Saint Teresa Monitor Special Issue by Diocese of Trenton

Saint A

AMONG US

THE

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

THE

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

THE

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

A Celebration of the Church’s Newest Saint & Joyful Reflection on her Visit to the Church of Trenton THE

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ONITOR

Newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton

September 4, 2016 • SPECI AL EDI TI ON V olume 63 • N umber 15 A

Contents

She saw through the eyes of

By Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.

Encounters with future saint 5 Sisters serve in Asbury Park 6 Laity continue her mission

Saint in the making

THE

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

Towey remembers ‘Mother’ 11 THE

Seminarians transformed

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

And much more...

ONITOR

THE

Newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton

www.TrentonMonitor.com

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Business and Editorial Offices: 701 Lawrenceville Rd. P.O. Box 5147 • Trenton, NJ 08638-0147 Phone: 609.406.7404 • FAX: 609.406.7423 Monitor@DioceseofTrenton.org Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

Publisher: Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M. Associate Publisher: Rayanne M. Bennett

THE MONITOR (ISSN #0746-8350) is published biweekly with one additional issue in January, by THE MONITOR, 701 Lawrenceville Road, Trenton, NJ 08648. Periodicals postage paid at Trenton, NJ and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send change of address THEto The Monitor, P.O. Box 5147, 701 Lawrenceville Road, Trenton, NJ 08638-0147. The acceptance of advertising by The Monitor, for print or online publication, does not constitute an endorsement of any product or service. The Monitor reserves the right to reject any advertising considered objectionable.

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other Teresa of Calcutta, the newest saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was the “Face of Charity the world over for much of the th century. Documentaries have been produced and many books have been written about her. The only thing more moving than seeing her walk among the poor is reading her words which, in effect, give voice to the beating of her heart. Wrapped in the white and blue of her simple sari habit, rosary at her side, t. Teresa of Calcutta s irrepressible smile touched the great and the poor alike: those whose names are household words, as well as those who have no place to call home or who will never be known. he was simply Mother to everyone and continues to be. t is difficult to imagine all that her eyes saw as she glanced at the world around her. t is not difficult at all to know how she saw with the eyes of Jesus, loving everyone, especially the poor, without exception, without condition, without hesitation. There was no one she was afraid to touch, no matter how diseased or deformed they might be; no one she was unwilling to lift up, to carry or to comfort

Jesus

no one she would not wash, no one she would not feed, no one she would not care for or accompany, often in the final moments of life. The poorest and most abandoned among us were served the rest of us were inspired, perhaps even embarrassed or ashamed. es, she was only and in every best sense simply Mother. nd she forever moved humankind only by doing what her faith in Christ, what following Christ obliged and demanded. That is what makes a saint, whether canoni ed or not. t. Teresa of Calcutta continues to teach us that sanctity is within our grasp, no further than the homeless beggar on the street; no closer than the Lord Jesus within the human heart. What more can or should be said to capture the essence of this woman, this religious sister, this Missionary of Charity, this obel ri e winner, this Mother et her speak: “People are often unreasonable and sel f - c entered : f o rg iv e th em any w ay . I f y o u are k ind , p eo p l e m ay ac c u se y o u o f u l terio r m o tiv es: b e k ind any w ay . I f y o u are h o nest, p eo p l e m ay c h eat y o u : b e h o nest any w ay . If you find happiness, people may be jealo u s: b e h ap p y any w ay . The good you do today may be forgotten to m o rro w : d o g o o d any w ay . G iv e th e w o rl d th e b est y o u h av e and it m ay nev er b e eno u g h : g iv e y o u r b est any w ay . ”

On the Cover: Artist aimed to convey Mother’s emotions, sibling recalls By Lois Rogers Correspondent

hen my brother Mark took brush in hand to paint Mother Teresa’s portrait nearly 20 years ago, he couldn’t bring himself to model the portrait of the woman already known as The aint of the utters after countless images of her wreathed in smiles. At a time in his own life when he was dealing with the

news that our mother had been stricken with ALS ( also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) , Mom’s shattered visage made him mindful of Mother Teresa’s perspective on human suffering. see Jesus in every human being, Mother Teresa had said. “I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. serve because love Jesus. The quote came up in a con-

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versation at the time. ctually, had asked Mark why he didn’t paint Mother Teresa with her famous smile. Mark said his intention with the painting was to convey the emotions she must certainly suffer spiritually as she encountered Jesus in all his forms hundreds of times a day. I came to appreciate the painting for what it conveyed. There is strength in the face he painted, drawing from a Continued on page 22

Mother Teresa and the Church of Trenton

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Mother Teresa bows her head as then-Bishop John C. Reiss holds aloft a picture June 18, 1995, in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Mother promised to remember the clergy of the Diocese in her prayers. Msgr. Edward Arnister, left, and Msgr. Sam Sirianni both remember the day as one of powerful grace. Monitor file photos

June 18, 1995

Mother Teresa’s visit to the Diocese an unforgettable day

By Mary Stadnyk, Associate Editor ot every Diocese can honestly say a saint has visited and prayed with its Bishop, priests, religious and laity in its Mother Church. But on Sept. 4, when Pope Francis canonizes Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and its faithful will be able to do just that. Many priests, deacons, religious and lay women and men from around the Diocese fondly recall June 18, 1995 – the grace-filled day when Mother Teresa and several Missionaries of Charity attended the 8 a.m. Mass celebrated by then-Bishop John C. Reiss in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. “To witness Bishop Reiss inviting and welcoming the Missionaries of Charity to the Diocese of Trenton was quite an experience emotionally as well as spiritually,” recalled Msgr. James J. McGovern. Msgr. McGovern, who is now retired, was pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, at the time of Mother’s visit and was among the many priests who concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Reiss. Though Mother Teresa’s visit had been in the planning stages for months, the official announcement that her visit would occur came rather suddenly – a mere six days before she arrived – leav-

Mother Teresa kisses the ring of then-Bishop John C. Reiss as she arrives at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, on June 18, 1995.

ing little time to prepare, diocesan officials remembered. The short notice, however, did not deter the thousands of people who flocked to the Cathedral hoping to see the nun who dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor. More than 1,000 were packed into the Cathedral proper; hundreds watched the Mass on a closed-circuit TV in the Cathedral undercroft, and hundreds more stood outside and listened on the public address system.

Bringing Mother to Trenton Though it was ultimately Bishop Reiss who extended the invitation for Mother Teresa to visit, there were many people from the Diocese, Cathedral staff and the City of Trenton who worked behind the scenes to make the visit happen – smoothly, safely and most of all, prayerfully. Among those who helped were Msgr. Leonard F. Troiano, who served as one “Welcoming the of the masters of ceremonies, and Father Robert Tynski, who was director of Missionaries of vocations recruitment, at the time. Both had met Mother Teresa on several prior Charity to the occasions. Diocese...was quite The logistics of providing security for Mother Teresa was one area of concern an experience that Msgr. Troiano, current vicar for planning, vividly recalls, recounting emotionally as how a seat for Mother Teresa had been well as spiritually.” set aside in the sanctuary. When Msgr. Troiano informed Mother Teresa about the seating arrangement before Mass, Mother Teresa responded that she wanted to sit with her sisters in the front pew. Though he told her that it was a precautionary measure requested by Bishop Reiss, Mother Teresa said “tell Bishop Reiss to come and see me.” “She wasn’t about to change her mind,” Msgr. Troiano said with a smile, and Bishop Reiss “wasn’t about to tell Mother Teresa what to do.” Mother remained seated with her sisters. For Msgr. Edward Arnister, meeting Mother Teresa was one of the “most exciting” events he ever experienced during his time as secretary and master of ceremonies for Bishop Reiss. Msgr. Arnister, current pastor of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, specifically recalls when Mother Teresa and her sisters arrived at the Cathedral in a white mini-bus. They had just come from a Continued on page 4 TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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Mother Teresa takes on a prayerful posture as she prepares to address the congregation in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Monitor file photos

A day of grace with long-lasting impact Continued from page 3

living their faith in such a radical way.

Prayers for Vocations and the Poor Missionaries of Charity convent in Chester, a., where they had attended a profession ooking back, many remember the of vows. anticipation in the Cathedral as Mass was As Msgr. Arnister assisted Mother about to begin. Mother Teresa and her Teresa stepping off the bus, he rememsisters were invited to participate in the bered her being tiny and frail. entrance procession as the Diocesan estihe had such a beautiful face and val Choir and cantor, Donival rown, led smile, he said as she ga ed the congregation in singing upon the throngs of people Christ, e ur ight. who surrounded the streets. mong those who Msgr. am irianni, who served in various liturgiwas director of the diocesan cal ministries during the ffice of orship and pas“It was moving Mass were Marianite of tor of oly ngels arish, oly Cross ister Marto see someone amilton, said Mother garet Cronley from the Teresa may have been frail diocesan Vocations ffice, who is living their but she had a firm handwho proclaimed the irst shake when he greeted her. faith in such a eading seminarian ablo he had a good grip, aden proclaimed the radical way.” he said, and she looked econd eading in panish, right into my eyes. and mmaculate eart of Msgr. Sirianni, who now serves as Mary ister nne ulwiler, director of the pastor of t. obert ellarmine arish, ffice of eligious, read the rayers of the reehold, recounted the number of young aithful. people who assisted with logistics and the main focal point of Mother Teresa s respectfulness they showed. e especially visit was to pray for vocations to the priestremembered how moved the altar servers hood and religious life, so it was arranged were when Mother Teresa made her way that 1 diocesan seminarians would attend up the steps and entered the Cathedral. the Mass. Together, they gathered in the They had tears in their eyes, he said. front pew opposite Mother Teresa, giving t was moving to see someone who is Mother Teresa an opportunity to greet each seminarian. n his homily, ishop eiss preached on the olemnity of the ody and lood of Christ, which the universal Church celebrated that day, and on the need for vocations. ecause the ucharist is the center of our Catholic Church, it is also very necessary that we have the ministers of the ucharist present, he said. That is the purpose of our gathering together and praying together for vocations to the Mother Teresa signs a photo of herself that was framed and presented to Bishop Reiss during her 1995 visit. Looking on is Msgr. Edward Arnister, who was Bishop Reiss’ secretary and master of ceremonies.

