Mother Teresa’s surprising advice reveals the only metric for spiritual growth that actually matters.
"So what's the measure of God being known and loved? Well, it's charity. But where do we enact our charity? ... The key is that we're looking for the authenticity of your love. What's an easy way for you to see it? St. Teresa of Avila gives us the answer: love of neighbor. Now, here comes another qualification. There are ways that people love their neighbor where they flatten it; it's horizontal without the vertical... they do it in a way that doesn't actually come from a proper interior disposition in relation to the virtue of charity and their relationship with God.
There's a famous clip from William F. Buckley's Firing Line featuring Mother Teresa, in which Buckley asks how people can give money to the sisters. Mother Teresa says, 'I don't want you to give money. I want you to come and touch the poor.' There's this back and forth, and she insists, 'I want you to share the joy of loving and to touch the poor.' That clip always speaks to me because that's what it is. Loving your neighbor is sharing the joy of loving with them from your relationship with God, to bring God to them to be known and loved for their good and that alone."
This is a small insight from my latest podcast episode. To listen to the full discussion and get your free "5-Minute Prayer Reset" guide to help you put these ideas into practice, join Midnight Carmelite for free right here.
