The Importance of Being Present


A few years ago I was interviewed on Catholic TV and on Sirius Radio about my meeting Mother Teresa in 1989. We met in Kentucky during a fundraising event. Lucky me, my friend brought a camera with him and called my name. I looked up at him after I gave Mother a big smooch on her cheek. He took this amazing photo. 

Mother Teresa was intentionally present. Whether she was comforting the dying, or sitting at a dinner or speaking engagement, or writing one of her many letters, she was present to the people in front of her. Anyone who has lived a public life can attest to the difficulty of this task. For those few moments of time reading a letter and responding, her attention was focused solely on you.

 Here is a letter she sent to me after i invited her to Cincinnati, Ohio. It is typed on a simple typewriter on paper that is stamped with the Missionaries of Charity to make it a letterhead.  Mother Teresa signed it in her handwriting. Such attention! 

My interviewer wrote: Herein lies one of the primary purposes of the Canonization process. Canonized Saints provide us an example of heroic virtue to strive for.

Yes, all the saints in Heaven pray for us. They are the great cloud of witnesses about which the writer of Hebrews wrote. But ALL the saints in Heaven comprise the “Church Triumphant,” all the saints intercede for us, not just the Canonized Saints.

Canonized Saints are a gift to us from the Church. These flawed human beings show us the depths of God’s grace, and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, who isn’t content to just forgive our sins, or overlook our faults, but who is determined to complete the work of holiness in us!

So as the Church gives us St. Teresa of Calcutta, let us strive to be present in every moment to every person whom we encounter. Let us remember what (and who) is really important, and focus on them.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/abeliefobserved/2016/09/the-importance-of-being-present-the-lessons-of-mother-teresa/

Recently I received this letter from the Missionaries of Charity: 

Dear Sr. Margaret,

Peace of Jesus!

I am contacting you from The Mother Teresa Center. The Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center (MTC) is a non–profit organization established and directed by the Missionaries of Charity (Religious Order Mother Teresa founded) to promote deeper knowledge of Mother Teresa’s life, work, holiness, spirituality and message through the preparation and publication of her authentic writings, distribution of devotional materials, maintaining of a website, etc. For more information, please visit www.motherteresa.org . The MTC is an extension of the Office of the Postulation of Mother Teresa which was responsible for bringing to completion her process of canonization (sainthood).

We came across an interesting article (enclosed below) about you titled: The Importance of Being Present: The Lessons of Mother Teresa  dated September 1, 2016 BY CREDO found in this link: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/abeliefobserved/2016/09/the-importance-of-being-present-the-lessons-of-mother-teresa/

and were very much touched on knowing that you had an encounter with Mother (wondering where and what event it was at). We were amazed to read that you wrote to Mother and received a reply from her and we were also delighted to see this beautiful photo (enclosed below) you have with Mother.

This photo is so precious and this letter of Mother to you is a treasure. First of all, in her message to you, as Mother thanks you for your letter to her, she is also commending you for your zeal and love for the poor which surely was so dear to her heart and therefore she was moved by whatever you may have shared with her about the poor. And then, though expressing her regret of not being able to visit you, she is at the same time encouraging you in your efforts to reach to the poor and she specially requests you to reach out to the spiritually poorest of the poor in your ministry.


Amazingly, it almost seems that she is writing this message to a Missionary of Charity Sister as she must have somehow felt your heart to be so much like that of one of her Sisters and this is so beautiful! The article rightly confirms that: ‘For those few moments of time, reading a letter and responding, Mother’s attention was focused solely on you’. Mother prayed for you and is still interceding from Heaven for all your intentions.

She is also asking you to join her in thanking God for the gift of Mother Mary and encouraging you to entrust all those you serve to her so that she can be a Mother to them. I am feeling blessed to write this email to you today as we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation when we specially recall how Mother Mary filled with great joy went in haste to serve her cousin Elizabeth and give Jesus to her and St. John the Baptist and I pray that Mother Mary may help you and me to also continue serving in the same way and bringing the joy of Jesus to those entrusted to our care.


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