Poverty and Interiority in Mother Teresa

Abstract

This article examines how Mother Teresa’s practice of evangelical poverty developed and diverged from some of the great mendicant traditions. It argues that she linked evangelical and interior poverty by establishing existential communion with the poor—not material renunciation—as the deepest expression of Christ-imitation. While mendicant Neoplatonists believed a certain kind of interior poverty was necessary for spiritual growth, Mother Teresa’s aim was to console the suffering Jesus through self-denial and solidarity. The article traces how this understanding developed for her, and some of the ways it may have contributed to her feelings of darkness.