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Two saints; two fighters
for life and peace; two giants of mercy and love……..John Paul II and Mother
Teresa. Both tried to convince then First Lady Hillary
and President Bill Clinton on the imperative of valuing the life of the unborn
child. It was St. John Paul II, who
beatified Mother Teresa in 2003. |
St. Mother Teresa, freshly
canonized on September 4, was a tiny woman, only 4 ft. 9 in. and 115 lbs., but she
was a giant of a person…….with the help of God in whom she totally trusted,
Mother Teresa took on the rich and the powerful. A prime example is the courageous and famous speech
she delivered at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton Hotel in
Washington: “Whatever You Did Unto One of the Least, You Did Unto Me.”. Attending were many members of both houses of
Congress, representatives of 140 nations, President Bill Clinton, and First
Lady Hilary Clinton. As the main
speaker, she said (watch the complete C-Span video by going to youtube.com/watch?v=OXn-wf5ylgo):
“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of
peace today is abortion, because Jesus said, ‘If you receive a little child,
you receive me. So every abortion is the
denial of receiving Jesus, is the neglect of receiving Jesus. It is
really a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder
by the mother herself.
And if we accept
that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to
kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As
always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means
to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So,
the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love; that is, to
give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her
child. For the child is the greatest
gift of God to the family because it has been created to love and to be loved. The father of
that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.
By abortion, the
mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her
problems.
And, by
abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility
at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to
put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.
Any country that
accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to
get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is
abortion.”
St. Mother Teresa received a
standing ovation from the audience of 3000 people of power and prestige for
about six minutes. CBN’s 700 Club zoomed
in on Bill and Hillary Clinton. They
just sat there stone faced, motionless, shaken, and stunned because that speech
to a large extent was aimed at them. Not
only that…….after the speech, the little nun confronted Hillary, who
related: “She wanted to talk to
me. Mother Teresa was unerringly direct. She disagreed with my views on a
woman’s right to choose and told me so.”
In that same conversation Hillary accepted Mother’s invitation to tour
her orphanage in India, which has the mission to find parents for the kids. She and Chelsea did visit a year later.
It is said that Mother Teresa and Hillary
Clinton had the following conversation:
“Why do you think we haven’t had a woman as president yet?” First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton asked her guest over their lunch at the White House in
1995. The little woman sitting at table
with Mrs. Clinton did not hesitate in her reply. “Because she has probably been aborted,” said
Mother Teresa. How many potentially
great scientists and world leaders have been aborted? We’ll never know on this side of eternity.
Mother later asked
the First Lady to help her get through the bureaucracy to build a home for
infant children in Washington and she did.
They even dedicated it together (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK4Io1TWmAE).
However, it closed in 2002. Mother Teresa gently tried to convert Hillary
a number of times with patience and kindness, sending her dozens of notes, but
to no avail. Actually, Hillary looks
fondly on her relationship with the future saint. Why did Mother Teresa exert so much time and
energy on Hillary? Perhaps the modern
day prophet, foresaw that Hillary would someday be a woman of power and
influence. For more details, see http://www.lifenews.com/2016/09/08/remembering-how-mother-teresa-left-hillary-clinton-in-stunned-silence-on-abortion/.
Fast forward 22 years to
2016 and these two women again share the spotlight with diametrically opposed
views……..one saying that killing one’s unborn child is a constitutional right
and that the “unborn person doesn’t
have constitutional rights” (her own words – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uk5qqkfG8g).…….the other saying that the unborn person is a magnificent creation and child
of God, created by Him according to His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) with
tremendous human dignity and an immortal soul, who has a God given inalienable
right to life. Most likely St. Mother
Teresa is still praying for Hillary Clinton.
Then there is hope that Hillary will mellow if elected president. That of course would be a miraculous
conversion. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but miracles and conversions do happen.
Fr. Thomas Hamm, our pastor, could
not have chosen a better day to dedicate and bless the Memorial to the Unborn at the St.
Louis Church Cemetery on September 5, the feast day of St. Mother
Teresa, who was canonized the day before.
