“I looked for one who would comfort Me, but there was no one” (Ps 69:20), was a reference to Jesus’s Passion that Mother Teresa often quoted. She used to exhort her sisters: “Tell Jesus, ‘I will be the one.’ I will comfort, encourage, and love Him….Be with Jesus. He prayed and prayed, and then He went to look for consolation, but there was none….Try to be the one to share with Him, to comfort Him, to console Him.” As she was eager to console Jesus, so she was eager to comfort those who were in need of comfort; in each of the afflicted, she saw Jesus in His distressing disguise pleading for consolation.

Mother Teresa was a person with a strong character and great determination, but at the same time, she was tender-hearted and moved by others’ pain and sufferings. Frequently, when faced with much suffering, either our own or that of those around us, we tend to close—“harden”—our hearts in order to “protect ourselves” and not get too personally involved. As useful and legitimate as this may be, when we close our hearts, we are not reflecting how God’s Heart works, how it goes out to those who are in pain. Mother Teresa wanted her heart to reflect God’s Heart.

Mother Teresa was deeply moved by each person’s suffering, and for this reason she was able to offer comfort at a very profound level, “getting at the people’s heart.” Whenever people with diverse forms of suffering came to her for comfort, she was ready to offer a word of consolation, a smile, and at times nothing else but a promise of prayers. And people would leave her consoled and with renewed hope, and with the ability to see a brighter future. This was not due to her words, which were in fact very simple and unassuming. Rather, it was the compassion that she had in her heart for the afflicted that made the difference, her heart-to-heart communication. By entering into their suffering, she was able to “love until it hurts,” as she used to say.

“Comforter of the Afflicted” is one of the titles of Our Lady given in the Litany of Loreto. Mother Teresa’s daily prayer to Mary was “give us your heart, so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate,” and it was at the school of Mary that she learned to have a compassionate heart and to reach out with love and comfort to those who were afflicted in body or in spirit.

HER WORDS

Face yourself: Do you really love Jesus? Am I the one to comfort Him? You have all seen the picture of Christ in His Passion where it says, “I looked for one who would comfort Me, but there was no one,” and Mother wrote on it, “Be the one.” Are you really the one? Can He really turn to you for comfort? Are you the one He can rely on especially today in this turmoil of sin? Are we that comfort, that consolation?1

Bringing Jesus to Suffering People

The Jesus who becomes bread to satisfy our hunger also becomes that naked person, that homeless and lonely and unwanted person, that leper or drunkard or drug addict or prostitute, so that we can satisfy His hunger to be loved by us through the love we show them. Bringing the presence of Jesus to people suffering like this makes us contemplatives living right in the heart of the world.

The people are asking for spiritual help, for consolation; they are so afraid, discouraged, in despair; so many commit suicide. That’s why we must concentrate on being God’s love, God’s presence, not by words, but by service, concrete love, listening.2

First and Last Contact with Love

Nirmal Hriday—the living tabernacle of the suffering Christ—how clean your hands must be to touch the broken bodies; how clean your tongue must be to speak the words of comfort, faith, and love; for, for many of them, it is the first contact with love, and it may be their last. How much you must be alive to His Presence, if you really believe what Jesus said: “You did it to Me.”3

My Brother, My Sister

And Christ has said so often, “Love one another as I have loved you.” And we know how He loved us. He gave all for love of us that we may be able, like Him, to love others, especially the people who have nothing, who have nobody….There are many people who suffer from different poverty, spiritual poverty. Being…left alone, unwanted, unloved, uncared for. And I think you and I, who have been created to love and to be loved, we have been…created for greater things. We are not just a number in the world. A child of God. And that person is my brother, my sister. And therefore, that’s why Jesus insisted so much on that love for one another.4

Be Kind

Sisters, you and I have been sent. A missionary is a person who has been sent, and we have been sent to do what? Charity. A Missionary of Charity is what? A carrier of God’s love. What a beautiful name the Muslim men have given to the sisters. Indian men, they don’t call them Missionaries of Charity, they call them “Carriers of God’s love.” What a beautiful name.5

Our poor people are becoming poorer day by day. I beg you, my sisters, be kind to them—be a comfort to the poor and take every trouble to help them. Open your eyes to the needs of the poor. Put into living reality your vow to give wholehearted, free service to the poor—to Christ in His distressing disguise.6

