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Mother Teresa’s Little Way IN 1992, the Supreme Council chose Mother Teresa of Calcutta as the first recipient of the Knights of Columbus Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) Award, which remains the highest honor that the Order bestows. Named after the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, it is just one of many prestigious awards received by the diminutive sister, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Nonetheless, Mother Teresa did not seek recognition for her service to “the poorest of the poor,” and accepted such awards only so that the work of her order, the Missionaries of Charity, could grow. The presentation of the award — a specially struck gold medal and a $100,000 stipend — took place before the States Dinner during the Supreme Convention in New York. Afterward, since Mother Teresa did not attend banquets, then-Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant escorted Mother to her car. She said to him, “If you don’t mind, I will have this medal melted down,” and expressed her desire to make wedding bands for the orphaned girls whom the Missionaries of Charities serve. When Dechant suggested the Knights could purchase rings to be used as the girls’ wedding dowries instead, Mother Teresa replied, “No. If I accept that, then they are your gift. If I melt down the medal, I have given them a part of me.” Although some of Mother Teresa’s sisters later hid the medal to preserve it in the archives, this story helps to illustrate Mother Teresa’s humility, simplicity and love. Such characteristics, shown through-

out her life in words and actions, reflected the spirituality of her namesake, St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910, Mother Teresa was inspired by St. Thérèse and her “Little Way,” and asked to be named after the saint when taking her first religious vows as a Sister of Loreto in 1931. Later, in founding the Missionaries of Charity and serving the destitute with simple acts of great love, Mother Teresa lived out St. Thérèse’s charism in a remarkable way. Mother Teresa’s words also reflected the spirituality of the Little Way. For example, in her remarks to employees at the Knights of Columbus headquarters in 1988, she said, “Now I ask you, when you are free, not to necessarily come to one of my houses but one of the many other places where you can share the joy of loving — especially first in your own family. … Let love begin at home.” In that same speech, she said, “Abortion today has become the greatest destroyer of love and of peace.” For Mother Teresa, the Gospel message was not complex. She understood the mandate to love God and to love neighbor — and to be holy — as the simple duties of every Christian. On World Mission Sunday in 1997, just weeks after Mother Teresa’s death, Pope John Paul II declared St. Thérèse of Lisieux a doctor of the Church. Now, with the Sept. 4 canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, we celebrate the sainthood of one of St. Thérèse’s most faithful students.♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI EDITOR

Featured Book: A Call to Mercy A NEW BOOK titled A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve (Image, August 2016, ISBN 978-0451498205), edited by Missionaries of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, features never before published material by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, together with testimonies of those closest to her. Coinciding with the Holy Year of Mercy and Mother Teresa’s Sept. 4 canonization, the book focuses on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For more information, including excerpts, see page 8.♦ 2 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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COLUMBIA PUBLISHER Knights of Columbus ________ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson SUPREME KNIGHT Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN Logan T. Ludwig DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT Charles E. Maurer Jr. SUPREME SECRETARY Michael J. O’Connor SUPREME TREASURER John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE ________ EDITORIAL Alton J. Pelowski EDITOR Andrew J. Matt MANAGING EDITOR Anna M. Bninski ASSOCIATE EDITOR ________

Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-90) Apostle to the Young, Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us. ________ HOW TO REACH US MAIL COLUMBIA 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326 ADDRESS CHANGES 203-752-4210, option #3 [email protected] PRAYER CARDS & SUPPLIES 203-752-4214 COLUMBIA INQUIRIES 203-752-4398 FAX 203-752-4109 K OF C CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-800-380-9995 E-MAIL [email protected] INTERNET kofc.org/columbia ________ Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

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Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved ________ ON THE COVER The official canonization portrait of Mother Teresa titled “St. Teresa of Calcutta: Carrier of God’s Love” was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus as a gift for the Missionaries of Charity.

