The Mother he knew

Mother Teresa parishioners heard a first-hand account of the woman our worship space is named after from a man who was her personal advisor and friend for 12 years, Jim Towey, at our first Lenten Mission on March 9.

About 400 people attended to hear Towey talk about Mother Teresa and his book, “The Mother I Knew,” an intimate portrait of a real person, not a “plastic saint.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta is no “plastic saint,” but a real person who was not perfect, was stubborn, had moments of doubt, but never lost sight of seeing Jesus in the “distressing disguise of the poor,” Towey recalled.

“Mother loved poetry, loved to sing, loved to laugh, and loved chocolate,” he said. “She was Albanian-strong.”

Just as St. Francis of Assisi was called the most Christ-like person since Jesus, Towey believes Mother Teresa was the most Mary-like person since Mary.

Towey laces his talk with humor. He recounted one time when he was with Mother and a group of nuns in a small aircraft flying through severe weather. Although the plane was bouncing about widely, Mother Teresa remained calm. 

“I thought, if I go the pearly gates and meet St. Peter today, I’m going to say, ‘I’m with her.’”

Towey closed with three key points which form the essence of Mother Teresa’s ministry.

First, the greatest human need is to love and be loved. One way to remember this is the Five Finger Gospel, the last five words of Matthew 25, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”

The second point is to have a compass and keep your orientation, which is that you came from God and will return to God. “If you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy,” Towey admonished.

Final point: aging is a blessing. Mother Teresa was an example of that. “Remember that God doesn’t call us to be successful. God calls us to be faithful,” he concluded.

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