Be a true co-worker of Christ. Radiate and live His life. Be an angel of comfort to the sick, a friend to the little ones, and love each other as God loves each of you with a special, most intense love. Be kind to each other—I prefer you make mistakes in kindness than that you work miracles in unkindness.7

Smile at Each Other

For today, besides the material poverty that makes people die of hunger, die of cold, die in the streets, there is that great poverty of being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, having no one to call your own, having no one to smile at. And sometimes it happens to our old people whom we call shut-ins…they are nobody, they are just there, they’re unknown, they are known by the number of their room, but they are not known to be loved and to be served. For knowledge always leads to love and love to service. Do we really know that?8

Heal the Suffering

You people who are dealing with medical work, you are dealing with suffering, you are dealing with people who come to you bearing great pain, great suffering, and with great hope that you will do something, that you will give them something, the joy of being relieved of the pain. How terrible it is if they come to you with fear, with fear that you will destroy something in them. There is a group of doctors and nurses being formed who came to me and said, “Please help us to make our life, our work,…consecrated, something holy, something beautiful for God.” So [those doctors] have in themselves the determination that through their work, doing this beautiful medical work, they will heal the wounds, they will heal the suffering, to give joy.9

And the suffering and the pain, it’s only a sign given to that person, that individual person, that she—that person—has come close to God, that God can share His own Passion with that person. It is not always easy to accept it, but this is where we must come in, in the people’s life, and help them to accept [what is happening]. And I often say, I wonder what the world would be if it didn’t have people to share their suffering and to offer their suffering.10

I’ll never forget I met a lady who was in the most terrible pain. I have never seen a person in such great pain. She was dying of cancer with terrible pain, and I said to her, “See, it is the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close to Him on the Cross that He can kiss you.” And then she joined her hands and said, “Mother, please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.”11

They Let Them Talk and Talk and Talk

In England, Mother has started a small group, a listening group, and they go to these old people, ordinary old people’s houses, and they just sit and listen to them. And they let them talk and talk and talk. If only [they have] just that one person to listen, they go there. Very old people love to have somebody to listen, even if they have to tell the story of thirty years ago, but it is good to listen, and I think it is a very beautiful thing….Once you start visiting those places, these people, you will very soon find that maybe a little thing will please that person, and that little thing you can [do for them]….You can find out what they need, go once and see, then you find out—a book, a card, only that simple contact with them.12

My Mother Doesn’t Want Me

I [will] never forget that young man in England; I saw him in the streets of London. He had long hair and I told him, “You shouldn’t be here, you should be at home with your parents.” He was only twenty-two, twenty-three years old. Then he said, “My mother doesn’t want me. Every time I went home, she locked me out because I have long hair. She doesn’t want me and I can’t cut my hair.” So he chose the street [because] his mother didn’t want him. Quite possibly that good mother was concerned about the hunger in India and worked for the people all around her, except her own child. When we returned, that young boy was lying on the ground. He had overdosed himself with drugs. We had to take him to the hospital. I don’t know whether he survived, because I don’t know how many things he had taken. What will be the reaction of that mother facing that child when they meet again? “You didn’t want me.” So let us begin to want each other.13

They Have Absolutely Nobody

Now in the New York area where our sisters are working there are a number of places, but in one place especially there are people, something like [the] people we pick up from the streets of Calcutta, a little more neglected than our people….Sisters go there once a week….We…go there and do this humble work, such as cutting nails and washing and feeding and changing the clothes and making the bed a little bit comfortable….I have been there some time ago and I thought it was terrible, and since [then] things seem to be much worse than they were before. We are trying to find out who is the person to contact who will give us complete permission to go [there] daily….You could find out people like that, especially the shut-ins. In every place we have these people, in every place; in hospitals there are people whom nobody visits, they have absolutely nobody. So like this man in this place, he waited for the sisters to come to wash his mouth, because for a whole week nobody gave him anything to wash his mouth. The next week, when the sisters went, he had died already.14

