 |
||||
 |
||||
|
Our Meeting with Mother Teresa by Royal E. Alsup, Ph.D. and Patricia S. Alsup, Ph.D. The Simple Path of Mother Teresa
The twelfth of December 1995, in the midst of a very busy day seeing clients, we got a call on our answering machine from our friend, Father Brian, a father in the Missionaries of Charity. He said, "Mother Teresa is going to be in San Francisco tomorrow. If you would like to meet her, be there at 3:00 p.m. Call me for details." Mother Teresa was coming to participate in an initiation ceremony for eight new sisters in her order. After an instant of disbelief, Royal said, "We're going!" We knew this was an incredible opportunity that we couldn't miss. That night a terrible storm hit the North coast with winds up to seventy miles per hour. As we lay in bed listening to the gale force wind and the rain hitting the house it was hard to believe we were going to venture out in that storm. The next morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to no electricity. We dressed by candlelight and quiet. The storm had died down and the world seemed gentle and safe. We were going to see Mother Teresa! The storm returned, however, and the drive down Highway 101 was fraught with danger. We drove through pounding rain, mudslides and fallen trees almost blocking the road. Finally we arrived at the church in the Mission District, minutes before the service was due to begin. The church was completely packed with people waiting to get a glimpse of Mother Teresa, so we had to stand at the back of the church, barely within its doors. Quietly, smoothly and almost unnoticeably a line of white robed women walked into the vestibule of the church. The first woman was wearing a dark sweater over her white robes, with the trademark blue edging on the sari of the Sisters of Charity. The crowd was so thick that it stopped any forward movement; and she stood directly in front of us, not two feet away. She was Mother Teresa herself! Very tiny and barely reaching four feet tall, she was hunched over with eighty-five years' toll on her body. She looked up at Patricia with her hands held in the gesture of prayer. "She smiled at me and bowed her head in an incredible acknowledgment of my being. I felt an absolute and all encompassing Love." The blessing that is experienced through the power of the gaze is that of which the great mystics speak. No matter how much or how little time you spend with a spiritual master, the quality and the power of the energy that emanates from them is conveyed through the glance. The mystical Eastern Orthodox Church would describe this as an experience of the uncreated energies of God's love and grace as it was transmitted through the glance of Mother Teresa. I turned to Royal. He hadn't seen her yet, probably expecting to see someone taller, more at eye level. I nudged him and said, "Here she is. It's her!" He looked down at her and silent tears filled our eyes as we looked at each other and again toward her. Our hearts were filled with love and wonder. The crowd parted and she walked on into the sanctuary. We stood in the church for three hours with Mother Teresa for the duration of the mass and the initiation ceremony. It was exciting to celebrate the Eucharist with thousands of people: church fathers and nuns, old men and women, little children, beautiful young teenagers, mothers and fathers, rich people and ragged looking street people. All of us had come to witness a living saint and to share in the powerful loving spirit of her living presence. She carried for us the wonder of her life of selfless service, bringing us to an experience of God and the Spirit of Love. After the service we received another amazing gift. Father Brian invited us as his guests to meet Mother Teresa personally and to share a meal with the families of the eight new sisters. In the rectory the nuns served us a wonderful dinner of fried chicken, enchiladas, rice and dessert. It tasted like ambrosia. We felt the gift of love through the sisters' smiles and we saw their joy for which they are so famous. Being loved and served with cheerfulness helped us understand the deep appreciation and happiness that the poor, the sick and the dying feel when Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity minister to them. Suddenly, Father Brian appeared at the door and called us to come upstairs to the small and simple chapel where we would meet Mother Teresa in person. Many people were gathered around her and she was giving each person a metal of Saint Mary. Royal stood waiting and she walked up to him. "She gave me one metal, but Father Brian had told me she will give a person a second metal for a friend if they just ask. I did ask and she took my hands in hers and rubbed them gently. As she rubbed my hands I felt my whole essence fill with a thrill of genuine love, caring and compassion for my brokenness. She laughed as she gave me the second metal and her laughter sent a straight shot of energy through my whole body. The experience of her glance and of our bowing toward each other in loving mutual respect was a transforming experience. It has had a far ranging effect on my life that is still working within my heart. The real connection that I felt with Mother Teresa was a powerful lesson about God's love. I knew I was in the presence of a great master." We walked back downstairs where the novices, whose robes are completely white, were gathering around a newly initiated sister. They were sweet, delighted and completely thrilled as they exclaimed to her, "You look so beautiful with the blue stripe." The young women were as excited and cheerful as any group of happy young people. Their love for Mother Teresa and for God filled the whole building. The power of the sisters' many hours of silence and prayer was evident in their strength and their love. Our adventure with the Missionaries of Charity continued three weeks later when we traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to visit Father Brian. He gave us a tour of the four Missionaries of Charity houses in that enormous city. The Order maintains a shelter and soup kitchen for homeless men, a home for elderly women, a school for young children and a contemplative house. We were struck by the hard work required by the sisters and brothers to serve the poor, yet they seemed to be constantly full of joy, always smiling and laughing. They appeared so grateful for their lives and for their work. As the Saint Frances Prayer reminds us, "It is in giving that we receive." Visiting the four houses deepened our understanding of the power of faith, love, prayer and service to the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa's simple path had become a living reality as we witnessed its impact on the lives of poor people in Tijuana. Mother Teresa says that it does not matter who we are nor where we live; we can all walk her simple path of silence, prayer, faith, love, service and peace. As she has said, "It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing." Reference Vardey, L. (1995). Mother Teresa: A Simple Path. New York: Ballantine.
|
||||
 |
||||
 |
  |
 |
       
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
