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Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s Beatification Mass: A Valuable Lesson
Saturday, May 1st, 2004
“Columbia”
MAY 2004
PAGE 11
By: Jeffrey Kirby
Seminarians from the North American College in Rome were privileged to serve as honor guards during the distribution of Communion at the beatification Mass of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta last Oct. 19.
This was an exciting event for each of us. As the day neared, we made sure our cassocks were clean, with no loose buttons or threads. We secured our tickets to the Mass and located the spots where we would be helping with Communion.
Bookended by the papal anniversary on Oct. 16 and the consistory of cardinals on Oct. 21, the beatification Mass on World Mission Sunday was a moment none of us will soon forget.
The morning of the beatification we seminarians headed to St. Peter’s Basilica and checked in for our assignments. We each received a white umbrella, which are used during papal liturgies to designate where Communion will be offered. People were everywhere and soon filled St. Peter’s Square and beyond. News reports said that more than 300,000 people attended the celebration. Joyous anticipation filled the air.
The Mass began and the beatification decree was proclaimed. Next, the tapestry depicting the smiling, prayerful Mother Teresa of Calcutta was unveiled. The “Gloria” was chanted and Teresa became Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
It wasn’t until holy Communion that I realized fully the truth of what was taking place. As my classmates and I stood at our Communion stations, we saw the multitudes whose special devotion to Mother Teresa had brought them to Rome.
They were from different countries and cultures. Some had dirty hands. Others were missing teeth. Many bore the marks of illness. All of them came to show their love and devotion to the nun who had loved and respected them through her service to the poorest of the poor.
These were Christ’s little ones, Mother Teresa’s little ones: the cancer patient with no hair, the elderly person struggling to make it through the crowd, the teenager with spiked hair… They all approached Christ in the Eucharist. They knew that in him their dignity as children of God was restored.
All of the practical details of our service at Mass were forgotten. All of the confusion and anxiety that went into our preparations for the big day had faded away. We were all focused on our Lord.
In those moments we returned to the important event that was occurring. We were being inspired by Mother Teresa’s life, her unconditional and selfless service to the poorest of the poor in humble imitation of our Lord.
My fellow seminarians and I learned a valuable lesson that morning. What we learned was Blessed Teresa’s capacity to see Christ in everyone and that he loves them unconditionally. This is Blessed Teresa’s message to the 21st century.
It’s a lesson that is too easily forgotten or ignored. But now, thanks to God, we have Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in heaven to remind us, to pray for us and to encourage us as we seek to apply the lessons of her saintly life to our own.
JEFFREY KIRBY is a seminarian for the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., currently studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He is a member of Pope John XXIII Council 6250 in Charleston.
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