Comfort the Many Lonely

A wealthy man said to me, “I have a big house in Holland. Do you want me to give it up?” I said, “No. But what I want you to do is to go back and see: Do you want to live in that house?” “Yes,” he said. “And I also have a big car; do you want me to give that up instead?” I said, “No. But what I want you to do is to go back and see some of the many lonely people who live in Holland. Then every now and then I want you to bring a few of them at a time and entertain them. Bring them in that big car of yours and let them enjoy a few hours in your beautiful house. Then your big house will become a center of love, full of light, full of joy, full of life.” He smiled and said that he would be so happy to bring the people to his home, but that he wanted to give up something in his life. So I suggested, “When you go to the shop to buy a new suit or clothes, or when someone goes to buy for you, instead of buying the best that would cost $55, buy one for $50 and use that extra money to buy something for someone else or, better still, for the poor.” When I finished saying this, he really looked amazed. “Oh, is that the way, Mother? I never thought of it.” When he finally left, he looked so happy and full of joy at the thought of helping our sisters, and he was already planning to send things to the sisters in Tanzania.

Words of Comfort

As soon as I heard about the terrible earthquake in Kobe, Japan, I sent a message to the archbishop offering the service of our sisters. Six of them went to the city to bring God’s love and compassion to the people, especially the elderly. They walked through the streets of the city where more than five thousand people died, offering words of comfort, hope, and encouragement as well as supplies to those in need. Let us pray for the people of Kobe and for all people suffering from natural disasters, war, and violence that by uniting their pain and suffering to that of Jesus, they may find strength and healing.15

Joy of Sharing His Suffering

You have done much and you are still doing much for the glory of God and the good of the poor. So do not be afraid—the very Cross is the sign of His great love—as He gives you the joy of sharing His suffering and humiliation with Him….These are but means to greater love.16

Let Jesus Be the Victim in You

You have said “Yes” to Jesus and He has taken you at your word….God cannot fill what is full. He can fill only emptiness, deep poverty. And your “Yes” is the beginning of being or becoming empty. It is not how much we really “have” to give, but how empty we are, so that we can receive [Him] fully in our life and let Him live His life in us.

In you today He wants to relive His complete submission to His Father. Allow Him to do so. [It] does not matter what you feel, as long as He feels all right in you. Take away your eyes from yourself and rejoice that you have nothing, that you are nothing, that you can do nothing. Give Jesus a big smile each time your nothingness frightens you.

This is the poverty of Jesus. You and I must let Him live in us and through us in the world. Cling to Our Lady, for she too, before she could become full of grace, full of Jesus, had to go through that darkness. “How can this be done?” But the moment she said “Yes” she had need to go in haste and give Jesus to John and his family.

Keep giving Jesus to your people not by words, but by your example, by your being in love with Jesus, by radiating His holiness and spreading His fragrance of love everywhere you go.

Just keep the joy of Jesus as your strength. Be happy and at peace. Accept whatever He gives, and give whatever He takes, with a big smile. You belong to Him. Tell Him, “I am Yours and if You cut me to pieces, every single piece will be only all Yours.” Let Jesus be the Victim and the Priest in you.17

I pray for you that Our Blessed Mother may keep close to you as she kept close to Jesus at the foot of the Cross. Share everything with her, and ask her to be a Mother to you.18

If We Have Jesus, We Have All

Your welcome letter has brought me joy and sorrow: joy that you are all well, that you have taken your great loss so beautifully, with real Christlike fortitude. I am really proud of you. And sorrow for the things [that are] gone, but I could not help thinking, maybe Our Lord has allowed this to free you, to make you share in the Tenth Station of the Cross—“and they took away His garments from Him.” These people have done exactly this to you. Forgive and forget and smile. Thank God you were not in the house when they came. God knows what would have happened to any of you. I know what both of you feel, but both of you are young and strong. The house can be furnished, but do it in the spirit of the Vatican Council, beautifully, worthy of the temple of God dwelling within. Here we are also sharing the Passion of Christ. Famine, floods, disease, unrest—so much suffering, so much misunderstanding. The pain of seeing my people suffer so much is very great. The Church within the nations at war—more suffering—I often very often say just, “Thank God, there is God in whose hand we are.” Our homes are full, full with children unwanted, with sick and dying people, with old people whom no one wants, and yet we must keep up smiling in total surrender to God and loving trust in our neighbors—whoever they may be. He is the Light that will never be extinguished. He is the Way that will never go wrong. He is the Truth that will conquer. He is the Life that will never die. If we have Jesus, we have all. So let us keep close to Jesus with a smiling face.19

