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Relics, remembrance permeate Mass honoring Mother Teresa
By Anna Maria Basquez
She cared for the “poorest of the poor” trusting that God would provide. God did—and those who continue her work locally say he still does.
More than 180 people of all ages crowded into St. Joseph Church at Sixth Avenue and Galapago Street for a Mass celebrated by Denver Auxiliary Bishop James Conley the evening of Aug. 26 to honor Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It would have been the 100th birthday of the Nobel Prize-winning nun who died 13 years ago.
People venerated a large color portrait of the nun bordered by white and yellow roses and kissed a relic containing her blood afterward. Sisters with the Missionaries of Charity passed out relic prayer cards with pieces of cloth Blessed Mother Teresa wore.
Despite Mother Teresa’s own struggles, Bishop Conley told the congregation: “She remained a beacon of light shining brightly to those around her. Her overall message to all of us was, is and always will be that we are all called to be saints.”
Mother Teresa attributed her desire to help the poor to Christ’s thirst, which he made mysteriously manifest to her, Bishop Conley said.
Mother Teresa said her calling was made clear to her during a train ride in 1946, though she never revealed if it was through an apparition or experience, Bishop Conley noted.
“It was on the train from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat when she had what she described as ‘a call within a call,’” Bishop Conley said. “This is now celebrated every year on Sept. 10. This was when she had this inspiration to serve ‘the poorest of the poor.’”
The bishop quoted Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for Mother Teresa’s cause, as saying “‘Jesus’ thirst for souls took hold of her heart, and the desire to satiate his thirst became the overarching driving force of her life.’”
Bishop Conley also recounted his own story of Mother Teresa penning a letter to his parents after he was ordained thanking them for him being part of the Church and congratulating them beforehand on becoming Catholic with their son administering their sacraments.
Father Curtis Cunningham, a longtime Missionary of Charity priest who now works with the order in Tijuana, Mexico, concelebrated the Mass. During the week prior to the Mass, Father Cunningham gave a retreat to Denver’s Missionaries of Charity volunteers and sisters.
“(Mother Teresa) would say the poorest of the poor are not only in Calcutta,” Father Cunningham said. “If we just open our eyes, we’ll see the poorest of the poor in own family. There is someone lonely, unwanted. … We can see Jesus thirsting in every man, woman and child—thirsting for human dignity—not only hungry for a piece of bread, but also hungry for love.”
Bernice Divine, 60, of Aurora, said she felt renewed after seeing the relic.
“To have the privilege of saying ‘happy birthday’ and to venerate her relic is a real honor,” Divine said. “I’m in awe.”
Divine said she was there when Mother Teresa visited Denver in the 1980s and announced the gift of her sisters to the archdiocese. Shortly thereafter, the Missionaries of Charity established Seton House downtown, which for many years cared for homeless men with AIDS.
Thousands attended the event where Mother Teresa made the announcement. Even in the standing-room-only stadium, recalled Divine: “She had the presence of a saint. We felt it … high in the bleachers.”
The local Missionaries of Charity now operate a shelter for homeless women on the St. Joseph Parish grounds. Currently four women reside at Gift of Mary Homeless Shelter, which has room for eight.
While Mother Teresa devotees wait for word of a provable miracle to qualify her for sainthood, other small miracles happen all the time said those who minister alongside Denver’s four Missionaries of Charity sisters.
In one instance, a man who volunteered was on edge as he could see the group’s food supply rapidly dwindling with long lines of the homeless to feed at one event. But total trust and faith in Christ is what the sisters depend on, said Rosalie Martinez, 63, of Northglenn, who recalled the story.
“He said to one of the sisters, ‘Sister, let me go to Safeway and pick up more food,’” Martinez said. “She told him, ‘We have to do with what we have.’ He was pacing the floors … then somebody from the Brown Palace knocked on the door and said, ‘We brought all this food.’
“It was leftover food from their kitchen,” she explained. “They had enough for everyone after that. He said it was the best meal he’s ever had.”
Father Cunningham encouraged those who want to remember and venerate Mother Teresa to get involved by volunteering with the Denver Missionaries of Charity.
“Mother would always say, it’s not about doing great things,” the priest said. “It’s about doing little things with great love. It may mean cleaning. … It may mean feeding someone who has difficulty eating. It may mean smiling at a person on the street who’s begging. If you don’t have money to give, it means a lot to be friendly and to give love.”
Books he recommends to people who want to become familiar with her life, he said, include “Come Be My Light,” by Mother Teresa and Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, and “Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire,” by Father Joseph Langford.
“God sent Mother Teresa into the world to remind the world he still loves the world,” Father Cunningham said. “God is thirsting to pour forth his love onto the world. And even more, He’s longing for our love as well.”
MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY
To contact, call 303-860-8040
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