Mother Teresa's Lasting Influence

by Donna G. McMaster

I always wanted to touch Mother Teresa. Like the hemorrhaging woman in the Gospel of Luke who pushed through a suffocating crowd of people to grasp the hem of Jesus’ garment, I wanted to latch onto Calcutta’s pious saint. My body was not broken, but my spirit needed a divine boost. I reasoned that if I could just touch Mother Teresa, somehow her holiness would rub off, penetrating my soul. This ambition became my fervent prayer by day, my dream by night.

Then Mother Teresa died.

A Magnet of Love

It seemed that everyone around the world shared my desire to clinch a piece of heaven through contact with Mother Teresa. Newspaper reporters made her their frequent subject of interest. Former President Bill Clinton invited her to be his guest at the White House Prayer Breakfast. People from every level of society, from every religion (or none) were drawn to Mother Teresa. Few could resist her engaging smile. Anyone who dared criticize Mother Teresa received an instant verbal backlash from dozens of strangers within earshot. These defenders did not know Mother Teresa personally, but they knew about her. Everyone knew about her.

This saintly woman did not passively attract attention as she went quietly about her work. She was a hardworking spiritual magnet who zoomed in on leftover scraps of human dignity discarded by others. And if anyone truly had the right to reach out and physically touch Mother Teresa, it would have been the sick, the poor, the dying. Why? Simply because they needed her the most. In their despair and agony, abandoned souls clinging to a thread of hope among the dirty streets of Calcutta found in Mother Teresa’s tender caresses something all humanity craves: love.

Hands that Spoke

While words of encouragement and comfort may have floated in whispers from Mother Teresa’s holy lips into the ears of expiring bodies, it was the action of her hands that proclaimed loudly to the world, “Here is the loving care God gives to His people.”

Whether folded in prayer or bandaging wounds, Mother Teresa’s hands effectively carried the love contained within to everyone who crossed her path. The thirsty woman accepting a drink of cool water and the lonely man whose wrinkled brow received a gentle pat felt that love. Many babies saved from abortion soaked in that same love as Mother Teresa’s hands lifted them into the waiting arms of their adoptive parents.

Something unique distinguished Mother Teresa’s hands from ordinary hands, something that enabled her to accomplish what the rest of us could not. Her curled fingers clutched the key that opened the loving heart of Jesus and unlocked the gate to heaven’s blessings—the Rosary.

Holding Mary’s Hand

Mother Teresa constantly held a rosary, even while working. She likened this to holding hands with Our Lady, the Mother of Christ, in whom she placed her trust. Theirs was an intimate relationship that not only afforded Mother Teresa the material help she needed, but also spiritual guidance as she founded and managed the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa knew that she could accomplish nothing on her own, but with heaven’s help, she would succeed in all endeavors. How else could an unknown, penniless Catholic nun rise to the ranks of notoriety and win a Nobel Prize? Mother Teresa’s prayer beads linked her to the heart of Mary, who in turn carried her to the heart of Jesus.

This should not surprise us. After all, Jesus certainly could have appeared on earth any way He chose, yet God spoke a powerful Word in preferring that the Savior come to humanity through Mary. It makes sense, then, that Jesus asks us to share His love for His mother and go to Him through her. If Mother Teresa had not developed a great desire to imitate our Redeemer’s Mother, if she had not seen the face of Christ in every person she encountered, she would have been just an ordinary social worker. Sadly, secular media outlets too often focused on Mother Teresa’s physical achievements without reference to her spirituality, which was the backbone of her work. They skipped over the true secret of success.

Those well acquainted with Mother Teresa did not miss the point, though. They personally witnessed her intense devotion to and reliance on the Blessed Mother and nourished this seed within their hearts, offering flowers of love to anyone ready to receive. One such person, Fr. Joseph Langford, M.C., author of the recently published book Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady, was well aware of the secret. Mother Teresa told him, her friend of 30 years and co-founder of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, “Stay very close to Our Lady. If you do this, you can do great things for God and the good of people.”

