Mother Teresa was one of our best examples of prayer in action. Everything she did was a prayer, and she saw in all the poorest of the poor and the dying on the streets of Calcutta, the face of the Crucified Christ. Therefore, everything she did for the “least of these,” she did to Him. So everything she did was a prayer, and interaction with Christ. She moved people of all faiths with her Christ-like love and care. In order to truly love God, we must love Him not only in our image of Him in the heavens or even in our hearts, but we must also love Him in His presence in each one of us. We must love Him in those who are not only easy to love, but especially those who are difficult to love. Jesus said if we love those who love us, what benefit is there in that? We must love and pray for our enemies as well. One of the hardest things to do is to realize that Jesus loves everyone as much as He loves us. Therefore, we must forgive those who hurt us and persecute us, because we are loving the Christ in that person, as difficult as it is to see or feel. When we treat others as if they don't matter, we are doing the same to God as well. Jesus calls us to give of ourselves as He did on the Cross, not just to those who deserve it, but to those who perhaps don't as much. This is the gift of self He asks, and when we give of ourselves unselfishly and see the face of Christ is all we serve, we are offering one of the deepest prayers we can. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that this is what will separate the “sheep from the goats” at judgment day, whether we have loved and given to one another—loved as He loves.