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priesthood and religious life. e need to pray very seriously today and offer our prayers that the oly pirit will touch the hearts of young men to draw them to the priesthood and young ladies to the religious life. Addressing the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity, ishop eiss praised Mother Teresa and her sisters for their tireless efforts in working with the poor throughout the world. Mother s presence is a sign here of the working of the ord among the people. n our society, with so much stress on consumerism and materialism, it s a marvel to find that there are persons who can put all of that aside and bring the love of Christ, the consolation of Christ, the inspiration of Christ to those who are suffering and those who are in most need, said ishop Reiss. n behalf of the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese, ishop eiss said, e assure you of our prayers that your work may continue and your e ample will be an e ample of Christ s love that will inspire us to try to emulate you and bring the ord of the ord to everyone we meet. t the end of the Mass, ishop eiss asked Mother Teresa to send some of her sisters into the Diocese to establish an apostolate, which was eventually brought to fruition in 1999. n turn, Mother Teresa asked ishop eiss for a list of the priests and seminarians of the Diocese so her sisters could pray for them by name.

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Continued on page 22

Inspired

Mother Teresa and the Church of Trenton

saint o f G o d v isited th e D io c ese o f Trento n o n J u ne 1 8 , 1 9 9 5 . Th at h as b een th e c o m m o n sentim ent ex p ressed b y m any p riests, rel ig io u s and l aity w h o rec al l ed hen other Teresa of ol ata attended th e 8 a. m . M ass c el eb rated b y B ish o p J o h n C . R eiss in St. M ary o f th e A ssu m p tio n C ath ed ral , Trento n. W h eth er th ey w ere p resent o n th at histori and joy filled day, or had en ountered M o th er Teresa at o th er tim es, th ey ag ree th at th ere w ere nu m ero u s l esso ns to b e l earned f ro m and m any g reat b l essing s to b e rec eiv ed b y th e 4 - f o o t, 1 1 - inc h w o m an w h o to tal l y d ed ic ated h er l if e to serv ing J esu s C h rist.

Serving the Blood of Christ to Mother I t may have been more than 20 years ago, but Deacon Robert Tharp remembers Mother Teresa’s visit to the Cathedral like it was yesterday. Deacon Tharp of St. Raphael-H oly Angels Parish, H amilton Township, was on hand to assist Father Sam Sirianni as master of ceremonies during the June 18, 19 9 5 , Mass. When it was time to distribute H oly Communion, he found himself being asked to administer the Precious Blood to the Missionaries of Charity sisters, who were seated in the front pew alongside Mother Teresa. “I thought I ’d go to all of her sisters, never thinking I would get to her. Then, suddenly, I found myself standing before Mother Teresa,” Deacon Tharp said. “My heart skipped a few beats.” H e said she didn’t take the chalice from him. She instead wrapped her hand around his as she sipped the Precious Blood. “I found that to be an interesting statement about how she felt about the chalice – that she didn’t want to take the chance of it transferring from one person to another.” fterward, she laid her hand on his stole, a garment he hasn’t worn since. N ow, he plans to wear the stole during the Sept. 3 vigil Mass in his parish and is

by a would-be saint

Deacon Robert Tharp administers the Precious Blood to Mother Teresa June 18, 1995, in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. also planning to attend the diocesan Mass of Thanksgiving in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Asbury Park, the following day. “I always hoped I ’d live long enough to say I gave Communion to a saint,” he said enthusiastically. “The idea that she is being canonized in my lifetime, while I ’m still active in my ministry, just tickles me.” Deacon Tharp credits Mother Teresa for part of the reason he’s been a deacon for 35 years and worked in the bereavement ministry for more than 20. “I have a great devotion to her. She’s always been a hero of mine because it’s important work – reaching out to people who are hurting. She’s such an example of faith.”

Making a joyful noise At the time of Mother Teresa’s visit, the now Father James Grogan, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, was a married man who had recently joined the Diocesan Festival Choir. Because of having short notice of the visit, he recalled that while the choir was privileged to sing for the Mass, they only had a few rehearsals to prepare. “We sang hymns which were known to the choir, but talk about pressure! ” he said. While Father Grogan ( who in later years was ordained a permanent deacon and then a priest in 2015 following the death of his wife, Ellie) , said the 19 9 5 visit was his

only experience in seeing Mother Teresa “live and up close,” he regards that day as “the moment in my life when I was closest to someone who is a global and timeless model of faith.” “Mother Teresa was probably only 30 feet away from us as we watched from the choir loft and, more importantly, we were offering our music that day for her Father Grogan said it is important to “recognize that Pope Francis is not making” Mother Teresa a ‘ saint.’” I nstead, “the Church is recognizing her life of holiness and does so as a model for all people. “What a glorious thing to celebrate, that there are saints among us! Each one of us can Father James take away from this Grogan moment that we are members of the Body of Christ through our Baptism and we are invited to lives of holiness. Through that invitation – and our choosing to try to live out the Gospel each day – we are called to join the Communion of Saints. We can only authentically serve God when we serve others, and St. Teresa surely showed us that with her life.”

A smile like no other On a professional level, Mary Stadnyk, associate editor of The Monitor, said the opportunity to cover Mother Teresa’s visit and write the lead story for The Monitor continues to be one of the, if not the, highpoints in her 27 years of service with the diocesan newspaper. “I could not help but get caught up in the thrill, the energy, the outpouring of love and admiration that the thousands who came to the cathedral on June 18, 1995, showed for the woman who selflessly devoted her life to serving the poorest of the poor. I n the midst of all the busyness, the environment remained prayerful and peaceful,” she said. Continued on page 20

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Mother Teresa and the Church of Trenton

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The Missionaries of Charity sisters in Asbury Park, including Sisters Regis and Lee Foong in back row and Sister Franslily in front, make service to their community an essential part of their ministry, as seen in their annual Christmas pageant held last December. John Batkowski photo

‘Mother’s Great Day’

With selfless love, Missionaries of Charity sisters carry on work of Mother Teresa in Asbury Park

By Lois Rogers, Correspondent fter ept. , the diminutive woman who challenged humanity in the name of Jesus to care for the poor, dying and discarded, will be known to the world as t. Teresa of olkata. ut in the convent comple on idge venue in sbury ark, where four sisters of her Missionaries of Charity set out every day to share her consistent message of human dignity, it s likely she ll simply still be called Mother. ne morning, about two weeks before the canoni ation was scheduled to take place in ome, that familiar appellation rippled through the convent air with consistency. ver and over it surfaced gently as ister ose Therese, “Like her, I don’t the superior in sbury ark, spoke of the ideals that Mother be ueathed to the want to be an world and how they had translated to angel; I want to the Diocese of Trenton through the work of the sisters. be a saint and be ister ose Therese was born and raised in the ndian state of erala, a with the Lord.” predominantly Catholic area. Many locals believe the faith was originally brought to the area by the postle Thomas during his travels to outh ndia. he arrived in sbury ark about two months ago after serving at a home for men living with D in altimore. he is one of 5, 9 members of the order founded in 195 with 1 women. Today, the order serves in more than foundations in 1 countries, including in dioceses across the nited tates,

} The Missionaries of Charity sisters serving in the Diocese of Trenton

welcomed Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and his then-episcopal secretary, Father Jason Parzynski, to Asbury Park last August. From left, Sisters Carmel, Vendita, Regis, Carmelina and Franslily. Sisters Carmel and Regis have since moved on from Asbury Park. Ken Falls photo

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according to the fficial Catholic Directory. Called to be a sister in 199 , ister ose Therese entered the Missionaries of Charity novitiate at age , where she was formed by Mother. he gave us classes we prayed together in the same house. he was a real mother to poor people, said ister ose Therese, who has served in the nited tates and Canada and is fluent in rench, nglish and Malayalm, a language of where she grew up. eople recogni ed Mother Teresa s spiritual maternity and clung to her, said ister ose Therese. They would call from the streets, Mother, Mother into the house. They knew she was loving and understanding and that love was conveyed to those called to the religious order she founded, she said. Mother was so simple. he didn t know why people came to see her, but she wanted to be a saint. he wants everyone to be a saint, in their daily life, said ister ose Therese. t isn t a lu ury that you get to pick and choose. Mother focused on the fact that Jesus took human nature. e took our nature. nd like her, don t want to be an angel want to be a saint and be with the ord. ith Mother, you want to offer service to the poor, in the name of Jesus, ister ose Therese said. ou don t miss your Continued on page 23

Mother Teresa and the Church of Trenton

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Karin and Gerry Duffy stand in front of The Barn for the Poorest of the Poor in Middletown. The couple has been following Mother Teresa’s example to feed the hungry for nearly three decades. Photo courtesy of Gerry Duffy

Following Mother Teresa’s

Footsteps

Laity live out mission to help ‘poorest of the poor’

By Jennifer Mauro, Associate Editor

t was snowing heavily the day Terry McGuire got a call from the Missionaries of Charity sisters in H arlem, N .Y . Mother Teresa was visiting, and the sisters needed some mattresses. So McGuire, parishioner in Our Lady of Perpetual H elp-St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic H ighlands, rummaged through her basement, found some beds and braved the storm. “When I got there, the sisters told me Mother Teresa was resting, but if I came back the next day, I could meet her,” she recalled with a laugh. Of course, she did. And the next day, she found herself eating a simple breakfast of toast and bananas with a woman who would one day become a saint. “I was just speechless,” she said. “I felt that all I could do was,” she paused, “breathe.” Before leaving, McGuire was asked to kneel for a blessing with her friend Barney Welch – founder of The Barn for the Poorest of the oor, Middletown, a nonprofit organi ation that distributes food to the needy. Welch had a long history with Mother Teresa, as he had been supplying food to N ew Jersey and N ew Y ork City soup kitchens, Missionaries of Charity convents, parishes and more since 19 81, when his niece entered the order. “Mother Teresa had me kneel next to Barney and hold his foot while she blessed him,” McGuire said, explaining that Welch’s foot was injured. “I was looking down at her bare feet, and she had one toe that went across the other. I t made me think of the Sign of the Cross.” McGuire has been working for 25 years to help the needy. Over the years, she’s volunteered with The Barn for the Poorest of the Poor as

