Vatican City, Oct 16, 2003 / 22:00 pm
In an interview with the Fides News Agency, Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, called the future blessed “a woman in love with God.”
Father Kolodiejchuk, who is from Canada and is one of the first priests of the masculine branch of the Missionary of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, was responsible for presenting to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints the five volumes of documentation on Mother Teresa, as well the Positio, a compilation of documents and testimonies demonstrating her heroic virtues.
In the interview Father Kolodiejchuk explained that “every experience of Mother can be summarized in her intense and passionate love for Jesus. Her answer was to Love: in the first years of her life in Skopje, she already would say that Jesus was her first love. Her faithfulness to this love grew over the years until the end of her life. The key to understanding Mother Teresa is to see her as a woman in love.”
Mother Teresa’s works of solidarity always had a spiritual basis. “One time some government officials of India came to see up close the work of Mother Teresa’s sisters. Mother’s response to their questions was: ‘We don’t care for the poor and the sick in order to get something. We do it for someone--Jesus, who is in that person.’ The service of Mother was an expression of her love for Jesus, who is present in all people, especially in the poor and neglected,” he said.
“Mother was a woman of prayer. When she wasn’t working she was praying the Rosary. She had an intense prayer life centered on the Eucharist. She lived fully the sacramental life. Even today the sisters who follow in her steps lead an intense life of prayer as the foundation of their apostolate,” he added.
Father Kolodiejchuk also mentioned the friendship between John Paul II and Mother Teresa, which was based on “mutual respect and love, as can be seen in the various pictures that show the particular affection the Pope had for Mother. The photos of the Pope with his hand on her head and kissing her on the forehead are so beautiful. This friendship was built on great faith and love for Jesus.”
“Mother lived and practiced many of the most important teachings of the Pope, especially his insistence on the respect for human live and the dignity of the person. It is very significant that the Pope has desired to connect her beatification to the 25 anniversary of his Pontificate. The Holy Father wishes to tell us: ‘This humble sister has been important person for my Pontificate,” he added.