COVER: Painting by Chas Fagan, copyright Mother Teresa Center / Photo by David Ramsey

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Mother Teresa and the Transformation of Politics Catholics are called to create a culture that prioritizes and protects the most innocent among us by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson MOTHER TERESA knew poverty She then said, “God has given your inside and out. Having devoted her country so much. Do not be afraid of life to those living on the streets in the child now. Do not turn your back Calcutta, India — and around the to the little unborn child. Stand by that world — she daily ministered to those innocent one. My prayer for you and child, murder by the mother herself. most would consider the poorest for your whole country is that we may And if we accept that a mother can kill people on earth. realize the greatness of God’s love for us even her own child, how can we tell The poor were her passion and her and, with that love, protect the unborn other people not to kill one another?” life’s work. No one was more identified child, the greatest gift of God for each She added, “Any country that accepts with the destitute than she was. So of us and for the world.” abortion is not teaching its people to when she spoke to the Harvard graduSuch language conveyed a consistent love, but to use any violence to get what ates of 1982, they were well within theme of hers. In 1979, upon receiving they want.” their rights to expect her to By the time this issue of speak of the poor — of a Columbia reaches homes, poverty most of them could Mother Teresa will have been Mother Teresa saw abortion as not even imagine. honored with the title we the greatest poverty and as the She did speak that day of knew she deserved even while poverty, but it was not the she was alive: the title of saint. cause of other social problems, poverty of a faraway place. Many consider her the patron Mother Teresa explained of the poor, for such she alincluding violence. that the poorest of the poor ways was. Many also point to weren’t in the slums of India; the obvious similarities bethey were our neighbors right here in the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa tween her love for the abandoned and America. Calling abortion “one of the said, “To me, the nations who have le- that of Pope Francis. greatest poverties,” the humble saint galized abortion, they are the poorest But it would be an incomplete added: “A nation, people, family that nations. They are afraid of the little one, analysis of either Mother Teresa or the allows that, that accepts that, they are they are afraid of the unborn child, and pope who canonized her if we overthe poorest of the poor.” the child must die because they don’t looked how fundamental the plight of Those who knew her were not want to feed one more child, to educate the unborn is to their broader discussurprised. one more child.” sion of poverty, marginalization and The previous year, I had the privilege Concern for unborn life was part of human dignity. of spending an entire day with Mother — indeed central to — her concern for Indeed, Pope Francis has said things Teresa in Washington, D.C. There, she the poor and the marginalized. that easily could have been said by the had spoken movingly about her work In 1994, at the National Prayer Break- woman he has raised to the honor of the in Calcutta and especially about help- fast, attended by congressional leaders of altars. For instance, in a 2014 address he ing the unborn. She related “a very bad both parties and by President and Mrs. said, “It is therefore necessary to express case,” when one of her sisters found Clinton, Mother Teresa made a direct the strongest possible opposition to eight babies that had survived abortion plea to the American people: “I feel that every direct attack on life, especially in a bucket outside a clinic. She said the greatest destroyer of peace today is against the innocent and defenseless, and she was able to save six and find loving abortion, because it is a war against the the unborn in the mother’s womb is the homes for them. child, a direct killing of the innocent example of innocence par excellence.”

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Mother Teresa of Calcutta is pictured with Carl Anderson in 1981.

And while some argue that societal ills, such as poverty, cause abortion, Mother Teresa saw abortion as the greatest poverty and as the cause of other social problems, including violence. I have called for withholding our votes from pro-abortion candidates of any party. In prioritizing the many issues in the United States this election season, I suggest we follow Mother Teresa and place abortion above every other consideration. It merits such priority — both as the unparalleled killing of 50 million innocents in this country, and as what Mother Teresa called the “greatest poverty” and the “greatest destroyer of peace.” Consistent with Catholic thought on the issue, during my annual report to last month’s Supreme Convention I said that I felt called as a matter of conscience to repeat what I had stated to delegates eight years ago when the Supreme Convention met in Québec City. Once again we meet during a presidential election campaign in the United States and once again we face the question: “How should

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Catholics exercise their responsibilities as citizens?” Catholics often confront a dilemma in deciding how to vote: Can we support a candidate who may be attractive for many reasons but who supports abortion? Some partisan advocates have sought to excuse support for pro-abortion candidates through a complex balancing act. They claim other issues are important enough to offset a candidate’s support for abortion. But the right to abortion is not just another political issue; it is in reality a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths. Imagine for a moment the largest 25 cities in the United States and Canada suddenly empty of people. This is what the loss of 40 million human beings would look like. In fact, 40 million is greater than the entire population of Canada. What political issue could possibly outweigh this human devastation? The answer, of course, is that there is none.