} Kathy Plath, who volunteers

with Missionaries of Charity in Asbury Park, delivers backpacks Aug. 12 to the convent. From left, Sister Rose Therese, Sister Vandita and Sister Franslily.

well as taken high-schoolers into poverty-stricken areas such as N ew Y ork City and Trenton to work in soup kitchens and interact with the less fortunate on the streets. he currently organi es the distribution of food on ridays at a field “If you persevere, near the Missionaries of Charity convent the prize at the in Asbury Park. McGuire is one of many lay people end will be yours.” who have been inspired by Mother Teresa to actively live her mission of service. erry Duffy, The arn s e ecutive director, and his wife, Karin – both of St. Mary Parish, Middletown – have been working with the organi ation since 198 . e re humbled by it, he said. The benefits are enormous if you reali e you re here to serve – not be served. Duffy, who succeeded elch after he died in 1 , oversees an organi ation that distributes food to nearly locations a week, including the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Asbury Park and ew ork City and Mc uire s field at the corner of pringwood and Atkins Avenues. “We’re all called to be a saint, and we’re all working at it as best we can in limited ways,” he said. “She [ Mother Teresa] persevered, and that s a great lesson for all of us. f you persevere, the pri e at the end will be yours.” The couple will be in Rome Sept. 4 for Mother Teresa’s canoni ation. They were given two tickets by the sisters in the ron , . ., which will allow the Duffys to sit with the Missionaries of Charity instead of being part of the general assembly. t doesn t happen every day that someone who has affected your whole life becomes a saint, Duffy said, e plaining that the couple was excited about the trip. Kathy Plath, also of St. Mary Parish, says she, too, is anxiously awaiting the canoni ation of the woman who inspired her to serve the less fortunate. “She was as human as the rest of us,” Plath said of Mother Teresa. “But isn’t that the case with all of the saints? ” Plath volunteers with the Missionaries of Charity in Asbury Park, working in their soup kitchen, petitioning in parish bulletins Continued on page 22

Photo courtesy of Kathy Plath TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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A Saint in the Making

} Blessed Teresa of Kolkata

Mother Teresa:

is pictured in 1990.

CNS photo/Michael Hoyt

A life of doing ‘small things with great love’ By Catholic News Service

T , ndia favorite motto of lessed Teresa of olkata was Do small things with great love. ut the small things she did so captivated the world that she was showered with honorary degrees and other awards, almost universally praised by the media and sought out by popes, presidents, philanthropists and other figures of wealth and influence. Despite calls on her time from all over the globe Mother Teresa always returned to ndia to be with those she loved most – the lonely, abandoned, homeless, disease-ravaged, dying, poorest of the poor in olkata s streets. n ept. , ope rancis, who has spent this year preaching about mercy, will canoni e Mother Teresa, who traveled the world to deliver a single message that love and caring are the most important things in the world. The biggest disease today, she once said, is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference toward one s neighbor who lives at the roadside, assaulted by e ploitation, corruption, poverty and disease.

Ministry Gone Global er influence is worldwide. The Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa founded in 195 , has more than 5, active and

contemplative sisters today. n addition, there are Missionaries of Charity athers, and active and contemplative brothers. n 19 9, in response to growing interest of laypeople who wanted to be associated with her work, an informally structured, ecumenical nternational ssociation of Co- orkers of Mother Teresa was formed. The members of the congregation take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but the vow of poverty is stricter than in other congregations because, as Mother Teresa e plained, to be able to love the poor and know the poor, we must be poor ourselves. n addition, the Missionaries of Charity – sisters and brothers – take a fourth vow of wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. The tiny, wi ened Mother Teresa in her familiar white and blue sari opened houses for the destitute and dying, for those with D , for orphans and for people with leprosy. he founded houses in Cuba and the then- oviet nion – countries not generally open to foreign church workers. er combination of serene, simple faith and direct, practical efficiency often ama ed those who came in contact with her. n 198 , when sraeli troops were holding eirut under siege in an effort to root out the alestine iberation rgani ation, Mother Teresa visited a community of her nuns at pring chool, a home for the aged in ast eirut. t was her first visit in a war one but not her last. Meeting with ed Cross officials about relief needs, she asked what their most serious problem was. They took her to a nearby mental hospital that had ust been bombed, re uiring immediate evacuation of mentally and physically handicapped children. ll take them, she said. hat stunned everyone was her energy and efficiency, a ed Cross official involved in the evacuation said afterward. he saw the problem, fell to her knees and Continued on page 9

Girls dressed as Mother Teresa help during an Aug. 26 event to commemorate her 104th birth anniversary in a school in Bhopal, India. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu Aug. 26, 1910, to Albanian parents in Skopje, in presentday Macedonia. CNS photo/Sanjeev Gupta, EPA

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“If you know anyone who does

‘To know the poor, we must be poor ourselves’ Continued from page 8 prayed for a few seconds, and then she was rattling off a list of supplies she needed – nappies diapers , plastic pants, chamber pots. e didn t e pect a saint to be so efficient. he was an advocate for children and was outspoken against abortion. n a 1981 visit to ew ork, she proposed a characteristically direct and simple solution to the problem of unwanted pregnancy f you know anyone who does not want the child, who is afraid of the child, then tell them to give that child to me. hen Mother Teresa received the obel eace ri e in slo, orway, Dec. 1 , 19 9, she accepted it in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society. he also condemned abortion as the world s greatest destroyer of people. To me, the nations who have legali ed abortion are the poorest nations, she said. They are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die.

Love Amid Criticism ften when critici ed about her approach to social issues, Mother Teresa told of a man who suggested she could do more for the world by teaching people how to fish rather than by giving them fish. The people serve are helpless, she said. They cannot stand. They cannot hold the rod. will give them the food and then send them to you so you can teach them how to fish. hen she was critici ed for not using her considerable influence to attack systemic evils such as the arms race or organi ed e ploitation and in ustice, she simply responded that was not her mission, but one that belonged to others, especially to the

not want the child, who is afraid of

Catholic laity. nce you get involved in politics, the child, then tell you stop being all things to all men, she said in an interview in 198 . e them to give that must encourage the laypeople to stand child to me.” for ustice, for truth in the political arena. n 199 , ritish ournalist Christopher itchens released a video, ell s ngel Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in which he accused her of being, among other things, a fraud and a ghoul of providing inade uate and dangerous medical treatment for patients of taking money for her personal gain and of using her fame to promote the agenda of a fundamentalist pope. nd ew ork Daily ews columnist Dick yan said many merican nuns were uietly critical of Mother Teresa s lack of acceptance of or support for their lifestyle and their self-image as merican religious women intent on fostering social ustice and religious renewal. or Mother Teresa, love for the dying, the scandal of abortion and the obedient servanthood of women were paramount – to the e clusion of such issues as social problems and male domination in the church, yan said. merican columnist Colman McCarthy sought to answer the critics. ndoubtedly, he wrote, Mother Teresa would be much closer to the orthodo ies of merican social improvement if she were more the reformer and less the comforter. ut instead of committee reports on how many people she s moved above the poverty line, all she has are some stories of dying outcasts. nstead of acting sensibly by getting a grant to create a program to eliminate poverty, she moves into a neighborhood to share it. hen Mother Teresa speaks of sharing poverty, she defies the logic of institutions that prefer agendas for the poor, not communion with individual poor people. Communion disregards conventional approaches. t may never find a ob for someone, much less ever get him shaped up. Thus the practitioners of communion are called irrelevant. They may get stuck – as is Mother Teresa – with being labeled a saint.

From Peasant to Missionary Mother Teresa was born gnes on ha o a hiu to lbanian parents in kop e, in Continued on page 10

Mother Teresa accompanies Pope John Paul II as he visits people at the Home For the Dying in Kolkata, India, in 1986. It was “her faith-filled conviction that in touching the broken bodies of the poor, she was touching the body of Christ,” said the Polish pontiff during her 2003 beatification. CNS photo/Arturo Mari, L’Osservatore Romano, March 23, 2014

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Saintly legacy of ‘a heroine of our times’ Continued from page 9 what is now Macedonia, Aug. 26, 19 10. She had a sister, Aga, and a brother, Lazar. H er father was a grocer, but the family’s background was more peasant than merchant. Lazar said their mother’s example was a determining factor in Agnes’ vocation. “Already when she was a little child she used to assist the poor by taking food to them every day like our mother,” he said. When Agnes was 9 , he said, “She was plump, round, tidy, sensible and a little too serious for her age. f the three of us, she alone did not steal the jam.” As a student at a public school in Skopje, she was a member of a Catholic sodality with a special interest in foreign missions. t the age of 1 , first knew had a vocation to help the poor, she once said. “I wanted to be a missionary.” At 15 , Agnes was inspired to work in I ndia by reports sent home by Y ugoslavian Jesuit missionaries in Bengal – present-day angladesh, but then part of ndia. t age 18, she left home to oin the I rish branch of the I nstitute of the Blessed V irgin Mary, known as the oreto isters. fter training at their institutions in Dublin and in Dar eeling, ndia, she made her first vows as a nun in 19 8 and her final vows nine years later. While teaching and serving as a principal at Loreto H ouse, a fashionable girls’ college in Kolkata, she was depressed by the destitute and dying on the city’s streets, the homeless street urchins, the ostracized sick people lying prey to rats and other vermin in streets and alleys. I n 19 46, she received a “call within a call,” as she described it. “The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor, while living among them,” she said. Two years later, the V atican gave her permission to leave the Loreto “I had a vocation Sisters and follow her new calling under to help the poor...I the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Kolkata. wanted to be a fter three months of medical training under the American Medical Mismissionary.” sionary Sisters in Patna, I ndia, Mother Teresa went into the Kolkata slums to take children cut off from education into her first school. oon volunteers, many of them her former students, came to join her. I n 19 5 0, the Missionaries of Charity became a diocesan religious community, and 15 years later the V atican recognized it as a pontifical congregation, directly under V atican jurisdiction. I n 19 5 2, Mother Teresa opened the N irmal H riday ( Pure H eart) ome for Dying Destitutes in a dormitory – formerly a hostel attached to a indu temple dedicated to the god ali – donated by the city of Kolkata. Although some of those taken in survive,

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the primary function of the home is, as one Missionary of Charity explained, to be “a shelter where the dying poor may die in dignity.” Tens of thousands of people have been cared for in the home since it opened.

