Wisdom from Mother Teresa For the Times We Live in

I had plans for a different post, but so much life going on right now that I thought I would move my “the importance of the family meal” to next week and share a few words from one of my favorite modern-day Saints, Mother Teresa.

Hard to believe that 4 years ago today, I sat in St. Peters Square — baking in the hot Italian sun — 6 kids in tow and watched one of my real-life heroes get canonized.

On that day, we each seemed to receive a special grace, unique to our individual temperaments and personalities. It was such a beautiful day, and one we won’t soon forget.

Definitely a highlight of our family travels.

Beyond that, though, Mother Teresa has so much to teach us about the times we find ourselves in.

I know so many people seem so divided — but try not to be a part of the division and fighting. Believe me, I know it can be difficult, but we have to keep trying!

We need to keep allowing God to work through us and love through us and be the change that we want to see.

One of the things I loved about Mother Teresa was that she was not a pushover. She was one tough lady!

She traveled the word speaking the hard truths that we all needed to hear — and she even managed to say it with a smile on most days.

She spoke in defense of the unborn, while some of the worlds’ most powerful pro-abortion politicians stared her down:

“But, I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child...If we accept that a mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, rather, to use violence to get what they want.”

Mother Teresa

Strong words, but she spoke those words with love — not just for the unborn, but for the politician that had gone astray, somewhere along the way.

One of the greatest challenges of our times is to SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

It’s an awful lot easier to say nothing or to speak the truth in anger and hostility. Mother Teresa was an awesome model of speaking the truth in love throughout her life.

She knew a secret about love: to find that love in our hearts — especially for our enemies — we need to pray and fast. I can not underscore the importance of prayer and fasting to the sisters of charity and their work.

They knew prayer must always be the FIRST THING or nothing they could ever do for the poor would bear lasting fruit. They also knew that fasting would give greater efficacy to their work with the poor.

So don’t underestimate the power of fasting and sacrifices to God for our own conversion and for the conversions of those who oppose God — after all, God wants all of us to make it to Heaven.

Besides, Jesus knew the battle, better than we did. He knew some demons can only be overcome through prayer AND fasting — so if we want to help our current challenges, let’s look to Jesus and the Saints for the weapons at our disposal.

Beyond that, Mother Teresa was an awesome example of courage. She seemed to have a knack for simply stating the truth without apology — even when opposed by many for that truth.

Lord knows, we could all use a little more courage to speak up in our own times, couldn’t we?

The truth is, though, we won’t find that courage if we don’t take the time to pray — listening to God and beg Him to enlighten our minds and give us HIS WORDS, HIS ACTIONS, AND HIS LOVE.

Let us not forget we are in the middle of a battle — a battle taking place in our own hearts and in hearts around the world.

We are also in the midst of so much confusion — and in a special way, Mother Teresa was allowed to experience the darkness and confusion of the world — and she accepted it for her salvation and the salvation of the world.

All the more reason to ask her intercession for clarity in these dark times and to take the time to listen for God’s voice breaking through the confusion.

Mother Teresa made it clear that prayer leads to that clarity we need in confusing times.

“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.”

Mother Teresa

Make no mistake, there is an intense battle going on for souls in our world– and we all have a part to play in resisting evil and doing our part to fight for what is right.

Most of all, we have a part to play in sharing God’s truth and love with a world that is desperate for it.

So, get to work, good people! Go out and do great things with your lives!

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Mother Teresa