Focolare Movement

Mother Teresa, a great teacher of the art of loving

Sep 4, 2016

After the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who is being canonised today, Chiara Lubich spoke of her as a role model for the perfection of charity. Mother Teresa and Chiara were bound by a deep friendship and met on several occasions.

 MotherTeresa“Mother Teresa is … a great teacher of the art of loving. She truly loved everyone. She didn’t ask her neighbour if he or she was Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, etc. … Undoubtedly, Mother Teresa was the first to love. She went out looking for those entrusted to her by God. Mother Teresa saw Jesus in every person, perhaps in a way no others did. Her motto was: “You did it for me.” Mother Teresa made herself one with everyone. She made herself poor with the poor and especially in the same way as the poor. … She didn’t accept anything that the poor couldn’t have as well. We know, for example, that she and her sisters do without having even a simple washing machine, something that many people do not understand. They say: “Nowadays!” But she did not want one because the poor don’t have them. She took upon herself and identified herself with the wretchedness of the poor, their grief, their sickness and death. Mother Teresa loved everyone as herself, to the point of offering others her own ideal. For example, she invited the volunteers who spent a period of time serving in her Work to seek out their own “Calcutta” when they went home to their countries. She said:  it is because there are poor people everywhere. Mother Teresa certainly loved her enemies. She never stopped to dispute the absurd accusations they made against her, but she prayed for her enemies. Yes, in her we can see “the art of loving” lived to perfection. She was … a queen of charity.” Chiara Lubich Message during a Conference Call on 25th September 1997.

Reead more: The magnificat of Mother Theresa of Calcutta as received by Chiara Lubich – Press releases SIF– 1° Settembre 2016

 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Subscribe to Newsletter

Thought of the day

Related post

The seal of unity

The seal of unity

During his recent audience with all the participants of the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement, Pope Leo XIV commented: “Unity is a seed – simple yet powerful – which attracts thousands of men and women, inspires vocations, and generates a zeal for evangelisation, as well as social, cultural, artistic and economic works, and is a leaven for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.” Here are some words from Chiara Lubich, spoken on the 9th of November 1989 during a “Link-up”, which present unity to us as the rock upon which our lives are built.

Co-citizens of Loppiano: Together to Build the Future

Co-citizens of Loppiano: Together to Build the Future

The “Co-citizens of Loppiano” is an association born from those who spent a significant period of their lives in Loppiano (Incisa Val d ‘Arno, Italy), the Little Town of the Focolare Movement. Its mission is to support Loppiano, cooperating with its Governance, so that it can continue to be a point of hope, a place of witness and a centre of universal fraternity, just as Chiara Lubich envisioned it.