Repurposing Recognition When Blessed Paul V I visited Bombay, now Mumbai, I ndia, in 19 64, he presented Mother Teresa with a white ceremonial Lincoln Continental given to him by people in the U nited States. She ra ed off the car and raised enough money to finance a center for leprosy victims in the I ndian state of West Bengal. Twenty-one years later, when U .S. President Ronald Reagan presented her with the presidential Medal of Freedom at the White H ouse, he called her a “heroine of our times” and noted that the pla ue honoring her described her as the saint of the gutters. e also oked that Mother Teresa might be the first award recipient to take the plaque and melt it down to get money for the poor. I n addition to winning the N obel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa was given Pope John X X I I I Peace Prize in 19 7 1; the Templeton Prize in 19 7 3; the John F. Kennedy I nternational Award in 19 7 1; the $ 300,000 Balzan Prize for H umanity, Peace and Brotherhood in 19 7 9 ; the Congressional Gold Medal in 19 9 7 ; and dozens of other awards and honors, including one of I ndia’s highest – the Padmashri Medal. ven after health problems led her to resign as head of the Missionaries of Charities in 19 9 0, her order re-elected her as superior, and she continued traveling at a pace that would have tired people half her age. I n 19 9 6 alone she had four hospitalizations: for a broken collarbone; for a head injury from a fall; for cardiac problems, malaria and a lung infection; and for angioplasty to remove blockages in two of her major arteries. I n late January 19 9 7 , her spiritual adviser, Jesuit Father Edward le Joly, said, “She is dying, she is on oxygen.” That March, the Missionaries of Charity elected her successor, Sister N irmala Joshi. But Mother Teresa bounced back and, before her death Sept. 5 , 19 9 7 , she traveled to Rome and the U nited States. Mother Teresa was beatified in record time – in , ust over si years after her death – because t. John aul set aside the rule that a sainthood process cannot begin until the candidate has been dead five years.

A Mother to Many Reflections on Mother Teresa

A humble, fearless and fully human saint

By James Towey, Guest Contributor

approach Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s life as an observer, not as a biographer or theologian. I had the privilege to meet her in 19 85 and follow her the last 12 years of her life. Luckily for me, she needed a lawyer to handle visa issues for her nuns from I ndia, protect her name from commercial exploitation and help her navigate through the red tape of governmental bureaucracies as she opened homes for people with AI DS and others in need. I t was the privilege of a lifetime to be in her company or travel with her during those years. For some people, it is tempting to ascribe to Mother Teresa numerous ethereal qualities and make her out to be an angelic spirit instead of a person of passion, made of flesh and blood, like the rest of us. We Catholics turn our saints into plastic statues. What struck me the most about Mother Teresa was how fully human she was. To me, that’s what made her a saint. Saints are saints because of consistently making good choices for God in the day-to-day drama of life. Mother was demonstrative proof that sanctity is rooted in things fully human and everything this life has to offer. es, she accomplished works that bordered on miraculous. H ow else did an obscure Albanian woman win the N obel Peace Prize and become the most admired woman of the 20th century? But to truly appreciate who she was, you have to forget about her celebrity and persona and focus on the real person who walked among us. She was real. For starters, she never wanted any of the media attention that followed her. he didn t fully understand the e tent of her celebrity or care much about it. Once, when we were driving up to the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, for a special Sunday Mass, she saw the parking lot packed with cars and thought it was because all the people were excited about coming to Mass. he wasn t fishing for a compliment. e all knew that they were coming to see her, but she didn’t. I remember thinking at the time how guileless her observation was. Mother didn’t read newspapers or watch TV , but she cared deeply about people. There are many religious folks who love God but don’t particularly love people. They are killjoys and give religion a bad name. She would have none of that. Mother was a spectacular mixture of seriousness and cheerfulness. She connected with the diverse people in her life and developed strong bonds of friendship that stretched across continents and for a lifetime, as displayed in the thousands of letters she handwrote each year. he reserved her most special affection for the men and women

who had given up home and family just as she did to join her in serving God and quenching his thirst for love. The group of priests, sisters and brothers she established she named the Missionaries of Charity – affectionately known as the MC s. At the time of her death, over 4,000 men and women had made the same commitment she made and taken vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and “wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor” ( a vow unique to the MC’s) . These men and women were her daughters and sons. I would drive her to convents in different cities, and when Mother would pull into the driveway, the Sisters would stream out with squeals of excitement, and Mother would grasp the face and head of each one and bless them. When she looked at them, she looked deeply into their eyes, like there was no one else on earth. Some nights I would drive her back to her convent after a day of meetings “What struck me and talks. I would walk Mother to the door and there would be a line of Sisters the most about waiting for one-on-one time with her. Mother Teresa was She made time for them all – and their families, too. Their parents were royalty how fully human to Mother. She showered them with attention and never ceased thanking she was.” them for their sacrifices. Mother loved all aspects of life. She liked to sing, she wrote poetry, she enjoyed her sweets and delighted in a good laugh. She could get upset, but when she did, she tried not to take it out on others. When she was in business meetings, she was all business. She was a fearless decision-maker. As one of the greatest social and religious entrepreneurs of all time, she built a worldwide missionary order operating in over 100 countries – all from scratch, all with the courageous help of her Sisters and priests, all without the assistance of a computer. When the eyes of the world return to her on the day of her canonization on September 4th, they will see a woman who loved God and those he created in his image. Jesus was her all, Our Lady was her constant companion and St. Joseph her trusted intercessor. She lived life to the fullest and leaves us an example of how we, too, can do as she did – love one another as Jesus loves us. That’s what makes a saint. J am es To w ey is th e p resid ent and C E O o f A v e M aria U niv ersity in F l o rid a and th e f o rm er p resid ent o f St. V inc ent C o l l eg e in L atro b e, P a. To ey formerly ser ed as dire tor of the hite ouse e of aith B ased and C o m m u nity I nitiativ es and as assistant to P resid ent G eo rg e W . B u sh . TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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Life of Mission, Legacy of Love A SAINT IN THE MAKING

he saint of the gutters, the airport apostle and champion of the poor. These were just some of the names that people have used to describe a life that defied description; to encapsulate a mission that destroyed boundaries and conventions. Pursuing her vocation and ministry as a religious sister and then acting on “ a call within a call” to serve the poor and dying in the streets of Kolkata, Mother Teresa built a legacy that touched millions of people around the world. Just as she comforted, taught, challenged and inspired so many in her life, her mission and witness has expanded in her death and pathway to sainthood.

 Always putting others before herself and being a champion

for the poor, this 1994 photo shows now Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, India, presenting documents for a new house to a villager in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. CNS photo/Luciano Mellace, Reuters



Living out the Gospel to love God and love neighbor has been the hallmark of both St. John Paul II and soon-to-be St. Teresa of Kolkata. Here they are shown after visiting Mother Teresa’s home for the destitute and dying in 1986 in India. CNS photo/Luciano Mellace, Reuters

| In this undated photo, Mother Teresa ministers to a sick man in

Kolkata. St. John Paul II said of her ministry, “It was to Jesus himself, hidden under the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor, that her service was directed. Mother Teresa highlights the deepest meaning of service – an act of love done to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners (cf. Mt 25: 34-36) is done to Jesus himself.” CNS photo

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Two future saints, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa of Kolkata, greet each other at the Vatican in an undated file photo. In his homily during her beatification Oct. 19, 2003, the Pope said, “I am personally grateful to this courageous woman whom I have always felt beside me. Mother Teresa, an icon of the Good Samaritan, went everywhere to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor. Not even conflict and war could stand in her way.” Blessed Mother Teresa died in 1997; she will be canonized a saint on Sept. 4. CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano



Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, paving the way for her canonization in 2016. This Dec. 12, 1979, photo shows Mother Teresa in Oslo, Norway, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Mother Teresa was beatified just six years after her death, because St. John Paul II made an exception to the rule that a sainthood process cannot begin until the candidate has been dead five years. CNS/EPA photo

| In this 1996 black-and-white file photo, Blessed Teresa  Part of the preparations for the Mass of Canonization at the

Vatican includes the hanging of a tapestry of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica. On Sept. 4, Pope Francis, who has spent this year preaching about mercy, will canonize Mother Teresa, who traveled the world to deliver a single message: that love and caring are the most important things in the world. CNS photo/Paul Haring

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of Kolkata visits Catholic Relief Services headquarters in Baltimore, Md., accompanied by Ken Hackett, second from right, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and former president of CRS, and Sean Callahan, left, and Bishop John H. Ricard, second from left, of PensacolaTallahassee, Fla. CNS photo/courtesy Catholic Relief Services

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Life of Mission, Legacy of Love A SAINT IN THE MAKING

 Always putting others before herself and being a champion

for the poor, this 1994 photo shows now Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, India, presenting documents for a new house to a villager in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. CNS photo/Luciano Mellace, Reuters

