Here
is another excellent passage from Heart of Joy by Mother Teresa. This comes
from a section of a collection of her statements to her daughters in the
Order. This is one particular statement,
titled in the book as “The Oil and the Lamp.”
Do not think that love,
in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting
tired.
How does a lamp
burn? Through the continuous input of
small drops of oil. If the drops of oil
run out, the light of the lamp will cease, and the bridegroom will say, “I do
not know you” (Mt 25:1-13).
My daughters, what are
these drops of oil in our lamps? They
are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, punctuality, small words of
kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent, of looking, of
speaking, and of acting. These are the
true drops of love that keep your religious life burning like a lively flame.
Do not look for Jesus
away from yourselves. He is not out
there; he is in you. Keep your lamp burning,
and you will recognize him.
The
Biblical passage alluded to is the parable of the ten virgins, half who have
run out of oil for their lamps and cannot meet the bridegroom. What I find remarkable here is that Mother
Teresa considers the oil that burns the lamp to be our little efforts of love
and faith. Those efforts are little
drops of oil into the lamp. And
therefore it’s what brings light to the dark places of life. I would read this passage to coincide with
her order’s purpose, which she quotes a few pages later: “A Missionary of
Charity is a messenger of God’s love, a living lamp that offers its light to
all, and the salt of the earth. We are
to take Christ to those places where he has not been taken yet.”
