To briefly re-cap part one of this series, I wrote on the difference between following in the ways of a secular culture vs. a culture rooted in God, who is Love. Secularism is the removal of God while trying to achieve wealth, pleasure, power, and/or honor. Trying to achieve these things while also not believing in God will lead to destruction and division. To go a step further, to try and achieve anything apart from God will lead to destruction and division. This is why I want to look at the lives of the Saints and show how truth, justice, peace, and unity are perfectly achieved because they were done with God and having Jesus Christ at the center.
Our focus here will be St. Theresa of Calcutta (AKA Mother Theresa). Mother Theresa’s whole life was determined by her relationship with the Blessed Trinity. She felt a desire to serve the Lord as a religious sister, which led her to enter the convent. Mother then felt a deep desire to serve the poorest of the poor, which led her to be the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Theresa didn’t move to Calcutta, India to make a name for herself, she didn’t care about power or honor, she threw away any chances of being wealthy when she entered the convent. Mother Theresa only cared about one thing: proclaiming the Gospel to the poor.
Now, even though Mother Theresa spent the majority of her life serving the poor in India, she didn’t stop in Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity are a world-wide order of religious women and men who serve the poorest of the poor in every corner of the globe. They even serve right here in Chicago on the West Side. Mother Theresa also cared deeply for the most vulnerable in our world, our sisters and brothers who live in their mothers’ wombs. Mother Theresa famously said,
“Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love is abortion.”
That is an extremely important quote of hers. It is bolded so that it can be read and thought about. Please re-read it at least three times, one time for each person of the Trinity. Mother Theresa didn’t just speak out against abortion in India because she cared only for them. Mother spoke to the United Nations, to the United States Congress and Senate, even brought up abortion on the global stage when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
As I re-read that quote over and over (and I’ve been reading that quote for 15 years), this year as I re-read it again, it really hit me hard. All the violence that has been used in our country to “make a point” or to “achieve reform” or “push an agenda,” it makes sense that violence would be used since we continue to allow and normalize abortion here in the United States.
Secularism, at the end of the day, only cares about an exclusive group of humans (a family, nation, race, political party, career, etc.) which is why it divides and destroys. We can’t stand up and only fight for the rights of a few, we must always fight for the rights of all. Truth brings unity and peace. If it isn’t the Truth we are seeking, then we won’t achieve anything good or lasting. It will only be false and temporary. What is True lasts forever and brings people together. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! Let’s together follow the holy footsteps of Mother Theresa and preach the Gospel to everyone: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!