Fr. Langford calls Mother Teresa, “a living mirror” of Mother Mary. It was this sparkling reflection of Our Lady’s devout loyalty, concern for souls, and willingness to sacrifice that inspired and gathered Mother Teresa’s followers, whether they knew it or not. Love’s perfume permeated every thought, word, and action committed by Mother Teresa. I, too, felt drawn by the same aroma.

An Invitation

About four years ago, when my daughter Larissa received the Sacrament of Confirmation, she politely asked party guests for donations of money instead of gifts, which she sent to the Missionaries of Charity Sisters in Toronto, Ontario, to help them care for the poor. This somehow started a chain of correspondence. Last summer, the Sisters invited my daughter and me to join them in recognizing the 10th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death. We accepted. On September 5, 2007, we boarded a bus for our two-hour drive, eager to finally meet the Sisters to whom we had been writing.

During the trip, I thought about Mother Teresa’s train journey in 1946, when she answered the call from God that changed her life. I prayed the Rosary. As the beads passed through my fingers, the same beads I had used to ask Mother Mary to find a way for me to touch Mother Teresa, I offered prayers in thanksgiving for this opportunity to meet the Sisters. Hopefully, someone would at least offer me a few of Mother Teresa’s wise words to wiggle into my welcoming heart, giving me the spiritual lift I sought.

A Heart’s Prayer Answered

Sr. Seton, in charge of the house, received us warmly in a small, bare room. We talked briefly, then she led us to a chapel. My heart thumped in joy, feeling privileged to stand among such dedicated servants wrapped in blue and white saris. Trying to blink back tears of immense gratitude, I felt like I was almost touching Mother Teresa, at least spiritually. This was the order she founded. These were her sisters who spoke to her, prayed with her. This was one inseparable body of women, united in love. In my mind, they were collectively Mother Teresa, every one of them. I was happy.

Sr. Seton handed me a small statue, explained what it was, advising me to ask for Mother Teresa’s intercession, then left the room. A few seconds after she disappeared, my tears swelled into rivers as the realization sunk in: I was holding a vial of the preserved blood of the saint of Calcutta. I was touching Mother Teresa!

I tried to pass it to my daughter. She jumped back in fear.

“No! I might drop it!”

Overwhelmed by the sacred intimacy of the moment, we sat in awe without speaking further. Our trip back home was very quiet.

Even death could not prevent God from answering my prayer request. The power of His love flowed through Mother Teresa while she served Him on earth, and it continues to stream through her from heaven now. Describing my experience to a friend, I remarked, “I don’t understand why God allowed me, of all people, to receive such a wonderful blessing. I am, after all, a mere nobody.”

My friend laughed, “But that was Mother Teresa’s signature, wasn’t it? She always loved the nobodies of the world!”

The Greater Gift

The awareness of God’s personal interest in me—indeed, His concern for each individual human—overrides the excitement of physically holding a treasured relic in my hands. The same holds true for other people, as it should.

The Missionaries of Charity Sisters gave me some cards containing Mother Teresa’s photograph and a tiny piece of her sari to distribute to those in need. A woman who had cancer is now completely healthy. Another woman who limped in pain leaning against her cane walks quickly with ease, unaided. As they study the picture of the smiling woman they hold in their hands, they know that Mother Teresa is still accomplishing from heaven what she did on earth: attracting followers by making each person feel loved by God.

Mother Teresa’s advice to Fr. Langford was accurate and valuable, too valuable for him to keep it hidden from the world. He continues to share it from the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers in Tijuana, Mexico. Copies of his book can be purchased at http://catalog.osv.com.

As I try to imagine Mother Teresa’s life in heaven, I picture her walking with Our Lady, still clasping a rosary in her hand, still praying for the forgotten of the world. As the prayer beads slide through her fingers, it is the same now as it was then, except for one element. Her other hand really is holding the hand of Our Blessed Mother Mary, and it will always be so.

Donna McMaster is a freelance writer and artist in Welland, Ontario. A mother of six and grandmother of five, McMaster has painted religious artwork that is displayed in several churches throughout Canada.

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