Light Everlasting

A book reading is offered in this recording instead of the usual meditation. Shifting perspective, embracing gifts from those who may be very different, the smallest gifts can be the most nourishing. Mother Teresa lives through this audio. May your day be blessed even more fully by listening to Maria's share.

Transcript

Warning,

Warning,

This is a little bit of a talk type share,

Not the usual meditation that you might find here on Insight Timer.

I'm just giving you a little bit of a heads up in case you didn't notice that.

I have been offering many meditations here.

Go ahead and look around.

I'm Maria.

Hi.

I really appreciate you for trusting me with a little bit of your time right now.

I'm going to be talking about Mother Teresa right now.

No matter what religion,

If any,

That you are,

I hope you appreciate what I'm going to share right now.

Here we go.

Do something beautiful for God.

The essential teachings of Mother Teresa.

Hello,

My name is Maria and I'm going to read a little bit of this beautiful book for you.

I'm just going to read from the introduction and a little bit of the biography of Mother Teresa for you guys.

It has been 20 years since Mother Teresa died.

She died humbly while the whole world was looking the other way.

The world was obsessed with the death and funeral of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa took that opportunity to slip from this world into the arms of her loving God.

Mother Teresa captured the imagination of the whole world just as the first Christians did by radically embracing the gospel message of Jesus.

People from every corner of the world were intrigued with her life and her work.

Men,

Women,

And children were fascinated with this Catholic nun in Calcutta.

Such is the elusive power of holiness.

She is truly a modern example of how universally attractive holiness is.

Who loved Mother Teresa?

Just Catholics?

No.

Just Christians?

No.

Mother Teresa was beloved by men and women of all faiths and men and women of no faith.

Why?

Because there is simply nothing more attractive than holiness.

Holiness itself is irresistible.

Here are just some of the things other people have said about the Saint of Calcutta.

Mother Teresa marked the history of our century with courage.

She served all human beings by promoting their dignity and respect and made those who had been defeated by life feel the tenderness of God.

That was Pope John Paul II.

When she walked into the room to greet me,

I felt that I was indeed meeting a saint.

That was the Reverend Billy Graham.

Mother Teresa is the United Nations.

She is peace in the world.

That was Javier Perez de Colar,

Former UN Secretary General.

Mother Teresa personified a boldness of spirit and purity of soul revered by the entire world.

She served as a model of holiness,

Virtue,

And humility.

That was Ronald and Nancy Reagan,

40th President of the United States and First Lady.

A loss to the entire humanity,

She will be deeply missed in our efforts to build international peace and a just,

Caring,

And equitable world order.

That was Nelson Mandela,

Former President of South Africa.

Our world has lost the most celebrated saint of our times.

This courageous woman gave hope to millions and showed us the power of caring and human kindness.

That was Coretta Scott King,

Civil Rights Leader and Widow of Martin Luther King Jr.

This evening,

There is less love,

Less compassion,

Less light in the world.

She leaves us a strong message which has no borders and which goes beyond faith,

Helping,

Listening,

Solidarity.

That was Jacques Chirac,

French President.

But each person who encountered Mother Teresa had his or her own experience.

Now it is your turn to encounter her or re-encounter her.

Her life and her message,

They are timeless.

She reaches deep into our hearts,

Minds,

And souls and challenges us to embrace the beautiful generosity of our own humanity.

You guys,

That was the introduction to this book.

I'm going to read the biography in just a moment,

But I want to go back to what the French President Jacques Chirac said.

He said,

This evening,

There is less love,

Less compassion,

Less light in the world.

I personally,

This is Maria speaking now,

Don't believe that.

I believe that her energy and light transcends her life here in human form.

I don't think there's less of anything.

I think it's here.

I think we all have access to it and it is our responsibility to bring that out in whatever way we can.

Your love and light matter.

I'm going to move on to the biography now.

Biography.

She captured the imagination of the whole world.

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Bohaksu in Serbia on August 26th,

1910.

Agnes grew up in Albania,

Surrounded by wealth and prosperity.

Despite their wealth,

Her parents were models of virtue.

They loved each other deeply and that love overflowed to Agnes and her sister.

At the age of 18,

Agnes left home to join an Irish order of nuns.

Later that year,

In December 1928,

She set sail for India to begin her work as a novice for the Loreto order.

Now sisters Teresa,

She spent most of the next 20 years teaching.

In 1937,

She made her permanent vows of poverty,

Chastity,

And obedience and,

As was customary,

Adopted the title of mother.

By 1943,

India was torn by war and famine.

Mahatma Gandhi's great success in freeing India from British rule had become tainted by civil war between Muslims and Hindus living in India.

More people than ever descended upon Calcutta.

It finally became necessary for the Loreto convent to move the children and the school outside the city.

