The 26 August was the birthday of one of the strongest and most inspiring women of all times, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her exceptionality lies in the fact that by God’s grace she was able “to quench Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls”, especially in the poorest of the poor she came across. Mother Teresa used to say: “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion of the poor”.
Who were the poor in Mother’s view? Were they just the dying ones whom she met on the streets of Calcutta as she was fulfilling the mission entrusted to her by Jesus, that is, of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity? The answer is a sheer no. Mother held that “places like Calcutta can be seen all over the world if you have eyes to see”. Her contemplative gaze on life continually supported, as it was, by a burning loving desire to look out for Jesus in the suffering made her conclude that poverty is not something exclusive to the underdeveloped countries. On the contrary, even first world countries are stricken with the most hidden and devastating misery; the misery of the heart and spirit. “Developed countries suffer from poverty of understanding, poverty of will, lack of love and spirit. There is no greater disease in the world today than this”.
Blessed Mother Teresa is a true and authentic icon of the Good Samaritan we find in Luke’s Gospel. She faithfully lived out Jesus’ words: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt 25, 40). In his moving homily delivered at the beatification Eucharist of Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II explained the relationship of this gospel text with Mother’s life and ministry with these powerful words. “This Gospel passage, so crucial in understanding Mother Teresa’s service to the poor, was the basis of her faith-filled conviction that in touching the broken bodies of the poor she was touching the body of Christ. It was to Jesus himself, hidden under the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor, that her service was directed. Mother Teresa highlights the deepest meaning of service - an act of love done to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners (cf. Mt 25: 34-36) is done to Jesus himself”. Obviously such an extraordinary love for the poorest of the poor was characterised by a heroic personal self-giving love to Jesus. As she herself confessed: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus”.
Jesus’ love made her seek and value not the success but the effort to love, not the efficiency of her work but how much she was open to let Jesus’ love be the criterion of what she was and did. Mother Teresa advises us: “It is not the size of our actions but the amount of love and care that is put into them that matters”.
The greatest temptation good people are tormented with in this world is precisely that they let evil’s influences block them from doing what is right. Let us not forget that when we encounter evil we need to calm down and gently remind ourselves of the neat counsel Saint Paul gives us in his letter to the Romans. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12, 21). In her simple, practical yet profound way, Blessed Mother Teresa expounds this Christian manner of tackling evil proposed two thousand years before her by Saint Paul. “It’s law of nature that the good you do, will be forgotten tomorrow. But the good work must be carried on”. “Despite giving your best to the world, you may be kicked in the teeth. Give the best you’ve got anyway”.
“Your honesty and frankness will expose you to problems but your work should not stop for it means the world to so many people”. In all these holy and wise dicta, Mother is presenting to us Jesus’ teaching of the grain that dies so as to give a new life: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12, 24).
In his address to the pilgrims who had come to Rome for the Beatification of Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II portrayed Mother as a courageous pilgrim who seriously undertook “a journey of love and service that overturns all human logic. To be the servant of all!” The saint of Calcutta knew humanity very well. “People are generally irrational, unreasonable and selfish”. But her holy Marian and feminine touch made her “rise and go with haste” (see Lk 1, 39) to serve the needy gratuitously. “They deserve to be loved, anyway”.
The Church beatifies and canonises holy men and women so as to be sources of hope, joy, wisdom and strength for us in our following of our Crucified and Risen Lord. To the pain and suffering we encounter in our world, let us respond with a heart full of love and joy. May we be, like Mother Teresa, luminous messengers of God’s love for each and every human being. If we keep Mother’s words reverberating in our ears our hearts will surrender to Jesus love’s demands. “Show kindness through your face, your eyes, your smile and through the warmth of your greetings. You must bear a cheerful smile. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well”.
Fr Mario Attard
OFM Cap