Walking in Love---- Reading the Biography of Mother Teresa

In May 2014, when I was studying in the provincial city of Taiyuan, I went to the provincial foreign bookstore to "search for treasure" in my spare time, and encountered this "Biography of Mother Delan" (written by Hua Zi, Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 2013 edition). It has been my favorite pillow book for many years.

Since childhood, she believed in Jesus with her parents and did not know much about Catholicism, only that Teresa was a nun who had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Particularly memorable is St. Francis's prayer, which was neatly copied and recited: "Lord, make us instruments of peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is harm, let me sow love, where there is suspicion, let me sow trust, where there is despair, let me sow hope, where there is darkness, let me sow light, and where there is sorrow, let me sow joy." Lord, give us what we dream of, that we should not seek comfort, but comfort, not understanding, but understanding, not to be loved, but to love, because giving is our harvest, forgive others, we are forgiven, and such a death is our new birth. "How many times have I been inexplicably shocked in my heart, how many times have I shed tears.

Deland's story brought me to tears again. In 1979, in a large auditorium in Oslo, the capital of Norway, the nobel prize and peace prize ceremony were being held in eager anticipation, and a small and thin old nun excitedly and peacefully stepped onto the podium that attracted the world's attention. In the luxurious hall, there are Norwegian kings, crown princes and their wives, as well as foreign envoys and world celebrities, each with extraordinary grace and magnificence. And the winner was still wearing the rough cotton sari worth only one dollar, and her dress was always so simple. She was so thin that people struggled to look up, and could only see his old, wrinkled face. Her solemn and simple speech, but so wonderful, deeply shocked everyone present. She said: "In fact, I personally do not deserve this honor, but I am willing to accept this prize in place of all the poor, sick and lonely people in the world." Because I believe that you are willing to give me the award and recognize that the poor also have dignity and the right to live in the world. These words, through a variety of news media, spread to every corner of the world. It is said that no one objected to her winning the award, and every judge was convinced. In April 1985, the American "News and World Report" magazine did a large-scale questionnaire survey among teenagers: Who are the most admired people in the world today? One of them was her.

The Missionary Sisters of Charity, which she founded, has more than $400 million in assets, and the world's richest company is willing to donate free of charge. With more than 7,000 full members and countless followers and volunteers outside the organization, she has a friendly relationship with and is admired and loved by numerous presidents, kings, media giants and corporate giants.

But the place where she lived had an electric light, and the only appliance was a telephone. It was only installed in 1994. She had no secretary and had her own handwritten responses to all the letters. She did not have a reception room and received all the visitors in the corridors of the church. She had only three sets of clothes, and she changed them herself. She wore only sandals and no socks.

When she died in 1997, it was seen that all her personal possessions were a crucifixion, a pair of sandals and three white burlas with a blue rim, one worn on her body, one to be washed, and one damaged and in need of repair.

On August 27, 1910, in an Albanian family in the Kingdom of Macedonia, a little girl named Gongsha was born, a precious gift from God. She didn't grow up much special, and she wasn't the best at school, but she liked to think independently and do things down-to-earth without empty words, which played a crucial role in her future service to the poor. From an early age, her mother taught her three sisters not to lose love and generosity at any time. For beggars who come to the door, they are never allowed to go empty-handed, and they are always smiling and trying to be as kind as possible, for fear that their self-esteem will be damaged. Mother not only preached, but also personally participated in several good meetings of the church, and in addition to preaching, she also did some things to serve the poor. Her mother's words and deeds subtly affected her, so that after she became a nun, she understood that when serving the poor, respect was indispensable and love was the most important. Later her mother gave her a copy of St. Francis. After reading the biography of Assisi, she was very moved, and she thought, "Is there anyone in the world who lives like this?" ”

