Holiness from Calcutta

If I had to choose favorite saints (because who can pick just one?), mine would be St. Joan of Arc, (soon to be saint) Mother Teresa, and St. Gianna Molla. Today is the day that will be Mother Teresa’s feast day! We don’t celebrate it officially yet because she’s not quite officially recognized as a saint. But who wouldn’t take the opportunity to talk about her?

Mother Teresa inspires me so much because she gave up so much to run after God. Visiting sisters in her order over spring break showed me how radically different they live which was crazy awesome. They get up at 4am to serve people, and constantly smile. It was so beautiful! Part of why I love Mother Teresa is because she followed God no matter what. People think you’re crazy? Ain’t nobody got time fo that negativity. Love ’em anyway! Sick people? Love ’em! Crazy people? Love ’em! Poor people? Love ’em! We’re all people who long to love and be loved. Her life is a beautiful example of what that looks like.

She embodied the whole Christian idea of loving all our brothers and sisters. No matter what. She would help anyone, love anyone, but never backed down from what she believed in. Maybe that’s part of why I like her too – because I need to work on that more (the whole being nice and loving with truth). And another funny thing? I did the Myers-Briggs four letter personality thing and it said I had the same personality as her. Now that’s a lot to live up to!

There are so many quotes from Mother Teresa that I love. Here’s a poster I have on my wall (which is one of my favorites).

Read through the meditation I thirst for you (which you can order brochures of for free, and I have a whole stack of on my desk), and read her 7 steps to a holier life (ha, I must really like her because this is hanging on my door as well). Okay, yup. She’s also hanging out on our suite wall. So you could say she’s pretty awesome. Also, check out these pictures.

 

Gah! Can you even handle the holiness here?!?! I just love her. What are some of your favorite quotes from her? The prayer she said everyday (Radiating Christ) has also become a favorite of mine:

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance wherever I go.
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine.
It will be you, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.
Amen.

BOOM. Your day just got more holy. Now go out and be awesome!

To Life,

 

 

 

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