Abortion is different. Abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale. We need to end the political manipulation of Catholic voters by abortion advocates. It is time to end the entanglement of Catholic people with abortion killing. It is time to stop creating excuses for voting for pro-abortion politicians. We will never succeed in building a culture of life if we continue to vote for politicians who support a culture of death. Catholic voters have the power to transform our politics. We could start by heeding the words that St. Mother Teresa spoke while receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979: “And so today, let us here make a strong resolution: We are going to save every little child, every unborn child, give them a chance to be born. … Let us all pray that we have the courage to stand by the unborn child, and give the child an opportunity to love and to be loved, and I think with God’s grace we will be able to bring peace in the world.” Vivat Jesus!

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A Joyful Witness to Mercy A new book presents how Mother Teresa of Calcutta put the corporal and spiritual works of mercy into practice by Missionaries of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk | introduction by Columbia staff

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n Sept. 4, Pope Francis canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), the Albanian founder of the Missionaries of Charity religious order dedicated to giving wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. To coincide with the canonization celebration, which Pope Francis wished to take place during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Missionaries of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator of the cause for canonization of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, recently published a book titled A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve (Image, 2016). The book is a response to the invitation by Pope Francis in 8 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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Misericordiae Vultus, the declaration that opened the Year of Mercy, “to rediscover these corporal works of mercy” and not to “forget the spiritual works of mercy” (MV, 15). In 14 chapters, each focused on one of these works of mercy, Father Kolodiejchuk provides a brief introduction, followed by a selection of quotes from Mother Teresa’s writings. There is also a selection of testimony given by her close collaborators and friends, followed by questions for reflection and a prayer. The excerpts below are drawn from Father Kolodiejchuk’s introductions and Mother Teresa’s own reflections on three of the works mercy, each followed by testimonies.

Photo by Calogero Cascio/Getty Images

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FEED THE HUNGRY Mother Teresa is known not for setting up great programs that resolve world hunger (worthy and necessary as they are) but for “feeding the hungry,” one by one, one at a time. Yet in doing so she made a great difference first in the lives of these individuals, and ultimately in the world. There is another type of hunger that Mother Teresa began to speak of, especially after opening her houses in the West. She often repeated that people are “not only hungry for bread but hungry for love.” Though suffering from this need is not commonly referred to as poverty, she realized that this type of

poverty was “so much more difficult to remove.” Thus it was also this “hunger for love” that she wanted to alleviate. … Finally, Mother Teresa found another type of hunger, in countries both poor and rich, among people of all classes and religious backgrounds. “People are hungry for God,” she used to say. This reality of “spiritual hunger,” which she experienced deeply and encountered wherever she went, she addressed in a simple and timely manner. She wanted to be “God’s love, his compassion, his presence” wherever she went, so that people looking at her might come to know the God whom she wished to reflect.

Excerpts adapted from A CALL TO MERCY: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve Copyright © 2016 by The Mother Teresa Center. Foreword by Brian Kolodiejchuk. Published by Image, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

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Mother Teresa serves food to the poor in Calcutta, India, in October 1979.

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These are beautiful examples of the hunger I see in these people, the poorest of the poor, the ignorant and unwanted, the unloved, the rejected, and the forgotten. They are hungry for God. This is something you priests must meet continually; not only a hunger in people suffering physically, but also a great hunger in people suffering spiritually and emotionally — people suffering in their hearts and souls, especially young people. (Speech in Rome, undated) TESTIMONIES Sister Agnes and I went with Mother to Oslo and witnessed her Nobel Prize speech. … Through all the ceremony and applause, Mother sat there quietly as if it was all for someone else. … The banquet that usually followed had been canceled at Mother’s request, and the expense of the dinner was given to Mother as a gift for the poor. … “I am myself unworthy of the prize. I do not want it, personally. But by this award the Norwegian people have recognized the existence of the poor. It is on their behalf that I have come.” (Testimony of an MC sister) The way she fed people in the home for the dying was so edifying and so exemplary that she clearly did not treat them like recipients of her mercy, but rather she approached them with due dignity, love and tender care. … She used to say that just as the priest handles the Body of Christ at the altar, so we who receive the Body of Jesus so respectfully, must also treat the broken bodies of the poor with the same respect and reverence. (Testimony of a member of the Missionaries of Charity Contemplative Brothers, who had frequent personal contact with Mother Teresa)

