When Peace Wears a Smile: Mother Teresa’s Legacy for Today

September 5, 2025: “Peace begins with a smile”. These famous words of Mother Teresa shine like a small candle in today’s world filled with darkness and chaos where hatred and violence is increasing day by day. The entire world is in a turmoil, Countries are troubled, people are frightened and society is anxious. The primary answer for all our restlessness is peace and peace through a smile. St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata has left this piece of wisdom for us to practice. She reminds us that peace does not begin with treaties or speeches, but with something as small as a smile.

Today many of us stop at awareness. Theologians reflect it as part of theology and philosophers think about it to philosophize the situation. Theories are debated on peace, the media shares a post, and forwards a video and we discuss problems. But none dares to begin any action and practice. Our knowledge must move into action. It is here, St. Mother Teresa still speaks to us. She did not have modern technology or unlimited 5G data. But she knew something greater and had the courage to use that knowledge. Her life exposes our modern contradiction. A suffering person does not need our information, but our compassion. A sick person does not need a prescription but medicine. The world does not need speeches on reconciliation but peace at every level of human existence. She reminds us that love is not about how much we know, but about how much we give.

The Second Vatican Council in Gaudium et Spes reminds us, “Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies. Rather, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice” (GS 78). Mother Teresa lived this truth with her whole being. She translated compassion into action and today it has become a subject matter of knowledge expressed as ‘contemplation in action’. Mother Teresa also calls us to see the value in sacrifice. She embraced inconvenience and discomfort as part of love. Today we often chase convenience, efficiency, and comfort at all costs. She teaches us that true love accepts sacrifice without criticism and complaint. Swami Vivekananda once said, “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.” Mother Teresa personified this truth since her deep faith in God also made her strong in charitable works. Her courage to believe in her own small acts of service revolved around God’s plan for her. She teaches us that true love accepts sacrifice without criticism and complaint.

The parable of the Good Samaritan comes alive in our times. Like the priest and the Levite, after seeing, our hearts remain untouched. Isn’t that often our story today? We see only what we want to see and turn away from what demands compassion. We hear only what pleases us, and we shut our ears to the cries of the suffering. Real peace will begin when our eyes are trained to notice the wounded on the roadside of life, and our ears are tuned to the voices of those who are ignored. As the scripture reminds us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). It is to take risks ourselves in the age of information. The world does not need more knowledge. It needs more love. In a paralyzed society, let our knowledge touch the heart, and let the heart guide our hands. She often said, “If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” That simple wisdom cuts through our excuses.

Mother Teresa never tried to solve all the problems of the world but rather articulated these problems in prayer and, having received grace, she gave herself to do the best in her capacity. What made her unique was her stubborn faith in small acts. She also points out perseverance in life, not only in our acts but even in our spiritual life as the source of the action. Her faith wasn’t built on feelings, but on fidelity. Silence before the Blessed Sacrament is the foundation and strength of sainthood on earth. She spent time before the Blessed Sacrament after the example of her master and Lord Jesus. She reminds us of the stillness before the Blessed Sacrament for a successful mission amidst the noisy world.

Karl Rahner, the great theologian of our times writes, “In the torment of the incomprehensible silence of God, one must dare to keep silence oneself, and to listen.” Mother Teresa’s long years of spiritual dryness reflect the truth of silence. She knew what it meant to live with silence and she transformed that silence into love for the poor as the supreme activity of Charity. Her fidelity to God despite not always feeling His presence is a witness that peace grows not from comfort but from faith, perseverance and determination.

Mother Teresa’s life was not a great organised plan to change the whole world, but a daily “yes” to God expressed through small acts of the practice of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. In a restless world where knowledge often overtakes compassion, Mother Teresa calls us back to the fundamental roots of love made visible through action. If peace begins with a smile, then each of us carries the responsibility and the possibility, to begin it here and now and to venture into the creation of a new world where we can sow the seed of Peace in our everyday life.

When Peace Wears a Smile: Mother Teresa’s Legacy for Today

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