Thus he read the above excerpt of that speech to us.
When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, Dec.
10, 1979, 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.” She used the prize and its money to further
the work of her congregation. Mother
also condemned abortion as the world’s greatest destroyer of people. “To me, the nations who have legalized
abortion are the poorest nations,” she said. “They are afraid of the unborn child,
and the child must die.” See the
transcript of that great acceptance speech, go to http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/social-justice/mother-teresas-nobel-peace-prize-acceptance-speech.html or
hear it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I36Nistc9wE&list=PLL41La_VVUWutS3pTe36wmnj6On2o5-bg.
That little woman spoke like a prophet
of old.
That
little woman was fearless. She went
into war zones and between the lines in war torn Beirut, Lebanon in 1982 to
evacuate, protect, and care for children of both Muslims and Christians. “What stunned everyone was her energy
and efficiency,” a Red Cross official involved in the evacuation said
afterward. “She saw the problem, fell to her knees and prayed for a few
seconds, and then she was rattling off a list of supplies she needed-----
nappies (diapers), plastic pants, chamber pots. We didn’t expect a saint to be
so efficient.”
On October 26, 1985, Mother Teresa spoke
before the General Assembly of the United Nations on the occasion of the 40th
Anniversary of its founding. The title
was "One Strong Resolution: I Will Love" For the complete text
go to
http://www.piercedhearts.org/purity_heart_morality/mother_teresa_address_united_nations.htm.
Her whole life
was Christ……serving Him by serving and loving others. She said: “When I clean and bind the wounds
of an abandoned, dying man, I am cleaning and binding the wounds of Christ
Himself”. When a person asked
her about being discouraged when things go wrong, Mother replied: “I don’t get discouraged. God has not called me to be successful; He called
me to be faithful”. Her trust in
the Lord was unshakeable. She knew that
God would make good come out of setbacks and that in the long run things would
work out according to His will which is best for all. That’s all what mattered to her: discerning and following God’s will. Mother did not proselytize; she preached the
Gospel by intensely living it and then let the Lord lead them into the Church.
Mother later asked
the First Lady to help her get through the bureaucracy in Washington to build
an orphanage and she did. However, it
closed in 2002. Mother Teresa gently
tried to convert Hillary a number of times with patience and kindness, sending
her dozens of notes, but to no avail. Actually,
Hillary looks fondly on her relationship with the future saint. Why did Mother Teresa exert so much time
and energy on Hillary? Perhaps the
modern day prophet, foresaw that Hillary would someday be a woman of power and
influence. For more details, see http://www.lifenews.com/2016/09/08/remembering-how-mother-teresa-left-hillary-clinton-in-stunned-silence-on-abortion/.
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Mother Teresa escorts
Fr. John Hardon S.J., who is blessing patients in her house for the dying. One dying person remarked: "I was dying like an animal in the gutter; now I die like an angel". See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzzDFJ4wU6Y.
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Mother Teresa strongly believed in the great
value of suffering when accepted with trust, and offered up to God. Once she was asked to what does she owe her great
success…….today 844 houses in 139 countries to help the poor as bearers of mercy. The living saint replied that she chooses for
each of her now 5,150 nuns an “other self”, who is some sick,
suffering person. The Other Person’s job
is to unite his/her cross (suffering) with the Lord’s Cross and offer it up as
a dynamic prayer for the assigned nun.
She alleviated suffering in others, but embraced it for herself.
The Paradox of Poverty.
The diminutive nun fought poverty as an evil, but lived poverty as a
virtue. Imposed poverty is misery;
voluntary poverty for God is virtue. She
dedicated her life to heal people of material and spiritual poverty. The former affects those of little or no
income; the latter affects us all, rich and poor alike. Mother only owned two saris (one to wear and
the other for the laundry), but she was rich in grace. Hear her last speech at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1uwuPu7ueo.
