Everything Starts from Prayer: Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People of All Faiths

by Mother Teresa, Anthony Stern (Compiler), Larry Dossey (Foreword)

At the Home for the Dying in Calcutta, Mother Teresa often cared for the residents as they approached the end. As she was ministering to one illness-ravaged man, a visitor overheard her whisper a few words to him. These few words embody some of Mother Teresa’s most wonderful wisdom. This is what she said: You say a prayer in your religion, and I will say a prayer as I know it. Together we will say this prayer and it will be something beautiful for God.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Prayer, Spirituality, Catholic, Faith, Christianity

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu[6] (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian: [aˈɲɛzə ˈɡɔndʒɛ bɔjaˈdʒiu]; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta,[7] was an Albanian-Indian[4] Roman Catholic nun and missionary.[8] She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Skopje for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.

In 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow – to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."[9]

Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized by Pope Francis.

Reviews

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Need to Pray: Faith and Prayer is the connection to God, and when that is there, there is service. Love for each other must start at home. We are called to love and be loved. Love in our homes begins when we pray together.
2. Starting with Silence: In the silence of the heart God speaks. If we want our minds to have silence, keep a silence of the eyes.
3. Like a Little Child: Prayer is talking to God…speaking and listening. Express your mind in the simple words of a child. Pray with absolute trust in God’s loving care for you and let him fill you with joy that you may preach without preaching. If you want to pray better, you must pray more, and the more you pray, the easier it becomes. If we want to be able to love, we must be able to pray. (pray to help others) Prayer of St Francis of Assisi and Only a Shadow song. Sincerity is nothing but humility and you acquire humility by accepting humiliations. The greatest humility is to know that you are nothing.
4. Opening your Heart: It is not what we do or how much we do, but how much love we put into the action because that action is our love for God in action. Make an examination of conscience every night. Pray and Forgive, for struggling relationships, violent homes, no support in relationships. Pray to be able to forgive those who have hurt you, forgive as you have been forgiven. Prayer is the sunshine of God’s love, the hope of eternal happiness, pray for each other. The best way to show your gratitude to God and people is to accept everything with joy. It is easy to be proud, harsh, moody and selfish. It spoils the beauty of our hearts. We cannot speak unless we have listened, unless we have made our connection with God. From the fullness of the heart, the mouth will speak, the mind will think.
5. Ending in Silence: Silence is the beautiful fruit of prayer…of the mouth, heart, eyes, ears, mind (5 silences). In the silence of the heart God speaks. Realize your nothingness that God may fill you with himself.
6. The Fruit of Prayer: God does not demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful. We can do no great things - only small things with great love. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. When you become full of God, you will do all your work well. Fruit of prayer is a clean heart…open and honest with God. Silence of heart, God speaks. Full of God, full of love, compassion & faith. The fruit of prayer is faith; of faith is love; of love is service; of service is peace. Wherever God has put you, that is your vocation. It is not what we do, but how much love we put into it. With God’s Will you will show happiness and joy in your eyes, which will radiate to mankind. True holiness consists in doing God’s will with a smile.

[A.B. McFarland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a Christian, but it doesn't matter. This book of quotes attributed to Mother Teresa is mean to be for "people of all faiths." (Well, first you might have to get past the constant references to "God" and "prayer" because those have different connotations for different people, and if yours are negative, well…)

The forward to the second edition makes an interesting point: prayer arises because of doubt. There's a myth that if you believe in God, everything will just work out right for you. But when people feel compelled to pray it shows their uncertainty about that notion. Mother Teresa herself was no stranger to doubt. Apparently she herself went through long period of time when she even doubted God's existence.

I found it interesting to read this book after having read a number of Buddhist texts. There's quite a resonance between meditation and prayer. Mother Teresa even talks about emptiness, though a little differently than Buddhists do. "In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill himself with you." She also speaks of people as wires and God being like the electric current that runs through us, making us useful. "We have the power to let the current pass through us and use us to produce the light of the world or we can refuse to be used and allow the darkness to spread." Good stuff.