Photo by Jean-Claude Francolon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

MOTHER TERESA’S WORDS The other day I picked up a child in Calcutta. From her dark eyes I saw she was hungry. And I gave her some bread and she was eating crumb by crumb. I told her, “Eat the bread, you are hungry.” I asked her why she eats so slowly. She replied: “I am afraid to eat faster. When I finish this piece, soon I will be hungry again.” I told her: “Eat faster then I will give you more.” That small child already knows the pain of hunger. “I am afraid.” See — we don’t know. As you can see we do not know what hunger is. We do not know how it is to feel pain because of hunger. I have seen small children dying for [lack of ] a cup of milk. I have seen mothers in awful pain because children were dying in their own hands out of hunger. Don’t forget! I am not asking for money. I want you to give of your sacrifice. I want you to sacrifice something you like, something you would like to have for yourself. (Speech in Zagreb, Croatia, April 1978) Another time I was walking through the streets of London in a poor area where our sisters also work. I saw a man in a truly terrible condition sitting there looking so sad and alone. So I walked up to him and took him by the hand and asked him how he was. When I did this he looked up at me and said, “Oh, after such a long time, I feel the warmth of a human hand. After such a long time, someone is touching me.” And then his eyes brightened, and he started to sit up straight. Such a tiny attention had brought Jesus into his life. He had been waiting so long for a show of human love, but it was actually a show of God’s love.

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GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY This act of mercy had a special resonance in Mother Teresa’s life. Jesus’s words from the cross — “I thirst” (Jn 19:28) — succinctly summed up her call to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus on the cross for love and souls. … Always attentive to the needs of the poor, especially their basic physical needs, Mother Teresa took practical and necessary steps to help them. Supplying drinking water with the help of civic authorities or charitable associations wherever there was a shortage was one of her many efforts among the poor. … Following Mother Teresa’s example, we are challenged to recognize the thirsty around us, and to do all in our power to satiate their thirst, endeavoring like her to give drink to those who thirst for water but “not only for water, but for knowledge, peace, truth, justice and love.”

Photo by Charles Johnson

MOTHER TERESA’S WORDS When Jesus was dying on the cross, he cried, “I thirst.” [We are] to quench the thirst of Jesus for souls, for love, for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love. By each action done to the sick and the dying, I quench the thirst of Jesus for love of that person. (Instructions to the MC sisters, Sept. 29, 1977) I have seen terrible bodily suffering, terrible, and to see those people in Ethiopia, just when you open the gate in the morning, they’re just in front of our gate, just gasping for a glass of water; they have not touched food; they come all the way just to get a little bit of tender love and care and some food. (Undated speech) [Jesus] is saying: “I am hungry. I am thirsty. I have no place. I have nobody. You did it unto me.” I am always saying that we are not social workers, but contemplatives in the heart of the world. In the heart of the world we are feeding Jesus who is hungry. We are giving the water of mercy and joy to our people, to Jesus. (Speech in Zagreb, Croatia, April 1978) TESTIMONY Sister called Mother [from Ethiopia] and informed her of what she had seen. Mother said in anguish, “Sister, do something before they die.” Sister said, “Mother we need food, medicine, clothing, and most of all water.” Mother said, “I will call you back.” … Mother [phoned] President [Ronald Reagan]: “I had a call from Ethiopia just now saying thousands are dying of hunger and thirst. Please do something. They need food, water, clothing and medicines.” The president was moved and said to Mother that he would call her back. Within a day the USA was involved, and through CRS (Catholic Relief Services) [large] amounts of food were arranged for the MCs in Ethiopia. … Mother reached Ethiopia with four sisters. … She met a pop singer in the airport. He [greeted] Mother and exclaimed, “Ethiopia is an open hell.” Mother looked into his eyes and said, “Ethiopia is an open Calvary, not an open hell. You and I can do our little part and then life will be saved.” … She saw hundreds of dying skeleton patients…. She took a bucket of water and went around giving it to them to drink.

