The longer I have been Catholic, the more I have come to believe that the saints find you. This is certainly the case when it comes to my relationship with St. Teresa of Kolkata. Serving the poorest of the poor in the city my parents grew up in, I knew of her throughout my life, but from a distance—never much talked about or thought of beyond her humanitarian work. Certainly we, as a Hindu family, didn’t discuss in depth her Catholic faith or how it was the foundation of all she did. It wasn’t until her death on my birthday in 1997, a little over a year after my conversion, that my connection to her began to intensify.
Suddenly, she was popping up everywhere I looked. What struck me most was her love for the forgotten and dying on the streets. Mother Teresa took in and cared for those who had no one, the ones left as disposable. It didn’t matter whether they professed a faith in Christ—to her, they were “Jesus in distressing disguise.” Instead of attempting to convince them of the truth of Christ, she loved them as He would, so they could encounter His divine love. As I saw it, she was the gospel personified.
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
It was seeing this passage lived out that led to my own first, profound encounter with Christ.
Christ commands us to love one another, and the works of mercy show us how we are called to do so.
“The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities” (CCC 2447)
The Catholic Church, in her wisdom, identifies both corporal and spiritual works of mercy to care for the whole person—body, mind, and soul.
Mother Teresa’s life demonstrates the ability of radical, gospel-centered love to convict hearts, to draw others to Christ and His Church through the school of Love. By practicing these works of mercy well ourselves—with pure hearts filled with love of neighbor— we give witness to the goodness of God which has the power to provoke curiosity and lead people to a profound encounter with Christ.
St. Teresa of Kolkata, pray for us!
