Feast Day of St. Teresa of Calcutta
(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2016 JMJ September 5, 2016 St. Teresa of Calcutta Dear Family of Mary! “…My children, in your earthly life, be led by my example. My life was pain, silence and immeasurable faith and trust in the Heavenly Father. Nothing is by chance: neither pain, nor joy, nor suffering, nor love. All of these are graces which my Son grants to you and which lead you to eternal life. Of you, my Son asks for love and prayer in Him. As a mother I will teach you: to love and to pray in Him means to pray in the silence of your soul and not only reciting with your lips; it is even the least beautiful gesture done in the name of my Son – it is patience, mercy, the acceptance of pain and sacrifice done for the sake of another.” (September 2, 2016) Yesterday Mother Teresa of Calcutta was canonized a saint! What a joy for us all! We can freely call upon her for intercession and aid! She will be busier now than she was on earth (if that is possible, knowing how much she poured herself out for us all when she was with us). Today we can ask her to pray for us, and for our loved ones and all who need heavenly aid. In honor of Mother Teresa’s canonization, Mary TV was able to show a talk that she gave at the Priest’s retreat in Rome in 1990. You can watch it on the Mary TV Channel. It strikes me that Our Lady’s words in her most recent message really carry the essence of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s spiritual way. Reread the excerpt above, and you will find Mother Teresa in these words! And for her part, St. Teresa of Calcutta understood Our Lady. She talks about her with great insight. Because Mother Teresa was so in love with Jesus, she had to know His Mother well! Here are a couple of quotes from Mother about our relationship with Mary. Indeed, Our Lady can lead us by her example. She has walked our walk. She knows pain, silence and immeasurable faith and trust! She knows how to surrender to the Heavenly Father in all things. St. Teresa of Calcutta wrote to her sisters: 10 August 1971 My Dearest Children, …May our Mother be a mother to each one of us and so the cause of our joy. And may each one of us be Jesus to her and so become the cause of her joy. No one learned the lesson of humility as well as Mary did. She was the handmaiden. To be a handmaiden is to be at someone’s disposal – to be used according to someone’s wish – with full trust and joy. Cheerfulness and joy were Our Lady’s strength. Only joy could have given her the strength to go in haste over the hills of Judea to do the work of handmaiden to her cousin. So let us go in haste over the hills of difficulties… Mother House 28 June 1972 Dearest Children, Let us ask the Sacred Heart for one very special grace: love for Our Lady. Ask Him to give and deepen our love and make it more personal and intimate for her; To love her as He loved her. To be a cause of joy to her ash He was. To Keep close to her as He kept. To share with her everything, even the cross. Each one of us has our cross to bear, for this is the sign that we are His. Therefore, we need her to share it with us… …Holiness is not a luxury but a simple duty for you and me. Very great holiness becomes very simple if we belong fully to Our Lady… …I am sure each one of us has much to thank God; For all the tiring journeys we have made by road, by drain, by plane, by cycle in search of souls. For all the joy we have tried to spread throughout the world. For letting us give Our Lady full liberty to use us. (From Mother Teresa of Calcutta. “The Love of Christ – Spiritual Counsels” 1982) Our Lady’s words are echoed in these brief quotes. Both women were at heart mothers! Each one calls us “Dear Children”! Each one recognizes the trials of life, but accepts them as the way to love Jesus and to do His will. Each one is present to us now, as they are in heaven interceding for us and loving us. Mother Teresa truly understood how important it is to love Our Lady. Please, St. Teresa of Calcutta, help us to grow in our love for Mother Mary. Help us to thank the Father for her presence among us in these days. Mother Teresa, pray for us! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2016