Everything Starts From Prayer
“Material suffering is suffering from hunger, homelessness, and diseases. Still, I think the greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, having no one.”
Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People of All Faiths
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.
These gentle words of solace and care provide us with a glimpse of a Mother Teresa we've often overlooked: Mother Teresa the universal teacher of prayer.
The world has admired the Mother Teresa who devoted her life to caring for the poorest of the poor everywhere. But her close associates knew that all of Mother Teresa's outer activity of caring and action was the natural consequence of her devotion, the overflow of her deep inner life. They witnessed her reliance upon contemplative practice, and they recognized Mother Teresa not only as a devout Catholic, but also as a great ecumenical teacher of prayer.
Mother Teresa shares her profound insights on the power and the way of prayer. Each meditation presents a building block to further understanding of Mother Teresa's approach to the art of prayer. These text messages, based on the book Everything Starts from Prayer provides the reader with both an inspirational introduction to prayer and new insights into the teachings of this universally loved spiritual teacher.
Some call Him Ishwar, some call Him Allah, some simply God, but we have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and be loved. What matters is that we love. We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are, we must pray together.
We cannot place ourselves directly in God's presence without imposing upon ourselves interior and exterior silence. That is why we must accustom ourselves to stillness of the soul, of the eyes, of the tongue.
Love is a fruit in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set. Everyone can reach this love through meditation, the spirit of prayer and sacrifice, by an intense inner life.
Holiness is not a luxury for the few; it is not just for some people. It is meant for you and for me, for all of us. It is a simple duty, because if we learn to love, we learn to be holy.
Related Links
REVIEWS:President Jimmy Carter: "In this treasury of her thoughts on prayer, she offers the world another blessing."
Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles: "This book's contents and its title say it all. Whatever you are looking for starts with prayer.
About the Community Leader
Meet the Authors
Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was one of the most important religious figures of the 20th century. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, was winner of the Noble Prize for Peace, and was described during her lifetime as "the most powerful woman in the world." She dedicated her life to serving "the poorest of the poor."
Anthony Stern, M.D. is a long-term student of prayer and has presented widely on spiritual topics at venues as diverse as The American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting and the New York Open Center. Dr. Stern is a graduate of Harvard College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is currently working as a psychiatrist at the Westchester Mobile Crisis Team and at Project Return's Starhill facility, an inpatient drug rehabilitation program in the Bronx.
