Mother Teresa at Harvard

Peter Gomes, author of The Good Life and former Chaplain at Harvard University, describes in his book what happened when Mother Teresa spoke at Harvard some years ago. Here is my summary of his account.

"At Harvard’s 'Class Day' celebration on the day before Commencement, Mother Teresa was the chosen speaker. Although Mother Teresa was not known for small talk, when she appeared before the boisterous throng of students she was at no loss for words.

Mother Teresa told the students that what the world needed was to know the love of God, and in order for them to be effective in this mission, they needed to be chaste. Now, chastity was not a common topic in Harvard Yard in those days, and at first some thought she was talking about some form of pursuit.

Only as she went on, becoming more and more impassioned, did it become clear that she was speaking of purity, abstinence, and sublimating the desires of the flesh to the power of the Spirit.

One does not “boo” a living saint, even when she speaks of moral absolutes. Here was a tough old nun whose sole credential in life was that out of her allegiance to Christ, she took care of the dying on the streets of Calcutta. In the middle of Calcutta’s hopelessness, she cheered their lives with hope.

Students listened to her spell-bound.

Were the students longing for that same hope in their own lives? Do you?

I invite you to search for...and find...that hope in Jesus.

Paul W. Swets | http://FindingHappiness.info