Some 300,000 people attended Mother
Teresa’s canonization on September 4, 2016 at the Vatican. We might look at it as an induction into a
Hall of Fame for those of heroic virtue and unusual holiness. That is after years of study of the person’s
life and prayer. That includes using a
“devil’s advocate” whose job is to find everything negative that is available
about the prospective saint. They even
interviewed Christopher Hitchens, who wrote a highly critical assessment of
Mother Teresa's work, calling her "a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a
fraud."
Key
is two authenticated miracles (one for beatification and one more for
canonization) done through the saint’s intercession. The miracle is defined as a healing beyond
scientific or medical explanation as determined by a panel of doctors. The miracle is assurance of God’s will and that
the saint is indeed in Heaven and worthy of emulation and being asked to
intercede for the petitioner. Devotion
to saints and Mary are optional for Catholics.
We ask them for prayers in the same way as I would ask you to pray for
me.
In
Mother Teresa's case, in India a woman's stomach tumor disappeared and in Brazil a
man with brain abscesses awoke from a coma. Both credited their dramatic recoveries to
prayers asking Mother for her prayerful intercession after her death in 1997. For more detail go to http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-miracles-that-made-mother-teresa/.
St. Mother Teresa’s Connection with Catholic
Familyland. Mother recognized that praying together as a
family helps its members to grow in unity.
The Conikers met Mother Teresa many times and were inspired by her. Thus she has had a significant influence upon
the work of the Apostolate of Family Consecration (AFC). Through extensive interviews of Mother
Teresa, the AFC has produced publications, videos, and audio tapes that share
with us her spiritual depth on: Mary and parental unity; the dignity of women and
humility of Mary; consecration as a protection for families; the joy of loving
and being loved; prayer as a means of deepening family unity, practicing mercy
in daily family life; finding peace through unconditional surrender to the
Divine Will, etc. You can obtain materials for your family by
going to http://store.afc.org/encounters-with-mother-teresa.
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Mother Teresa with Gwen Coniker, who along with
her husband Jerry founded the Apostolate of Family Consecration, which promotes
the family through videos and runs Catholic
Familyland, a family retreat center near Steubenville, Ohio.
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| Fr. Michael Scanlan,
President of the Franciscan University of Steubenville in academic regalia,
presents the University’s most prestigious non-academic award, the Poverello Medal to Mother Teresa in 1976. |
St. Mother Teresa’s Franciscan
University of Steubenville (Ohio) Connection. In 1976 Mother Teresa was invited to
Franciscan University, where she gave the commencement address on the most
basic question of the old Baltimore Catechism…….knowing, loving, and serving
God. Mother Teresa received the
University’s most prestigious award and highest non-academic honor, the Poverello Medal. It honors organizations and individuals who
imitate St. Francis of Assisi, "Il Poverello," (the little
poor man) by their strength of character, practical Christian charity, and love
for and service to the poor. Franciscan
University presented the award to her three years before she received the Nobel
Peace Prize. Mother Teresa could only
accept awards as a means of furthering the work of her order. The Little Sisters of the Poor with a similar
philosophy received the Poverello Medal in 2014 (www.franciscan.edu/news/2014/Poverello-for-the-Little-Sisters/#sthash.Sp4RynkR.dpuf) Sr. Constance Veit’s acceptance
speech is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro2t993lIBE).
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| St. Mother Teresa giving the commencement
address at the 1982 Harvard graduation. |
Mother Teresa gave another great commencement
address, this time on purity among other things to the very secular Harvard
students at their graduation on June 10, 1982.
For the transcript and details from Harvard Magazine, go to http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/04/greatest-hits-mother-teresa. Let us never forget a beautiful and very practical advice for getting things done at any level of society: "I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things". That
is not to fight each other, but to fight together in unity for the common good,
putting aside personal interests.
St.
Mother Teresa’s Connection to Thomas Aquinas College (TAC). It gave
her its Thomas Aquinas Medallion at its 1982 Commencement. Mother Teresa was the main speaker to the 22
graduates. You can watch the video of her
address at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5rQZVJv3h0&feature=youtu.be or read the complete text at https://thomasaquinas.edu/about/light-new-light.
