On suffering

Courtesy of Beliefnet:

"Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close that he can kiss you. Do you understand, brothers, sisters, or whoever you may be? Suffering, pain, humiliation—this is the kiss of Jesus."

--Mother Teresa

Just another day?

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."  (Mother Teresa)

What is it about normalcy
that allows us to forget that we belong to one another?
Each day in which we're allowed
to sail from dawn to dusk without tragedy,
we ignore
trample upon
and bicker with each other.
We see only obstacles
or time thieves in each other.
We are offended if anyone should think differently than us --
and God forbid they express their opinion!

But when horror strikes --
as it did on September 11 --
we act as if we all breathe from the same pair of lungs.
We forget our petty disagreements
and differences.
We lean upon and
cling to one another
as lifesavers in a stormy sea.
Gone are our annoyances
with the challenges of living together.
We see our kindred spirit,
are reminded of our shared humanity,
and recognize that we do, in fact, belong to one another.

--July 2, 2008

Bite-sized inspiration

I don't claim anything of the work. It is His work. I am like a little pencil in His hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used.

--Mother Teresa, interviewed by TIME magazine

(on a related note of allowing our gifts to be used for what they were intended to maximum efficiency, check out this video.)

Bite-sized inspiration

You will find as you look back upon your life that
the moments when you have truly lived
are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.

--Mother Teresa