Looking Beyond Your Own Needs

Dear Parishioners,

St Teresa of Calcutta tells how once in India she

came across a family that had not eaten for days.

It was a Hindu family.

So she took a small quantity of rice and gave it to that

family. What happened next surprised her.

Before she knew where she was, the mother of the

family had divided the rice into two halves.

Then she took half of it to the family next door,

Which happened to be a Muslim family.

Seeing this she turned to the mother and asked:

“How much will you have left over?

Are there not enough of yourselves to eat the food?”

The woman replied simply:

“But they haven’t eaten for days either”.

“That”, says St Teresa “takes greatness”.

The woman’s greatness consisted in being able

to look beyond her own need.

- Fr Terry msc