For her press conference where she speaks spontaneously, go to https://thomasaquinas.edu/about/st-teresa-calcutta.
Mr. Towey worked very closely with
Mother Teresa as her legal council from 1985 until her death in 1997, ensuring
that people were not using Mother Teresa’s name to raise money without her
permission, assisting in establishing AIDS clinics and homeless shelters, and
coordinating immigration matters for her missionary nuns in different countries
around the world. He served as a full-time volunteer in Mexico
at one of her missions for two years and at her home for AIDS patients in
Washington. Mother Teresa inspired him
to establish the non-profit “Aging With Dignity” in 1996, and fighting
euthanasia and related abuses.
In an interview in the National
Catholic Register of September 4, he had much to share about St. Mother
Teresa. She was God’s instrument that
revived his own faith. “Being around her
was a little touch of heaven. There was
something special about her…….how fully human she was…….loved God
wholeheartedly, loved people, loved music, and loved her sweets. She was very motherly in dealing with her
nuns (today 5,150 sisters serving in 758 houses in 139 countries). I think she was the most motherly person since
the Blessed Mother……She loved Mary so much (Mother liked to give away
Miraculous Medals). She was an
incredible reader and judge of situations and people. She had such wisdom. I would marvel how she would very quickly
figure out what was going on. Whether
meeting with the president or at the bedside of the poor, she was the same with
people”. “Mother liked President Reagan
and he was helpful to her. She would
call him up from India to the White House.
When Mother Teresa came to the U.S., she visited the then retired
President and Mrs. Reagan”.
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| The Mother Teresa Exhibition Hall at the University of Santa Maria near Naples, Florida. |
Every May Mr. Towey takes 12 students on a mission trip
to India. He initiated the Mother
Teresa Project, which includes a museum, but service is at the heart of
it, locally in poor areas close to campus and mission trips around the world. There is even a Mother Theresa Scholars
Program. Ave Maria University is the
only institution of higher learning whose programs regarding Mother Teresa are
approved by her order. Thus Ave Maria
University can indeed call itself Mother Teresa’s university (More detail at www.avemaria.edu
and www.motherteresaproject.org).
Appendix
"I thirst For you".
St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), born in today's Republic of Macedonia, was internationally famed for her humanitarian work. This meditation by St. Teresa, written in the imagined words of Jesus, reminds us that Jesus speaks to us, as he spoke to the Samaritan woman, offering us living water and His enduring love.
I thirst for you. Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe my love for you: I thirst to love you and to be loved by you--that is how precious your are to me. Come to me, and fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in all your trials. You must never doubt my mercy, my acceptance of you, my desire to forgive, my longing to bless you and live my life in you.
If you feel unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you. Open to me, come to me, thirst for me, give me your life--and I will prove to you how important you are to my heart.
Trust in Jesus' love. Don't you realize that my Father already has a perfect plan to transform your life, beginning from this moment? Trust in me. Ask me every day to enter and take charge of your life--and I will. I promise you, before my Father in Heaven that I will work miracles in your life. Why would I do this Because I thirst for you. All I ask is that you entrust yourself to me completely. I will do all the rest.
No matter how far you may wander, no matter how often you forget me, no matter how many crosses you may bear in this life, there is one thing I want you to always remember, one thing that will never change: I thirst for you--just as you are. You don'r need to change to believe in my love, for it will be your belief in my love that will change you. I am seeking you every moment of the day--standing at the door of your heart and knocking.
Do you find this hard to believe? Then look at the cross, look at my heart that was pierced for you. Have you not understood my cross? Then listen again to the words I spoke there--for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you: ("I thirst" (John 19:28).
Jesus calls us to open our hearts. All your life I have been looking for your love--I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you. You have tried many other things in your search for happiness. Why not try opening your heart to me, right now, more than you ever have before? Whenever you do open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, you will hear me say to you again and again not in mere human words but in spirit: No matter what you have done, I love you for your own sake. Come to me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles and needs, and with all your longing to be loved. I stand at the door of your heart and knock. Open to me, for I thirst for you.
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