The Suffering, the Greatest Wealth

I am praying much for you that you may make use of the ability and suffering that have come into your life as means to real holiness. Let us thank God for His love for you, for His presence in you, and for the grace with which you have accepted your affliction as a gift of God. It must be hard—but the wood of the Cross was hard too. Do not ever think your life is useless because you cannot do what others do. The Cross of Jesus and the suffering of our Blessed Mother and of so many Christians are the greatest wealth of the whole world. You too are a part of that wealth. May you allow Jesus to live more fully in you, and may the Passion He shares with you be a sign of His tender love for you. Offer all for our Society with a smile.20

Condolences

Your father has gone home to Jesus—to Him who loved him first and called him into life. Now that he is with Jesus and Jesus is in your heart, he is there too, closer to you now than ever before, praying for you and watching over you. Let this thought console you in your grief. I am praying for your mother in a special way during these days.21

Thank you for your letter…and for sharing the sad news of the death of your nephew. I offer my deep sympathy to your brother and sister-in-law and assure them both of my prayers that the Lord may console and strengthen them. It must have been a big shock to all of you, as you all had seen the child three days before his death alive and happy. God our loving Father, who knows us, loves us, knows the best for us, has taken [the son] for Himself to heaven, where he is now living in full the life that God wants to give us. So it is a happy and consoling thought for the parents that [he] is not dead in sin but alive fully in heaven through God’s love and mercy. And God in His own time will draw [the parents] closer to Himself with [their son] interceding for his dear parents. I am glad that you are with [the parents] at this time consoling and strengthening them in a Christian way. God, in His own time, will heal their wounds and draw out gently the good from them.22

I am sorry to learn of the death of your sister. Let us pray for her—may God grant her a share in His glory. I am praying for you, that God may give you the grace to accept your loss with courage, even joy, knowing that she has gone home to Jesus and is closer to you now than [before]. Thank God for giving you the opportunity to care for her; now God wants to use you for your family and others, especially the lonely, the unwanted. Give Him your heart to love.23

I am sorry to know your sister…passed away suddenly. However, I am sure your faith will help you accept it with joy, as she has gone home to Jesus and is now with Him in heaven. She must be praying for you all there. Now that she is with Jesus and Jesus is in your heart, she is there too, closer to you now than ever before.24

HER EXAMPLE: THE TESTIMONIES

She Listened to Everybody

I used to do the gate duty at Mother House. Each time any visitors came, I used to go to Mother’s room to give her their card, and so forth, and each time Mother used to give me her blessing, and immediately [she would] get up and come to the chapel veranda or to the parlor downstairs to meet the people. She met all who came, whether rich or poor. Mother used to listen to everybody. Some came only to touch her feet, to have darshan [coming into the presence of a holy person], to take her blessing and go away. All went away from her presence with a happy smile. Mother used to pray with them, take those in trouble or distress to the chapel and pray for them.

She always gave them Miraculous Medals and her “business card.” She used such simple means, but people were touched. Many were also healed, because Mother was full of Jesus and radiated His peace to those who were troubled.

Mother sat near him, listening and encouraging him. For Mother it was “seeing Jesus twenty-four hours a day” in the snotty, naked child, his eyes infected, or the richly clad, affluent people who flocked from all over the world to see her, sometimes from afar. Her radiant smile lit up all hearts, and while some wept at some secret touch of Jesus in the depths of their being, others experienced a release of joy within.25

When my brother died, I went to get a blessing from Mother. Mother gave me a blessing and embraced me and told me, “My child, Jesus loves you so much that He is sharing with you.” Mother looked at me with love. Mother’s tender look struck me so much, I felt real consolation, and she gave me courage and strength to go ahead.26

Finding Peace Again

Often I would sit with her on the bench outside her office and talk about difficulties I was having in the work or my distress over my children not practicing their faith, or my husband who is not Catholic. She assured me that Jesus loved them more than I did, and He would look after them. She took my hands in hers and giving me a rosary, told me to pray it every day and ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for them and they would come back. I have not been as faithful as I need to be, but one child has returned and is practicing his faith, and my husband has begun to inquire about prayer and God’s love for him, a new concept for him.27

