From the book, ‘Mother Teresa, A Simple Faith’ p.86. She wrote:
‘Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love, Charity and love are the same—with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead. When I was in London, I went to see the homeless people where our sisters have a soup kitchen. One man, who was living in a cardboard box, held my hand and said, “It’s been a long time since I felt the warmth of a human hand.”
Mary, one of our volunteers, has more ideas for reaching out to people:
“I’ve found that practical help can actually put people down unless it’s done with love. No one wants to have things done for them, or to be done to. I’ve also found trying to make contact with people has come in stages and that it has helped to do this in an organized way, like going to give the sisters a hand at the soup kitchen. Then it’s best to try not to get too busy with giving out food and cleaning up plates but to try to make a point of talking to somebody while you’re there, or sitting down beside somebody—trying to make one-to-one contact. A lot of people carry photographs with them and so you can ask to see their photographs-or make a joke about their hairstyle—anything!
“The important thing is to find some point of contact even if it’s just saying, “Did you enjoy your meal?” Instead of standing in the background doing dishes, you can make sure your the one who collects the plates. I think if you find this sort of thing difficult it’s probably better to do it gradually—if you see somebody standing, or walking or sitting alone, then take the opportunity to reach out to them.”
(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience, and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
