Jesus took his closest followers up on the side of a mountain for a spiritual retreat. There he tried to teach them about Christianity. One of the great promises he gave them was, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

Seventy-six-year-old Mother Teresa of India knows what Jesus meant. She knows it like few people have understood since he first said it.

Not long ago this tiny wisp of tough gentleness, who won the Nobel Peace prize, visited Norristown, Pennsylvania. There she helped dedicate a convent which now offers shelter to the poor in a neighborhood where such missions are prohibited. As a part of that dedication at Saint Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Mother Teresa urged all her followers to "share the joy of loving."

That must be what Jesus meant w…