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| In this undated photo, Mother Teresa ministers to a sick man in

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| In this 1996 black-and-white file photo, Blessed Teresa  Part of the preparations for the Mass of Canonization at the

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Mother Teresa and the Church of Trenton

} Mother Teresa and Missionaries of Charity

sisters pray during a Mass celebrated by thenBishop John C. Reiss, June 1995, in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Opposite the sisters’ pew are the 12 seminarians from the Diocese who were preparing for the priesthood at the time. Monitor file photos

In the

Hands of a Saint

Priests reflect on meeting Mother Teresa while still seminarians in 1995

By Mary Morrell, Correspondent

wenty-one years ago, a diminutive nun, a living saint, stood in the sanctuary of St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and asked 12 seminarians of the Diocese to pray for her. “I remember with gratitude Mother Teresa’s visit to the Cathedral,” said Father Pablo Gadenz, associate professor of Biblical Studies, I mmaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton H all U niversity, South Orange. Praying for vocations was one of the reasons for Mother Teresa’s visit to the Diocese on June 18, 19 9 5 . “At the time, I was a seminarian preparing for the priesthood,” Father Gadenz remembers. “During her visit, she greeted all the seminarians of the Diocese and gave each of us a Miraculous Medal of the Blessed V irgin Mary, which I wore around my neck

“I remember her words, ‘God bless you.’ Then she asked us to pray for her and her sisters. It was very striking.”

for a number of years before inadvertently losing it.” Father William Lago, pastor, St. Denis Parish, Manasquan, almost missed the soon-to-be saint. “Father Chuck [ Schwartz] , one of my classmates, called to tell me Mother Teresa was coming. I told him I couldn’t go because I had parish responsibilities. But Father Chuck insisted, ‘ Y ou have to go. I t’s for vocations.’ went at his urging and was surprised to find that we would be seated in the front row. We knelt with our hands folded, and she came and prayed with each of us briefly, holding our hands. remember her words, ‘ God bless you.’ Then she asked us to pray for her and her sisters. I t was very striking,” he said. For Father Charles Schwartz, pastor of St. Dorothea Parish, Eatontown, the prospect of seeing Mother Teresa was very exciting. he was, after all, a living saint. nd to have a living saint praying for you, along with her sisters, was really rather exciting and, in some ways, humbling that with everything else they had to do, they would take the time to pray for us,” he said. Mother Teresa had requested a list of all the priests and seminarians in the Diocese. The names were distributed among the Missionaries of Charity, who “adopted” them in prayer.

All for the Lord

During her visit to Trenton, Mother Teresa gave Miraculous Medals to seminarians of the Diocese. Here, she greets then-seminarian Michael Manning. At left is then-seminarian Pablo Gadenz. A main reason for Mother Teresa’s visit was to pray for vocations.

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Father V icente Magdaraog, parochial vicar, St. V eronica Parish, H owell, was also in his pastoral year as a seminarian when he took his seat in the first pew of the Cathedral. “We were told by the police not to touch Mother Teresa, but she came to us, shaking our hands,” he said, recalling the impact of the experience on his life as a priest. “I was so amazed by what she did, serving the poor throughout the world through her e traordinary gifts and strong faith in the Lord,” he said. “Every priest needs to have a stronger way of life and dedication to Christ. We learn from Mother Teresa that we need to go Continued on page 19

Reflections on Mother Teresa

} Missionaries of Charity sisters kneel to pray

on a slate floor in the chapel of their motherhouse, Kolkata, India, Aug. 4. CNS photo/Saddia Azim

Meeting a future saint, deacon finds words of the heart

By Deacon Joseph M. Donadieu, Special Contributor hat do you say to a saint – or someone you believe will someday be declared a saint? I don’t know. I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know. I n 19 88, my wife Phyllis and I visited I ndia for about three weeks with a dear priest friend from I ndia. Three years earlier, we had met Father Francis when he was assigned for several months to a parish in the Trenton Diocese. U nfortunately, he died Sept. 10, 2001, in an auto accident on his way to a Catholic village where he was going to explain a sponsorship program to parents of children in the nearby Catholic school. Our visit to I ndia was very much like a pilgrimage. We visited Catholic parishes, schools and institutions from Madras to H yderabad and its environs, and were to end our visit in Calcutta now known as Kolkata) . f course, not everything goes as planned. e were to fly from yderabad to olkata in the late afternoon, but the akistani president had been killed in a plane crash, and the I ndian government commandeered most of the planes in I ndian Airlines to transport public officials and media to the funeral in neighboring Pakistan. “What the world Because of the disruption in schedconsidered an ules, our late afternoon flight didn t take off until after midnight. s a outstanding result, we arrived in the middle of the night. achievement, By the grace of God, the I ndian Mother Teresa priest who was to accompany us on our return flight, and was returning set aside as a to an assignment in the U nited States, was also delayed and, to our minds, distraction.” arrived in timely fashion to rescue us from being lost in an unfamiliar place. On our way to the hotel, we saw the city come alive with the dawn: people coming out to bathe at the hydrants in the streets, shop-owners rushing to open their store front stalls, and people of the street going into the city dump to scavenge.

Following a few hours of sleep, we met June, who was to be our guide for a tour of the historic city. She had been one of Mother Teresa s students during her school days. fter a couple hours of touring, she asked if we wanted to meet Mother Teresa, and we started off to the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity. As we awaited Mother Teresa’s arrival for lunch, June gave us a tour of the motherhouse. Most impressive was the chapel on the second floor 9 feet wide and feet deep, with an altar in the middle a slate floor on which the sisters kneel and sit during Mass, Adoration and times of prayer and meditation; casement windows on three sides overlooking the busy streets below during our visit there was a labor demonstration going on in the street) . N ext to the altar was a four-foot statue of Our Lady of Fatima standing atop a gauze-wrapped circular table. At some point, June started opening and closing closet doors with a sense of frustration. “Where is that bird? ” she said. Finally, walking over to the statue of the Blessed V irgin Mary, she pulled aside the gau e and there, on the floor, was the obel eace ri e with its iconic image of a dove that had been awarded to Mother Teresa in 19 7 9 . What the world considered an outstanding achievement, Mother Teresa set aside as a distraction from more significant realities: Jesus in the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother and the poorest of the poor. With word that “Mother is on her way,” we hurried downstairs to the entrance. Just two weeks earlier, Mother Teresa had cataract surgery and was still experiencing headaches, so when she stepped out of the car and walked toward the entrance, she was wearing sunglasses. June introduced us as visitors from the U nited States, and then it was up to me. But what do I say? H ow are you doing? What’s your favorite color? What can you tell me about your spiritual life? ho has had the greatest influence on you I was tongue-tied! I think I mumbled something about admiring her work. Then I did something that was probably more articulate than anything might have uttered. reached out, took her hands in mine and kissed them. D eac o n D o nad ieu , retired ed ito r o f Th e M o nito r, is assig ned to Sac red H eart P arish , R iv erto n. TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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Our Newest Saint

} An undated file photo shows Blessed Teresa of Kolkata holding a child during a visit to Warsaw, Poland. CNS photo/Tomasz Gzell, EPA

‘Blest are They’

For Pope, Mother Teresa is model of mercy at work, fueled by prayer

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service hen Pope Francis canonizes Blessed Teresa of Kolkata ept. , he won t simply be fulfilling a special duty of his office, he will be honoring a woman he has called “a symbol, an icon for our age.” When talking about the intersection of prayer, mercy, concrete acts of charity and peacemaking, Mother Teresa was Pope Francis’ go-to reference. I n one of his early morning homilies in N ovember, Pope Francis spoke about war and about how, by the way they live their lives, many people promote hatred rather than peace and selling weapons rather than sowing love. hile weapons traffickers do their work, there are poor peacemakers who give their lives to help one person, then another and another and another,” the Pope said. Mother Teresa was clearly one of the peacemakers, he added. “With cynicism, the powerful might say, ‘ But what did that woman accomplish he spent her life helping people die, ope Francis said, noting that the cynics do not realize that Mother Teresa understood the path to peace and they do not. much longer papal reflection on lessons from the life of Mother Teresa was published in July; Pope Francis wrote the preface to an I talian publisher’s book of talks Mother Teresa gave in Milan in 19 7 3. Mother Teresa’s life showed the centrality of prayer, charity, mercy in action, family and youth, Pope Francis wrote. “Mother Teresa untiringly invites us to draw from the source of love Jesus crucified and risen, present in the acrament of the Eucharist,” the Pope wrote. She began each day with Mass and ended each day with eucharistic adoration, which made it possible “to transform her work into prayer.” H er prayer led her to the extreme edges of society – the peripheries – recognizing the poor and the marginalized as her brothers and sisters and offering them compassion, he said. The little nun in the blue-trimmed white sari teaches people that “feeling compassion is possible only when my heart embraces

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the needs and wounds of the other,” witnessing to God’s caress, the Pope “Mother Teresa wrote. The Gospel tells people they will untiringly invites be judged at the end of time for how they fed the hungry, clothed the naked us to draw from and cared for others in need, he said. the source of “Mother Teresa made this page of the Gospel the guide for her life and the love...” path to her holiness – and it can be for us, as well.” Pope Francis also noted in the book that, from her experience ministering to the rejected, Mother Teresa knew and constantly emphasized the importance of family and family prayer. H ome, he said, is the place people learn “to smile, to forgive, to welcome, to sacrifice for one another, to give without demanding anything in return, to pray and suffer together, to re oice and help each other. And, in a message to young people at the end of the preface, Pope Francis said, “Fly high like the eagle that is the symbol of Mother Teresa’s country of origin,” Albania. “Do not lose hope, do not let anyone rob you of your future, which is in your hands. Remain in the Lord and love him like God loves you; be builders of bridges that break down the logic of division, rejection and fear of others, and put yourselves at the service of the poor.” Pope Francis also referred, in passing, to Blessed Teresa in his 2013 apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium,” on the proclamation of the Gospel in the modern world. Asserting the right and obligation of Christians to express publicly their opinions on political and social issues in order to promote the common good, the Pope wrote: “Who would claim to lock up in a church and silence the message of t. rancis of ssisi or lessed Teresa of Calcutta They themselves would have found this unacceptable. An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it. n pril, flying back to ome from esbos, reece, with 1 Continued on page 17

