’s people. You might remember from the biography I shared on Sunday that she said God called her to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.” (found here, para 4)
I also noticed that God came to her when she was on her way to a retreat. That’s really nice timing since she was on her way to a spiritually rejuvenating event where she would have a lot of time to contemplate what is to come next in her life. What a perfect time to discern a call. I wonder if it took some convincing to get her to leave the Sisters of Loreto and go out on her own. Or maybe she was able to follow the example of our Blessed Mother and immediately obey.
I wonder how I would handle such a call. Can you imagine being told to leave the life you know and start over? I wonder how I would respond. What could I do?
But then again, serving God’s people is an expectation for all Christians. Whatsoever we do for the least of our brothers, we do for Him, right? (see Matthew 25:31-46 for a reminder.) How are we doing with that? I know I fall short from time to time.
We could probably each use some time to ask ourselves this question: How can I find ways to share my time and talents with people who might need them? Especially in those times when money is tight, how can I continue to serve God’s people?
By the way, I think it’s always good to remind ourselves that He isn’t asking us to go into the world and point out to everyone else the ways that they sin. We’re not going to help satisfy his thirst for love and souls by finding other sinners and trying to guilt them into shaping up. We win souls for Christ when we share Christ’s love. It doesn’t make people want to join us in faith when we’re judgmental. We attract others to conversion by demonstrating the joy that comes from a life of holiness. As I’ve said many times, we have to lead by example.
And that’s the story of the earthly life of St. Teresa of Calcutta. She showed us what real obedience to God’s call looks like. More importantly, she shared God’s love with the poorest of the poor, those living in poverty, the suffering, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the lost and forgotten of society. She showed God’s compassion for the hungry, the elderly, the neglected, the sick, and the dying. She walked into the lives of all these people to find out what they truly need, and then she did whatever she had to do to find people who could provide it. Will we ever see such a humble servant in our lifetimes? What does her example say for us?
Lord God, You have asked us so many times to take Your love to those who need it most in this world. You have guided us to learn about service through the beautiful example of St. Teresa of Calcutta. Help us to open our hearts to your call to serve. Guide us to find ways that we can contribute to Mother Teresa’s mission in the world.