At this time,

Many nuns and whole orders decided to leave India and close their schools,

But Mother Teresa stayed and worked tirelessly.

As others left,

She taught more and more classes,

Eventually teaching two subjects to eight grades.

She was happy in her work and well liked.

By the mid-1940s,

Her mere presence already had a power that had been born through hours of prayer and reflection.

Soon,

Mother Teresa was appointed headmistress and she wrote to her mother,

This is a new life.

Our center here is very fine.

I am a teacher and I love the work.

I am also head of the whole school and everybody wishes me well.

Her mother's reply was a stern reminder of her original intentions for going to India.

Dear child,

Do not forget that you went to India for the sake of the poor.

Kipling described Calcutta as the city of a dreadful night.

Mother Teresa was in the capital of poverty,

A poverty that most people never even witness firsthand,

Let alone personally experience.

Have you been there?

Have you seen it on television?

Can you picture it?

This was the world that surrounded the school and this was the world that was crying out for help.

In 1946,

Mother Teresa became very ill herself and was ordered by doctors to have bed rest for three hours every afternoon.

It was very hard for her to rest and not do her work.

But this period of time,

This period of enforced rest culminated in the directive to go away on retreat for a month.

The intention was that in the interests of her health,

She should undergo a period of spiritual renewal and a physical break from the work.

On September 10,

1946,

She boarded a train for Darjeeling where she was to retreat.

Aboard that train.

Mother Teresa had a supernatural experience that changed the direction of her life forever.

She referred to it as the call within the call.

Many years earlier,

She had been called to religious life,

The call.

Now she was being called to something more,

The call within the call.

The retreat provided the perfect period of silence,

Solitude,

And prayer to follow the experience God had given her on the train.

The next couple of years were filled with dialogue between her spiritual director,

The bishop,

And Rome.

By 1950,

At age 40,

Mother Teresa had left the school and the Loreto order,

Founded the Sisters of Charity,

And was living among the poorest of the poor in Calcutta.

At this time,

She began a new life,

Dreamt a new dream.

She stepped into the classroom of silence,

Sat down with her God,

And said,

How can I help?

Over the next 20 years,

She would capture the imagination of the whole world simply by living the Gospel.

Such is the potency and spellbinding power the Gospel holds when it is actually lived.

When was the last time you stepped into the classroom of silence,

Sat down with your God,

And asked,

How can I help?

Over the next five decades,

Mother Teresa emerged as an icon of modern holiness,

Capturing the imaginations and intriguing the hearts and minds of people from every nation on earth.

Dedicated to a life of simplicity,

She gave herself to society's most marginalized victims.

Her love for people was tangible.

You could see it.

You could feel it.

You could reach out and touch it.

It was real and living.

It wasn't a sermon or a speech.

Each moment,

She looked only for the next opportunity to love.

For her,

Every individual mattered.

I believe,

She once said,

In person to person contact.

Every person is Christ for me.

And since there is only one Jesus,

The person I am meeting is the one person in the world at that moment.

Those who spent time with her would often comment.

For the moment you were with her,

There was only you and her.

She wasn't looking over your shoulder to see what was happening around you.

You had her full attention.

It was as if nothing else existed to her except you.

Contrasted against the unbridled materialism of the modern world,

Mother Teresa had an attraction that seemed impossible to explain.

The contrast between the spirit of the world and the spirit of this woman was breathtaking.

Years before,

The people of India had traveled hundreds of miles,

Often on foot,

To catch a glimpse of Gandhi.

Hindus believe that simply to be in the presence of a holy person brings with it a great blessing.

Now they sought the company,

The mere presence,

Even just a glimpse of Mother Teresa,

A Catholic nun.

Like a magnetic field she attracted the rich and the poor,

The weak and the powerful,

Irrespective of race or creed.

In time,

Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

The United States Medal of Freedom,

And the United Nations Albert Schweitzer Prize.

Considered by many to be a living saint,

She didn't allow all the attention to distract her and remained a soul wholly dedicated to a life of service.

Mother Teresa's story is remarkable and so inspiring.

This is Maria speaking again.

I will read more for you another time.

I so appreciate you for being here.

I love you.

And I hope that you can feel the love of Mother Teresa through my voice and my energy as I live and breathe on this world.

God bless you and keep you safe.

Thank you for being here.

I so appreciate you for stopping by today.

I hope you enjoyed this reading.

If you have anything that you'd like to share with me in response to the reading or a review of some type that might help me figure out how to improve the offerings here on Insight Timer,

I would so appreciate you reaching out.

I am Maria,

Just in case you forgot,

And I hope you have a beautiful,

Beautiful day.

I'll talk to you soon.

Bye.

Reviews

You enthusiasm is palpable and reminded me of the value of a life lived with purpose,
,attention.and presence.