Our Lady and St. Teresa of Calcutta

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In a book by one of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity, Father Joseph Langford, MC: Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady there was a copy of an aritst’s depiction of a vision St. Teresa of Calcutta had and she shared with Father before she died. I thought again of that image in reading about Sister Lucia’s Vision of Our Lady in Spain in 1925 because in both descriptions, Our Lady put her hand on the shoulder of Mother Teresa (in Mother’s vision she saw herself as a child; both she and Mary were looking at Jesus on the Cross), Our Lady put her hand on the shoulder of Sister Lucia (Lucia saw Mary’s Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns).

Sister Lucia described her vision: “…Lucia was a postulant in the Convent of St. Dorothy in Pontevedra, Spain when she had the apparition of our Blessed Mother. She was standing over a cloud of light with the Child Jesus at her side. The Blessed Virgin put one hand on Lucia’s shoulder, while her other hand sustained her Immaculate Heart that was surrounded with thorns.”

It seems to me that Mary wanted to strengthen both daughters to carry forth Jesus: to be His Light in the Darkness. It seems to me that in our day when there is such a crisis of faith all over the world, we too are being called to share in His Mission of love for souls, as Mary and all the saints before us have done – to do as Jesus told us:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (Mt 5: 14 - 16)

By God’s grace may we listen and hear His Word deep in our hearts today, and by His Grace may we behold (in faith) our Mother near to us, with her hand on our shoulders to strengthen us.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful; kindle in us the Fire of Your Love that we may be Light in the darkness of our world today! Please bring us into all the Truth we need: to be true Light – guide us in knowing and doing the Truth in love. Show us how we can be light today, and may we answer “Yes” as Mary, and St. Teresa of Calcutta, Sister Lucia and all the saints have done by Your grace. Amen.

 

[patricius79]

It seems to me that Mary wanted to strengthen both daughters to carry forth Jesus: to be His Light in the Darkness. It seems to me that in our day when there is such a crisis of faith all over the world, we too are being called to share in His Mission of love for souls, as Mary and all the saints before us have done – to do as Jesus told us:

By God’s grace may we listen and hear His Word deep in our hearts today, and by His Grace may we behold (in faith) our Mother near to us, with her hand on our shoulders to strengthen us.

.

Thanks, dear sister MariaChristi,

I’ve been reading the Diary of St. Faustina which says that what Jesus wants most of us is trust in His Infinite Mercy.

That is what leads to good works like what St. Teresa of Calcutta did.

God has shown us in His Infinite Mercy by giving His Mother to us as the channel of His Infinite Mercy:

As Pope Leo 13th writes:

“6. Nor can our prayers fail to ascend to Him as a sweet savour, commended by the prayers of the Virgin. And He it is who, all-benign, invites her: “Let thy voice sound in My ears, for thy voice is sweet.” For this cause do we repeatedly celebrate those glorious titles of her ministry as Mediatrix. Her do we greet who found favour with God, and who was in a signal manner filled with grace by Him so that the superabundance thereof might overflow upon all men; her, united with the Lord by the most intimate of all conjunction; her who was blessed among women, and who “alone took away the curse and bore the blessing” (St. Thomas)-that fruit of her womb, that happy fruit, in which all the nations of the earth are blessed. Her do we invoke, finally, as Mother of God; and in virtue of a dignity so sublime what graces from her may we not promise to ourselves, sinners, in life and in the agonies of the end?”
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091894_iucunda-semper-expectatione.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, dear sister MariaChristi,

I’ve been reading the Diary of St. Faustina which says that what Jesus wants most of us is trust in His Infinite Mercy.

That is what leads to good works like what St. Teresa of Calcutta did.

