St. Teresa of Calcutta, known during her lifetime as Mother Teresa, is best known for her work among the poor of the slums of one of India’s most crowded cities.
Mother Teresa had high ideals and high standards for herself and for those in her religious Community, the Missionaries of Charity, but she taught that the way to reach them was to concentrate on the smallest of acts.
But she was nothing if she wasn’t practical.
She believed that social justice and world peace are obtained through small acts of love; the test of how much we love our neighbor as ourselves was to examine the way we love those closest to us.
How did I treat my siblings today? Are those in my community any better off today than they were yesterday, thanks to something I contributed?
Some of her most famous sayings:
“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
“Whatever you do for your family, your children, your husband, your wife, you do for God. All we do, our prayers, our work, our suffering, is for Jesus.”
“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.”