I love Blessed Mother Teresa! Her life, teachings and example inspired and guided me early on in my spiritual journey. Once, however, I heard her give a talk that, to be honest, wasn’t that interesting or well-delivered. Yet almost every two minutes, the crowd would erupt in applause! I can guarantee you that if I were to give the same talk, everyone would be sleeping.
So why is it that everyone applauds for her, and not for us? Why does she do such simple things and still change people’s lives? Why is it that just being in her presence touches people?
One important reason is because she had Jesus’ life flowing right through her. Jesus says, “Without me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5), meaning we won’t bear any spiritual fruit. Because He was dwelling in her so fully, even the little things she did communicated His love and presence.
You can see conviction in people: put simply, either they have it or they don’t. You can see when someone really believes in something, because their body language says they believe it, and their life backs it up. Bl. Mother Teresa’s life backed up every word she uttered and her conviction was tangible.
A young monk at Westminster Abbey, Mission, in conversation with our Father
Such conviction comes from prayer, where Jesus changes our hearts and we become more like Him. Prayer is so important to that today’s saint, St. Benedict, wrote famously: “Let nothing be preferred to the Work of God” (Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 43). The work of God refers to the divine liturgy, prayer, praising God. Despite its importance, we’re all tempted to neglect prayer for unimportant things, because we’re tired, maybe a bit lazy, or disorganized. We put other things before prayer, not legitimate things like work or family, but internet, TV, and our sometimes selfish hobbies.
Let’s give Jesus that quality time. How much time? The better question is: how much time will help us to grow? For some, 15 minutes is what they need; for me, 15 minutes isn’t enough; I need more. Whatever will make us more like Jesus is how much we need.
When Jesus lives in us, we can touch hearts, encourage people with a word or a smile, we can share Jesus’ peace and joy, and inspire people with simple acts of love.