For more than a hundred years, the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to individuals and organizations.
It is given to people who have, according to founder Alfred Nobel, "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
The list of winners of this coveted prize reads like a who’s who of world peace...
- A former president dedicated to advancing human rights and peaceful resolution to world conflicts.
- An organization working tirelessly to eliminate landmines in war-torn countries.
- A group of unlikely partners in the quest for peace in the Middle East.
Men and women fighting a host of world conflicts and crises over the decades, from The Troubles in Northern Ireland to Apartheid in South Africa. From Global Warming to nuclear disarmament. From post-war reconciliation to ending sex trafficking.
Presidents, prime ministers, and countless brilliant minds have received this prized award, likely candidates whose names naturally appear on this prestigious list.
Except for one.
Arguably the most unlikely of Nobel Peace Prize winners is not a diplomat or a head of state or a loud voice fighting injustice, but a tiny, humble, quiet woman caring for the poor in the crowded slums of Calcutta, India.
Mother Teresa, in her iconic blue and white sari, dedicated her entire life as a Catholic nun to feeding the hungry, teaching the illiterate, helping the sick, and comforting the dying in one of the most hopeless places on earth.
She was not ordered to this unwanted post by any church or organization. In fact, she spent over a year lobbying her convent to allow her to leave a comfortable teaching position to follow this “call within a call” as she referred to it. Her heart's desire was to care for the forgotten, and she would do it for the rest of her life.
Why would she do such a thing?
What would inspire a woman to take on such an undesirable, unpleasant, unimportant job serving the most undesirable, unpleasant, and unimportant people of India?
The answer is found in her own words.
A quick search of Mother Teresa quotes reveals a common thread. One word is repeated over and over from her lips:
Love.
- “Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”
- “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
- “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
- “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”
- “We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.”
Time and again she spoke of love, and it motivated her to tangibly love the most unlovable people imaginable. The world recognized how unusual this was by awarding her with prizes and accolades, though she never sought such things.
But where would such love come from?
We all talk about love. We love our spouses and our children. We love our aging parents and care for them the best we can. We might even love our neighbor, or at least we think we do.
Few of us display the sacrificial love of Mother Teresa, yet we can look to people like her as shining examples of living out the greatest commandment.
The greatest commandment is to love.
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