"Ubi Caritas et amor, deus ibi est" - Where Charity and Love are found, God is there. A reflection on why almsgiving brings us closer to God.

Mother Teresa started her religious life as a school teacher at Loreto convent. However, at the age of 36, she had a profound experience that changed the course of her life and history. 

In a mystical experience, Mother Teresa saw Christ in the poorest of the poor... she heard him say "I thirst" - the words he uttered on the Cross... yet she knew it wasn't a physical thirst. She knew he was thirsting for souls.

From that moment she left her life as a teacher and dedicated it to "satiate the thirst of Jesus Christ on the Cross for Love and Souls" by "labouring at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor."

When we look at the example of someone like Mother Teresa, rather than motivating, it can overwhelm us. It is easy to discount and say "Well she was extraordinary" - or "She was a saint... I'm not!". However, she only became a saint by making good decisions at each junction... something every one of us is capable of doing.

I've shared the story before of the man walking along the beach who sees a young girl picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. He reproaches her saying "There are so many.... not just on this beach, but every beach in the world - you can't possibly make a difference" - to which the mythological girl simply picks up another starfish, tosses it into the ocean and says "I made a difference to that one". 

But when it comes to almsgiving - we're not talking about starfish! We are talking about something far more important! For this reason Mother Teresa had her own take on the starfish story that we need to remember:

Matthew 25:40: "The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!'"