What are your opportunities to love?

We are all given opportunities to love. Some opportunities can be easy to respond with love and others can be quite difficult. Every interaction with another person is an opportunity to love. The other person can affect how easy or difficult it is, but also our beginning demeanor does as well. Let’s look at Mother Teresa as an example.

Saint Mother Teresa, who was recently canonized, went everywhere with a smile. And when she saw someone, oh how her smile lit up all the more. She saw everyone as Christ. And so she should. Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God and Jesus taught that what we do to others, we do to Him. Mother Teresa lived by the motto of “you did it to me” that she took from the Gospel.

She took every opportunity as an opportunity to love Jesus. The poor, the leper, the dying, the old. Everyone Mother Teresa met was loved by her. The unloved were now loved. She was canonized as an example for us, as all saints are. We can follow her example and love with every opportunity that we are given. Our spouse, our child, our family member, our friend, our enemy, our annoying co-worker, our boss, and everyone else should be loved by us.

When given the opportunity to love, we should ensure that we discern the best way to love. We should listen first. So many just need us to listened to be loved. And those who need more, we will be able to determine what they need when we listen. We cannot love them without first knowing the problem. If we suggest a solution without fully knowing the problem, we are not loving them, but trying to fix the problem that we see without actually knowing the problem. If we do not take the time to know the problem, are we really loving or just trying to check a box?

Blessed Mother Teresa, help us to see everyone that we meet as an opportunity to love Jesus. Help us to see Jesus in everyone, and to love them.