Our Newest Saint

To Witness

History

Local priests, faithful journey to Rome for canonization

By Dorothy K. LaMantia, Correspondent

he first time he met Mother Teresa, ather Joy Chacko was a seminary student in andra, ndia, where the future saint had come to speak. er words were inspiring, but one sentence remained with him. am a pencil of od, and wherever od sends me, go and write his love, she said. That memory, combined with the love with which Mother Teresa and her sisters served the poor in his native ndia, motivated ather Chacko, now parochial vicar in t. abriel arish, Marlboro, to attend her ept. canoni ation in ome. is desire to attend was facilitated by the ro imo Travel company, which invited him and others to serve as chaplains for a ome pilgrimage for the canoni ation. The agency, based in Massachusetts, speciali es in tours and pilgrimages for Catholics. ather Chacko was scheduled to depart for ome ept. 1. hile the chaplains will not concelebrate the canoni ation Mass, they will tend to the spiritual needs of their fellow travelers, including hearing Confessions and celebrating Mass in different shrines and sacred sites during the eightday pilgrimage. fter four days touring ome s religious and historical sites, the

travelers e pect to visit ssisi, lorence and Venice, returning ept. 9 to the nited tates. ather Chacko, who said he felt called to be a missionary when he was in 1 th grade, found a role model in Mother Teresa. Father Joy Chacko he invited and shared the goodness of od with everyone, especially the crippled, the lame and the blind and gave them dignity and respect, he said. he was an ordinary person called to do the e traordinary work of od...for the salvation of mankind. ather Chacko will bring a missionary spirit to the trip in his role as chaplain, especially since two pilgrims from t. abriel arish, enneth and phelia Tyson, will be in his group. s chaplain, am truly happy to help other humans in their spiritual needs, he said. My primary function is to administer acraments to the people – the most important aspect of the Church. ather Chacko isn t the only priest from the Diocese traveling to ome. ather Joseph Jakub, whose two-month sabbatical in the Vatican coincides with the canoni ation, will be among the concelebrating priests at the canoni ation Mass. ather

Mother’s examples inspire Pope Continued from page 16 yrian refugees, ope rancis was asked what difference his visit to a refugee camp and his hosting refugees could make. am going to plagiari e. ll answer with a phrase that is not mine, he told reporters traveling with him. The same uestion was asked of Mother Teresa ll this effort, all this work, only to help people to die. ... hat you are doing is useless The sea is so great Mother Teresa answered t is a drop of water in the sea ut after this drop of water the sea will not be the same That is how would respond. t is a small gesture, but one of those small gestures that we – everyone, men and women – must make to reach out to those in need.

Father Joseph Jakub

Father Alberto Tamayo

lberto Tamayo, pastor in t. nthony of adua arish, ed ank, will also lead a small group of pilgrims. ather Jakub, who served as pastor of Corpus Christi arish, illingboro, until July 1, recalled that his brother worked in ndia with Mother Teresa and that his parents work with the Missionaries of Charity in sbury ark. is family s e periences led him to read her writings, which he found profound in their simplicity. er work is accessible, easy to read and understand – while there is a great depth that led her to write, he said. e shared seeing Mother Teresa in the mid-199 s, when she visited acred eart Cathedral, ewark. he greeted everyone in church, he said. ut the most visible, tangible memory have is how she got out of her wheelchair with all the strength she could muster ust to genuflect.

Calcutta vs. Kolkata eaders will notice that the Church s newest saint is referred to in two different ways within this special edition, and in reports throughout the media. The reason for this ambiguity is that the name of the city in ndia where Mother Teresa lived and ministered was actually changed. The renaming of cities in ndia started in 19 following the end of the ritish imperial period. n Jan. 1, 1, the former capital of ritish ndia officially changed its name from the nglish, Calcutta, to olkata, the engali e uivalent. Many people outside of ndia still refer to olkata as Calcutta, and Mother Teresa became most widely known using the nglish name. owever, she is being canoni ed as t. Teresa of olkata. TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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News of

Sainthood

Monitor’s coverage includes personal photos from India

here’s no rest for the weary when it comes to The Monitor freelance photographer Jeff runo. ut then again, considering where he s at, rest may be the furthest thing from his mind anyway. runo, fresh off his visit to oland, where he was covering orld outh Day for the lobal Catholic eb agency

leteia, is currently in ndia to photograph and e perience Mother Teresa s canoni ation ept. with the people she served and the Missionaries of Charity order formed under her watch. runo, a member of t. Mary arish, arnegat, spent ept. 1 in olkata at the school the soon-to-be saint once taught in, speaking with principal ister ita and interacting with students. Today was recovering from etlag and ust walking around some, when stumbled upon the school that Mother Teresa actually began her ministry as a Missionary of Charity he wrote on acebook. Missionaries of Charity Sister Zita interacts with students Sept. 1 at the St. Teresa School in Kolkata, India. The school, about 200 meters from the Missionaries of Charity motherhouse, is where Mother Teresa once taught and began her effort to serve the poor, doing so from a stairwell within. Sister Zita is currently the school’s principal. Photos courtesy of Jeff Bruno

Pictured are the stairs Mother Teresa would distribute medicine from when she was serving the poor in Kolkata, India. The stairwell is located within the St. Teresa School near the Missionaries of Charity motherhouse. The principal was kind enough to show me around runo s photographs and impressions from ndia will be among the coverage The Monitor has planned for Mother Teresa s canoni ation. nline coverage will include photos from runo s trip, up-to-date reports from ome, and reporting, video and social media postings from the Mass of Thanksgiving to commemorate the canoni ation that ishop David M. Connell, C.M., will celebrate ept. in ur ady of Mount Carmel Church, a worship site of Mother of Mercy arish, sbury ark. The ept. 8 edition of The Monitor will include full coverage of the canoni ation, including reporting from the novena the Missionaries of Charity sisters in sbury ark are holding from ug. to ept. . o to trentonmonitor.com for updates. • By Associate Editor Jennifer Mauro

Videos to look back at Mother Teresa’s visit to Diocese n honor of Mother Teresa s canoni ation, the Diocese s Department of Multimedia roduction is making available two video productions – footage of the soon-to-be saint s 1995 visit to Trenton, and a mini-documentary featuring interviews from around the Diocese that includes material from her order s convent in sbury ark. ne of the productions, a The Catholic Corner episode from 1995, features video of Mother Teresa s visit to t. Mary of the ssumption Cathedral, Trenton. n the footage, then- ishop John C. eiss welcomes Mother Teresa and Missionaries of Charity sisters, emphasi ing the importance of their work. The video features nearly 15 minutes of Mother Teresa personally addressing

18 • Saint Teresa • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • T

the congregation, speaking about vocations, ministry and the importance of prayer, especially the impact it can have on strengthening families. rayer gives us a clean heart, she says. rayer also deepens our faith. nd the fruit of faith is always love. nd the fruit of love is service. nd the fruit of service is peace. mong the more moving highlights is watching Mother Teresa’s reaction as ishop eiss invites the Missionaries of Charity to establish a residence in the Diocese. The presence of your sisters in our Diocese would be a tremendous blessing in our mission to serve the poor and needy in our midst, he says. The Missionaries of Continued on page 24 e MON I TOR

The diocesan Department of Multimedia Production will present two videos that will recall Mother Teresa’s visit to the Diocese in 1995. This screenshot from one of the videos shows Mother Teresa being welcomed by then-Bishop John C. Reiss and thousands of people as she arrives at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Photo courtesy of the Department of Multimedia Production

Words of Saint Teresa to seminarians still ring true today Continued from page 14

Expansive Love

to difficult places and be Christ to others. To persevere, you must strengthen your prayer life and devotion to Mary,” he added. The visit was also memorable for Father Michael Manning, pastor, H oly Cross Parish, Rumson, who recalled Mother Teresa’s compelling guidance for his vocation. “She greeted us one by one and shook hands. I expected her hand to be frail given her appearance, but it was strong. She looked at me and, when told I was a seminarian, said, ‘ Do everything for Jesus.’ “I remembered what she said, but [ at the time] was more impressed with all the crowds and the security. Y ears later in ministry, what she said began to take on more and more importance for me, and was the most important advice I got about priesthood. I preach about it sometimes, since everyone can use the focus on Jesus as the reason we act in charity toward others,” he said. Mother Teresa frequently spoke about preaching as the first duty of a priest, and exhorted her Missionary of Charity priests to speak often about the need to focus on Jesus, highlighting Jesus’ words on the Cross, “I thirst,” and reminding the priests that Jesus thirsts powerfully for the love of God’s people, especially the poor.

