Mother Teresa, a witness of God’s love for new generations
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – As tributes are prepared around the world for the centennial anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, some are asking questions about the meaning of her teachings. Above all, many are wondering about what impact her life story had and still has on young people. AsiaNews spoke to Mgr Felix Machado, archbishop of Vasai and undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and asked him these questions. For him, Mother Teresa was the beacon of his priestly education.
Mother Teresa is an international figure, loved by everybody. In her life and even in her death, she had an impact on the world. For this reason, it is essential to commemorate the first centennial of her birth.
Personally, I do not think that Mother Teresa would have wanted any fuss made about her life; nevertheless, anniversaries are not celebrated because someone so desires. Celebrations are used to tell young people what she meant to us, that she represents something that should not be lost to future generations. It is my sincerest hope that her teachings and life story will never be put on a shelf and forgotten
To me, she was always an example of how someone can go against the tide. Often people are unable to speak out against wrongs and injustices, feeling that they are all alone. Mother Teresa showed that when one has passion for life and human dignity, no one is insignificant in this world. She bore witness to all this, especially when she left the relative safety of her convent, with nothing—uncertain as to what might happen to her. Indeed, Mother Teresa believed in the one voice that can make all the difference in this world, even if it is poor and marginalised. This, for me, is her greatest gift to humanity.
Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Parsis thought highly of Mother Teresa. In your opinion, did she promote interfaith dialogue?
We should not isolate religious dialogue from what the Church teaches us. We must look it in the totality of missionary work. In his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II stressed that inter-faith dialogue is part of the evangelical mission. We Catholics must not separate dialogue with others from our being Christian, considering it as one of many activities. For the Church, dialogue is part of its sacred Mission. This does not mean however forcing people to become Christians. Mother Teresa was Christian in the true sense of the world; therefore, for her being Christian meant taking care of everyone, reaching out to people of other faiths. She was Christian at each moment of her life, especially in her work, and her love for Jesus made her love other people and man’s destiny. When Mother Teresa saw a dying man, a marginalised person, a leper, she did not hesitate from reaching out to them; it did not matter that he might be Hindu, Muslims or of another faith. Her heart felt love and compassion for them right away and she responded spontaneously to the circumstance. She served the poor with a burning passion for Christ’ and she never concealed the fact that she was a Christian and a Catholic because she loved Jesus.
Mother Teresa was always Catholic, but she always looked upon other with great respect, precisely because they were created in God’s image and were saved by Jesus’ blood. For her, everyone was an incarnation of Jesus; therefore, it made no sense to discriminate. She respected everyone and would have never strayed from the teachings of the Church. She was faithful and obedient to the Magisterium of the Church and loved, respected and followed its teachings. Mother Teresa never concealed her faith; she was always a Catholic nun.
Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Parsis viewed mother Teresa as a messenger of God and the request by their leaders to pray at her funeral shows that her witness was rooted in the Pasqual mystery.
Do you have one personal memory of Mother Teresa?
I was in Taizé (France) and I was accompanying her around. Mother Teresa loved Taizé and was always happy to see thousands of enthusiastic young people from all over the world. Then at some point, she told me ‘Felix, what a beautiful place this is. Imagine what a beautiful spiritual retreat we could have here.’ But before I could tell her what a good idea it was, she told me ‘But only if God wills it.’ Mother Teresa did what she did because it was Jesus’ will, not hers. Her only desire was Jesus. She loved the poorest of the poor; she would remove the vermin from the wounds of the dying because she was trying to make Jesus happy. Trying to do God’s will in everything, as Mother Teresa did, helped me a lot during my formative years, first as a seminarian, then as a priest, and now as a bishop.
What did Mother Teresa say to young people?
She urged young people not to be discouraged. “Be people of hope,” she used to say. “Give your life to the marginalised and make sure that love is the greatest thing in your life.”
When she met young people, she spoke of the poverty of Kolkata, but often said that she was even sadder for the poverty of Europe because it was a poverty of love. It was wonderful to see how young people responded to her, how they were captivated by her; for them, Mother Teresa was a kind of superstar. They fell in love with her; they wanted to be near her. For this reason, her message is planted in their hearts.
Mother Teresa did not deliver any major speech on theology. She spoke in a simple language that was a source of inspiration for young people. Thousands came to see her and listen to her talk; many were just happy to be in her presence.
I remember when I was a young seminarian, when she received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding from the hands of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On that occasion, Mother Teresa said, “At the end of your life God shall not judge you for what you did, but for how much you loved others. Indira Gandhi was moved and cried.
In your view, what connects Mother Teresa to the world?
Mother Teresa revealed the real meaning of life to the world even if it something people often ignore. She gave the poor, the marginalised and the dying the meaning of life. She showed that the only thing man desires is love. She is still anchored on the mystery of life. She was someone of great faith. She knew that God was the origin of all love. Mother Teresa bore witness to this love and total dedication to God for the generations that knew her.
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