Well The Single Pacifist is now a single pacifist with a mortgage. I am overwhelmed with gratitude, wonder, and joy at God's provision of my new home. It's has all that I need including new appliances, beautiful backyard with flowers blooming everywhere, quiet street, walking distance to church, and a diverse neighborhood of people from all walks of life.
Our notions of home possess vivid imagery and profound symbolism. And it got me to thinking that this a wonderful opportunity to share a lesson taught to me several years ago by one of God's most devout servants and humblest teachers... Mother Teresa.
I want to say that I was in my mid-20s when I first picked up a copy of No Greater Love, which a collection of short essays on topics she thought extremely important to a life of faith. In the chapter entitled On Children & the Family, Mother Teresa explains the reason why peace is constantly breaking down in the world.
I marvel at how a woman possessing nothing more than a secondary education could grasp what continues to elude "well-educated" presidents and prime ministers. I am in awe of her ability to convey such profound ideas void of complicated terms and complex concepts so that even those with no education can comprehend her explanation.
At its core, Mother's Teresa conviction states that the reason as to why there is no peace in the world is because there is no peace at home. Additionally, Mother Teresa reminds us that peace itself is only the effect, not the cause; the fruit, not the seed; the end, not the means.
She believes that the precursor to peace is and has always been LOVE. For without the cause of love, there can be no effect of peace. Absence the seeds of love, there can be no trees of peace. Minus the means of love, one cannot achieve the peaceful ends he or she seeks. And though it comes first, love and peace begin at the same place. So where does love begin? According to Mother Teresa, love begins at home.
But before I butcher Mother Teresa's idea any further why don't I let Mother Teresa speak for herself. What follows are excerpts from the chapter On Children & the Family from her book, No Greater Love.
Mother Teresa, you now have the floor...
"...I have a conviction that I want to share with you. Love begins at home. Only when love abides at home can we share it with our next-door neighbor. Then it will show forth and you will be able to say to them, "Yes, love is here." And then you will be able to share it with everyone around you..."
..."We are here to be witnesses of love and to celebrate life, because life has been created in the image of God. Life is to love and to be loved. That is why we have to take a strong stand so that no child, boy or girl, will be rejected or unloved. Every child is a sign of God's love, that has to be extended over all the earth..."
"...I think the world today is upside-down. It is suffering so much because there is so little love in the home and in family life. We have no time for our children. We have no time for each other. There is no time to enjoy each other, and the lack of love causes so much suffering and unhappiness in the world..."
"...Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater development and greater riches. Children have very little time for their parents and parents have very little time for their children and for each other. So the breakdown of peace in the world begins at home..."
CJE