Though small in stature, a heart expanded by the love of Christ led Mother Teresa to establish Missionaries of Charity houses on almost every continent to serve the poorest of the poor around the world. Beginning with the original congregation established in 195 in Calcutta, the Missionaries of Charity serve in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and N orth and South America. Prior to Mother Teresa’s visit to the Diocese, it was at a home for women with AI DS run by the Missionaries of Charity in Chester, a., that ather ago was first introduced to the order. “A classmate who had a devotion to Mother Teresa took me to this home where we did painting and yard work. I saw there a great respect for the individual that was very formative for me as a seminarian,” said Father Lago, who also shared that following ordination, he sometimes celebrated Mass for the sisters in the Asbury Park convent. THE “Wherever they are,” Father Lago said, “their joy is present, even in the midst of difficult situations. t s very contagious. For me, their joy of commitment to God flows into their works of mercy. t s pretty awesome.” THE Looking forward to Mother Tere-

sa’s canonization, Father Gadenz said, “Mother Teresa continues to be an inspiration to me and many others. Certainly, her prayers and the prayers of the Missionaries of Charity have supported me in my 20 years as a priest. fter Mother Teresa s death in 199 , devotion to her spread among the faithful,” he continued. “From time to time, I have asked her intercession, using the prayer found on her prayer cards. Moreover, her life of service to the poor remains a model for us, inspiring us to serve those in need and to live a life of simplicity and detachment.” ather Jeffrey egley, pastor of t. Mary Parish, Middletown, was about to be ordained a transitional deacon when Mother Teresa visited the Diocese. “What impressed me was her humility and the feeling that you were in the presence of a saint,” he said, calling the experience shaking her hand a cherished moment. H e emphasized that the soon-to-be saint’s legacy is beautiful in its simplicity. “Mother called us back to an innocence Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J. just by living her life, which is highlighted in a similar way by Pope Francis calling us back to the basic message of ‘ love your neighbor,’ and ‘ love the poor.’” “Being canonized by Pope Francis accentuates her whole life message,” he said.

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Inspired Continued from page 5

She continued, “On a more personal level, there’s not much else I can add about Mother Teresa that hasn’t been said hundreds of thousands of times before. I ’m excited that Associate Editor in just a few days, the Mary Stadnyk people of the Diocese of Trenton can honestly say that a saint had attended Mass in their cathedral – that same big, beautiful structure that sits on the corner of N orth Warren and Bank Streets, where our major diocesan celebrations are held! “One additional special memory of the day is recalling my father being seated in the very last row of the cathedral, on the left side, a few steps from the entrance into the cathedral offices. e said that after Mother Teresa met with Bishop Reiss and the priests in the office, she emerged, smiling broadly as she made brief eye contact with those in the back row. I t was a mere glance that my father’s eyes met Mother Teresa’s, but he was completely taken with her beautiful smile and how she radiated such joy. I t was a smile, my dad said, ‘ that was like no other.’”

Mother’s ministry inspired parish Msgr. James J. McGovern, a retired priest of the Diocese, was pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, when Mother Teresa visited Trenton. Good Counsel, he said, was very deeply enmeshed in service to the poor at that time, working with Msgr. James J. the support of Father McGovern Richard H o Lung and the Missionaries of the Poor in Jamaica and H aiti, just to mention a few. I n organizing the Missionaries of the Poor and in planning their approach to service, Father H o Lung leaned heavily on Mother Theresa as a model and guide, Msgr. McGovern said.

20 • Saint Teresa • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • T

by a would-be saint “We capitalized on the opportunity to bring a busload of parishioners to see Mother Teresa,” Msgr. McGovern said, adding that to witness Bishop Reiss inviting and welcoming the Missionaries of Charity sisters to the Diocese was quite an experience, emotionally and spiritually. fter the Mass in the Cathedral, Msgr. McGovern recalled how Mother Teresa gathered with the priests of the Diocese to impart a very special blessing. “What a truly humbling experience – to receive a blessing from this servant of God,” he said. “She looked so small and frail surrounded by the priests, yet she was the power that was moving throughout the universal Church. And now the Diocese would be plugged into this great work. What a blessing she was and is to our Diocese and our parish in Moorestown.”

Celebration for the whole Church Father Pablo Gadenz sees Mother Teresa’s canonization being “a great celebration for the whole Church.” “Many spiritual fruits will come forth from it, he said, adding that he finds it to be especially fitting that the canoni ation by Pope Francis will take place during the Y ear of Mercy, as Mother Teresa’s life “teaches us about God’s mercy and about Jesus’ command to be ‘ merciful, just as your Father is merciful ( Lk. 6: 36) .’” Father Gadenz is a priest of the Diocese of Trenton who serves on the faculty of I mmaculate Conception School of Theology at Seton H all U niversity, South Orange. H e is currently associate professor of biblical studies, teaching various N ew Testament courses, as well as biblical Greek. H e fondly recalled the years he worked as the priest-secretary to Bishop John M. Smith from 19 9 8 to 2002. I t was during that time that the Missionaries of Charity sisters had established a house in the Diocese of Trenton. The sisters were following through on a request that Bishop John C. Reiss had made to Mother Teresa during her 19 9 5 visit to the Diocese. had the opportunity to meet the first sisters who came to work in the Diocese,” he said. H e added that when he began further graduate studies in Rome in 2002, he e MON I TOR

} Father Pablo Gadenz, then a seminarian,

proclaims the Second Reading during the Mass in Trenton that was attended by Mother Teresa in the Cathedral. Monitor file photo

was present for the Mass when Pope John aul beatified Mother Teresa on ct. 19, , where hundreds of people filled t. Peter Square for the joyful occasion.” eading up to her beatification, was also able to attend a presentation by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Missionary of Charity father who is the postulator of her cause of canonization,” said Father Gadenz. Along with having encountered Mother Teresa during her 19 9 5 visit, Father Gadenz, who was a seminarian at the time, said that soon after his priestly ordination, he also had the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul I I in Rome. Many times since then, have reflected on these special, grace-filled opportunities that God gave me to meet two living saints who inspired my vocation and left their mark on the Church,” he said.

A blessing from a saint of God Two encounters with Mother Teresa leaves Msgr. Leonard Troiano feeling twice blessed. “I t’s hard to believe that I had the opportunity to speak with a saint who lived in my lifetime,” the diocesan episcopal vicar said. While the second occasion was when she visited the Diocese of Trenton in 19 9 5 , the first was a number of years earlier – in the 198 s while attending a Catholic ress Association gathering in the H oly Land. At the time, Msgr. Troiano was executive director of The Monitor, the diocesan newspaper. Continued on page 21

Continued from page 20 I t was in a hotel lobby in Jerusalem where Msgr. Troiano and his CPA colleagues met Mother Teresa, who addressed them as a group and then asked to briefly meet with each CPA member individually. During their conversation, Msgr. Troiano said he told Mother Teresa how much he admired her work. I n turn, Mother had asked him to pray for her and her sisters, the work they do and for unborn babies, which he said was a “hallmark of her mission.” N oting that Mother Teresa’s virtues of simplicity and tenacity is what made her “extraordinary,” Msgr. Troiano said, “She knew what she wanted and let it be known what she wanted. She was on a mission.” Each day, Msgr. Troiano said he recites the Rosary, and at the end, he incorporates three saints into his prayers – St. John Paul I I , whom he met twice, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, to whom he has great devotion, and Teresa of Kolkata. “She will be truly honored on Sept. 4,” he said. “H opefully, the streets of Rome will be filled when ope rancis canoni es her. ondering on the uestion what attracts people to Mother Teresa, Msgr. Troiano believes it is the “simplicity of her message of love and the witness of how her love was lived out.” “She lived Christ’s message of love and the sacrifice that is involved in loving, Msgr. Troiano continued. “She was a living example of Jesus’ teaching to love God and love your neighbor.”

More than just a job Jim arker will never forget his first job working for the Diocese of Trenton. H e and his crew from Riverview Studios, a Bordentown-based multimedia production facility, worked with the diocesan Department of Radio and Television in handling the video and broadcast production elements of Mother Teresa’s visit to St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, in 19 9 5 . “Talk about a great privilege,” said Parker. And while being charged with the task of ensuring that all production elements ran smoothly, Parker said that to be in the Cathedral and see the outpouring of love and devotion that so many people had for the woman who would be canon-

ized a saint more than 21 years later was an “experience that was a life changer.” Parker even found himself in a position where he was able to have a brief conversation with Mother Teresa. Thinking back, Parker said that Mother Teresa’s visit and the many people he had since encountered through his work with the Diocese, namely Bishop John M. Smith and Marianne H artman, director of the Diocese’s Department of Multimedia Production, inspired him in his own journey of faith to the Catholic Church. Parker said he Video Producer “drew largely from” Jim Parker Mother Teresa’s example of service to the poor, which opened the door for him to wanting to get more involved with community service outreach efforts. Of Mother Teresa’s canonization, Parker said there couldn t be a more fitting way to recogni e her and reaffirm the values she held dear, namely respect and care for fellow human beings. “She walked the walk. She lived her value,” Parker said. “Like Mother Teresa, if we want to change the world, we have to be the change we want in the world.”

A journalist’s perspective For Lois Rogers, retired features editor of The Monitor and former Asbury Park reporter, covering Mother Teresa on home ground was an extraordinary experience. “I t was such a memorable day as the Cathedral thronged inside, outside and downstairs with people who came to see

} From left, Msgr. Sam

Sirianni, then-Bishop John C. Reiss, Msgr. Edward Arnister and Msgr. Leonard Troiano meet with Mother Teresa during her 1995 visit to St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Monitor file photo

TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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her,” Rogers said. “A wonderful thing was that she made herself available, walking through the throngs and letting people come close in a way that I can’t see Reporter happening today. Lois Rogers “I t was especially touching to see the people outside after the Mass – especially young people – so excited about being able to actually get a glimpse of her. “She had come to urge people to pray for vocations, and I remember some young men, particularly, in the crowd as she left being so moved. I was thinking about them this week. I f I remember correctly, she went out of her way to spend a few moments speaking with them. I was wondering about them, wondering if meeting her helped move them to become priests,” said Rogers, who currently works as a freelance reporter with The Monitor.

Mother’s sole purpose was to serve Msgr. Sam Sirianni, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, sees Mother Teresa’s canonization as a “sign that one person can change lives.” “Even though no one can solve all the issues and problems of the world, it doesn’t mean that anyone should stop trying,” he said. “There are countless numbers of religious, priests and lay faithful who do so much wonderful work in the name of Christ, and we should look to Mother Teresa’s canonization as a sign to not lose heart, don’t give up, to remember who you are and who you are doing the work for.”

