St. Teresa of Calcutta is the patron saint of our Sister Teresa Maria. Here she reflects on the canonization of her patroness and how she came to know and love the Church's newest saint.
Saint Mother Teresa, pray for us!
This is a prayer I have been looking forward to for almost 20 years. Mother
Teresa captured my heart when I was a little girl. I do not remember what it
was that attracted me to her or caused a seven year old girl to be so attentive
to a nun halfway across the world, but I was truly captivated. I had a “Mother
Teresa box” where I would collect newspaper articles and pictures of my hero. I
remember grieving her death and not understanding why Princess Diana’s death
was receiving different attention. Their deaths coincided with the “Beanie Baby
craze” and Princess Diana had a Beanie Bear created in her honor. I naturally
was waiting for the Mother Teresa version. I remember feeling confused when my
father told me my desired Beanie Baby would not be coming. “But, why,” I
asked. Dad said that Mother Teresa would
not want one. This was hard for me to understand because I wanted a Mother
Teresa bear! Religious poverty and simplicity was a little above my young mind. I have since grown up and now share
her name. I believe that God placed a special love for Mother Teresa in my
heart because He would use her to lead me to my vocation. When I was discerning
I give thanks to God for the
witness of Mother Teresa’s holiness and capacity to love. Her love for Jesus
was the motivation behind every act of love she gave to the poorest of the
poor. May she intercede for each of us that we may be not afraid to seek out
the poor and forgotten in our lives. May we, like Mother Teresa, seek to quench
the thirst of Jesus in loving everyone we encounter.
- Sister Teresa Maria, FSGM
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