Something
Beautiful
for God
Fr Varghese Parappuram
V C
Two foreigners
who witnessed Mother Terasa's life and works of mercy have written a book
on her. After the book was written, they wondered what the title should
be. They asked Mother Teresa's advice. She said they could give the title
they liked to a book they had written. The authors insisted that Mother
should suggest a title. After a minute of prayerful reflection Mother Teresa
said, "Something Beautiful for God".
The authors then wanted
to know why she chose this title. Mother Teresa's answer was something
that threw light on the inspiration underlying her works of compassion:
"Everyday on awaking, my desire and my enthusiasm is this: today I must
do something beautiful for God. What is there that I can do better for
God than to console the distressed! Wipe away the tears of those who weep,
be a refuge to the abandoned, pour love into the hearts of the unloved."
Mother Teresa had understood that these are the things that are beautiful
in the sight of God(cf Mt 25:31-40).
It was the desire to do
something beautiful for God that inspired Mother Teresa to become the mother
of the whole world comprising nearly 600 crores of people-she who had never
given physical birth to even one child! Religion, caste, nationality, tribe,
language, culture-none of these things created any sense of alienation
in Mother's mind. No child is alien to its mother. All men are children
of the same Father. Mother Teresa saw the image of God in every one of
them; it was Jesus' own divine face that she saw in the sorrowful (cf Mt
25:40). Bengalis and Keralites, Hindus and Christians, Whites and Blacks,
Indians and Pakistanies, women and men-all without distinction became Mother's
children. The whole world was Mother's family. Thus she became the mother
of the world.
The patriarch Abraham was
a gift from God to the world. All families of the world were blessed through
Abraham.(cf Gen 12:1-3). Mother Teresa is the great gift given to the world
in this century. Through her the whole world has been blessed. The entire
world has inhaled through her the sweet odour of Christ's love (cf 2 Cor
2:15).
We search for the essence
of the gospel in books of exegesis. In this century was unfolded the most
exact, the most sublime, the most simple interpretation of the good news
given by Jesus to the world-that has been the life of Mother Teresa.
Should we not make the light
lit by her burn brighter still? Yes, let us also participate in the enthusiasm
of Mother Terasa to do something beautiful for God!
What is there that
I can do better for God than to console the distressed! Wipe away the tears
of those who weep, be a refuge to the abandoned, pour love into the hearts
of the unloved!
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