} Mother Teresa receives a candle presented by

Bishop John C. Reiss during her 1995 visit to St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Trenton Monitor photo

Faithful humbled by Mother Teresa’s visit Continued from page 4 fter Communion, Mother Teresa briefly addressed the congregation from the sanctuary and spoke about the work of her order. “The aim of our congregation is to satiate the thirst of Jesus on the Cross for the love of souls by working for the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor,” she said.

Painting reveals Mother’s sorrow Continued from page 2 photograph taken in her middle years. There is determination in the eyes and love that can only be born of great sorrow. I t’s a beautiful face, strong, faithful and determined to live as Jesus would have her live and serve as he asked her to serve. I t is a face that inspires us to join her in this quest. This portrait and one of St. John Paul I I were the only religious works Mark, a noted science fiction and fantasy artist, ever painted. H e created them at the behest of our good friend Joseph Serrada and myself. e hoped they would be the first of religious portraits and pictures Mark would paint for a small publishing house we started called Kolbe Press. As it turned out, that was not to be. When The Monitor acquired both paintings in the late ‘ 9 0s, we were happy to give them a good home, especially since Mark’s untimely death in 2012. I t’s been very meaningful all these years to know that they were valued and safely kept, and we’re ever so grateful that The Monitor has placed Mark’s vision of Mother Teresa on the cover of this special tribute. L o is R o g ers, retired f eatu res ed ito r o f Th e M o nito r, c o ntinu es as a f reel anc e w riter. I n ad d itio n to h is sister, M ark R o g ers is su rv iv ed b y h is w if e, K ath erin, f o u r c h il d ren and th ree g rand c h il d ren.

22 • Saint Teresa • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • T

“We are fully consecrated in giving tender love to the sick, the dying, the crippled, the downhearted, the unloved.” Along with the invitation to establish a residence, Bishop Reiss presented Mother Teresa with a 17 -inch candle embedded with a Miraculous Medal. I nscribed near the bottom of the candle was the Diocese of Trenton” and the date of her visit. nother gift ishop eiss gave to Mother Teresa, at her request, was a list of the priests in the Diocese – which at the time included 264 diocesan, 5 0 religious priests and 1 seminarians – in order for the Missionaries of Charity to adopt them in prayer. Msgr. McGovern recalled how Mother Teresa and the priests in attendance gathered in the Cathedral rectory, where she imparted a very special blessing upon the priests.

hat a truly humbling e perience – to receive a blessing from this Servant of God,” he said. Though Mother Teresa was frail, “She was the power that was moving throughout the universal Church. Msgr. Arnister recalled Mother Teresa signing a picture of herself that was given to Bishop Reiss during the Mass and her speaking after oly Communion. “She spoke simply and beautifully,” he said. “She had a message of love, for us to be Christ to one another.

Laity inspired to be ‘Christ to our neighbors’ Continued from page 7 for items to help the sisters aid the needy and running a girls club on riday afternoons in which the sisters often take part. “The girls absolutely love them,” Plath said of the sisters. They re so faith-filled. The charism of Mother Teresa just shines through them.” n a recent unday afternoon, lath and her husband delivered back-to-school items to the Asbury Park convent. With temperatures topping 9 0 degrees outside and the humidity rising inside the non-air-conditioned building, there were nothing but smiles as backpacks lined the convent hallway. “I f we all followed in Mother’s footsteps, I don’t think we’d ever disappoint Jesus,” Plath said. Desiring to know more about the soonto-be saint, Plath traveled to I ndia years ago to see how and where Mother Teresa started her ministry.

e MON I TOR

“I t gives you a different perspective on seeing the poor when you see “If we all followed the face of God in Mother’s in everyone you meet,” she footsteps, I don’t said. “We’re not social think we’d ever workers; we’re disappoint Jesus.” not trying to fi anyone. We’re just trying to be Christ to our neighbors.” That was a sentiment shared by McGuire, explaining the relationship between the people she and her volunteers serve at the field behind the sbury ark convent every week “They’re happy we’re there, and we’re happy to be there,” she said. “I t’s a mutual admiration.”

Legacy of Mother Teresa continues in Asbury Park Continued from page 6 family. Y ou don’t miss your life because you are with everybody – young and old. Y ou are not missing any state of life.”

Loving and Serving I n N ovember 19 9 8, the Diocese received a letter from the order s motherhouse in Kolkata seeking approval for a residence within a city where their services would meet the greatest needs. fter visiting a number of sites throughout the Diocese, the sisters asked to be established in a house near St. Peter Claver Parish on the western side of Asbury Park. And there they remain today, just around the corner from St. Peter Claver Center, the bustling hub of service in Mother of Mercy Parish, which includes the former parishes of St. Peter Claver, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Providence and H oly Spirit. Life is very busy there, Sister Rose Therese said. “Sometimes it feels like we barely have time to pray,” she said with a smile. Rising at 4: 40 a.m., their Morning Prayer begins 20 minutes later and is followed by a one-hour meditation and Litany of the H ours. Then comes house

Sister Vandita, left, and Sister Franslily, right, and the rest of the sisters begin their day with Morning Prayer long before dawn, join in the celebration of the Mass and then live out their witness across Asbury Park’s west side.

The Missionaries of Charity who serve in the St. Peter Claver Center in Asbury Park hail from around the globe, such as Sister Franslily, who left her home in Colombia to serve in New Jersey to bring Christ to the needy and marginalized. John Batkowski photos cleaning. t a.m., they attend Mass either in their own chapel or in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, “where we receive Jesus and then we go out to bring him to others,” said Sister Rose Therese. I ndeed, by 9 : 30 a.m., Sisters Lee Fong, from Singapore, Franslily, born in Colombia, and V andita, who like Sister Rose Therese is from Kerala, take their ministry into the streets of Asbury Park. There, they fulfill on a daily basis the promise Mother Teresa made to Bishop John C. eiss after her 1995 visit to Trenton. Their constant witness is part of life on the streets of the city’s west side and its surroundings. There, they visit shut-ins and many in need of comfort and consolation. “We visit everybody,” said Sister Rose Therese. “We have made a kind of friendship in Mother’s name,” she said. “We don’t impose our faith on people. We ask if we can pray for them. I f they say ‘ no’ that is okay. We will continue to visit them if they can tolerate us.” Three days a week, the sisters and their devoted corps of volunteers also man the convent’s soup kitchen, and on Saturday evenings, their distinctive blue-and-white habits can be seen downtown at the city’s train station, a haven for the downtrodden. There, in a tradition established by volunteers for Mother Teresa’s good works even before the sisters arrived, they distribute food to the poor. Sundays are dedicated to religious education for the children of the area. The youngsters are picked up by bus and conveyed to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church for Mass with the sisters. Then they come back to the convent complex for

catechetical studies. “Mother wants us in a parish Mass on Sundays,” said Sister Rose Therese. She spoke also of the summer camp run annually by the sisters as another reflection of their founder’s positive emphasis. The program helped 5 children stay occupied and happy this summer, she said, breaking into a delighted grin. “And we get to evangelize them, get them to know Jesus, teach them songs that focus on knowing Mother Teresa. They do arts and crafts and have a weekly outing to area parks for swimming and cook outs. I t’s a very happy time.”

‘Mother’s Great Day’ Throughout the year, special events created by the sisters – such as the annual pageant that melds the N ativity and Three Kings Day into one, celebration – unite the community. Sept. 4 is certain to do the same. On this 19 th anniversary of her death, she will be proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in Rome in what Sister Rose Therese calls a “great celebration of Mother – Mother’s feast. Mother’s great day.” The sisters were hopeful that faithful would gather with them from around the Diocese for a N ovena honoring the great occasion that began Aug. 26 and was scheduled to conclude Sept. 3. They were looking forward to worshiping with everyone at the Mass of Thanksgiving to be celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Sept. 4 at 11 a.m., but wanted to take a back seat. “I t’s a celebration of the Church for Mother. I t is for her, not for us,” said Sister Rose Therese. “Only Mother is Mother.”

TrentonMonitor.com • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • Saint

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Online videos highlight Mother Continued from page 18 Charity convent would be established in Asbury Park only four years later. Marianne H artman, the Diocese’s Department of Multimedia Production director, said it was important to re-publish the video online because Mother Teresa’s visit was a historic day for the Diocese. Though H artman was busy coordinating multimedia coverage and staff during Mother Teresa’s visit, she said there was still a feeling that they were in the presence of a saint. “I think we all knew it was only a matter of time, she said of the canonization. I n addition, “Remembering t. Teresa s Visit to Trenton will be available online by

Coming later in September!

late eptember. This reflective mini-documentary features original footage from the day as well as interviews with priests, deacons, religious and laity who reflect back on the excitement surrounding Mother’s visit and how her presence created a sense of calm and awe. V olunteers involved with the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Asbury Park and those they serve are also featured in the video. T o v i e w th e 3 0 - m inu te v id eo o f M o th er Teresa’ s v isit to th e io ese, isit dio eseoftrenton org T o v i e w th e m ini- d o c u m entary, isit trentonmonitor om, dio eseoftrenton org or the dio esan ouTube hannel, youtube om trentondio ese A sso c iate E d ito r J ennif er auro ontributed to this report

The Diocese’s Department of Multimedia Production is completing its work on a mini-documentary chronicling the 1995 visit of Mother Teresa to the Diocese of Trenton.

“Remembering St. Teresa’s Visit to Trenton” will take viewers along on the visit in which Mother Teresa spoke to the faithful gathered in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton and pledged her prayers for our priests and seminarians. We will hear from those who recall meeting Mother that day and who share the impact that she has had on their lives and faith. The video will be available for viewing on DioceseofTrenton.org and TrentonMonitor.com; watch The Monitor for release dates. Also will be available on DVD for $10 per copy. For information or to place an advance order for your DVD copy, contact the Diocese’s Office of Communications and Media at (609) 403-7199, dotcomm@dioceseoftrenton.org. 24 • Saint Teresa • SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 • T

e MON I TOR