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Your email address will not be published.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

Christmas 2025

Christmas 2025

Christmas greetings from Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán – President and Co-president of the Focolare Movement

Pre-Assembly process: a journey of conversion and sharing

Pre-Assembly process: a journey of conversion and sharing

From 20 December 2025, preparations for General Assembly will continue with a series of meetings known as the pre-assembly process. This will be a time of preparation, discernment, but above all, of sharing and will involve many people from the most diverse parts of the world.

Baby Jesus is back at the heart of Christmas

Baby Jesus is back at the heart of Christmas

Founded in 1997, the initiative ‘They have evicted Jesus’ originates from a reflection by Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, who, struck by the absence of any reference to the true meaning of Christmas, invited people to bring Jesus back to the heart of it.