Monday, February 27, 2012

Mother Teresa




   Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

... During the last years of her life, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to govern her Society and respond to the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000 members and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity and then made one more trip abroad. After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. 

On September 5 Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end.  She was given the honor of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to the thirsting love of God.

Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favors being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonization. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.

Selected Quotes from Mother Teresa:

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

”Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”

“I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”
“Peace begins with a smile...”
“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather he will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?”
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
“Live simply so others may simply live.” 
 
“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
“Prayer in action is love, love in action is service.”
“I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”
“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
“If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.” 
 
“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.”
“Spread the love of God through your life but only use words when necessary.”
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.”

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