Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Monday, 3 October 2022

Documentary film "Mother Teresa: No Greater Love" brings to light the sublime teachings of Christianity

By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org :

The film industry, which has been invading hearts in minds and catapulting people into different realms, has been flourishing over the years. So many people get completely mesmerized by films to the point that they get glued to the screens of televisions and are unwilling to do anything other than following the films to the very end. This is the nature of humans who seek to know the intricate details of everything in life including films.

 

Among the films that have been widespread are documentary films which tell the life story of people who make radical changes in the world through their impressive deeds that cover every walk of life. Such films shed light on important and often unknown details, as well as bring awareness that provide inspiration and entertainment. These films have become core elements and prompters of social issue campaigns while servin as powerful tools that bring important topics to the table in a captivating way which also spark conversation, and sometimes even social movements.

 

Reports have indicated that there is a documentary film presenting the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta, commonly referred to as Mother Teresa, premiered throughout the United States on 3-4 October, 2022.

 

The film titled, "Mother Teresa: No Greater Love" is a documentary film produced by the Knights of Columbus which brings to the big screen, in Rome and the Vatican, the legacy and humble, selfless love shared globally by St. Teresa of Calcutta and the Missionaries of Charity.

 

This documentary chronicles Mother Teresa's entire life and the tremendous global impact the Missionaries of Charity continue to have today by helping the poorest of the poor and seeing  Lord Jesus Christ in every single person."

 

The importance of this documentary is that it sheds light on the courageous and holy life of a modern time saint, namely Mother Teresa. Pope Francis has sent the Knights of Columbus a letter thanking the fraternal order for its new documentary about Mother Teresa. The letter read, “The Holy Father hopes that the film will make accessible the zeal for evangelization especially for the young generation and promote the desire to follow the Lord who loved us first.” The Pope added, "My hope is that this film can inspire Catholics and non-Catholics alike, because I think Mother Teresa had the ability to transcend geographic, religious and cultural divides."

 

Actually such a documentary film serves as a powerful tool that brings important topics to the table in a captivating way that triggers radical changes in societies and builds bridges of empathy in a world that desperately needs our engagement and compassion.

 

On love and the purpose of life, Mother Teresa had earlier said, "I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world." She also said, "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” She also asserted that “God made the world for the delight of human beings.”

 

Watching this interesting  documentary film will teach humanity that it is of prime importance to do goodness in this world as such deeds of dedication to the happiness of others boomerang and bring endless joy to everyone. Such a modern world falling in the grip of wars, hunger, bankruptcy, unemployment, spiking prices, and unstable future needs to follow the model of Mother Teresa and walk in her steps by veering away from the lusts of life--the most important of which is the love of money, acquisition of others' properties by all means, dedication to love and sacrifice for others in order to map out smiles on the faces of desperate people who lost hope in life and to wipe away the tears streaming down their cheeks.

 

This is the gist of Christianity as applied by Mother Teresa which has to be emulated in order to turn sadness into joy. In this regard, Lord Jesus Christ sent a resounding message to humanity saying, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."(John 13:34-35)