The Simple Path

When I met Mother Teresa during a visit to Rome, I saw immediately that her inner attention was focused only on Jesus, and through him she came to see the poorest of the poor, to whom she dedicated her life. When ordinary social, psychological, or medical questions were brought to her, she did not answer them on the level they were raised. Instead, she addressed them with a divine logic and from a spiritual place and perspective that remains unfamiliar to most of us. That is why many found her ways simplistic, naive, and out of touch. Like Jesus, she challenged her listeners to move with her to that place where things can be seen as God sees them and to look beyond the surface to the place of divine encounter or call. In my case, I had asked her for advice on what to do about my spiritual distractions and temptations. After she listened to my unique complications and elaborate explanations of the trials of my life, she burst my bubble by saying simply, “Well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never do anything which you know to be wrong . . . you will be fine!”

—Dom Pere