Being a millenial, saints were something I referred to as figures in the Bible. Men and women of God whose pictures were along the walls of my school Chapel. But there was one modern day saint, I saw often on television, greeting dignitaries , stories of other religious communities blaming her about forced conversions, her tiny stature in that blue and white bengali saree and the fact that she decided to set her home in Kolkata in my India.
I was always fascinated by the fact that I lived in the time of a saint and modernity. She was captured on camera and she was always full of joy. Her pictures hugging those orphaned kids, cleaning the wounds of the sick and the homeless, her absolute conviction of antiabortion belifes….. mother inspires me at my job as an obstetrician everyday!!!
Of all the testimonies I read and the stories I watched, what struck me the most was the fact that tiny woman with so much faith and courage in the Lord stood before every human with an unceasing smile and joy emanating from her. Many people converted to catholicism just by experiencing her faith and they even took up to her ways of simplicity.
The news of the letters about her “dark night of the soul ” reveals to us how she stuck by her faith all through those years with her deeds and work for the poor , upholding the dignity of life. She didnt just raise her hands up and say ” I cant hear the Lord, lets just pack up and go home” she stuck by her mission and toiled to spread the word of God.She didnt have elaborate methods, she lived in a tiny room in the crowded city of kolkata and kept her faith shining through her work, despite all the controversies, health issues.
We read Jesus saying today
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Let us show our faith through every daily task from the ones at home and the people we encounter through online work or at our jobs, and push aside every thought of fear and confusion we have ! Let us uphold the dignity of life and learn to respect those who have lesser than us.. Even when the world is in the most uncertain times and no one has any idea what is in store, let us keep faith like mother Teresa and in her own words….
Prayer :
Dearest Lord , as we live these times full of confusion, help us to have faith in your presence and power. Help us to keep doing good and await for the coming of the son of man. Guide us to keep up the faith and always respect the dignity of life. Amen
Happy belated birthday Mother!!