On one occasion, Mother was visiting Titagarh. There was a leper, who, though he was deformed, used to help the sisters in dressing wounds and giving food and medicine to others, just to be with the sisters. He became blind and completely lost his fingers and toes. He came close to Mother and cried, “Mother, I have become blind, I cannot see you. I have become useless, I cannot help.” Mother told him, “Oh my son, don’t worry. In a little while we will all go to the Other Side to our Home. Everything will be new! New eyes to see, new hands, everything new! We will see God who loves us so much!” He said, “Mother, when will it happen? Pray! I want to go soon!” This was Mother’s way of inducing the desire for new life in people, not letting them get drowned in misery. From that time on [he] was sad no more. He was so happy, waiting to go Home.28

When some relatives of a dead person were brought to her, she would console them saying…that we come from God and we go to God.29

I Felt Absolutely Loved

Mother refused to redo the interview. She said that if something did not work out, it meant that it was not God’s will. I was devastated by her refusal. In that moment, as though she felt that same pain, she took off the dark glasses I was wearing and said, “——, you aren’t getting enough sleep.” The words were simple but the energy she emanated was immense. Time seemed to stop. My heart seemed to swell in my chest. I felt powerful love flowing from Mother through me and back to her. It was a love that I had long desired from parents, friends, and lovers but never, before that moment, experienced. In a state of heightened awareness, I suddenly knew that God existed, that God was this Love, and that Mother Teresa was a channel for that love. I felt absolutely known and loved. I said nothing but Mother seized the moment. As though she could read my heart, she said, “Let us thank God.” She unhooked her rosary from her belt and began praying. I, who hadn’t prayed in fourteen years, stayed on my knees and joined Mother in the Rosary, tears, once again, rolling down my face.30

See Him in Your Son

One day a young father of a boy appeared before the door of Mother House and asked for a “darshan” of Mother. He was accompanied by his two-year-old son. In the course of time this gentleman became Mother’s co-worker. The following conversation took place at Mother House and seemed to me very touching. I jotted down their words soon after. It is now produced below:

YOUNG MAN: Mother, this is my son (showing the child). His mother is very much whimsical. Sometimes she would like this boy; otherwise, mostly he is left uncared for. I have my own job. But then again, I am made to take care of him for the whole day, nurse him, feed him, at times this child also appears unbearable! What do I do?

MOTHER: When you take care of him, say with prayers, “Lord, You in the disguise of this child, be with me now and forever. Thank You, Lord, that You are my son, as I am a son to You. Thank You, Lord, for I can serve You, as You served us all. Thank You, Lord, for I can love You as You loved us all. Thank You, for today You depend on me, as I always depend on You. Thank You, Lord, when You keep Your sleepy head on me, for I too rest on You forever. Thank You, Lord, when You hold my hand, for I know You are with me. Thank You, Lord, when You beg me to feed, as we are fed by You. Thank You, Lord, when You grow a boy, for I know I can depend on You. Thank You, Lord, as so dearly You have come as my son.

The boy’s father sobbed silently as Mother said this prayer, and he left with peace on his face.31

Singling Out the Most Unloved

What was striking in her dealings with the poor was that her first glance and a word of comfort went to the most poor and dirty person in the crowd.32

We were in Tijuana, [Mexico], visiting the fathers, at their seminary next door to a field of slums, barrios made of trees and huts with ten or twelve family members living in one room. Mother saw across the way, up a very long, steep hill, an old woman sitting outside a small hut. One afternoon she looked at me and said, “Mother is going up the hill. We must go see this woman. She has no one.” We went up. When we got there, this woman could not take her gaze away from Mother. She beamed, she responded for the first time to anyone. Mother held her hand and spoke softly. When it came time to go back down, she called out to Mother and said, “But what is your name?” She had no idea who Mother was, but had been completely overwhelmed by the spirit of Mother. Mother responded, “My name is Mother Teresa.” “And where are you from?” the woman asked. “Oh, I am from Calcutta.” We left. Mother never batted an eye, not a word was spoken.33

On one occasion Mother and I were waiting on a footpath for a car to pick us up. In the crowds passing by, she noticed a man who had difficulty stepping onto the footpath. She lent her hand to help him up even though she herself was failing in strength. No one else around her, including myself, had noticed the man’s plight.34