Francis the Friar was a saint of the twelfth century, born in Sicily, Italy, the son of a wealthy merchant. He was taken prisoner and seriously ill in his youth, but after his recovery he followed Christ and became a monk, serving the poor and sick. In those days, people were extremely afraid of all kinds of infectious diseases, and many monks gave their lives to care for the sick, but Francis embarked on the path of service without hesitation. The creation of the "Little Brotherhood" means to feel humble and smaller than anyone else. The famous Italian man Dante was a member of the Little Brotherhood. "Divine poverty" is the main spirit of the Little Brotherhood, and Francis and his little brothers have only a long coat of gray coarse cloth, two pairs of pants, a rope to tie the coat, and nothing else. They gave up all the wealth and pleasures of the world in order to imitate Christ exactly as they did, to serve the poor and the abandoned. After Francis's death, generations of people, including those without Christianity, agreed that he was one of the greatest saints, the most perfect imitator of Christ, and that he influenced countless successors, including the later Drumm. At the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Drumm distributed this prayer of peace to each participant and invited everyone to pray for the peace of mankind.

At the age of 18, An unquenchable desire suddenly arose in Gongsha's heart: "To go to India, to Calcutta, to serve Christ there--- to serve the poor among the poor." She was convinced that this was God's calling. In 1928, after a long journey, she finally got her wish and came to Laurel's Monastery in Calcutta and gave her a new name, Teresa.

Her work of benevolence also began in what became known as the "hell of the poor," a slum that was so numerous and dirty that it was known around the world as the poorest and most polluted place in Asia, so much so that Nehru called it the "City of Nightmares." A documentary film about Aunt Teresa shows a contrasting set of shots: in the monastery church, the priest presides over Mass, the choir girls sing beautiful hymns in white and line up to receive the Eucharist; outside the walls, the cluttered streets are full of sick and dying people, dying children and helpless mothers. They were accompanied by beatings, shouts and groans, and a group of hungry people waiting for alms, and they were also in line of poor people. It was here that Drumm founded the Women's and Men's Religious Associations, cared for them with compassion and compassion, and later developed into the largest charitable organization. Hospice Hospital was established--- pure heart. In her meditative essay, the meaning of the name is expressed: "A pure heart, glorious to see Christ." Among the hungry, among the naked, among the homeless, among the undesirable, among the lepers, among the alcoholics, among the beggars lying in the street. A pure heart will give freely, love freely, until it becomes wounded. ”

One would not have imagined that the book was widely circulated and influenced the world, and that a book about religious greats was loved by many readers. Among the readership groups, there are different ages, different identities, different cultural backgrounds, and different religious beliefs. There are also young people from colleges and middle schools, as well as rural youth who have gone to the city to work, including Catholics, Christians, Buddhists, and more young people who have a deep admiration for Grandma Deland. The daughter of a jurist read the book when she was 13 years old and wrote more than 8,000 words of reading after reading; among the readers was a Buddhist who was an engineer, who wrote to the reader several times, claiming to be in the books "Walking in Love" and "Give Me Manna", which made him recognize who was called Christ; and a buddhist who practiced medicine in the southwest mountains for many years has always carried this book with him because it is an example for him to follow.

More readers said that after reading this book, their inner lives began to change, through the life of Drumm walking in love, and then came to know the source of love--- Jesus Christ, and then a large number of people who volunteered, a female student at a university in Beijing, gave this book as a gift to friends, some doctors gave it to patients as medicine, and some people used this book as comfort and hope to give to people who are in prison when they went to prison, so that they knew that even if you committed a crime, God still loves you.

Schweitzer, the greatest humanitarian of the 20th century, said that "knowing and attributing God through love is the great idea of the Sermon on the Mount." Jesus was more concerned with not how religion thinks about things, but with the power of love in faith. Without love, no one can return to God or enter the kingdom of heaven. The greatest heresy is not a doctrinal heretic, the greatest heresy is the insincerity of brothers."

Good books nourish the heart, walk in love, bear witness to Christ, and let us see god's great love with our own eyes.