Susan Conroy - Mother Teresas Lessons of Love and Secrets of Sanctity

M OTHER T ERESAS

Lessons of Love & Secrets of Sanctity

M OTHER T ERESAS

Lessons of Love & Secrets of Sanctity

S usan C onroy

Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division

Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

Huntington, Indiana 46750

The Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.

Copyright 2003 by Susan Conroy

All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher.

Write:

Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division

Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

200 Noll Plaza

Huntington, IN 46750

ISBN: 1-931709-76-9 (Inventory No. T42)

LCCN: 2003100091

Cover design by Monica Haneline
Cover photos (front and back) of Mother Teresa by Catholic News Service; used with permission. Photo (back cover) of Susan Conroy and Mother Teresa provided by the author. Unless otherwise noted, photos provided by the author; all photos are used with permission.

Interior design by Sherri L. Hoffman

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I love you, Mother Teresa.

You are still right here in my heart.

W hen I arrived at Mother Teresas doorstep in Calcutta, India, for the first time in 1986, I knew in my heart that what I was about to experience would impact the rest of my life but I did not have any idea how much. What I witnessed in Mother Teresa alone was enough to alter the course of my life: instead of pursuing a lucrative career in the corporate world, I longed simply to continue helping people. My experiences with her gave me a deeper understanding of what life is all about; they made me cherish my Christian faith even more; and they led me to discover a depth of joy and fulfillment that I had never felt before.

I had a very simple dream when I made my first journey to India: I hoped that I could lighten the suffering of even just one human being while I was there. I also wished, with all my heart, to have a chance to sit in a dark corner of the Home for the Dying and simply lay eyes on Mother Teresa, even for just a few minutes, as she was shining her love on others. Believing so deeply that she was a living saint, I longed to see her love in action and to learn all that I could from her. I was able not only to see her, but also to speak with her, to pray with her, and to hold her hand. I was able to help her care for orphans and for the dying in her shelters, to make drawings and paintings for her at her own request, to correspond with her by letter throughout the years, and now to share with others her lessons of love.

Mother Teresa had welcomed anyone with hands to serve and a heart to love to join her in ministering to the Poorest of the Poor. Once I accepted her invitation, I began caring for AIDS patients for the first time. I came in contact with men and women with leprosy, and I witnessed death for the first time in my life at an unforgettably close range. The impact of these experiences on my life has been remarkable and ongoing, as these pages will reveal.

Mother Teresas life was inseparable from her faith. Her entire lifes work was founded on these words which Jesus Christ spoke: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Mt 25:35-36, 40).

Mother Teresa took Jesus at His Word. She taught us that in serving the hungry, the unloved and the rejected, we were serving Jesus in His distressing disguise of the poor. She took my hand one day and, pointing to each of my outstretched fingers, she explained that whenever we reach out to those who are suffering on the streets, whenever we touch the patients in the Home for the Dying, we should remember these five words that Jesus spoke: You did it to me (Mt 25:40), and then we should go about touching, serving, and caring for each person with the same tenderness, humility, love, and reverence with which we would touch and serve Jesus Christ Himself. She taught us that in serving the poor, we were directly serving God.

It is quite meaningful to me that the very first words I ever read by Mother Teresa were given to me by my own mother, and they were words on Joy: Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love.

Mother Teresa spoke even more beautifully about joy by her example. Her smile was enough to set hearts aflame with incredible happiness. Being in her presence was like receiving a spiritual injection! Her co-workers could then go out into the worst slums of Calcutta and face the worst human suffering with inner strength and an incessant smile. As we were returning to work at the Home for the Dying after visiting with her one day, a volunteer friend of mine looked at me and said: Susan, youre shining again! It was the result of being in Mother Teresas presence.

Mother Teresa encouraged me to find ways to make others happy. Life is the joy of loving and being loved. She taught me the infinite value of little things": giving water to someone who is thirsty; holding an orphan who is crying; reaching out to someone who is lonely. She said: Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. One day while I was caring for a man in the Home for the Dying, this man suddenly became peaceful and quiet in my arms, and I realized that he had died while I was holding him. I had never experienced this before and I was so touched by it that I began to cry. Mother Teresa came right to my side and helped me to close his eyes, fold his hands and take care of him. I did not do any great things for this man. I simply held him and did my best to love him. And yet, in spite of the littleness of my deeds, Mother Teresa looked into my eyes and said: You have received many graces for this. I learned that God looks into our hearts to see the value of our deeds. We are not necessarily called to do great things in the world. Only small things with great love.

Mother Teresa had so many powerfully inspiring qualities her radiance of joy, profound humility, rock-solid faith, an intense spiritual life. One day, I went into her chapel at the Motherhouse to pray all alone. Soon after entering the chapel, I noticed that Mother Teresa was there, kneeling all by herself on the floor in deep prayer. In all my life, I will never forget the sight of her that day the visible radiance of love in her lowered face as she knelt there alone on the floor. It was such a deep communion with God. So obvious to me was her direct contact with heaven that I felt like tapping her on the shoulder and saying, Please give Him my love while you have Him on the line!