Learn to See Jesus

I remember at one of the professions she noticed in the crowd a woman crying. She called [out to] her, talked to her, and found out that she had in the past committed an abortion. Immediately she called the priest and helped her and her husband to make [a] confession. Afterward she told us about it. “Sisters, how is it that Mother sees and you do not see? Please learn to see Jesus in the people!”35

Hello, My Name Is Mother Teresa

[At the airport] Mother was sitting in the lounge talking to the sisters, and this middle-aged woman walked in right past Mother to the back of this lounge. She opened a magazine. And I, who was just observing everything, found this extraordinary. Out in the airport everybody is trying to touch Mother, and this woman who could touch Mother walked right past her and she didn’t even know. What struck me outside was this emptiness, this sadness in her face. Her face wasn’t even alive. The lounge attendants came after a few minutes, and they said, “Mother, we are ready,” and the sisters said, “Aacha,” [Okay] and they got up….[Mother] was the last one and I was behind her, [and just as we were leaving the lounge] Mother took my hand and said, “Father, come with me,” and she went right to the back of that lounge, to that woman. Now how she had noticed that woman with all the MC confusion, I don’t know. Anyway, she went to that woman and Mother reached into her own bag and she had what she called her “business cards” the Knights of Columbus [printed for] her.36 She leaned over to the woman, and said, “Hello. My name is Mother Teresa. I just wanted to give you my card.” And this woman looked up from her magazine and I heard her kind of mutter. Mother gave her the card, squeezed her hand, looked into her eyes. It was thirty seconds, no more than that, and we went. But at the door I turned and looked at this woman and she was reading that card with a smile on her face. Her face had just changed. Mother had that deep capacity to notice even the deeper pain, the loneliness, and reach out. That was extraordinary in her.37

Mother Was in a Hurry, When on the Way a Poor Man Stopped Her

Sister Mary was recently recalling an incident at the time of the Bangladesh riots: Two of the sisters were going in a hurry with Mother Teresa to get some urgently needed stores for the refugee camp, when on the way a poor man stopped to speak to Mother. Sister Mary said it was most edifying to see Mother, who, though she was in a hurry, gave four to five minutes listening to his worries with compassion and undivided attention. Sister Mary said that for her, that was truly the mark of a saint.38

When there was the riot between Hindus and Muslims in December 1991, Mother herself went to those areas, praying the rosary and with folded hands. She used to tell us to pray always whenever there is a problem, to trust in God and the problems would be solved.39

I Beg You, Be Kind

I had the privilege of going to Albania to a new foundation in Durrës. Mother was there. I could see how she suffered to see her people living in such abject misery. There was an absence of everything, material and spiritual. Mother came to our house often as we [had] the storehouse of most of our supplies that came from abroad. Mother said, “Be very kind to everyone, they have suffered so much already. I am begging you with joined hands, be kind.” Mother said this over and over again. Mother also said, “Welcome everyone who comes. The priests that come have nowhere to go, look after them, feed them till they find a place.” The day our house opened, Mother was overjoyed and said, “What a tremendous love Jesus has for us. This is the only tabernacle in the whole city, and Jesus has chosen us to make Him known.” Mother gave us many words of love, understanding, and compassion. Mother kept saying, “Love one another and give it to others. They must see Jesus in you. They have been hurt so much already. Don’t hurt them.”40

Give the Police My Umbrella

It was a monsoon evening and a heavy downpour had just stopped when Mother returned to her house. She had been terribly sick only a month ago. It had rained so much that day that the pavements of Shishu Bhavan went quite below the dirty rainwater, giving the area a [look] of Venice! Mother’s car tried to pull its way through, but the driver nodded his head to say there were some troubles with the car. The accompanying sisters requested Mother to wait inside the car. But Mother had by then slipped out of the car, and [hitching] her sari [up to] her knees, she began to push through the rainwater toward Mother House. While assuring her sisters that she would safely reach home, Mother caught sight of a traffic policeman, waving both hands to manage the vehicles. The man had no umbrella with him and it was still drizzling. As Mother arrived at the entrance of Shishu Bhavan, she called for a sister and said worriedly, “Sister, give the traffic police my umbrella. He has duty tomorrow here; ask him to return my umbrella then.”41