THE CANONIZATION PORTRAIT

Artist Chas Fagan completes the portrait in his Charlotte, N.C., studio. THE OFFICIAL canonization image of Mother Teresa of Calcutta originated in January 2016 when Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson approached Chas Fagan, an acclaimed painter and sculptor based in Charlotte, N.C., to commission a painting of Mother Teresa as a gift for the Missionaries of Charity. Fagan knew it would be difficult to paint such a recognizable face. “The challenge,” he said, “would be not just satisfying the accuracy of a likeness, but satisfying everyone’s memory and love.” Missionaries of Charity Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator of Mother Teresa’s cause for canonization, was also in conversations with the Knights about the possibility of using the new portrait as the official canonization image. As he and others provided input about the painting, Fagan’s challenge began to look like an impossible task. “There was a long list of requirements, and we thought, ‘Whoa, we’re being really demanding!’” Father Kolodiejchuk quipped. “We wanted to show someone joyful; serious but not too serious; not too young, not too old; also prayerful and conveying holiness — good luck! Maybe more like good providence!” In collaboration with renowned photographer Michael Collopy, Fagan selected source images and proceeded to make a series of pencil sketches for consideration. The completed painting, titled St. Teresa of Calcutta: Carrier of God’s Love, was very well received by the Missionaries of Charity and the Knights. The Supreme Council printed reproductions to be given to every Missionaries of Charity convent and the poor they serve, as well as 1 million holy cards featuring the image for free distribution at the canonization Mass.♦ SEPTEMBER 2016

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During his apostolic pilgrimage to India, Pope John Paul II visits with Mother Teresa at Nirmal Hriday in Calcutta Feb. 3, 1986. giving was that she was aware of her own sinfulness and need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. She also knew that she could be hurting others unintentionally, and that she would be happy to receive forgiveness. ... “Be the first one to say sorry,” she would advise her sisters, being herself usually the one to take the first steps toward reconciliation, even when she was the one who had been wronged. … “Have the love to forgive and the humility to forget” was her advice when anyone was faced with any offense. There are hurts that one might not be able to literally forget, but the desire to “forget” was the expression of her desire to “wipe it out” from her mind, leaving the rest to God.

With a big smile she said to the sisters, “You are privileged because you are quenching the thirst of Jesus in the poor.” (Testimony of an MC sister) FORGIVE OFFENSES WILLINGLY Mother Teresa’s capacity to forgive was one of her qualities that impressed even those who did not share her religious convictions. … One of the principal reasons that she was so for-

MOTHER TERESA’S WORDS Even on the cross he has nothing to say but words of forgiveness, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). The Passion of Christ is the surest proof of the humility of God. (Instruction to MC sisters, April 15, 1981) Suffering makes it important, first of all, that we pray. Because we need courage to forgive. And to be able to forgive we need lots of love in our hearts. Forgive! And also we must know that we need to be forgiven. And for that we need a humble heart. So humility and love will help us to forgive each other; and instead of hurting each other we will begin to love each other and to see what is beautiful in each other. Every one of us has something beautiful. If we only take the trouble to see it, we will be able to love that person — even that person who hurts us most. (Address in Nagasaki, April 26, 1982)

BEGINNING IN 1970s, the Knights of Columbus has shared in both large and small ways in Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s apostolate of charity. While the founder of the Missionaries of Charity willingly accepted — and even requested — financial assistance for various concrete missionary needs, she also challenged Knights to give hands-on service to poorest of the poor. In 1987, after the K of C Board of Directors voted to donate $10,000 a month to her congregation, Mother Teresa returned these checks, explaining that it would make her sisters too dependent on regular support rather than depending on the providence of God. 12 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

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“Send us your Knights and their families,” she told then-Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant. “Let them help us with the soup kitchens and our work with the poorest of the poor.” From these words was born Operation Share, an Orderwide program to collaborate with Missionaries of Charity at soup kitchens and other apostolates. In 1988, Mother Teresa turned to the Order for assistance in printing the congregation’s constitutions. Insisting that she personally deliver the constitutions to the printing plant in New Haven, Conn., Mother Teresa gave a surprise speech to nearly 600 K of C employees June 16.

