Read: John 3:1-17

Not really knowing the definition of agape, I checked out the Google version to find that “in Christianity, agape is the highest form of love, charity and the love of God for man and of man for God. It embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstances.”

I also found another interesting tidbit: “Agape (visceral love) is the love you have for all living things without a question, that you extend knowingly without expectations for anything in return. It’s a very pure and conscious love, it’s similar to what we refer to as unconditional love.”

So with all that word salad, I thought of a person that fit that description, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa. She was born August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia and died September 5, 1997 in Kolkata, India. Besides being made a saint for two miracles that she performed, she dedicated her life to serving the sick and the poor, established the Missionaries of Charity, opened the Kalighat Home for the Dying, opened a charity to care for homeless children, was awarded the Bharat Ratna (the highest civilian honor in India), helped to evacuate thirty-seven children during the siege in Beirut, and received numerous peace prizes including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

She lived and worked in India for twelve years and had a deep compassion for humanity. She helped the poorest of the poor once saying that “they lived like animals but die like angels”.

Dear Lord in heaven, thank you for your servant Mother Teresa for her work with humanity and her mantra “We are all God’s children. We have been created for greater things, to love and be loved.” Amen.
-Mary Ann Taylor