Bless This Marriage

An old Bengali Hindu Brahmin came to my office asking for some charity for the marriage of his daughter. I told him that at the most I could contribute fifty rupees. I was impressed with the outlook of this old gentleman. I told him to wait and telephoned Mother and told her that I was sending an old gentleman who was in difficulty, and I asked if Mother could help him. I did not mention anything about the marriage of his daughter. Thereafter I forgot completely about this matter. After two or three months, this old Brahmin gentleman saw me and he was so much overjoyed that he could hardly speak. He told me that Mother had helped him with everything for the marriage of his daughter. He had asked Mother to attend the marriage ceremony of his daughter and never expected Mother to come personally. But Mother did come to his house on the day of the marriage. She asked the Hindu gentleman if she could bless the couple getting married, which the Hindu gentleman gladly agreed to. Mother knelt down and prayed to the heavenly Father to bless them. Just when Mother was leaving, the groom asked Mother to pray for him as he had [taken] a competitive examination for a job. Mother simply told the young man that she would pray for him. Believe me, this young Hindu man was lucky to be successful and got the appointment for the job.42

A Ray of Hope at Eleven p.m.

Once one builder approached Mother and wanted to know what he could offer to her by way of service. Mother requested [that he] build a home for the prostitutes at Tangra—which he did. Years after he went bankrupt. Eventually he and his brother committed suicide. The widows were condemned by the family/priests/friends [because their] deceased husbands [had committed such sins]. They were almost outcasts. Suddenly they received a call from the MC sisters that Mother Teresa, returning from a tour abroad, had heard the news of the deaths and would like to meet the widows straight from the airport on her way home. They were once again scared of listening to some scornful remarks. At eleven p.m., Mother arrived at their house along with one more sister. [Mother] smiled at them and said [their] husbands were great men; thanks to their contribution so many prostitutes were finding shelter, and she assured them that God would definitely look after them. [For the] first time after the death [of their husbands], these widows found a ray of hope which enabled them to face the cruelty of life with renewed vigor, and today they have been able to re-establish themselves.43

The Beauty of All Life

Mother taught me the beauty of all life, even when disease and deformity make it hard to look at. In the midst of the greatest need, she seemed to be the most serene. She used every opportunity to help the volunteers understand that by disguising Himself in the poorest of the poor, [Jesus] was giving us an opportunity to love Him and serve Him directly. The poor are our gift, she would say.44

Mother Kissed Those Rough Calloused Hands

In 1970 I had the privilege of accompanying Mother Teresa to a meeting of the National Council of Catholic Women, where Mother was to be recognized for her great work among God’s poor. On one of those days, Mother and I sat together in a booth on the convention floor, and all day women came and went. The women, for the most part, were very well dressed and appeared to be from families of means, but one woman stood apart from the others in her dress, which was plain and well worn, and in her shy manner of approaching us. For some time she stood off to one side looking at Mother with such longing that I walked over to see if I could be of help. She seemed to be almost afraid to ask if she could speak to Mother Teresa for just a few moments. I took her immediately to Mother, who invited her to come and sit in the booth beside her. The woman very shyly began to tell us about her husband’s serious illness and that it was no longer possible for him to do the work on their farm. She begged Mother Teresa to pray for him and for his recovery. She had taken over her husband’s work on the farm, and she now asked for our prayers that she could continue to do this, as well as tend to her own housework, cooking, and care of their young children.

As she spoke, the young woman held her hands tightly together on her lap, and I could see how very rough and red they were, and how cracked and sore her fingers appeared. Mother Teresa noticed the same, and just then a few tears fell from the woman’s face to her poor worn hands. At that, Mother took both of those rough calloused hands into her own, and, lifting them to her lips, she kissed them and held fast to them while assuring the woman that we would pray for her husband’s recovery. The woman stayed with us a little longer, telling about her family and how much it meant to all of them to be able to remain on the farm where her husband’s family had lived for several generations. Then she thanked us and walked away. As Mother Teresa watched her leave, she whispered, “What great love.”45

Badly Injured in an Explosion

Later that same week, I received a call from a woman who told me her young son had been badly injured in an explosion, and she wondered if she and her husband could bring the lad to meet Mother Teresa. That evening the family arrived at our home with their son, age eleven, who had been blinded and had both his hands blown off when he picked up a stick of dynamite and lit it, thinking it was a flare he could use for a torch. The boy’s face was badly scarred, and his arms ended in stumps. It was hard to look into those sightless eyes without weeping.

