Letters from Mother Teresa

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Susan_Calvin

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When I was a child my mother and I were two of the poor whom the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s order, served. I met Mother Teresa when she visited her Sisters in my city, and I subsequently wrote to her; I was about 10 at the time. Well, she wrote me back, and we had a continuing conversation over a few letters. So I now have a few authentic letters from her, a page long each. I have them in a safety deposit box currently. My question is, since she becoming a saint, are these letters considered religious objects? Is there anything specific I should be doing with them? Thanks.
 
I’m not sure. That’s a really great question. My younger sister saved up some money from collecting bottles and sent it to the Missionaries of Charity and Mother Theresa wrote her a letter back thanking her for her support. That’s really cool. Anyways hopefully we can find out what should be done.
 
I am not sure…but my guess is that it isn’t. Nonetheless, to me, what you have is a very special gift. You should make some copies and keep them; the orginal…put in the safety box or at the bank.
 
Thanks to you both. I do agree it is a special gift to have these letters and I feel very fortunate. I guess if I don’t receive a definite answer here I can ask my priest, and I will come back here and let you know what he says.
 
Hi Judith. Oh, that’s AWESOME! I’m so happy for you!!! 🙂 I agree… your question is a good one.

My “gut” feeling… is that since Mother Teresa is now “Blessed” in the Catholic Church… the letters can probably be considered as relics… although, I don’t know this for certain. I don’t think you have to do anything out of the ordinary, beyond what you’re currently doing. You treasure and reverence them as a personal “gift” from God… to you. And that they truly are. You have a very special connection to Blessed Mother Teresa.

I would suggest that perhaps you might wish to keep them in some type of “museum” jackets… which are acid free. And then, in the safety deposit box… as you said; (if it were me, tho… I’d definitely take them out now and then, and hold them… while asking Blessed Mother Teresa for her intercession 😃 ). I think you can also obtain special “museum” gloves… for handling important documents. (“Google” Art Gallery Equipment or Museum Supplies… to find them).

God bless you! And thanks for sharing. This is so special!

Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us.
 
My dear friend
There class 3 relics and are to be treated as sacred. They are very good relics too. I would prize them. Touch them whilst praying to her is the norm. it makes your prayer more efficacious. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic for info.

God bless you:thumbsup:🙂
John
 
John is right. They are third class relics. If they have the dates and signature of Mother, you should take them to the local chancery where they are examined and you will be given the proper documentation that supports that they are relics. The Church will not take them away from you. They are your property. But there are documents that are used to support a claim that one has a relic. You may want these documents in case you ever have someone who needs Mother’s intercession and a miracle occurs.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Wow thanks for those explanations. I had no idea they were relics. They do indeed have dates and Mother’s signature, as well as the address in Calcutta where she lived. She also sent me a medal of Mary in with one of her letters.

Regarding the chancery, I’m not sure what that is or where but I assume my priest would know? I will talk to him about it. Thanks for suggesting that, I never would have thought of making them “official” because of miracles but that is an excellent point.
 
I was just now reading in another thread that the Church forbids the sale of relics. Not that I would ever sell my letters from Mother, I am definitely keeping them. But after reading that I recalled a non-religious friend of mine half-jokingly saying a couple of years back that I should sell the letters on Ebay, I would get a ton of money for them probably. Anyhow, just wondering then, would I be doing something wrong selling them? Again, I have no intention of ever selling them, just curious about the Church’s teachings on this.
 
Susan_Calvin said:
I was just now reading in another thread that the Church forbids the sale of relics. Not that I would ever sell my letters from Mother, I am definitely keeping them. But after reading that I recalled a non-religious friend of mine half-jokingly saying a couple of years back that I should sell the letters on Ebay, I would get a ton of money for them probably. Anyhow, just wondering then, would I be doing something wrong selling them? Again, I have no intention of ever selling them, just curious about the Church’s teachings on this.
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It is a serious sin to sell relics and other blessed objects.

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Thanks, that is very good to know.

With the help of my priest, I have contacted the chancery office and will be having the letters verified soon. Thanks again to all for your help and comments.
 
Make sure to make copies of the letters, just in case something happens to them. 🙂
 
Susan_Calvin said:
Thanks, that is very good to know.

With the help of my priest, I have contacted the chancery office and will be having the letters verified soon. Thanks again to all for your help and comments.
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I’m glad that you got the help you needed. I knew that the Chancery would be interested and would help. Keep us posted.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Since second-class relics are objects the saint/blessed touched or used during life, that’s what your letters from Mother Teresa are.

Treasure them!
 
So they are second class rather than third class relics? I’m a bit confused now because I have 2 different answers here.
 
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