Mother Teresa served
Christ hidden in the poor. “As you did to one
of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). This Gospel
passage, so crucial in understanding Mother Teresa’s service to the poor, was
the basis of her faith-filled conviction that in touching the broken bodies of
the poor she was touching the body of Christ. It was to Jesus himself, hidden under the distressing disguise of the
poorest of the poor, that her service was directed. Mother Teresa highlights
the deepest meaning of service — an act of love done to the hungry, thirsty,
strangers, naked, sick, prisoners (cf. Mt 25:34-36) is done to Jesus himself. Recognizing him, she ministered to him with
wholehearted devotion, expressing the delicacy of her spousal love. Thus, in
total gift of herself to God and neighbor, Mother Teresa found her greatest
fulfillment and lived the noblest qualities of her femininity. She wanted to be
a sign of “God’s love, God’s presence and God’s compassion”, and so remind all
of the value and dignity of each of God’s children, “created to love and be
loved”. Thus was Mother Teresa “bringing souls to God and God to souls” and
satiating Christ’s thirst, especially for those most in need, those whose vision of God had been dimmed
by suffering and pain.
(BEATIFICATION HOMILY: MOTHER TERESA Pope John Paul II, Taken from: L’Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English 22 October 2003, page 6; color added for emphasis)
As cited in Chapter 7 of the book The Hunt Is On.