“We must give until it hurts. For love to be true it has to hurt. It hurt Jesus to love us. It hurt God to love us because He had to give. He gave His Son. This the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts.”
Mother Teresa as recounted in Bringing Lent Home with Mother Teresa ed. Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2012), excerpt from reading for Tuesday, First Week of Lent.
Donna-Marie also notes that “Mother Teresa often taught that real giving happens when it hurts. She said too many times people only give of their surplus and don’t sacrifice at all when giving.” How often is that true of me? What about you?
Consider this story Mother Teresa tells of meeting a beggar one day. “She said the beggar told her that he knew others had donated to her for the poor and he also wanted to give. He stretched out his hand and offered twenty-nine paise, which is not enough to buy much of anything. For a moment, Mother Teresa felt torn since she didn’t want to take his food money and cause the beggar to go hungry. It was everything he received from begging that day. She decided to accept it and observed an immediate radiance of joy come across the man’s face. His tiny contribution became like thousands to Mother Teresa because it was given with love and sacrifice.”
As we approach the cross of Christ this Lent together, we will reflect on the unfathomable pain that Christ endured and the sacrifice He made for each of us. In so doing, may the Holy Spirit help each of us learn to take up our cross and suffer, that is, offer ourselves as living sacrifices imitating his humility and generosity.