Book Review: One Heart Full of Love by Mother Teresa

This is a short collection of addresses, interviews, and comments given by Mother Teresa during her life. It provides an insight into her core beliefs, motivations, and works over the years. Certainly most people are familiar with the life and work of Mother Teresa, in particular her work with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India. She believed that her work was “nothing more than a means of transforming our love for Christ into something more concrete” and that a call to the Mission of Charity meant “being wholeheartedly given over to serving the poorest of the poor.” 

It was interesting for me to see a collection of her speeches, as I could more clearly see the recurring themes in her life and work, most notably a deep desire for everyone to serve the poor amongst themselves (ie, you don’t need to go to Calcutta to serve the poor), a fierce defense of and respect for the sanctity of life (in particular unborn children), and desire to treat each person with the dignity they deserve as an individual created in the image of God. I found this book to be helpful in further understanding what she did and why she did it, and though I don’t agree with all of her beliefs, I do fundamentally appreciate what she did during her life and truly respect her work amongst the poor.