I led the young boy and his parents into our living room where Mother Teresa was waiting. She seated him by her side and took his poor stumps in her hands, holding them while he talked to her. He described how he had first learned about Mother Teresa at his Catholic school, had even read about her himself before the accident. He had longed to talk to her because he knew she would tell him the truth about his appearance, and also because he wanted to ask her advice about a career, considering his terrible handicap. Mother’s response was so beautiful that those of us in the room could not hold back our tears. First, she traced with a finger all the disfiguring scars on his face, telling him that in her opinion they made him look manly and strong and gave him a courageous look. Then, as he asked if his stumps were terrible looking, she took each in her hands, stroked the places where the scars were the heaviest, kissed each stump, and told him they didn’t look a bit ugly, but were simply good strong-looking arms that had no hand. Then the two of them talked about his plans for the future, of one day being a counselor and using his own experiences to help others to overcome handicaps. It was a scene none of us there will forget, the young boy with all that hope being reassured by a person he had read about and admired for her own heroism, both absolutely certain that, with Jesus’s help, he would someday reach his goal! I hope and pray that he did.46

Mother Had Time for Them All

In the last year of her life, Mother was pretty much confined to Mother House and to the second floor. In this circumstance, Mother began what I called her “balcony apostolate.” She would greet all the visitors who came to see her, with warmth, kindness, and humor. Some people brought their pain, others their concerns or hopes, and Mother had time for them all and directed them to God. Once I was waiting a long time on the balcony to speak with Mother while she was greeting people. Finally Mother came over to me and began to talk. I was relieved to finally gain her attention. A poor man climbed the stairs and stood looking at us from a distance. Mother saw him and excused herself saying, “Excuse me, Father, but this man has come such a long way.” And she left me to listen to him! I was frustrated, because again I had to wait, but it revealed to me that I thought I was more important than this man was. Mother obviously knew he was the more important one, because his need and pain were on his face—so she gave God’s attention and concern to him first. Whomever she greeted in her wheelchair on that balcony, she would ask [them] to pray and give them a Miraculous Medal, and invite them to trust in the goodness of God. When she spoke, it was always with that purpose, to reveal the goodness of God, through some little anecdote from her life, a story about how Jesus was intimately present and involved in our lives. And she taught us that He depended on you and me to provide His care for the poor. What we saw as difficulties Mother would call “opportunities”—to look for Him in the distressing disguise….She had always that positive vision.47

Comforting from Heaven

I was granted a grace of conversion through Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. I felt an inspiration from God to pick up the prayer booklet Jesus Is My All in All and pray the Novena to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta….I had prayed this novena before, but felt especially drawn to one of the passages from a particular day of the novena which spoke of Jesus’s love. I felt the Holy Spirit being poured into my soul, with a particular joy for loving as Christ does. The prayer that I read transformed my heart, as l had been depressed and felt little emotion or love in my heart. I had been having a hard time in trusting in Jesus’s love for me. I knew that it was a miracle because it happened immediately, and I felt a newness of life in God’s Spirit. I felt then called to share Christ’s love and could feel the Lord working in me to show Christian love to a mother and her child. The child looked so sad, and I felt that Mother Teresa’s spirit also would reach out to that child because of her love of Christ. I felt then Jesus actually calling me to help others and that my vocation would be to love Jesus. Also Mother Teresa led me back to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special way.

REFLECTION

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor 1:3–4)

“Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet especially your family. Be holy—let us pray.”48

Am I afraid to get involved in other people’s suffering and thus keep my distance? Do I use the advice “not to get too involved or too personally affected” as an excuse not to help someone who is suffering deeply?

Can I “love until it hurts,” forgoing something of my own comfort, convenience, and enjoyment in order to help someone in need?

How can I cultivate greater sensitivity to others’ sufferings? Can I look for someone in my community or family, among my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, who is afflicted in some way and offer a small gesture, a word of comfort or a smile that will make their day brighter? Can I do it in a way that is discreet, respectful, and nonintrusive?

PRAYER

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O Good Jesus, hear me.

Within Thy wounds hide me.

Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.

From the malicious enemy, defend me.

In the hour of my death, call me

and bid me come unto Thee,

that with Thy Saints, I may praise Thee

For ever and ever.

Amen.

—Prayed daily by Mother Teresa