I continue to be impressed with the values and insights of Mother Teresa. Her heart was so pure and so desirous of helping the poor that she rarely took care of herself. She sought to bring peace, love, and joy to the most needy of India; by caring for them, she brought peace and love to all of us. She believed that poor people die of hunger because the world is not generous enough to take care of them. By recognizing Christ in the hungry, the lonely, and the shivering child in need of a home, Mother Teresa brought love, compassion, the peace of God, and the light of God’s Word to everyone she met. Doing God’s work with her smiling heart, we, too, can make the world a better place. We need to have a healthy mind and body, an ability to learn, common sense, and a cheerful disposition. Everything else is in God’s hands.
To work with others, we need to practice humility. Speaking about our own achievements is not as important as listening to others. You need to mind your own business and avoid being curious about matters that do not concern you. Accepting contradictions and corrections cheerfully is essential in helping others to focus on their positive virtues rather than their faults. You should not focus on insults, injuries, and being slighted, forgotten, or disliked. It is hard to do, but you must learn to be patient, kind and gentle, no matter what provocation may exist. In life, we need to learn that some people can be blessings while others are examples of life’s lessons.
Pray for peace, joy, and love. Christ came to give us the peace of heart which comes from loving and doing good for others. Pray for the ability to know the will of God and to lovingly accept His will. In accepting His will, it is our responsibility to do that will. In the silence of our prayers, we find the fruit of faith. The fruit of faith is love, and the fruit of love is service. God is not concerned with how successful we are, but with how peace results from our service. When we are sincere in dealing with others, we find the courage to accept each other as we are. By not focusing on our failures, we find good in each other. Sincerity and goodness are qualities God gave us as He molded us in His image.
We are God’s messengers of love and light to the world. We are not kings and queens but the salt of the earth. God wants us to take Christ into the world where He is needed. We need to take the Lord at His word and realize that there is no life without God’s gift of faith. Our good works should be based on love and faith so that others may find the peace of the Lord. We do not find Christ in far off lands but in our hearts where He is keeping a lamp burning for us in the sweet aroma of His caring. When you pray, you are united with Christ, allowing Him to be with you, in you, for you, and through you.
God created us out of love, and He wants us to love and be loved. If we would only let love guide our words, actions, and deeds every day, there would be no wars, no violence, and no hatred in the world. Love is pouring ourselves out for others; true love causes pain, hurts, and yet brings joy. We should pray for the courage to love more deeply than we ever have before. Many hunger for food and the Word of God in our darkened world today. They thirst not only for water but for peace, truth, and justice. The sick and dying need nursing not only for their bodies but also for their minds and spirits.
Our children learn to love one another when their parents are role models of that love. Every family has its cross to bear, its pain to struggle with, and its times of devastation, but children will learn how to forgive when forgiveness is a core value in their family. When parents have created a loving atmosphere in their homes, children will want to return home, even as they raise their own children or become their parents’ caretakers.
As I have found in these extraordinary times we are in, it is hard to keep encouraging myself to have a joyful heart, but I must keep my heart burning with and for love. I continue to hear God’s voice in everything I say and do. In hungering for His voice and guidance, I have chosen peace with a smile to help me radiate His peace in the world, to stop hatred and the love of power, and to bring peace wherever and whenever it is needed. In so doing, I hope others will hear God’s voice and follow His Son, Jesus Christ.
Anna Hartt
