Mother Teresa's personal vow

Back to Mother Teresa... One of her great secrets, which has now been revealed through the publication of her private correspondence, is that Mother Teresa took a personal vow that would forever shape her spiritual life. It was: "not to refuse Him anything."

Her love for Jesus was expressed in this vow. How can one refuse one's Beloved? And, in the case of Jesus, he gave all of himself for us, so how can we not give all of ourselves back to him?

She strove to keep this vow down to the most minute detail of life. What this requires is habitual and loving attentiveness to God in prayer. It is being mindful of what God might require in each present moment.

Thus, although Mother Teresa is a Catholic saint and therefore somewhat distant from the world of many evangelicals, all Christians are familiar with what is at the core of her relationship with God: loving obedience.

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