God has shown us in His Infinite Mercy by giving His Mother to us as the channel of His Infinite Mercy:

As Pope Leo 13th writes:

“6. Nor can our prayers fail to ascend to Him as a sweet savour, commended by the prayers of the Virgin. And He it is who, all-benign, invites her: “Let thy voice sound in My ears, for thy voice is sweet.” For this cause do we repeatedly celebrate those glorious titles of her ministry as Mediatrix. Her do we greet who found favour with God, and who was in a signal manner filled with grace by Him so that the superabundance thereof might overflow upon all men; her, united with the Lord by the most intimate of all conjunction; her who was blessed among women, and who “alone took away the curse and bore the blessing” (St. Thomas)-that fruit of her womb, that happy fruit, in which all the nations of the earth are blessed. Her do we invoke, finally, as Mother of God; and in virtue of a dignity so sublime what graces from her may we not promise to ourselves, sinners, in life and in the agonies of the end?”
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091894_iucunda-semper-expectatione.html

Thanks dear brother Pat,

Yes, how truly we can call Mary our Mother of Mercy! Thanks for the quote from Pope Leo XIII. How well he speaks of Her who found such favor with God, and whom Jesus gave to us as Mother!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks dear brother Pat,

Yes, how truly we can call Mary our Mother of Mercy! Thanks for the quote from Pope Leo XIII. How well he speaks of Her who found such favor with God, and whom Jesus gave to us as Mother!

Thank God we have her for our Mother! The Mother of the Eucharist!

Recently I watched the film “For Greater Glory”, about the civil war in Mexico for religious freedom. It was inspiring. But I know this war is mainly fought through prayer, the Rosary, and receiving the Sacraments.

Here is another passage from Pope Leo 13th which I love:

“9. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.””
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank God we have her for our Mother! The Mother of the Eucharist!

Recently I watched the film “For Greater Glory”, about the civil war in Mexico for religious freedom. It was inspiring. But I know this war is mainly fought through prayer, the Rosary, and receiving the Sacraments.

Here is another passage from Pope Leo 13th which I love:

“9. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.””
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

Dear Brother Pat,

Yes, I also saw that movie and was inspired by it. The young boy martyr especially was so brave in his Love for Christ the King and the Virgin of Guadalupe. It reminds me of the fact that in the vision Mother Teresa had, she saw herself as a child, and Mary had her hand on Mother Teresa’s shoulder. How many graces flowed through Mary from Christ to St. Teresa of Calcutta to bring His Light into the world. I think also of the bravery of the little children to whom Mary appeared in Fatima. Yes, Pope Leo XIII, wrote well of our Mother encouraging us to trust her not only for our own salvation but for the graces we need to bring Christ’s Light to others!

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brother Pat,

Yes, I also saw that movie and was inspired by it. The young boy martyr especially was so brave in his Love for Christ the King and the Virgin of Guadalupe. It reminds me of the fact that in the vision Mother Teresa had, she saw herself as a child, and Mary had her hand on Mother Teresa’s shoulder. How many graces flowed through Mary from Christ to St. Teresa of Calcutta to bring His Light into the world. I think also of the bravery of the little children to whom Mary appeared in Fatima. Yes, Pope Leo XIII, wrote well of our Mother encouraging us to trust her not only for our own salvation but for the graces we need to bring Christ’s Light to others!

Yes, we need to love others as St. Teresa of Calcutta did, with Mary’s help.

Pope Leo 13th’s writing applies so well to today.

He says:

"6. And We deplore no less the consequent laxity and apathy in the practice of the Catholic religion which if not quite open apostasy from the Faith, is certainly going to prove an easy road to it…
The Remedy

1. Now, to appease the might of an outraged God and to bring that health of soul so needed by those who are sorely afflicted, there is nothing better than devout and persevering prayer, provided it be joined with a love for and practice of Christian life. And both of these, the spirit of prayer and the practice of Christian life, are best attained through the devotion of the Rosary of Mary.
   …
2. While nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through Christ. Nobody knows and comprehends so well as she everything that concerns us: what helps we need in life; what dangers, public or private, threaten our welfare; what difficulties and evils surround us; above all, how fierce is the fight we wage with ruthless enemies of our salvation. In these and in all other troubles of life her power is most far-reaching. Her desire to use it is most ardent to bring consolation, strength, and help of every kind to children who are dear to her."
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, we need to love others as St. Teresa of Calcutta did, with Mary’s help.

