Pope preface to book on Mother Teresa: serve the poor
(Vatican Radio) Pope
Francis has written the preface to a new book on Mother Teresa entitled “let us
love those who are unloved” that is based on two speeches given by her during a
meeting with young people and with religious sisters in Milan in 1973. Founder
of the Missionaries of Charity order, Mother Teresa will be proclaimed a saint
by Pope Francis on September 4th. In his preface, the Pope reflected on
the five themes of prayer, charity, works of mercy, family and young people.
Pope Francis noted that
Mother Teresa always began her day by going to Mass and ended it with the
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In this way, he said, it’s possible to
transform our work into prayer. If we enter into the feelings of Jesus we can
savour life and give a renewed look to those we meet.
Turning next to charity, the
Pope explained that this means being close to all those on the peripheries that
we meet every day, feeling compassion for those who are the least in terms of
body and spirit and to bear witness to God’s caress for every wound of
humanity.
When it comes to works of
mercy, Pope Francis reminded that we are called to take care of every person
with works of corporal and spiritual mercy. He said this is a way to reawaken
our consciences that often have become dormant when faced with the harsh reality
of poverty in order to enter more fully into the heart of the Gospel where the
poor are the recipients of divine mercy.
Looking next at the family,
the Pope noted that this is where we learn from our parents to smile and
forgive each other, to welcome and sacrifice ourselves for others, to give
without expecting anything in return, to pray and suffer together, to rejoice
and help each other, just like Mother Teresa urged us to do.
Concluding by turning to the
theme of young people, Pope Francis spoke of the upcoming World Youth Day
gathering in Krakow, Poland and urged young people to serve the poor and to be
builders of bridges that tear down the logic of division, rejection and fear of
others. He also appealed to them to face up with courage to life,
describing it as a gift of God.
In the book, Mother Teresa
states that "the greatest disease is not leprosy or tuberculosis but
loneliness." This, she said, "is the cause of so many
conflicts, divisions and wars that afflict us nowadays."
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