I especially appreciated her talking about doing everything with love. It reminds me of Joseph Campbell's advice to "Follow your bliss." Additionally, she exhorts us that we can serve God right where we are at; even just doing someone's laundry. There's no need to strive for worldly success. Thank God for that, says this stay-at-home Mom!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your own home for this is where our love for each other must start."

"We impatiently await God's paradise, but we have in our hands the power to be in paradise right here and now. Being happy with God means this: to love as he loves, to help as he helps, to give as he gives, to serve as he serves."

"If you have learned how to pray, then I am not afraid for you. If you know how to pray, then you will love prayer -- and if you love to pray, then you will pray. Knowledge will lead to love and love to service."

I enjoy the words of Mother Teresa. She was an amazing and good woman.

[Chio · Rating 4 out of 5]

" Es fácil amar a las personas que están lejos. No siempre es fácil amar a quienes están cerca de nosotros. Es más fácil dar una taza de arroz para aliviar el hambre que aliviar la soledad y el dolor de alguien que no se siente amado en nuestra propia casa. Lleva amor a tu hogar, pues ahí es donde debe comenzar nuestro amor por los demás ". Que bonito libro.

[Julie Puckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nourishing words of wisdom from Mother Teresa, who stated throughout her life that her “secret is a simple one: I pray.”

I, like so many others, long have felt close to her, in my case due to my Albanian heritage.

The book focuses on how to proceed through life in a deepening bond of mutual love and support, helping each other with the pain and the doubt that is our common lot.

One of my fave quotes in the book — “This is the true reason for our existence: to be the sunshine of God’s love, to be the hope of eternal happiness.”

[Abdulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mother Teresa's thoughts are super relatable, regardless of the reader's religion. She emphasises being humble, loving, and serving wholeheartedly, serving as a gentle guide for our spiritual growth. Her message is universal and resonates with anyone, anywhere. The most striking aspect is that she reminds us that true spirituality is lived daily, even in small actions. It is this everyday wisdom that connects us to something greater.

[Richard Magahiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The simple is hard

This collection of little epigrammatic sayings of Mother Teresa emphasizes the interior struggle of the one who strives to improve her relation with God, the small things such as keeping silence, or giving up the wish to understand why life is the way it is.. There are gems here for the receptive soul.

[Donna Syler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but very thought provoking and a good catalyst for prayer.

[Tarn Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you not give Mother Teresa five stars? Great wisdom, of course, but the book is just a list of short quotes gathered by themes.

[Tracy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different prayers of Mother Theresa.

[Diane Zimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love St Teresa of Calcutta, a great book!

[Lucy Pollard-Gott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother Teresa teaches that everything starts from prayer, that is, prayer gives strength and an increase in love which overflows in service. Her words are compassionately directed to those of all faiths and, by implication, even to those without faith, who are moved to love and service. As she writes, "every work of love done with a full heart brings us closer to God." She also teaches us that there are no small acts of love, and we should serve those wherever we are placed in our lives, with as much love as we can muster. But the deep well for replenishing that love is found in simple contemplative prayer, merely listening and receiving with an open heart.

[Lety Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book where you can find the everyday remainder everybody needs. The first steps for praying. For me, I will never stop rereading this book, because every single phrase is necessary to remember at any moment in my life.

[David Weller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic teachings on the importance of prayer for one's spiritual life.

[Mary Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The saying ob Mother Teresa makes you stop and think of what you can do better in your life.

[Britt Marie]

Mother Teresa embodied everything that Christ calls us to be, she is a true inspiration!

[El Pensador · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Samantha Worthing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like Mother Teresa was right here with me whispering these things in my ear. Such beautiful words.

[Evalina Zamana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book is always on my desk. Is a beautiful compilation of short meditations on spiritual life for people of all ages and faiths.

[Barbc]

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