The Supreme Council subsequently printed and shipped numerous copies of the Missionaries of Charity’s prayer book and hymnal, prayer cards, and volumes of Mother Teresa’s letters and instructions to her congregation. In addition, the Order provided support for vocations and missionary activity for the congregation around the world. In 1992, Mother Teresa was chosen as the first recipient of the Gaudium et Spes Award. The highest honor that the Order bestows, it was presented during the 110th Supreme Convention in New York City. The following are excerpts from remarks Mother Teresa made to K of C audiences in 1988 and 1992.

Photo by Francois Lochon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

MOTHER TERESA AND THE KNIGHTS

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Mother Teresa prays with members of her religious community, the Missionaries of Charity, during a dedication of one of the order’s convents July 27, 1982. Make your family something beautiful for God in love, peace, unity, and joy. Even if you pray ten minutes together, it is worthwhile. It is worthwhile. Get together, always together, always together, even when you have misunderstandings, get together. Forgive and forget and you will be really filled with God’s love, really have the peace of God in your heart. This is very, very important. (Talk to volunteers in Calcutta, Dec. 21, 1995)

TOP RIGHT: Photo by Robert Karp / (c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images

TESTIMONIES If we had done something wrong we could go to Mother and say sorry. She would forgive and forget at once, and never bring it up again, even if we committed the same fault again and again. … Mother, at the beginning, never neglected to correct us. And sometimes her corrections were quite strong. She wanted us to grow spiritually. As the years went on, we found Mother more gentle in her corrections and more quick to forget and forgive. Mother always used to tell us, “Don’t hurt Jesus. He loves you.” This helped us a lot. (Testimony of an MC sister) [In India, there was a TV program because of ] Christopher Hitchens’s first TV program, which I saw. I told [Mother]

MAKE IT A POINT of being together, of praying together. You are like a big family here. Pray together; you will obtain many graces for this beautiful city where there is so much suffering, so much pain. Many people here hunger for love, hunger for the Word of God, and you can be that love, that compassion. I am very grateful to the Knights of Columbus for what they have offered to do for us, in sharing their love for Jesus. I never ask people for this or that; I always tell them, “I want to give you a gift.” And they reply, “Mother Teresa, what gift can you give?” I tell them, “I give you a chance to do something for the poor.” Perhaps some of you cannot go directly to the poor but through our work you can come very close to the poorest of the poor. — Remarks to employees of the K of C headquarters in New Haven, Conn., June 16, 1988

about it. I have to say her first reaction was that of anguish. And she said to me, “I have done so much work in this country. Is there nobody who will speak up for me?” … The next time I mentioned this to her when I met her, she said, “I forgive him.” It was an incident that [she had put out of ] her mind. She had forgiven him completely. It was as if she didn’t know, like a child, what he had said. (Testimony of a collaborator who knew Mother Teresa for more than 20 years)♦ FATHER BRIAN KOLODIEJCHUK, M.C., is the postulator of the cause for canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and director of the Mother Teresa Center.

Then-Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant introduces Mother Teresa during the presentation of the inaugural Gaudium et Spes Award at the States Dinner of the 110th Supreme Convention in New York City Aug. 4, 1992.

LET US THANK GOD for his great love in giving us this beautiful opportunity to thank the Knights of Columbus for all the good things they have done for the people of God. I accepted to come out of sheer gratitude, for they have done so much for our congregation and for our poor. We have no other way of showing our gratitude to them, only by our lives of prayer and fidelity to the works of love that we have every chance, every opportunity to do for our poor. … So, pray for us that we continue God’s work with great love. … Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It is a simple duty for you and for me. ... This is my prayer for you, that you grow in holiness, to want that love for one another and that you share this love with all you meet. God bless you. — Gaudium et Spes remarks, Aug. 4, 1992

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