Pope Leo 13th’s writing applies so well to today.

He says:

"6. And We deplore no less the consequent laxity and apathy in the practice of the Catholic religion which if not quite open apostasy from the Faith, is certainly going to prove an easy road to it…
The Remedy

1. Now, to appease the might of an outraged God and to bring that health of soul so needed by those who are sorely afflicted, there is nothing better than devout and persevering prayer, provided it be joined with a love for and practice of Christian life. And both of these, the spirit of prayer and the practice of Christian life, are best attained through the devotion of the Rosary of Mary.
   …
2. While nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through Christ. Nobody knows and comprehends so well as she everything that concerns us: what helps we need in life; what dangers, public or private, threaten our welfare; what difficulties and evils surround us; above all, how fierce is the fight we wage with ruthless enemies of our salvation. In these and in all other troubles of life her power is most far-reaching. Her desire to use it is most ardent to bring consolation, strength, and help of every kind to children who are dear to her."
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

Thanks dear Brother Pat,

Pope Leo XIII’s words certainly do apply to our day as well as to his day!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks dear Brother Pat,

Pope Leo XIII’s words certainly do apply to our day as well as to his day!

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, if we want to help heal the world as Sister Lucia and St. Teresa of Calcutta did, we need to have recourse to our Lady to strengthen us.

As Pope Leo 13th says, not doing so is like trying to fly without wings:

“Now, of all the blessed in heaven, who can compare with the august Mother of God in obtaining grace? Who seeth more clearly in the Eternal Word what troubles oppress us, what are our needs? Who is allowed more power in moving God? Who can compare with her in maternal affection? We do not pray to the Blessed in the same way as to God; for we ask the Holy Trinity to have mercy on us, but we ask all the Saints to pray for us (Ibid.). Yet our manner of praying to the Blessed Virgin has something in common with our worship of God, so that the Church even addresses to her the words with which we pray to God: “Have mercy on sinners.” The members of the Rosary Sodality, therefore, do exceedingly well in weaving together, as in a crown, so many salutations and prayers to Mary. For, so great is her dignity, so great her favour before God, that whosoever in his need will not have recourse to her is trying to fly without wings.”
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_12091897_augustissimae-virginis-mariae.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, if we want to help heal the world as Sister Lucia and St. Teresa of Calcutta did, we need to have recourse to our Lady to strengthen us.

As Pope Leo 13th says, not doing so is like trying to fly without wings:

“Now, of all the blessed in heaven, who can compare with the august Mother of God in obtaining grace? Who seeth more clearly in the Eternal Word what troubles oppress us, what are our needs? Who is allowed more power in moving God? Who can compare with her in maternal affection? We do not pray to the Blessed in the same way as to God; for we ask the Holy Trinity to have mercy on us, but we ask all the Saints to pray for us (Ibid.). Yet our manner of praying to the Blessed Virgin has something in common with our worship of God, so that the Church even addresses to her the words with which we pray to God: “Have mercy on sinners.” The members of the Rosary Sodality, therefore, do exceedingly well in weaving together, as in a crown, so many salutations and prayers to Mary. For, so great is her dignity, so great her favour before God, that whosoever in his need will not have recourse to her is trying to fly without wings.”
w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_12091897_augustissimae-virginis-mariae.html

Thanks dear Brother Pat,

For your replies and for your great love and appreciation for God’s gift of Mary to be our Mother and Model.

Yes, Pope St. Leo XIII and many holy popes and saints have seen the Church’s devotion to Mary to be “intrinsic” to Christian worship. (cf CCC 971)

Pope Leo XIII gives us a very apt analogy concerning Mary: “… so great is her dignity, so great her favor before God, that whoever in his need will not have recourse to her is trying to fly without wings”.